CHAPTER II.

Waters, Earths, Stones, Salts, Bitumens and Metals.

CHILI is a plane very perceptibly inclined towards the sea, and may be considered as a prolongation of the western base of the Andes. From its situation it naturally receives the waters produced by the melting of that immense body of snow that annually falls upon those mountains, while the provinces to the cast are frequently in want of water. The number of rivers, streams and springs, which irrigate the country, is inconceivable. They are to be found in every part, even on the tops of some of the maritime mountains.

SECT. I. Rivers.-It is difficult to determine the number of rivers and streams that have their sources in the Andes; the principal, however, amount to one hundred and twenty-three, fifty-two of which communicate directly with the sea, and convey thither the waters of all the others. Although, from the inconsiderable breadth of the country, the course of these rivers is short, there are several of them that are navigable at least half their distance for ships of the line. Of this number are, the Maúle, in the province of the same name; the Bio-bio, which is two miles in breadth; the Cauten; the

Tolten; the Valdivia, in the country of Arauco ; the Chaivin; the Riobueno, in the country of the Cunches; and the Sinfondo, which discharges itself into the Archipelago of Chiloé.

The course of these rivers is extremely rapid as far as the maritime mountains, where, from the make of the ground, they flow more slowly. The beds are very broad, their bottoms generally stony, and the banks low.

This last circumstance is of great service to the husbandmen, who avail themselves of it to let the water into canals, from which, in times of drought, they water their fields; by this means they are never in want of water, even in the dry season, as the rivers are then always full, in consequence of the melting of the snow on the Andes at that period.*

From the latter part of September to February, the water in these rivers is at its greatest height; their rise is, however, by no means uniform, since some of them are observed to increase most in the morning, others at mid day, and others towards evening; a circumstance which may probably be owing to the greater or less exposure of their springs to the sun. Notwithstanding these floods are copi

The rivers which water and fertilize the whole country upon the western side of the Andes, from whence they spring, are very numerous, and discharge themselves into the Pacific Ocean. The banks, covered with beautiful trees that always retain their verdure, and the clearness and coolness of so many chrystal streams, render this country the most delightful in the world. Its thermal and mineral waters likewise contribute much to the health of the inhabitants.—Colecti's Dictionary of South America; article

ous, they never inundate the adjacent plains, from the beds of the rivers being, as I have already observed, very broad. Though many of these streams appear to be shallow, frequent instances have occurred of persons being drowned who have attempted to ford them on horseback. The common opinion that snow-water produces goitres, appears to be unfounded, if we may be allowed to form a judgment from that of these rivers. Their waters which are excellent, and constantly drank by the inhabitants, cannot be considered as any thing but liquefied snow, yet is this disease wholly unknown in Chili.

SECT. II. Lakes.-Lakes of salt and fresh water are common in Chili. The first are situated in the marshes of the Spanish provinces; the most remarkable are the Bucalemu, the Caguil and the Bojeruca, which are from 12 to 20 miles in length. Those of fresh water are contained in the interior provinces, and are the Ridaguel, the Aculeu, the Taguatagua, the Laquen, and the Nahuelguapi; the two latter, situated in the country of the Araucanians, are the largest. The Laquen, which the Spaniards call the lake of Villarica, is 72 miles in circumference, and in the centre of it rises a beautiful little hill in the form of a cone. The Nahuelguapi is 80 miles in circumference, and has likewise in the middle a pleasant island covered with trees. These lakes are the sources of two considerable rivers; the first of the Talten, which falls into the Pacific Ocean; the latter of the Nahuelguapi,

which empties itself into the Patagonian Sea, near the straits of Magellan. Within the Andes are also many lakes, but they are of little importance.

SECT. III. Mineral Waters.-A country like Chili, abounding in mineral and bituminous substances, must necessarily produce a great number of mineral springs, the virtues of whose waters must have become known to the inhabitants. Gaseous and acidulated waters are common in all the provinces, particularly in the vallies at the foot of the Andes. Some springs are vitriolic and impregnated with iron, others sulphuric or muriatic; their temperature is in general that of the atmosphere; but there are some that are cold in summer, a quality probably derived from their sources being in the vicinity of mines or springs of salt. But as I have never carefully analyzed these waters, I am not able to give accurate information respecting them.

The provinces of Copiapo and Coquimbo are rich in salt springs. In the former, there is a river called from its saltness Salado, which, like the other large rivers, has its source in the Andes, and falls into the Pacific Ocean. The water of this river is very clear and extremely salt; and its specific gravity is, according to the season of the year, from fifteen to eighteen degrees.

The salt chrystallizes naturally upon the shores; it is excellent and fit for use without any preparation, as it is very pure and not mixed with calcareous earth, or any heterogeneous salts. In a valley

of the Andes, inhabited by the Pehuenches, in 34 deg. 40 min. latitude, are eleven springs of very clear and limpid water, which overflows the surface, and becomes crystallized into a salt as white as snow. This valley is about fifteen miles in circumference, and is entirely covered, for the depth of six feet, with a crust of salt, which is collected by the inhabitants in large pieces and used for all domestic purposes. The surrounding mountains afford no external indication of mineral salt, but they must necessarily abound with it, from the great quantities deposited by these springs.

Mineral waters are common in Chili. The most celebrated are those of the Spanish settlements of Peldehues and Cauquenes. The source of the former is on the summit of one of the exterior mountains of the Andes, to the north of St. Jago. It consists of two springs of very different temperatures, one hot and the other cold; the former is sixty degrees above the freezing point by Reaumur's thermometer, the latter four degrees below it. They are about eighty feet distant, and their waters are united, by means of canals, so as to form a tepid bath, which is found very efficacious in many disorders. The water of the hot spring is oily to the touch, and foams like soap suds; it abounds with mineral alkali, which appears to be combined with an unctuous substance in a state of solution. It is clear, inodorous, impregnated with a very little fixed air, and its specific weight is but two degrees above that of common distilled water. Its heat is probably owing to the effervescence of a large body of pyrites