I bought four horses and two mules, the latter carrying
the luggage on alternate days. The six animals together only cost
the value of twenty-five pounds sterling, and at Copiap? I sold
them again for twenty-three. We travelled in the same independent
manner as before, cooking our own meals, and sleeping in the open
air. As we rode towards the Vi?o del Mar, I took a farewell view of
Valparaiso, and admired its picturesque appearance. For geological
purposes I made a detour from the high road to the foot of the Bell
of Quillota. We passed through an alluvial district rich in gold,
to the neighbourhood of Limache, where we slept. Washing for gold
supports the inhabitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the
sides of each little rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are
uncertain, they are unthrifty in their habits, and consequently
poor.
APRIL 28, 1835.
In the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the Bell
mountain. The inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very usual
in Chile. They supported themselves on the produce of a garden and
a little field, but were very poor. Capital is here so deficient
that the people are obliged to sell their green corn while standing
in the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year.
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