XVI 
VALLEY OF GVASCO 
373 
whole time, a rainy year generally follows ; and this does more 
harm than even the drought. The rivers swell, and cover with 
gravel and sand the narrow strips of ground which alone are 
fit for cultivation. The floods also injure the irrigating ditches. 
Great devastation had thus been caused three years ago. 
June Stk .—We rode on to Ballenar, which takes its name 
from Ballenagh in Ireland, the birthplace of the family of 
O’Higgins, who, under the Spanish government, were presidents 
and generals in Chile. As the rocky mountains on each hand 
were concealed by clouds, the terrace-like plains gave to the 
valley an appearance like that of Santa Cruz in Patagonia. 
After spending one day at Ballenar I set out, on the loth, for 
the upper part of the valley of Copiapo. We rode all day 
over an uninteresting country. I am tired of repeating the 
epithets barren and sterile. These words, however, as commonly 
used, are comparative ; I have always applied them to the 
plains of Patagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some 
tufts of grass ; and this is absolute fertility, as compared with 
Northern Chile. Here again, there are not many spaces of two 
hundred yards square, where some little bush, cactus or lichen, 
may not be discovered by careful examination ; and in the soil 
seeds lie dormant ready to spring up during the first rainy 
winter. In Peru real deserts occur over wide tracts of country. 
In the evening we arrived at a valley in which the bed of the 
streamlet was damp : following it up, we came to tolerably 
good water. During the night the stream, from not being 
evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down 
than during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so 
that it was a good place of bivouac for us ; but for the poor 
animals there was not a mouthful to eat. 
June i ith .—We rode without stopping for twelve hours, 
till we reached an old smelting-furnace, where there was water 
and firewood ; but our horses again had nothing to eat, being 
shut up in an old courtyard. The line of road was hilly, and 
the distant views interesting from the varied colours of the 
bare mountains. It was almost a pity to see the sun shining 
constantly over so useless a country ; such splendid weather 
ought to have brightened fields and pretty gardens. The next 
day we reached the valley of Copiapo. I was heartily glad of 
it ; for the whole journey was a continued source of anxiety ; 
