- We Stayed Three Days At Concepcion,
And Then Sailed For Valparaiso.
The wind
being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the
harbour of Concepcion before it was dark.
Being very near
the land, and a fog coming on, the anchor was dropped.
Presently a large American whaler appeared alongside of us;
and we heard the Yankee swearing at his men to keep quiet,
whilst he listened for the breakers. Captain Fitz Roy hailed
him, in a loud clear voice, to anchor where he then was. The
poor man must have thought the voice came from the shore:
such a Babel of cries issued at once from the ship - every
one hallooing out, "Let go the anchor! veer cable! shorten
sail!" It was the most laughable thing I ever heard. If
the ship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could
not have been a greater uproar of orders. We afterwards
found that the mate stuttered: I suppose all hands were
assisting him in giving his orders.
On the 11th we anchored at Valparaiso, and two days
afterwards I set out to cross the Cordillera. I proceeded to
Santiago, where Mr. Caldcleugh most kindly assisted me in
every possible way in making the little preparations which
were necessary. In this part of Chile there are two passes
across the Andes to Mendoza: the one most commonly used,
namely, that of Aconcagua or Uspallata - is situated some
way to the north; the other, called the Portillo, is to the
south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous.
March 18th. - We set out for the Portillo pass. Leaving
Santiago we crossed the wide burnt-up plain on which that
city stands, and in the afternoon arrived at the Maypu, one
of the principal rivers in Chile. The valley, at the point
where it enters the first Cordillera, is bounded on each side
by lofty barren mountains; and although not broad, it is very
fertile. Numerous cottages were surrounded by vines, and by
orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees - their boughs
breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. In the
evening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was
examined. The frontier of Chile is better guarded by the
Cordillera, than by the waters of the sea. There are very
few valleys which lead to the central ranges, and the
mountains are quite impassable in other parts by beasts of
burden. The custom-house officers were very civil, which
was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the President
of the Republic had given me; but I must express my admiration
at the natural politeness of almost every Chileno. In
this instance, the contrast with the same class of men in
most other countries was strongly marked. I may mention
an anecdote with which I was at the time much pleased: we
met near Mendoza a little and very fat negress, riding astride
on a mule. She had a _goitre_ so enormous that it was scarcely
possible to avoid gazing at her for a moment; but my two
companions almost instantly, by way of apology, made the
common salute of the country by taking off their hats. Where
would one of the lower or higher classes in Europe, have
shown such feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object
of a degraded race?
At night we slept at a cottage. Our manner of travelling
was delightfully independent. In the inhabited parts we
bought a little firewood, hired pasture for the animals, and
bivouacked in the corner of the same field with them. Carrying
an iron pot, we cooked and ate our supper under a
cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. My companions were
Mariano Gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me in
Chile, and an "arriero," with his ten mules and a "madrina."
The madrina (or godmother) is a most important personage:
She is an old steady mare, with a little bell round her neck;
and wherever she goes, the mules, like good children, follow
her. The affection of these animals for their madrinas saves
infinite trouble. If several large troops are turned into one
field to graze, in the morning the muleteers have only to lead
the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle their bells; although
there may be two or three hundred together, each mule
immediately knows the bell of its own madrina, and comes to
her. It is nearly impossible to lose an old mule; for if
detained for several hours by force, she will, by the power
of smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the
madrina, for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief
object of affection. The feeling, however, is not of an
individual nature; for I believe I am right in saying that any
animal with a bell will serve as a madrina. In a troop each
animal carries on a level road, a cargo weighing 416 pounds
(more than 29 stone), but in a mountainous country 100
pounds less; yet with what delicate slim limbs, without any
proportional bulk of muscle, these animals support so great
a burden! The mule always appears to me a most surprising
animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason, memory,
obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance,
and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to
indicate that art has here outdone nature. Of our ten animals,
six were intended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes,
each taking turn about. We carried a good deal of food in
case we should be snowed up, as the season was rather late
for passing the Portillo.
March 19th. - We rode during this day to the last, and
therefore most elevated, house in the valley. The number of
inhabitants became scanty; but wherever water could be
brought on the land, it was very fertile. All the main valleys
in the Cordillera are characterized by having, on both sides, a
fringe or terrace of shingle and sand, rudely stratified, and
generally of considerable thickness.
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