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Show NOlt'l'HERN CHILE. May, 18j5, merly occupied by an arm of the sea, but now by a fresh-water river. In every case it must be remem?ered, that_ the successive cliffs do not mark so many distmct elevatwns, but on the contrary, periods of comparative repose during the gradual and perhaps scarcely sensible rise of the land._ In the valley of Guasco we have the record of seven such mghts of rest in the action of the subterranean powers. MA~ 2lsT.-I set out in company with Don Jose Edwards to the silver-mine of Arqueros, and thence up the valley of Elque or Coquimbo. Passing thr~ugh a mou~tainous country, we reached by nightfall the mmes belongmg to Mr. Ed,vards. I enjoyed my nigJ:t's rest here from a cause which will not be fully understood in England, namely, the absence of fleas ! The rooms in Coquimbo swarm with them; but they will not live at the elevation of three or four thousand feet, even if brought there, as is constantly occurring at these mines. It can scarcely be the trifling diminution of temperature, but some· other cause which is here destructive to these troublesome insects. I spent the greater part of the ensuing day in examining the mines. The veins occur abundantly scattered over several miles of hilly country; yet it is only a few years since that they were discovered by a wood-cutter. The mines are now in a bad state, though they formerly yielded about 2000 pounds in weight of silver a year. It has been said " a person with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may gain ; but with gold he is sure to lose." This is not true : all the large Chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious metals. A short time since an English physician returned to England from Copiap6, taking with him the profits of one share in a silver-mine, which amounted to about 24,000 pounds sterling. No doubt a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is gambling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. The owners lose great quantities of rich ores ; for no precautions can prevent robbery. I heard of a man laying a bet with another that one of his men should rob him before his face. The ore when brought out of the mine is broken into pieces, June, 1835. VALLEY OF. COQUIMBO. 425 and the useless stone thro-w'll on one side. A couple of the miners who were thus employed, pitched, as if by accident, two fragments away at the same moment, and then cried out for a joke, "Let us see which rolls furthest." The owner, who was standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the race. The miner by this means watched the very point amongst the rubbish where the stone lay. ln the evening he picked it up and carried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of silver ore, and saying, "This was the stone on which you won a cigar by its rolling so far." MAY 23n.-We followed up the fertile valley, till we reached an Hacienda, bel<?nging to a relation of Don Jose, where we stayed the ensuing day. I then rode one day's journey further, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells and beans. The former turned out to be so ; the latter were small quartz pebbles. We passed through several small villages; and the valley was beautifully cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. We were here near the main Cordillera; and the surrounding hills were very lofty. In all parts of northern Chile, fruit .. trees produce much more abundantly at a considerable elevation near the Andes than in the lower country. The :figs and grapes of this part are famous for their superiority, and are cultivated to a great extent. This valley is, perhaps, the most productive one north of Quillota : I believe it contains, including Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I returned to the Hacienda, and thence, together with Don Jose, to Coquimbo. JUNE 2n.-We set out for the valley of Guasco, following the coast-road, which was considered rather less desert than the other. Our first day's ride was to a solitary house, called Y erba Buena, where there was pasture for our horses. The shower mentioned as having fallen a fortnight ago, only reached about halfway to Guasco; we had, therefore, in the :first part of our journey a most faint tinge of green, which soon faded away. Even where brightest, it was scarcely sufficient to remind one, of the fresh turf and budding flowers during the spring of other countries. While |