accept two or three shillings. The Gaucho, although he may be a
cutthroat, is a gentleman; the Guaso is in few respects better, but at
the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. The two men, although
employed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and
attire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their respective
countries. The Gaucho seems part of his horse, and scorns to exert
himself except when on his back: the Guaso may be hired to work as a
labourer in the fields. The former lives entirely on animal food; the
latter almost wholly on vegetable. We do not here see the white boots,
the broad drawers and scarlet chilipa; the picturesque costume of the
Pampas. Here, common trousers are protected by black and green worsted
leggings. The poncho, however, is common to both. The chief pride of
the Guaso lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. I measured one
which was six inches in the _diameter_ of the rowel, and the rowel
itself contained upwards of thirty points. The stirrups are on the
same scale, each consisting of a square, carved block of wood, hollowed
out, yet weighing three or four pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more
expert with the lazo than the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the
country, he does not know the use of the bolas.
August 18th.--We descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful
little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the same
hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the
valley, and passed through Quillota, which is more like a collection of
nursery-gardens than a town. The orchards were beautiful, presenting
one mass of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or two places the
date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and I should think a group of
them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must be superb. We
passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty straggling town like Quillota. The
valley in this part expands into one of those great bays or plains,
reaching to the foot of the Cordillera, which have been mentioned as
forming so curious a part of the scenery of Chile. In the evening we
reached the mines of Jajuel, situated in a ravine at the flank of the
great chain. I stayed here five days. My host the superintendent of
the mine, was a shrewd but rather ignorant Cornish miner. He had
married a Spanish woman, and did not mean to return home; but his
admiration for the mines of Cornwall remained unbounded. Amongst many
other questions, he asked me, "Now that George Rex is dead, how many
more of the family of Rexes are yet alive?" This Rex certainly must be
a relation of the great author Finis, who wrote all books!
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