equally good fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realized. I
was at Copiapo at the time; and there the people, with equal envy,
talked of the abundant rain at Guasco. After two or three very dry
years, perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time, a
rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even the
drought. The rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the narrow
strips of ground, which alone are fit for cultivation. The floods also
injure the irrigating ditches. Great devastation had thus been caused
three years ago.
June 8th.--We rode on to Ballenar, which takes its name from Ballenagh
in Ireland, the birthplace of the family of O'Higgins, who, under the
Spanish government, were presidents and generals in Chile. As the rocky
mountains on each hand were concealed by clouds, the terrace-like
plains gave to the valley an appearance like that of Santa Cruz in
Patagonia. After spending one day at Ballenar I set out, on the 10th,
for the upper part of the valley of Copiapo. We rode all day over an
uninteresting country. I am tired of repeating the epithets barren and
sterile. These words, however, as commonly used, are comparative; I
have always applied them to the plains of Patagonia, which can boast of
spiny bushes and some tufts of grass; and this is absolute fertility,
as compared with northern Chile. Here again, there are not many spaces
of two hundred yards square, where some little bush, cactus or lichen,
may not be discovered by careful examination; and in the soil seeds lie
dormant ready to spring up during the first rainy winter. In Peru real
deserts occur over wide tracts of country. In the evening we arrived at
a valley, in which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up,
we came to tolerably good water. During the night, the stream, from not
being evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down
than during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it
was a good place to bivouac for us; but for the poor animals there was
not a mouthful to eat.
June 11th.--We rode without stopping for twelve hours till we reached
an old smelting-furnace, where there was water and firewood; but our
horses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an old courtyard. The
line of road was hilly, and the distant views interesting, from the
varied colours of the bare mountains. It was almost a pity to see the
sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such splendid weather
ought to have brightened fields and pretty gardens. The next day we
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