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Show 404 PASSAGE OF CORDILLERA. March, 1835. They are also found in the northern parts of Chile and in Peru. One which I caught at Iquique was yery empty. When placed on the table, and though surrounde~ by p~ople, if a finger was presented, the bold insect would 1mmedmtely draw its sucker make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. No pain was c:used by the wound. It was curio~s to watch its body during the act of sucking, as it changed m less than ten minutes, from being as flat as a wafer to .a globular form. This one feast, for which the benchuca was mdebted to one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months ; but, after the first fortnight, the insect was quite ready to have another suck. MARCH 27TH.-We rode on to Mendoza. The country was beautifully cultivated, and resembled Chile. ~his neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit ; a~d certamly nothing could appear more flourishing than the vmeyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. We bough~ :ratermelons nearly twice as large as a man's head, most delicwusly cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece ; and for the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. The cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small ; there is little more than that which we passed through between Luxan and the capital. The land, as in Chile, entirely owes its fertility to artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how abundantly productive a barren traversia is rendered by this simple process. We staid the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity of the place has much declined of late years. The inhabitants say " it is good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in." The lower orders have the lounging, reckless manners of the Gauchos of the Pampas; and their dress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same. To my mind the town had a stupid forlorn aspect. Neither the boasted alameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable to that of Santiago; but to those who haYe just crossed the unvaried savannahs of grass, on their road from Buenos Ayres, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful. Captain Head, speaking of March, 1835. MENDOZA. 405 the inhabitants, says, " They eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep-and could they do better ?" I quite a~ree ~th Captain Head : the happy doom of the Mendozmos 1s to eat, sleep, and be idle. MARCH 29TH.-We set out on our return to Chile by the Uspallata pass to the northward of Mendoza. We had to cr?s~ a long and most sterile traversia of fifteen leagues. The soil m 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 elevated about three thousand feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful ; this, and the ?louds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling extremely Irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel to the mountains, but gradually approaching them. Before su~set we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, whwh open on the plain : this soon narrowed into a ravine, and a little higher up the house of the Villa Vicencio was situated. As we had ridden all day without a drop of water, _both ourselves and our animals 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 were formed ; these soon became connected, and at Villa Vicencio there was a nice little rivulet. 30TH.-The so]itary hovel which bears the imposing name of Villa Vicencio, has been mentioned by every traveller who has crossed the Andes. I staid here, and at some neighbouri: q.g mines, during the two succeeding days. 'rhe geology of the surrounding country is very curious. The Uspallata range is separated from the true Cordillera by a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in Chile, but with an altitude of about six thousand feet. The range consists of various kinds of submarine lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other remarkable sedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close resemblance to some of |