that we purchased a little corn and straw for our horses.
4th.--Carizal to Sauce. We continued to ride over desert plains,
tenanted by large herds of guanaco. We crossed also the valley of
Chaneral; which, although the most fertile one between Guasco and
Coquimbo, is very narrow, and produces so little pasture, that we could
not purchase any for our horses. At Sauce we found a very civil old
gentleman, superintendent of a copper-smelting furnace. As an especial
favour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an armful of dirty
straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper after their long
day's journey. Few smelting-furnaces are now at work in any part of
Chile; it is found more profitable, on account of the extreme scarcity
of firewood, and from the Chilian method of reduction being so
unskilful, to ship the ore for Swansea. The next day we crossed some
mountains to Freyrina, in the valley of Guasco. During each day's ride
further northward, the vegetation became more and more scanty; even the
great chandelier-like cactus was here replaced by a different and much
smaller species. During the winter months, both in northern Chile and
in Peru, a uniform bank of clouds hangs, at no great height, over the
Pacific. From the mountains we had a very striking view of this white
and brilliant aerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving
islands and promontories in the same manner, as the sea does in the
Chonos archipelago and in Tierra del Fuego.
We stayed two days at Freyrina. In the valley of Guasco there are four
small towns. At the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely desert,
and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood. Five leagues
higher up stands Freyrina, a long straggling village, with decent
whitewashed houses. Again, ten leagues further up Ballenar is situated,
and above this Guasco Alto, a horticultural village, famous for its
dried fruit. On a clear day the view up the valley is very fine; the
straight opening terminates in the far-distant snowy Cordillera; on
each side an infinity of crossing-lines are blended together in a
beautiful haze. The foreground is singular from the number of parallel
and step-formed terraces; and the included strip of green valley, with
its willow-bushes, is contrasted on both hands with the naked hills.
That the surrounding country was most barren will be readily believed,
when it is known that a shower of rain had not fallen during the last
thirteen months. The inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the
rain at Coquimbo; from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of
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