it does not appear probable that they were used as mere resting-places,
but yet where the land is as utterly unfit for any kind of cultivation,
as it is near the Tambillos or at the Incas Bridge, or in the Portillo
Pass, at all which places I saw ruins. In the ravine of Jajuel, near
Aconcagua, where there is no pass, I heard of remains of houses
situated at a great height, where it is extremely cold and sterile. At
first I imagined that these buildings had been places of refuge, built
by the Indians on the first arrival of the Spaniards; but I have since
been inclined to speculate on the probability of a small change of
climate.
In this northern part of Chile, within the Cordillera, old Indian
houses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the
ruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals, and
heads of Indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an arrow-head
made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those now used in
Tierra del Fuego, was given me. I am aware that the Peruvian Indians
now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak situations; but at Copiapo
I was assured by men who had spent their lives in travelling through
the Andes, that there were very many (muchisimas) buildings at heights
so great as almost to border upon the perpetual snow, and in parts
where there exist no passes, and where the land produces absolutely
nothing, and what is still more extraordinary, where there is no water.
Nevertheless it is the opinion of the people of the country (although
they are much puzzled by the circumstance), that, from the appearance
of the houses, the Indians must have used them as places of residence.
In this valley, at Punta Gorda, the remains consisted of seven or eight
square little rooms, which were of a similar form with those at
Tambillos, but built chiefly of mud, which the present inhabitants
cannot, either here or, according to Ulloa, in Peru, imitate in
durability. They were situated in the most conspicuous and defenceless
position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley. There was no water
nearer than three or four leagues, and that only in very small
quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; I looked in vain
even for a lichen adhering to the rocks. At the present day, with the
advantage of beasts of burden, a mine, unless it were very rich, could
scarcely be worked here with profit. Yet the Indians formerly chose it
as a place of residence! If at the present time two or three showers
of rain were to fall annually, instead of one, as now is the case
during as many years, a small rill of water would probably be formed in
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