A
Never-Failing Source Of Pleasure Was To Ascend The Little
Hillock Of Rock (St. Lucia) Which Projects In The Middle Of
The City.
The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as I
have said, very peculiar.
I am informed that this same
character is common to the cities on the great Mexican
platform. Of the town I have nothing to say in detail: it is
not so fine or so large as Buenos Ayres, but is built after the
same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north; so I
resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excursion
to the south of the direct road.
September 5th. - By the middle of the day we arrived at
one of the suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the
Maypu, a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of
Santiago. These bridges are very poor affairs. The road,
following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of
bundles of sticks placed close together. It was full of holes,
and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a
man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a comfortable
farm-house, where there were several very pretty
senoritas. They were much horrified at my having entered
one of their churches out of mere curiosity. They asked
me, "Why do you not become a Christian - for our religion
is certain?" I assured them I was a sort of Christian; but
they would not hear of it - appealing to my own words, "Do
not your padres, your very bishops, marry?" The absurdity
of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them: they
scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck
at such an enormity.
6th. - We proceeded due south, and slept at Rancagua.
The road passed over the level but narrow plain, bounded on
one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the Cordillera.
The next day we turned up the valley of the Rio Cachapual,
in which the hot-baths of Cauquenes, long celebrated for
their medicinal properties, are situated. The suspension
bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally taken down
during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the
case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross
the stream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for
the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over
the bed of large rounded stones, that one's head becomes
quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive whether
the horse is moving onward or standing still. In summer,
when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable; their
strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be
plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We reached
the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being
confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist
of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table
and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just
without the central Cordillera.
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