September 11th and 12th, which detained me a prisoner at the Baths of
Cauquenes. The interval was seven and a half months; but the rain this
year in Chile was rather later than usual. The distant Andes were now
covered by a thick mass of snow, and were a glorious sight.
May 2nd.--The road continued to follow the coast, at no great distance
from the sea. The few trees and bushes which are common in central
Chile decreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced by a tall plant,
something like a yucca in appearance. The surface of the country, on a
small scale, was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt little peaks
of rock rising out of small plains or basins. The indented coast and
the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with breakers, would, if
converted into dry land, present similar forms; and such a conversion
without doubt has taken place in the part over which we rode.
3rd.--Quilimari to Conchalee. The country became more and more barren.
In the valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for any irrigation;
and the intermediate land was quite bare, not supporting even goats. In
the spring, after the winter showers, a thin pasture rapidly springs
up, and cattle are then driven down from the Cordillera to graze for a
short time. It is curious to observe how the seeds of the grass and
other plants seem to accommodate themselves, as if by an acquired
habit, to the quantity of rain which falls upon different parts of this
coast. One shower far northward at Copiapo produces as great an effect
on the vegetation, as two at Guasco, and three or four in this
district. At Valparaiso a winter so dry as greatly to injure the
pasture, would at Guasco produce the most unusual abundance. Proceeding
northward, the quantity of rain does not appear to decrease in strict
proportion to the latitude. At Conchalee, which is only 67 miles north
of Valparaiso, rain is not expected till the end of May; whereas at
Valparaiso some generally falls early in April: the annual quantity is
likewise small in proportion to the lateness of the season at which it
commences.
4th.--Finding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we turned
inland towards the mining district and valley of Illapel. This valley,
like every other in Chile, is level, broad, and very fertile: it is
bordered on each side, either by cliffs of stratified shingle, or by
bare rocky mountains. Above the straight line of the uppermost
irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a high road; while all below is of
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