Head: the happy
doom of the Mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle.
MARCH 29, 1835.
We set out on our return to Chile by the Uspallata pass situated
north of Mendoza. We had to cross a long and most sterile traversia
of fifteen leagues. The soil in parts was absolutely bare, in
others covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable
spines, and called by the inhabitants "little lions." There were,
also, a few low bushes. Although the plain is nearly three thousand
feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat, as
well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling
extremely irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel to
the Cordillera, but gradually approaching them. Before sunset we
entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on the
plain: this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up
the house of Villa Vicencio is situated. As we had ridden all day
without a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very
thirsty, and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows
down this valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water
made its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by
degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water appeared;
these soon became connected; and at Villa Vicencio there was a nice
little rivulet.
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