! h!
: I They are also found in the northern parts of Chile and in
Peru. One ivhich I caught at Iquique was very empty.
When placed on the table, and though surrounded by people,
if a finger was presented, the bold insect would immediately
draw its sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood.
No pain was caused liy the wound. It was curious to watch
its body during the act of sucking, as it changed in less than
ten minutes, from being as flat as a wafer to a globular form.
This one feast, for which the benchuca was indebted to one
of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months ; but, after
the first fortnight, the insect was quite ready to have another
suck.
M a r c h 2 7 t i i .—We rode on to Mendoza. The country
was beautifully cultivatecl, and resembled Chile. This
neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit; and certainly
nothing could appear more flourishing than the vineyards and
the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. We bought watermelons
nearly twice as large as a man’s head, most deliciously
cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and for the
value of threepence, half a wheelbarroivM of peaches. The
cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small;
there is little more than that which we passed through between
Luxan and the capital. The land, as in Chile, entirely
owes its fertility to artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful
to observe how abundantly productive a barren traversia
is rendered by this simple process.
We staid the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity of
the place has much dechned of late years. The inhabitants
say “ it is good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in.”
Tlie lower orders have the lounging, reckless manners of the
Gauchos of the Pampas; and their dress, riding-gear, and
habits of life, are nearly the same. To my mind the town
had a stupid forlorn aspect. Neither the boasted alameda,
nor the scenery, is at all comparable to that of Santiago; but
to tliose who 'have just crossed the unvaried savannahs of
grass, on their road from Buenos Ayres, the gardens and
orchard.s must appear delightful. Captain Head, speaking of
the inhabitants, says, “ They eat their dinners, and it is so
very hot, they go to sleep—and could they do better ?” I
quite agree with Captain Head: the happy doom of the
Ivlendozinos is to eat, sleep, and be idle.
M a r c h 2 9 t h .—We set out on our return to Chile by the
Uspallata pass to the northward of Mendoza. We had to
cross a long and most sterile traversia of fifteen leagues. The
soil in parts was absolutely bare, in others covered by numberless
dwarf cacti, armed with formidable spines, and called
by the inhabitants “ little lions.” There were also a few low
bushes. Although the plain is elevated about three thousand
feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; this, and the
clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling extremely
irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel to
the mountains, but gradually approaching them. Before
sunset we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bay.s,
which open on the plain : this soon narrowed into a ravine,
and a little higher up the house of tlie Villa Vicencio was
situated. As we had ridden all day without a drop of water,
both ourselves and our animals were very thirsty, and we
looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down this
valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water
made its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry;
by degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water
were formed; these soon became connected, and at Villa
Vicencio there was a nice little rivulet.
3 0 t i i .— The solitary hovel which bears the imposing name
of Villa Vicencio, has been mentioned by every traveller who
has crossed the Andes. I staid here, and at some neighbouring
mines, during the two succeeding days. The geology
of the surrounding country is very curious. The Uspallata
range is separated from the true Cordillera by a long
narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in Chile,
but with an altitude of about six thousand feet. The range
consists of various kinds of submarine lava, alternating with
volcanic sandstones and other remarkable sedimentary deposits
; the whole having a very close resemblance to some of
•1 I