c u i i .K. S e p t .. I S 3 1 .
r;iiu lU'ViT fulls, cun. ! Ih iu k . only Ih’ uci'ounli'il lor liy (lio
nu'Uing of th e s n ow : v e t th e n umn tu h i s which urc covered
h v snow (hu'iug thul scuson a rc Ihrcc o r fo u r Icugucs dislanl.
f rom th e spr ings . ! have no re a son fo d o u h f I lie accura cy
of niv in fo n n c r . wh o liaving lived on th e .spot lor several
v e a r s . o u g h t to b e well a c i juaintcd wi th th e c i rc u in s tan c c ,—
which, if t ru e , ccvtainlv is very c u r io u s : lor , wc m u s t s u p p
o s e th a t th e wa te r , b o in g co u i lu c tcd t h ro u g h j iorous s t r a ta
to th e regions of h e a t , is again t h row n u p to th e sur taco
b v th e line of d is lo c a ted a n d injoc tod ro c k a t C a u q u e n e s ;
a n d rl',0 r e g u la r i ty of th e p h e n om e n o n wo u ld s eem to i n dic
a te th a t in th is di. stiiet h e a t e d rook o c cu r re d a t a d e p th
n o t exce s s ive ly gre a t .
One dav I rode up the valley to the furthest inhabited
spot. Shortlv above that jioint. the Cachapual divides into
two deep tremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into
the great range. I scrambled up a peaked mountain, ])ro-
bably more than six thousand feet high. Here, as indeed
eveiw where else, scenes of the highest interest presented
themselves. It was by one of these ravines that Pincheira
entered Chile, and ravaged the neighbouring country. This
is the same man whose attack on an estancia at the Rio
Negro I have described. He was a renegade half-cast
Spaniard, who collected a great body of Indians together, and
estabhshed himself bv a stream in the Pampas, which place
none of the forces sent after him could ever discover. From
this point he used to sally forth, and crossing the Cordillera
by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the farm-houses,
and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous. Pincheira
was a capital horseman, and he made all around him equally
good; for he invariably shot any one, who hesitated to follow
him. It was against this man, and other wandering Indian
tribes, that Rosas waged the war of extermination.
■Se p t e m b e r 1 . 3 t h .— W e left the baths of Cauquenes, and
rejoining the main road, slept at the Rio Claro. From thi.s
place we rode to the town of S. Fernando. Before arriving
there, the last basin had e.xpanded into a great ¡ilain, which
Sep t , ih :!4. PI.O.V'I'I.N'O IHI.A.N'DH.
e x t e n d e d .SO far to th e so u th , t h a t t lic .snowy sumrrii ts of th e
mo re dis tiint A n d e s we re seem, as if ab o v e th e h o r izo n o f th e
sea. S. F e rn a n d o is for ty le.agucs from S a n t ia g o ; a n d i t was m y
f u r th e s t p o in t so u thwa rd ; for we h e re t u r n e d a t r ig h t angles
t o w a r d s th e coas t . W e s lep t a t t lie g o ld -min e s o f Yaqui l ,
which a re wo rk e d by M r . N ix o n , an Araor ic an g e n t lema n ,
to wh o s e k in d n e s s I was m u c h i r idchtcd d u r in g t h e fo u r days
I s taid a t his h o u s e .
S n E ' T H M i i E R M t i i .—This morning we rode to the mines,
which are situated at the distance of some leagues, near the
summit of a lofty hill. On the way we had a glimpse of the
lake Tagua-tagua, celebrated for its floating islands, which
have been described by M. Gay.* They are composed of
the stalks of various dead plants intertwined together, and
on the surface of which other living ones take root. Their
form is generally circular, and their thickness from four to
six feet, of which the greater part is immersed in the water.
As the wind blows they pass from one side of the lake to the
other, and often carry cattle and horses as passengers.
When we arrived at the mine, I was struck by the pale
appearance of many of the men, and inquired from Mr, Nixon
respecting their condition. The mine is 450 feet deep, and
each man brings up about 2 0 0 pounds! weight of stone.
With this load they have to climb up the alternate notches
cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a zigzag line up the
shaft. Even beardless young men, eighteen and twenty years
old, with httle muscular development of their bodies (they
are quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great
load from nearly the same depth. A strong man, who is not
accustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with
merely carrying up his own body. AA ith this very severe
labour, they live entirely on boiled beans and bread. They
* A n n a le s des S c ien c e s N a tiii'e lie s . M a rc h , 1833. M . Gay . a z e a lo u s
a n d a b le n a tu r a lis t, is n ow o c c u p ie d in s tu d y in g e v e ry b r a n c h o f n a tu r a l
liisto ry th ro u g lio iit th e k in g d om o f C h ile .
! In a iio tlic r m in e , as will h e re a f te r h e m e n tio n e d . I p ic k e d o u t a
lo a d b y h a z a rd , a n d wcig licd it : it was 197 p o u n d s .
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