The Day Was Cloudless, And
Not A Speck Of Snow Fell, But The Temperature Was Low.
It is
probable that the thermometer could not have stood very
many degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on
their bodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in
proportion to the rapidity of the current of cold air.
The gale
lasted for more than a day; the men began to lose their
strength, and the mules would not move onwards. My guide's
brother tried to return, but he perished, and his body was
found two years afterwards, Lying by the side of his mule
near the road, with the bridle still in his hand. Two other
men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of two
hundred mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped
alive. Many years ago the whole of a large party are supposed
to have perished from a similar cause, but their bodies
to this day have never been discovered. The union of a
cloudless sky, low temperature, and a furious gale of wind,
must be, I should think, in all parts of the world an unusual
occurrence.
June 29th - We gladly travelled down the valley to our
former night's lodging, and thence to near the Agua amarga.
On July 1st we reached the valley of Copiapo. The smell of
the fresh clover was quite delightful, after the scentless air
of the dry, sterile Despoblado. Whilst staying in the town I
heard an account from several of the inhabitants, of a hill
in the neighbourhood which they called "El Bramador," - the
roarer or bellower.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 556 of 776
Words from 148994 to 149263
of 208183
