XII 
HOT SPRINGS OF CAUQUENES 
281 
one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the Cordillera. 
The next day we turned up the valley of the Rio Cachapual, in 
which the hot-baths of Cauquenes, long celebrated for their 
medicinal properties, are situated. The suspension bridges, in the 
less frequented parts, are generally taken down during the winter 
when the rivers are low. Such was the case in this valley, and 
we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on horseback. 
This is rather disagreeable, for the foaming water, though not 
deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones, 
that one’s head becomes quite confused, and it is difficult even 
to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or standing 
still. In summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are quite 
impassable ; their strength and fury is then extremely great, as 
might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We 
reached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, 
being confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings 
consist of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single 
table and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley 
just without the central Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, 
with a good deal of wild beauty. 
The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of 
dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which 
betrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity of gas is 
continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. 
Though the springs are only a few yards apart, they have very 
different temperatures ; and this appears to be the result of an 
unequal mixture of cold water : for those with the lowest tem¬ 
perature have scarcely any mineral taste. After the great 
earthquake of 1822 the springs ceased, and the water did not 
return for nearly a year. They were also much affected by the 
earthquake of 1835 ; the temperature being suddenly changed 
from 1 18° to 92 0 . 1 It seems probable that mineral waters 
rising deep from the bowels of the earth would always be more 
deranged by subterranean disturbances than those nearer the 
surface. The man who had charge of the baths assured me 
that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful than in 
winter. The former circumstance I should have expected, from 
the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water ; but the 
latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. The 
1 Caldcleugh, in Philosoph. Transact, for 1836. 
