wand rock-fa 

788 
Tikewife found on the road, coal, gypfum, 
Its the laft even on the fum- 
mits of the moft elevated ridges.—Salta, 
a town on the river Arias, containing 
about 9900 inhabitants, is the refidence of 
the Governor-Intendant, and of the Admi- 
niftration of the province of Tucuman. 
Here end the lefs elevated ridges and pro- 
montories: and our travellers now profe- 
cuted their journey over the Cordilleras, 
properly fo called, which are rich in va- 
rious plants, and whofe {now-capt furnmits 
are loft in the clouds. At Salta er 
changed their carriages for faddle-mules, 
and thence purfued their weary way, wan- 
dering in the higheft chain of mountains 
on eartti, and on roads the moft wretched 
and fatiguing, fix hendred miles to Lima. 
—‘* It was fortunate fer us,” fays Helms, 
¢¢ that we had entered upon this dangerous 
journey at the mot proper and favourable 
feafon of the year; as, in our’ progre/s 
through the Cordi illeras, we were obliged 
to ford a number, of rapid rivers and, tor- 
rents (fome of them even ay different 
times). In thefe torrents fuddenly fweollen 
in fummer, a great number of travellers 
perth. is a ae hours we here exchange 
‘the moft intenfe fummer-heat in the valleys 
for the piercing cold of the fnow-covered 
mountain-top:—-a change that foon under- 
mines the health of the moft robuft Euro- 
ie an. Ai heétic fever attacks him ; or he 
feized with the cramp, rheumatifm, and 
nervous melancholy.”-—Immediately be- 
hind Salta, the weods, which till then had 
covered the lefs elevated ridges, ceale to 
embellith the landicape. -—but, then, with 
them the traveller gets rid likewife of the 
almoft incredible multitude of locufis, 
crickets, finging-toads, frogs, ferpents, 
crocodiles, and mufquitoes. Remarkable 
is the manner in which the wild bees (do- 
meftic bees in hives there are nene in 
South-America) here confiru& and fix 
their habitation ; not, as in Europe, in 
the hollow trunks of trees, but on the 
branches. ‘They form an éval -ball of 
wax, about the bignefs of an ox’s bladder, 
at the top of which is the hole to fly out 
and in at, and-within the ceils full of the 
pureft honey. Through the heat of the 
climate the inflammable parts of the 
external fheil of wax gradually drip away, 
and only the earthy particles remain. 
Jujui is a fmall mining-town, 18 miles 
from Salta, and centains 3000 inhabitants. 
Thirty miles beyond Jujui the traveller 
reaches the higheft ridge of the Cerdilleras; 
which is the favourite haunt of the cele- 
‘brated Peruvian theep (named Liama or 
Travels in South Americas 
F November, 
Guanaca), which feeds on mofs, is eafily 
tamed, and ufed as a beaft of burthen, 
This animal, as, likewife the Vicunna, is 
found only on the fummits of hills covered 
with fnow, and in the coldeft mountainous 
regions, where they rove about in numer- 
ous herds. Mountains fo irregular and 
difrupted as the Cordilleras, and fuch vari- 
ous alternations of their component parts, 
Helms faw neither in Hungary and Saxony, 
nor in.the Pyrenees. In no place does a 
revolution of nature appear to have beea 
fo general as in South America; of which 
traces are every where difcoverable. 
‘he Indian town Mojos belonged to Peru 
before the arrival of the Spaniards, and 
was the border-tewn towards the kingdom 
of La Plata. But'in the new divifion, the 
Southern provinces of Peru, viz. Ataca- 
ma, Potofi, Caranges, and others, were- 
added to the kingdom of La Piet whofe 
limits were extended 150 miles farther, to 
Santa Rofa. In the argillaceous-flaty 
mountains around Mojos, our travellers 
found a great many veins of quartz, con- 
taining gold, yellow copper-ore, lead-ore 
and iron-fpath. The termination of hee 
veins appear above ground: but none of 
them is worked. There is likewife 
near that town a confiderable ftratum of 
magnetical iron-fand, full of particles of 
cold, fome of which are ae large as a 
quarter of a ducat: but of this gold 
the American gains but a fimall propor- 
tion, as he wathes away into the ffream 
all the finer particles, which are lefs 
Similar’ 
than half the bignefs of a lentil. 
alluvious layers containing gold, and reft- 
ing on the bafe of argillaceous flate, occur 
till within-a thert diftance from Potefi; 
and gold is wafhed from them, efpecially 
at the little town of St. Jago de Cotagoita, 
30 miles from Mojos, and as many g oats 
Potoli. At Caiza, 14 miles from Potofi, 
they found, ina boiling-hot hepatic fpring, 
fmail pieces of brimftone, and a friable 
clay, full of cryfials of allum: from which 
we may infer, that the water derives its 
peculiar properties froma ftratum of burn- 
ing fulphur in the aluminous flate, from 
which it burfts forth. There ate fimilar 
hepatic fprings four miles north of Potofi, 
and at Churin, 38 miles to the north-eaft 
of Lima. 
The celebrated city of Potofi is fituated 
in the midft of the moft elevated range of 
the mountains, whofe fummits, at the dif- 
tance of three miles to the fouth, are co- 
vered with fnow ; and all around the city, 
with irrecular layers of large reund mafies 
of granite. Of Potofi Helms tells us 
i nothing 
/ 
