We unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the
night. The evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear, that the
masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso, although no
less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be distinguished
clearly as little black streaks. A ship doubling the point under sail,
appeared as a bright white speck. Anson expresses much surprise, in
his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from
the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow for the height of the
land, and the great transparency of the air.
The setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black whilst the
snowy peaks of the Andes yet retained a ruby tint. When it was dark,
we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos, fried our charqui
(or dried slips of beef), took our mate, and were quite comfortable.
There is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open air. The
evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise of the mountain bizcacha,
and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were occasionally to be heard.
Besides these, few birds, or even insects, frequent these dry, parched
mountains.
August 17th.--In the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone
which crowns the summit. This rock, as frequently happens, was much
shattered and broken into huge angular fragments. I observed, however,
one remarkable circumstance, namely, that many of the surfaces
presented every degree of freshness some appearing as if broken the day
before, whilst on others lichens had either just become, or had long
grown, attached. I so fully believed that this was owing to the
frequent earthquakes, that I felt inclined to hurry from below each
loose pile. As one might very easily be deceived in a fact of this
kind, I doubted its accuracy, until ascending Mount Wellington, in Van
Diemen's Land, where earthquakes do not occur; and there I saw the
summit of the mountain similarly composed and similarly shattered, but
all the blocks appeared as if they had been hurled into their present
position thousands of years ago.
We spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one more
thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen as
in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful, was
heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere view of
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