The general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and
the stratification very distinct. If the scenery was not beautiful,
it was remarkable and grand. We met during the day several herds of
cattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the
Cordillera. This sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps,
more than was convenient for geologising. The house where we slept
was situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which are
the mines of S. Pedro de Nolasko. Sir F. Head marvels how mines
have been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the bleak
summit of the mountain of S. Pedro de Nolasko. In the first place,
metallic veins in this country are generally harder than the
surrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills,
they project above the surface of the ground. Secondly, almost
every labourer, especially in the northern parts of Chile,
understands something about the appearance of ores. In the great
mining provinces of Coquimbo and Copiap?, firewood is very scarce,
and men search for it over every hill and dale; and by this means
nearly all the richest mines have there been discovered.
Chanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred
thousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was
discovered by a man who threw a stone at his loaded donkey, and
thinking that it was very heavy, he picked it up, and found it full
of pure silver: the vein occurred at no great distance, standing up
like a wedge of metal.
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