do not think that Chile sees with any."
August 27th.--After crossing many low hills we descended into the small
land-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such as this one, which
are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet above the sea, two
species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms, and stand wide
apart from each other, grow in large numbers. These trees are never
found near the sea-coast; and this gives another characteristic feature
to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a low ridge which separates
Guitron from the great plain on which Santiago stands. The view was
here pre-eminently striking: the dead level surface, covered in parts
by woods of acacia, and with the city in the distance, abutting
horizontally against the base of the Andes, whose snowy peaks were
bright with the evening sun. At the first glance of this view, it was
quite evident that the plain represented the extent of a former inland
sea. As soon as we gained the level road we pushed our horses into a
gallop, and reached the city before it was dark.
I stayed a week in Santiago, and enjoyed myself very much. In the
morning I rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening dined
with several of the English merchants, whose hospitality at this place
is well known. A never-failing source of pleasure was to ascend the
little hillock of rock (St. Lucia) which projects in the middle of the
city. The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as I have said,
very peculiar. I am informed that this same character is common to the
cities on the great Mexican platform. Of the town I have nothing to
say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as Buenos Ayres, but is
built after the same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north;
so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excursion to
the south of the direct road.
September 5th.--By the middle of the day we arrived at one of the
suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the Maypu, a large
turbulent river a few leagues southward of Santiago. These bridges are
very poor affairs. The road, following the curvature of the suspending
ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. It was full
of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a
man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a comfortable
farm-house, where there were several very pretty senoritas. They were
much horrified at my having entered one of their churches out of mere
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