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THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, 
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} en THE YEARS 1849505152. 


SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS. 
ERATHSONIAN 


THE ANDES AND PAMPAS (PartsI and II) By Lieut. Arcamanp MacRan. 


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INTRODUCTORY. 


The magnetical observations proposed in the programme for the Expedition submitted to the 
American Philosophical Society and Academy of Arts and Sciences, and which was adopted by 
the honorable Secretary of the Navy, contemplated only a determination of the three elements 
on the term-day of each month, with occasional observations on the same days for horary 
changes of the declination. After the instruments arrived, it was found that we might multi- 
ply the number of absolute determinations without adding excessively to our labors; and, con- 
sequently, the experiments were made on the Ist and 11th days of each month also. The three 
years’ results carefully compared would afford interesting data for secular changes; but there 
was yet another question which the Andes might enable us to elucidate satisfactorily—viz: the 
variation of the elements, and more particularly of the total force with distance from the centre 
of the earth. This determined me to place the instruments in charge of Lieut. MacRae, as soon 
as our use of them in Chile terminated, and instruct him to return home via the Cumbre and 
Uspallata passes and Buenos Ayres. The observations indicated to him were for elevation, lati- 
tude, longitude, declination, inclination, and horizontal force of the magnet and meteorological 
data, for each three thousand feet elevation ascending the western and descending the eastern 
slopes of the Andes, and for each hundred miles of longitude between the cities of Mendoza and 
Buenos Ayres. Other information of a geographical and statistical character was specified as 
greatly interesting to numerous classes of our countrymen. 

We left Chile on the Ist of October, but the snow had not sufficiently melted on the pass to 
warrant the departure of Lieut. MacRae from Santiago before the 8th of November. The entire 
journey to Buenos Ayres occupied him about sixty days, twelve of which were employed in ob- 
servations within the Andes. Accidents on two occasions having caused the breakage of his 
mountain barometer, and such injuries to his chronometers as might place the longitudes of his 
stations in doubt, on arriving in the United States, he, with the most laudable zeal, volun- 
teered to retrace the route at his own cost if a new set of instruments could be supplied. 
This, as well as the charges for their transportation, was promptly authorized by the honorable 
Secretary of the Navy; and Lieut. MacRae re-embarked for South America in August, 1853. 
He finally returned in the following March, and shortly afterwards submitted the following 
report of his two expeditions. 

After enumerating the various observations legitimately comprised within the purposes for 
which the Expedition was solicited of Congress, the programme above referred to goes on to say: 
‘«These nine classes or series of observations embrace as great an amount of labor as it will be 
prudent for two observers to undertake, and even its accomplishment must, of necessity, leave 
all reductions until after the return of the Expedition to the United States; but, (whilst I dis- 
claim knowledge of almost every branch of natural history,) as so little has been learned of the 
immediate country we shall probably select, if the collection of specimens at leisure hours, 
remarks concerning the flowering of plants, the migrations of birds, or other designated phe- 
nomena, would be of interest from one so unskilled, the enterprise is embarked upon with full 
determination to gather every scientific fruit that may offer.”’ 

Immediately after arrival in Chile, it was ascertained that, under the liberal patronage of its 
government, no one field of its natural history had been uncultivated, and those who would 


iV INTRODUCTORY. 


follow the comprehensive harvests reaped by M. Claude Gay could be, at best, but gleaners. 
The specimens collected by him during several years of assiduous labor had been sent to Paris 
for description and illustration; and already several octavo volumes of letter-press, with many 
superbly colored folio plates, had reached Santiago. Subsequently, the zoology and botany, 
comprising 16 volumes of text and 224 plates, have been completed. Nevertheless, elaborate as 
his work promised to be, and small as was the probability that we should be able to add any 
mites to the stock of knowledge contributed by him, in the expectation that they would prove of 
interest to the students who seek the National Cabinet at Washington, I lost no occasion to col- 
lect specimens from every available quarter. In this, more than one friend, foreign as well as 
native, aided me; some contributing antiquities, and others rare ores, neither of which are cer- 
tainly attainable except through such influence. To these generous friends, therefore, we are 
under obligation for the especially rare objects described both in the mineralogical and ethno- 
logical reports. Nor did their considerate and kind liberality end with my residence in Chile; 
for more than a year after arriving at home, there reached me a fine specimen of that very 
rare mammal—the Chlamyphorus truncatus—a fossil mastodon tooth, many birds of particular 
interest, and several hundred minerals. 

Moreover, whenever opportunity offered during our three years’ residence abroad, seeds and 
bulbs, or thriving specimens of valuable or curious plants, were forwarded to the conservatory 

‘at Washington; and from there large numbers of useful varieties have already been distributed. 
By authority from the honorable Secretary of the Navy, all the other portions of the collection 
were placed in charge of the Smithsonian Institution, with a request.to distribute them among 
naturalists for proper description, and drawings of every object not previously figured. Ample 
funds were placed subject to the control of the Smithsonian Institution, and it alone is respon- 
sible for the manner in which the work has been accomplished. The enviable reputations of the 
gentlemen selected, is ample guaranty for the fidelity and ability with which their several tasks 
were executed ; and it is hoped that the collection brought home by the Astronomical Expedi- 
tion will not be without value to the naturalists of the United States. 

The ‘‘Anales de la Universidad de Chile,’”’ for June, 1854, reached me after the report on 
minerals had been printed. It contains the first authentic account of the locality where the 
great Atacama meteor exploded, with interesting details, which merit translation and publica- 
tion here for the benefit of mineralogists who may never receive the ‘‘ Anales.’’ The recognised 
ability of the author—Dr. R. A. Philippi—is a sufficient guaranty for the accuracy with which 
he will make known every incident of his journey to that inhospitable region. 

er 


U.S. N. Asrronomican Experpirion, 
Washington, August, 1855. 


CONTENTS. 


REPORT OF A JOURNEY ACROSS THE ANDES AND PAMPAS OF THE ARGEN- 
TINE PROVINCES. 


BY LIEUTENANT ARCHIBALD MACRAE. 


CHAPTER I. 
FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA, BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


Occupation pending my departure, 1; Difficulty in making arrangements for animals, 2; Departure, 3; Santa Rosa, 3; Chacra 
de Montumas, 4; Preparation of food for the mountains, 4; Santa Rosa, 4; Estero de las Cruces, 5; Laderas, 5; Casuchas, 5; 
Glacier, 5; Ojos de Agua, 6; Alto de la Laguna, 6; Mountain lake, 6; Cumbre, 6; Puna, 7; Contrabandistas, 7; Contrast 
between the two sides of the mountain, 8; Casucha de los Puquios, 8; Difference between the streams on the two sides of the 
pass, 8; Fate of the contrabandistas, 8; Hospitality of the arrieros, 9; Inca’s bridge, 9; Cerro de los Penitentes, 10; Tupungato, 
10; Ladera de las Polvaderas, 10; Ladera de las Cortaderas, 10; False sunset, 12; Uspallata, 12; Instance of the value of 
Madrinas, 12; Villavicensio, 13; The plain, 13; Mocking birds, 13; Arrive at Mendoza, 13; Streams passed in the mountains, 
14; Animals and birds, 14. 


CHAP THR 1. 
MENDOZA. 


Plan of the town, 15; Alameda, 15; Sanjon, 15; Bridges, churches, and convents, 15; Style of building, 15; Cheapness of 
living, 16; Government, 16; Health, 16; Goitre, 16; Agricultural resources, 16; Number of cattle sent to Chile, 17; Crimes, 
17; Democracy of the billiard-room, 17; Market, 18; Modes of crossing the country, 18; Galeras, 18; Two-wheel carts, 18; 
Ox-carts, 18; Mule trains, 19; Post-horses, 20. 


CHAPTER III. 
FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


Leave Mendoza, 21; Our party, 21; Chacra of the Aldaos, 21; Hospitality of the Sefiora, 22; Water of the Tunuyan, 22; 
El Retamo, 22; San Isidro, 22; Lombardy poplars, 22; Santa Rosa, 22; A fall, 22; River Tunuyan, 23; Acorocorto, 23; 
Mishaps, 23; Poetry of the peons, 24; Desaguadero, 24; Las Tortugas, 24; Locusts, 24; Represa, 24; View of the Cordillera, 
25; The Bebedero, 25; El Balde, 25; The represa, 25; Arrive at San Luis, 25; An enormous nose, 26; Separate from my com- 
panions, 26; Portrait of Don Manuel, 26; San Luis, 26; Population, 26; General appearance, 26; Soldiers’ costume, 26; Health, 
27; Hotel, 27; Mistake of the cook, 27; Cultivation, 27; Cochineal, 28; Gold mines, 28. 


CiEeACE ie Bick nv’ < 
FROM SAN LUIS TO LOSARIO. 
Leave San Luis, 29; Nature of the country, 29; Our party, 29; Rio Quinto, 29; San José del Morro, 30; Fortifications, 30 ; 


Church without a priest, 30; Population, 30; A New Yorker, 30; Wild horses, 30; Biscachas, 30; Indolence of the arriero 
strikingly illustrated, 31; Achiras, 31; Villa de la Concepcion, 32; Appearance, 32; Population, 32; Don Martin Quefion, 32; 


vi CONTENTS. 


Statistical table, 32; My landlord, 32; An adventure, 33; Adventures of a Dutch cheese, 33; Indians, 34; Christian captives 
among them, 34; Difficulty of obtaining information, 34; Presents from them rather expensive, 35; Agricultural productions, 35; 
Hail-storms, 35; Biscachas, 35; Locusts, 35; Christmas day, 35; Leave the Villa de la Concepcion, 35; Rio Cuarto, 35; 
Unenclosed corn-fields, 35; Huts of herdsmen, 35; La Reduccion, 35; Sickness of one of the mules, 36; Novel cure, 36; Vipers, 
37; Ostrich’s nest, 37; Mosquitos, 37; Gluttony of the arriero, 37; Difficulty of obtaining food, 37; Peje Tree station, 37; 
Almost perfect horizon, 38; Saladillo de Rui Diaz, 38; Fortifications of the Cabeza del Tigre post-house, 39; Rio Tercero, 39; 
Desmochados, 39; Superstition of the people, 39; Arrive at Rosario, 40. 


CHAP Haw Vs 
ROSARIO, AND A VOYAGE TO THE UNITED STATES, AND BACK. 


Description of Rosario, 41; Commerce, 41; Dangers of the road across the pampa, 41; Voyage down the river, 42; Vessel 
load of friars, 42; Bird called the “ Bien te Veo,” 42; Return to the United States, 43; Obtain permission to retrace my steps, 
43; Sail for Montevideo, 43; An over-religious fellow-passenger, 43; Arrive in the Rio de la Plata, 43; Voyage to Rosario, 43; 
Hampered with a Frenchman, 43; New impressions of Rosario, 43; Difficulty of obtaining conveyance to Mendoza, 44. 


Ci AP BUR VE: 
FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


Leave Rosario by post, 45; Post-houses, 45; Armadillos, 46; Saladillo de Rui Diaz, 46; Fraile Muerto, 46; Family of the 
Comandante, 46; Village school, 47; Master of the post at the Arroyo de San José, 47; Violent thunder-storm, and extra- 
ordinary discharges of electricity, 48; Villa de la Concepcion, 49; The landlord and his companion, 49; Labors of the vessel- 
load of friars, 49; San José, 49; San Luis, 50; Boiling-point apparatus, 50; Colonel Baigorri,50; El Balde, 50; Catch a Tartar, 
50; Acorocorto, 51; My man Don Marcos, 51; The Frenchman’s falls accounted for, 52; Arrive in Mendoza, 52.—Resumi: 
Nature of the country, 52; Agriculture, 52; Rivers, 53; Canals, 54; Railroad, 54; Animals, 54; Birds, 55. 


CHAPTER VIL: 


FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO, AND BACK, BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RE- 
TURN HOME. 


Leave Mendoza, 56; Lujan, 56; Singular phenomenon in the valley, 56; Tame ostriches, 57; Passports, 57; Arenales, 57; 
Singular water-fowl, 57; Vegetation, 58; Eastern portillo, 58; La Olla, 58; Fuel, 58; Valley of the Tunuyan, 59; Fate of a 
family caught in the valley, 59; Western portillo, 59; Path down, 60; Singular appearance of the head of the valley of the 
Yeso, 60; Barrier range, 60; Ladera de San Francisco, 61; Rio Maypu, 61; Prosperous condition of the country, 61; Contrast 
with the eastern side, 61; San José, 61; Ride to Santiago, 62; Another characteristic of Chile, 62; Return to San José, 62; 
Snow-storm at the Olla, 62; Lodgings in the mountains, 63; Pass the eastern portillo in a snow-storm, 63; Puna, 63; Invul- 
nerability of arrieros, 64; Arrive at Mendoza, 64; Don Santiago Arcos, 64; Convention of Indians, 64; Information obtained 
from them, 64; Colonel Rivarola, 65; Execution of five men, 65; Boiling-point apparatus, 65; Set out for Santiago by the 
Uspallata pass, 65; Our party, 65; Villavicensio, 65; Uspallata, 65; Specimens of natural history, 65; Almost a disaster, 66 ; 
Cruppers not used, 66; Native mountains, 66; Adventure with a srake, 66; Goitre, 66; Expenses of the two trips across the 
mountains, 67; The maps, 67; Return home, 67; Table of distances by the post-road from Mendoza to Rosario, 63; Aualysis of 
powder collected on the banks of the river Yeso, 68. 


PART I1.—OssERVATIONS. 


Description of the methods of observation, 69; Tables showing the latitudes, longitudes, and magnetical elements of each 
station between Santiago de Chile and Montevideo, 75, 76; Meteorological observations, 76-82. 


INIPIO ID ID IIS | 1D) 
MINERALS AND MINERAL WATERS OF CHILE. 
BY PRO. J. LAWRENCE SMITH. 
General idea of the geology of Chile: Distiibution of minerals, 85.—Goip: Native gold, 87.—Corpxr: Native copper, 87; 


Red copper, 88; Capillary red copper, 88; Atacamite, 88; Copper glance, 59; Erubescite or purple copper, 89; Copper 
pyrites, 9; Arsenical grey copper, $0; Mercurial grey copper, 90; Auntimonial grey copper, 90; Domeykite or arsenical grey 


CONTENTS. Vii 


copper, 91; Olivenite, arseniate of copper, 91; Chrysocolla, silicate of copper, 92; Azurite, blue carbonate of copper, 92; Mala- 
chite, green carbonate of copper, 92; Blue yitriol, sulphate of copper, 93; Volborthite, vanadate of copper and lead, 93; Re- 
marks on the copper minerals, 93.—Siiver: Native silver, 94; Silver glance, sulphuvet of silver, 94; Sulphuret of silver and 
copper, 94; Ruby silver, 94; Antimonial silver, 95; Polybasite, 95; Bismuth silver, 95; Horn-silver, chloride of silver, 96; 
Bromic silver, 96; Embolite, chloro-bromide of silver, 96; Iodic silver, 96; Arquerite, 97; Remarks on the geology of the 
silver ores, 97.—Mercury: Cinnabar, 99.—LeAp: Galena, 99; Mimetene, chloro-arsenate of lead, 99; Vanadinite, 99; Wul- 
fenite, 99; Molybdenate of lead, 99.—Inon: Meteoric iron, 100; Magnetic oxide of iron, 100; Micaceous oxide of iron, 100; 
Gothite, 100; Pyrites, 101; Coquimbite, white copperas, 101; Copiapite, yellow copperas, 101; Arseniuret of iron, 101; Mis- 
pickel, 102; Carbonate of iron and manganese, 102.—Maneanese: Oxide of manganese, 102.—Cozarr: Smaltene, arsenical 
cobalt, 102; Cobaltene, sulpho-arsenical cobalt, 102; Cobalt bloom, arseniate of cobalt, 103.—Nicxer: Nickel glance, 103.— 
Bismurn: Native bismuth, 103—Anrimony: Native antimony, 103; White antimony, 104; Antimony glance, 104.—Arsenic: 
Native arsenic, 104.—Z1c: Blende, sulphuret of zine, 104—Miscerianrous minerats: Lapis lazuli, 104; Calcareous spar, 
105; Dolomite, 105; Heavy spar, 105; Sulphate of baryta, 105; Asbestos, (green,) 105; Tungstate of lime, 105; Lignite, 
105.—Minerat waters: From the baths of Apoquindo, 105; Colina, 106; Cauquenes, 106; Rio de Mendoza, 107. 


APPENDIX E. 
INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 
BY THOMAS EWBANK. 


Introductory remarks, 111; What we may learn of the past, 111.—Meratric mwpiements of Peruvian origin found in Chile : 
Copper axe, 112; Copper chisel, 113; Long bronze knife, 114; A similar but larger implement, 114; Bronze cireular- 
bladed knife, 114; Whetstone, 114.—Portrrery rrom Peru: Unglazed ollas for holding liquids and boiling, 115; Stoppers 
or covers, 115; Evidence that these vessels were partially moulded, 116; Glazed and painted ware from Cuzco, 116.— 
Woopen ware, &c.: A wooden pipkin cut from a single block, 116; Its carving and imitations of hoops, 116; A spoon, 116; 
A bowl, 116; A calabash dipper or drinking-bowl, 116; A box for condiments or pigments, 117; Curious elliptical vessels, 117; 
A plaited rush-basket, 117; A neatly woven water-tight basket, 117; Small rods or sticks for unknown purposes, 117; An iron- 
stone quilley, 117; Bronze bodkin, 117; Primeval needle and its thread, 117; Ornamental cap of knitted or woven llama 
wool, 118; A sling, 118; Portion of the cere cloth, 118.—Contents of a box subsequently received, 118; Metallic knife-blade, 119; 
Fish-hooks, 119; Curious ornamented metallic implement for unknown purposes, 119; Carved mill, 120; Spindle for making 
thread, 120; Quivers of reed and arrows, 120; Primitive adze, 120; Basket-bowl, 121; Earthenware vases, pitcher, and 
bowl, 121; Ornamented tankard, 121; Clothing of llamas’ wool and other materials, 121; Slings, bags, netting, &c., 121; 
A skull, 122; Interest of primitive antiquities to the present generation, 122; Catalogue of antiquities in terra cotta, stone, 
bronze, silyer, and gold, collected in the province of Cuzco and now at Rio de Janeiro, 125-130; Vase bust, 130; Head of 
the jaguar, 131; Flat bottles, 131; Vases, bottles, and drinking-cups, 132; Plates or shallow pipkins, 132; Vessels for unknown 
purposes, 133; Specimens in the cabinet of the Emperor of Brazil, 133; Utensils of stone and wood, possibly mortars or salt- 
cellars, 134; Other implements and utensils of wood and stone, 135; Crucibles, 186; Plasterers’ trowel, 136; Hatchet, 137 ; 
Hammer, 137; Curious box, 137; Singular stone box, 137; Implements of silver, copper and bronze: Official baton, 138; Silver 
plates, 139; Bronze hair-pins, 139; Knife, 139; Small bell, 139; Axe or chopper, 139; War club or pointed mace, 139; Whistles, 
140; Pincers or tweezers, 140; Figures of gold, silver, and champi: Human figures, 141, 142; Llamas, 142; Bag for carrying 
coca or tobacco, 142; Specimens of modern carving in wood, 143; Had the ancient Peruvians potter’s wheels or lathes? 143; 
Distinctive marks for the male descendants of Manco Capac, 144; Style of cutting the hair, 144; Huge ear-ornaments, 144 ; 
The head-dress, 145; What sort of tools had they? 145; Their mode of producing hollow figures, 146; Casting, 147; Patterns 
of wax or other plastic material, 147; Gold, silver, and copper wire, 147; Iron most probably known in the ante-Incan era, 
148; Extraordinary monoliths near Lake Titicaca, 148-150. 


ASPAR ENED ERG IRV: 
ZOOLOGY. 
MAMMALS, BY PROF. S. F. BAIRD. 

Introductory remarks on the animals brought home, 153; Felis concolor, 153; Canis magellanicus, 154; C. Azarae, 154 ; 
Galictis vittata, 155; Didelphys elegans, 155; Cavia australis, 156; Lagidium cuvieri, 156; Spalacopus peeppigii, 157; My- 
opotamus coypus, 157; Hesperomys, 158; Chlamyphorus truncatus, 158; Auchenia Nama, 159-162; List of the Mammalia 
found in Chile, 163-171. 

BIRDS, BY JOHN CASSIN. 


Sarcoramphus gryphus, 172; Cathartes jota, 172; C. atratus, 173; Polyborus tharus, 173; Morphnus unicinetus, 174; Mil- 
vago chimango, 174; Pontowtus melanoleucus, 174; Buteo erythronotus, 175; Elanus leucurus, 175; Circus cinereus, 175 ; 


Vili CONTENTS. 


C. macropterus, 175; Falco nigriceps, 176; Tinnunculus sparverius, 176; Hypotriorchis femoralis, 177; Strix perlata, 177; Bubo 
crassirostris, 177; Otus brachyotus, 177; Athene cunicularia, 178; Glaucidium nanum, 178; Psaracolius cureus, 178; Age- 
laius thilius, 179; Sturnella militaris, 179; Phrygilus fruticeti, 179; P. unicolor, 180; P. diuca, 180; P. gayi, 180; Zonotrichia 
matutina, 180; Crithagra luteiventris, 181; Chrysomitris atratus, 181; C. marginalis, 181; Calliste cyanicollis, 181; C. larvata, 
182; C. gyroloides, 182; C. desmarestii, 182; Euphonia rufiventris, 182; Chlorophonia occipitalis, 182; Phytotoma rara, 
183; Agriornis lividus, 183; Mimus thenca, 183; Merula falklandica, 183; M. fuscater, 184; Pteroptochus megapodius, 184; 
P. albicollis, 184; Lichenops erythropterus, 185; Tzenioptera pyrope, 185; Ptyonura mentalis, 185; P. rufivertex, 186; Cyan- 
otis omnicolor, 186; Stenopsis parvulus, 186; Trochilus gigas, 186; T. galeritus, 187; T. leucopleurus, 187 ; Cinclodes vul- 
garis, 187; C. nigrofumosus, 187; Uppucerthia dumetoria, 188; Ericornis melanura, 188; Synallaxis dorso-maculata, 188 ; 
Scytalopus fuseus, 188; Conurus cyanolysios, 189; Psittacara leptorhyncha, 189; P. smaragdina, 189; Psittacus ochroce- 
phalus, 189; Colaptes pitius, 190; Picus lignarius, 190; Columba araucana, 190; Zenaida aurita, 191; Columbina strepitans, 
191; Thinocorus-orbignyianus, 191; T. rumicivorus, 191; Attagis gayii, 192; Nothura perdicaria, 192; Ardea cocoi, 192; 
Egretta galatea, 193; E. thula, 193; Nycticorax gardeni, 193; Boutaurus exilis, 194; Scolopax paraguay, 194; Rhynchcea semi- 
collaris, 194; Numenius hudsonicus, 194; Calidris arenaria, 194; Pelidna pectoralis, 195; Hiaticula trifasciata, 195; H. azare, 
195; Vanellus cayannensis, 195; Rallus casius, 195; Gallinula crassirostris, 196; Himantopus nigricollis, 196; Fulica chilensis, 
196; Ciconia pillus, 196 ; Ibis melanopis, 197; I. guarauna, 197; Platalea ajaja, 197; Heematopus palliatus, 197; H. ater, 198; 
Phenicopterus ignipalliatus, 198; P. andinus, 198-200; Cygnus nigricollis, 200; Bernicla antarctica, 200; B. magellanica, 201 ; 
B. melanoptera, 201; Mareca chiloensis, 201; Anas oxyura, 202; Anas specularis, 202; A. melanocephala, 202; Querquedula 
cyanoptera, 202; Q. versicolor, 203; Q. ereccoides, 203; Dafila bahamensis, 203; Fuligula metopias, 204; Erismatura ferru- 
ginea, 204; Merganetta armata, 204; Larus glaucodes, 204; L. dominicanus, 204; L. bridgesii, 205; Podiceps leucopterus, 205 ; 
Podilymbus brevirostris, 205; Phalacrocorax brasilianus, 295; B. gaimardi, 206; Pelecanus thagus, 206. 


REPTILES, BY CHARLES GIRARD. 


Barracnia: Family of Ranide, 207; Genus Cystignathus, Wagl., 207; Cystignathus teniatus, Grd., 207; Family of Hylide, 
208; Genus Phyllobates, Dum. & B., 208; Phyllobates auratus, Grd., 209.—Orninia: Family of Viperide, 209; Genus Elaps, 
Schn., 209; Elaps nigrocinctus, Grd., 210; Family of Oxycephalide, 211; Genus Dryophis, Fitz.,211; Dryophis vittatatus, Grd., 
211; Family of Colubride, 213; Genus Tachymenis, Wiegm., 213; Tachymenis chilensis, Grd., 213; Genus Tzeniophis, Grd., 
215; Teeniophis tantillus, 215.—Sauria: Family of Stellionide, 217; Genus Proctotretus, Dum. & B., 217; Proctotretus tenuis, 
Dum. & B., 217; Proctotretus femoratus, Grd., 219; Proctotretus stantoni, Grd., 221; Family of Lacertide, 223; Genus Aporo- 
mera, Dum. & B., 223; Aporomera ornata, Dum. & B., 223; Genus Cnemidophorus, Wagl., 226; Cnemidophorus preesignis, 
B. & G., 227. 


FISHES, BY CHARLES GIRARD, 

Family of Percide, 230; Genus Percichthys, Grd., 231; Percichthys chilensis, Grd., 231; Percichthys melanops, Grd., 233; 
Genus Percilia, Grd., 235; Percilia gillissi, Grd., 236; Family of Atherinide, 237; Genus Basilichthys, Grd., 238; Basilichthys 
microlepidotus, Grd., 238; Family of Siluride, 240; Genus Nematogenys, Grd., 240; Nematogenys inermis, Grd., 240; Genus 
Thrichomycterus, (Humb.) Valenc., 242; Thrichomycterus maculatus, Cuv. and Val., 243; Thrichomycterus macrei, 245; 
Family of Clupeide, 245; Genus Alosa, Cuv., 245; Alosa musica, Grd., 246; Genus Engraulis, Cuy., 247; Engraulis pulchellus, 
Grd., 247; Family of Characini, 249; Genus Cheirodon, Grd., 249; Cheirodon pisciculus, Grd., 249; Family of Myxinoidea, 251; 
Genus Bdellostoma, Mill., 251; Bdellostoma polytrema, Grd., 252. 

CRUSTACEA, BY CHARLES GIRARD. 


Cenobitide Agleide, 254; Aglea levis, Leach, 255; Aglea denticulata, 255; Aglea intermedia, 255; Paleemonide 
Alphein, 258; Rhynchocinetes typus, Edw., 259. 


List or SHELLS BROUGHT HOME BY THE U.S. N. Astronomican Expepition, sy Ava. A. Gourp, 263. 


AP PHN DT X "G: 


List or tHE Driep Puiants, sy Asa Gray, 267-269. 


List or tHe Livinc Prants anv Sexps, gy Wm. D. Brackenriner, 270, 271. 


AP PRN D Pion: 


Foss. Mawmats.—Description of the lower jaw of Mastodon Andium, also of a tooth and fragment of the femur of a Mastodon 
from Lake Tagna-Tagua, by Jerrrres Wyman, 275-281. 


Buea 


LAY eePabddy, 
f 


; “ad ihe ae , 


US _N.Astr’ Expd” Maps and plans N°8. 


MAP 
of the 
USPULLATAsPORTILLO PASSES 
across the 


Cordillera delosAndes 
by 


Lieut. Archibald Mac Rae 


Asst Astr! [:xped” 


(854 


tH 


elas Vacas 


Tupungate 


Drawn by Fr® Herbst CE. 


THE ANDES AND PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER TI. 


° FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


OCCUPATION PENDING MY DEPARTURE.—DIFFICULTY IN MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ANIMALS,—DEPARTURE.— 
SANTA ROSA.—CHACRA DE MONTUMAS,—PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR THE MOUNTAINS.—SANTA ROSA.—ESTERO 
DE LAS CRUCES.—LADERAS —CASUCHAS.—GLACIER.—OJOS DE AGUA.—ALTO DE LA LAGUNA.—MOUNTAIN LAKE,— 
CUMBRE.—PUNA.—CONTRABANDISTAS.—CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OF THE MOUNTAIN.—CASUCHA DE 
LOS PUQUIOS.—DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STREAMS ON THE TWO SIDES OF THE PASS.—FATE OF THE CON- 
TRABANDISTAS.—HOSPITALITY OF THE ARRIEROS,—INCA’S BRIDGE.—CERRO DE LOS PENITENTES.—TUPUNGATO.— 
LADERA DE LOS POLVADERAS.—LADERA DE LOS CORTADERAS.—FALSE SUNSET.— USPALLATA.—INSTANCE OF THE 

MOCKING BIRDS.—ARRIVE AT MENDOZA.—STREAMS PASSED 


VALUE OF MADRINAS.—VILLAVICENSIO.—THE PLAIN. 
IN THE MOUNTAINS.—ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 


A part of your instructions, directing me to inform myself about the course and ultimate ter- 
mination of certain rivers; their capabilities for navigation, &c.; of the moral and social con- 
dition of the people; the prevailing diseases, virtues, and vices of the different communities 
through which I might pass; their mineral and agricultural resources, &c., &c., are too wide 


in their extent for me to furnish, from personal experience during two hasty trips, made with 


very limited means, and more limited knowledge of natural science, any other than a shadow 
of the information desired; and this, meagre as it is, is not-of sufficient importance to be put 
in a separate or tabular report. 3 

In European or North American cities and provinces, registers are kept, containing full in- 
formation on all these points, and there is no difficulty in obtaining it; but in the thinly settled 
provinces of that part of South America through which my road lay, no such records are to be 
had. 

Therefore, after due consideration of these facts, I have concluded that the best I can do will 
be to give my limited information as it was received, in connection with a narrative of my 
journeys. 

The time intervening between the departure of the other members of the expedition and the 
opening of the mountain pass over which I was directed to go, was spent in the enjoyment of 
the posthumous reputation of the party, which, Iam sorry to say, was not very agreeable. 

Our existence had ceased so recently, that people were not yet prepared to occupy themselves 
with more than our faults; and as I was, so to speak, the tombstone on which they read our 


supposed virtues and merits, I had at times to learn that our reputation was not in every respect 
1* 


2 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


equal to what we had expected. Whether the fault was with the ‘‘tombstone,”’ or with the 
departed party, I am unable to say. 

Except the advent of a dead bishop—visiting whom gave me constant occupation and plea- 
sure, till the odor of his sanctity became too great—and an occasional religious procession, 
nothing occurred to relieve the tedium of waiting. 

These processions differ from each other only in the number of saints, sinners, and candles 
used on the occasion, and therefore it is unnecessary to enter into a history of them; a few days 
before my departure, however, I learned of a feature in some of them entirely new to me, which 
may be worth relating. 

On the day preceding that of San Francisco, I met a procession in the street going towards 
the church of that name, having under convoy the most superbly dressed image of a saint that 
I had ever seen. Except for his shaven crown he might have passed for one of the magnificent 
monarchs of the magnificent age of France, but turned out to be San Francisco himself, on his 
way to church to preside over the fiesta of next day. Dofa Francisca de Fulano de Tal had, 
at her own expense, extracted him from his altar in the church and dressed him in this splendid 
manner for tlie occasion. 

Fully impressed, from this circumstance, with the importance of his character, I did not fail 
to attend mass the next day, and found that I was not the only person attracted by the finery 
of his dress. Old women and young women, priests and priestlings, were enthusiastic in their 
devotions; and even San Antonio himself, who is the patron saint of marriages, lovers, and 
sailors, was almost entirely neglected. 

On the following day, as I was going up a retired by-street, I met four peons trotting hastily 
along with an exceedingly dilapidated looking saint on a litter, whom, upon examination, I 
found to be no other than my quondam acquaintance San Francisco; but so ragged and dirty 
in his appearance that he was evidently ashamed of himself, and did not wish to be recognised. 

On inquiry I learned that his rich robes had been taken off in order to preserve them for the 
next annual fiesta; Dofia Francisca de Fulano de Tal having no idea of allowing him to lux- 
uriate in fine clothes except on that day, when he was particularly her patron. 

The only real occupation I had, pending my departure, was to get a travelling rate for the 
pocket chronometers, and make arrangements for mules to take me to Mendoza. The first I 
endeavored to accomplish by wearing the three chronometers on my person in the same position 
I proposed to carry them in travelling, and making it a point to ride and walk about a good 
deal every day. Isoon found, however, that two of them performed so irregularly as to be 
nearly useless for the determination of longitudes. 

To obtain mules at anything like a reasonable rate was much more difficult, particularly as I 
had to stipulate that we should stop when and where I pleased; and my difficulties were 
increased by the manceuvres of a noted birlochero named Ascencio Palma, certainly the keenest 
knave in a bargain about horses or gigs I ever saw. His most common trick, when any one 
wished to hire a birlocho (gig) for Valparaiso or elsewhere, was to come himself, make an offer 
at a very high figure, and if he failed in making a contract, retire, advising the applicant to 
give up all idea of the trip, as he certainly would not find any cheaper mode of conveyance. 
Half an hour afterwards some other fellow would make his appearance, and propose to carry 
the voyager for a little less; until, finally, some one would make a really fair offer to those who 
had the patience to wait; and then after the contract was completed, in would walk master 
Ascencio, or ‘‘Chencho’’ as he is called, and the fact would be learned for the first time that 
every one who had offered was his agent. 

Something of this kind was attempted with me. His first proposal, made in person, was to 
take me to Mendoza for $138; but, by the advice of those acquainted with the subject, I declined 
it, and cast about for better terms. In the mean time, a foreign merchant, with whom I had 
long been acquainted, wrote to a friend in Santa Rosa—the headquarters of muleteers—and 
requested him to send down one who would take me over at a reasonable rate. At the end of 


- 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 5 


a week he received an answer stating that there had been but one offer, which was to take me 
on the stipulated conditions for $155—the writer going into a long statement to prove that the 
offer was very liberal; adducing to this effect items unheard of in the ordinary rules of trans- 
portation across the mountains, reminding me forcibly of the story of an old whaler, Christo- 
pher Dolphin by name, who said that when fitting out for his first voyage to sea, the slop-shop 
man, after imposing on him everything of possible utility, recollected that it would be neces- 
sary for him to have a left-handed palm with which to thrust the sail-needle back after he had 
shoved it through with the right. I of course rejected this offer, and afterwards learned that 
as soon as Palma heard of the letter, he had sent his son to Santa Rosa, who had frightened off 
all competitors by stories about the length of time I intended to stop in the mountains, and had 
himself been the bidder. 

I finally made an arrangement for $86 with an honest fellow, who would have taken me at a 
more reasonable rate if I had not been obliged to stipulate about stopping at several points on 
the road. My contract was, to be furnished one saddle-mule and two others for the baggage, and 
be accompanied by the arriero himself and a peon. ‘These were to saddle and unsaddle a me, 
and have all the care of the mules; in addition to which, they were to furnish me with the same 
food they themselves had. 

At length, on or about the 8th of November, the first courier arrived at Santiago reporting 
the cordillera open, and on the 10th my arriero came in with his mules; but the state of my 
health did not permit me to start till the 15th of the same month, when, after taking leave of 
all my kind friends, I set out in company with Colonel Peyton, the American minister to the 
Chilean government, who did me the honor to accompany me a few leagues on the road. We 
parted about eight miles out, and when fairly alone, with nothing to think of but myself, I 
began to be aware that I had undertaken no easy task. I had slung across my shoulders a 
mercurial barometer, an aneroid and a pocket compass, and around my waist three pocket 
chronometers and the little money I possessed; and by the time the sun had reached the 
meridian, these weighed quite enough to make them burdensome. The day was warm and the 
road dusty; and notwithstanding the latter led between finely cultivated fields, with occasional 
country seats in excellent order, long before our arrival at our first stopping place I was essen- 
tially used up, and incapable of enjoying either cultivation or scenery. 

At nightfall we arrived at the Posada (inn) of Chacabuco, where we remained till morning. 
Before arriving, however, I was relieved of part of my load. On mounting at the hill of Colina, 
the aneroid barometer caught in the holsters, broke its sling, and in the fall its chain parted, 
so that, as it was no longer of use, I stored it away with the eee 

On ae morning of the 16th set out again, and very shortly reached the wide range of hills 
called Cuesta de Chacabuco. Passing this, we entered the rich and picturesque valley of San 
Felipe, and a few miles more brought us to a lane called the Calle-larga, or long street, of Santa 
Rosa. Certainly, to the weary traveller no street ever deserved that name more: at first there 
are no houses—only walks enclosing fields and orchards; but at a short distance, houses are 
not unfrequent, and become more numerous up towards a focus, where the presence of a dry- 
goods store, and two or three grog-shops, leads one to suppose that he has finally arrived at 
Santa Rosa. A few squares farther on, however, and the voyager is in the country again. I 
do not know how many of these little eruptions of houses there are, but recollect that after 
repeated disappointments, I began to think the arriero was misleading me, or that no such 
place as Santa Rosa existed. Nevertheless, we did eventually arrive at a town fairly brought 
to a stand near the bank of the river Aconcagua; and I could not help thinking it very fortunate 
that nature had placed this barrier there, as it is impossible to say where the town would have 
got to, but for that stream. 

My arriero lived about three miles beyond, and as all his preparations were to be made there, 
I determined to stop at his farm instead of in the town; so we pushed on, crossing the river at 
a part where stony islands divided it into three streams. This was my first experience in 


4 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


crossing a rapid mountain stream ; and as the Aconcagua in the early part of the spring, when 
the snows begin to melt, is very formidable, it was nearly my worst. At first I looked at the 
river and the mules ahead; but the rapidity of the one, and the slow progress of the others 
over the rounded stones, made me giddy. I could not get rid of the idea that we were all being 
washed down the stream; and if I had not ceased gazing at the rushing water, and looked at 
the sky only, as is common with persons ascending giddy heights, I should have fallen off the 
mule. This is, I believe, the experience of all new hands. 

Each of the streams at the ford was about twenty-five yards wide, two feet deep, and very 
rapid. 

On our arrival at the farm of the arriero, we gave ourselves up to rest for the remainder of 
that day. 

Passed the 17th in making a set of observations—the arriero and his family being occupied 
meanwhile with the necessary preparations for the voyage, which consisted in shoeing the mules 
and getting ready our provisions. The food usual and most adapted to the mountains is 
charqui or dried beef, which instead of being made in junks, like that we are accustomed to see, 
is dried in thin sheets. For use it is either roasted in its ordinary state, or, what is most com- 
mon in the cordillera, baked and afterwards pounded till it is reduced to powder ; and when so 
prepared, nothing more is necessary to make a savory mess of it than to put five or six table- 
spoonfuls in atin pot, break up with it some crackers or bread, and throw in a few slices of 
onion; then fill the pot with boiling water, and after allowing it to steep for fifteen minutes, 
you have as savory and nourishing a dish as can be prepared with the limited amount of 
cooking utensils of a traveller among the Andes. It is probably the food best adapted to the 
thin air of the mountains; and as its bulk is very small, it deserves precedence over all other. 

On the 18th, as we were not quite ready, I rode back to Santa Rosa, and made a set of 
observations for latitude and longitude. As I did not consider my work to commence until we 
entered the mountains, I took no pains to inform myself as to the population of the place, &c. 
Nor did it appear to be a very easy matter, for the town extends over so much ground that it is 
difficult to say where its limits end and the country begins. It has a public plaza, two 
alamedas—shaded, as usual, by Lombardy poplars—at least one chureh, one school-house, one 
inn, and two or three apothecary-shops. The best idea I could form of the condition of the arts 
and sciences was derived from the fact that there was no one capable of repairing the chain of 
the aneroid barometer. The only place in the town where anything of the kind could be done 
was at a silversmith’s, where the principal occupation of the workmen was making ornaments 
for spur and bridle mountings. As for the inn, it was bad enough, and it cost us a good deal 
cf trouble to find it. We asked for it under every possible name we could think of, and at 
length found one person sufficiently intelligent to divine that we meant the ‘‘billar,’’ or billiard- 
room, as it is called, and there we accordingly repaired. The one billiard-table it contained was 
unique of its kind; it was about eight feet Jong and four broad, with pockets large enough for 
a ten-pin ball, and gutters had been worn from the middle of the table towards the pockets. 
At twelve and a half cents for a game of thirty, it appeared to be a profitable piece of furni- 
ture. As for the food, it is only necessary to say that in any house in Chile, however humble, 
the traveller can obtain a good cazuela—a kind of vegetable soup, peculiar to that country—and 
an epicure need not ask for anything better. The ‘‘billar’’ has rooms for lodgers ; but asI did 
not try them, I can only say that they looked uncomfortable. 

November 19, 1852.—Having made all preparations, we set out from the chacra de Montumas 
for the mountains, our party consisting of the arriero, his peon, and myself; and, until we were 
clear of the settlements, there was a boy to lead the madrina (god-mother) or bell-mare. Of 
animals we had three saddle-mules, two burden-mules, a spare one for a change in case of 
necessity, and the madrina. 

Two miles to the southward, on the road to Santa Rosa, brought us to a little settlement 
called La Junta, where we turned off to the eastward, near the north bank of the Aconcagua. 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 5 


For about three miles the road led between cultivated fields and farm-houses, and then entered 
on a stony mule path between two mountain spurs; thence two miles to a small bridge, across 
the Aconcagua, called the ‘‘ Puente de Biscachas,’’ made of two sleepers with cross-logs, and 
without hand-rails. Here the road from Santa Rosa crosses to join-this. The river‘at the 
bridge is about ten yards wide, rapid, and deep. 

At noon we stopped near the resguardo, or custom-house, on the west bank of the Rio 
Colorado—a stream which enters the Aconcagua from the northward. It is crossed by a bridge 
similar to the Puente de Biscachas. At 3 Pp. M., set out again and travelled on, constantly 
ascending and following the bank of the river, to a grove of quillais, near the Estero de las 
Cruces, where we stopped for the night and for work on the next day. 

Crossed a stream near a place on the bank of the river called ‘‘ El Salto del Soldado,’’ where 
tradition tells of a soldier’s having escaped his pursuers by leaping across the chasm in which 
the river-bed lies; then passed another stream on the south side. The hills on each side had 
increased to mountains, but were covered with vegetation nearly to their summits; the bases 
being tolerably well wooded, principally with quillai trees. Passed several huts and small 
farms, and also a short ladera, or road, cut like a shelf in the side of a steep mountain, where 
there is not room at the base for one. There are very few of the laderas dangerous to the trav- 
eller mounted on a good mule; but they are exceedingly perilous looking places, as the mount- 
ain on the one hand rises almost perpendicularly, and the precipice—from which there is no 
wall to guard one—lies on the other ; while below is the rapid mountain stream, rushing along 
over the stones ata distance, in some places, of hundreds of feet. This ladera, called the 
‘‘TLadera de los Quillais,’’ is about six feet wide, except in those parts where the bank has 
crumbled away. 

Near our stopping-place there are two foot-bridges suspended across the stream by hide 
thongs, and on the opposite side of the river is a large furnace for smelting copper ores brought 
from amine near by, while on this side are two or three ranchos where beef and potatoes can 
be had, and also beds of ox-hides under shelter. This rancheriais the resort of smugglers from 
the other side of the cordillera, and the principal use of one of the foot-bridges near it, is to 
pass over smuggled goods—tobacco generally—when there is danger from the custom-house 
officers. 

The occupation of the people appears to be cutting firewood for the furnaces opposite, and they 
bid fair in a short time to leave the country bare of the fine trees which now abound there. 

They appeared to be very hospitable and polite, and invited me to share their meal; but as it 
was the first time I had noticed their style of eating, I preferred taking my dinner in camp. 
Five or six were seated around a very small table, on which was a wooden bowl of beef and 
potato stew; but there were neither plates nor bread, and each one helped himself from the basin 
with a wooden or horn spoon. 

November 20.—After making a full set of observations, packed the instruments, saddled up, 
and at 2.30 p. mM. left camp and travelled till night, when we stopped a short distance beyond 
the first casucha. Passed on the way several streams tributary to the Aconcagua, and also a 
house called the ‘‘Guardia Vieja,’’ where was formerly the custom-house. Road always as- 
cending, and mountains on each side tipped with snow. 

The casuchas are small brick houses with vaulted roofs, built by the old Spaniards for the 
shelter of couriers and travellers who might be caught in snow-storms. Under the Spanish rule 
they were provided with shelves for sleeping on, food, and firewood; but they are now without 
even doors, the wood-work having long since been torn away, and the supply of provisions not 
being kept up. They are so dismal and dirty, that, except in cases of great necessity, travellers 
prefer to sleep outside. 

A few miles before arriving at camp, we saw up a valley to the northward what I supposed to 
be a glacier—a thick shelf of green-looking ice, in a gorge near the summit of the mountains. 

A number of arrieros bound over stopped in company for the night, and we were very gay. 


? 


6 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


November 21.—We were not able to start so early this morning as our companions of the 
night. One of the mules had strayed off, and it was sunrise before we were able to find her by 
dint of ringing the bell of the madrina up the valley. 

At the distance of about two miles we arrived at several springs, called Ojos de Agua, oozing 
from the base of a high mountain on the left. Their waters are supposed to percolate through 
froma lake further up. Near these is the second casucha, called from the springs the ‘‘ Casucha 
de los Ojos de Agua.”’ Afterwards passed another on the west bank of a small stream called the 
Juncalillo. The Aconcagua here loses its name, being formed by the Juncal from the south- 
eastward, and the Juncalillo, or little Juncal, from the northeastward. After crossing the 
latter the road turns to the northeastward, between high ranges of hills, and the ascent becomes 
more steep. At the distance of about two miles it reaches a steep barrier hill, running nearly 
across from the range on the right to that on the left, being only separated from the latter by 
the Juncalillo. <A toilsome ascent of half a mile on the right flank of this brought us to the 
Casucha del Portillo or ‘‘del Alto de la Laguna,’’ near which there is a singular sandy plain, 
half a mile long and a quarter broad. Here we stopped for another set of observations. There 
is in the vicinity no other vegetation than a few low thorny shrubs, with very thin pasturage on 
the skirt of the hills. F 

Wind strong and clear from the westward, and day clear till near sunset, when the sky be- 
came overcast with thin clouds which reflected the sun’s light to the snow on the mountains, 
tinging it with a beautiful rose-color. 

The little valley in which we stopped is perfectly level, and, from the appearance of the huge 
and shapeless rocks that partially surround it, looks as if it was once the crater of a volcano and 
afterwards a lake, until the wash from the hills filled it up. 

About two miles north of it there is a beautiful mountain lake, situated in a valley formed 
by two ranges of mountains and a hill crossing from range to range. As it has no outlet, its 
waters are supposed by the arrieros to ooze through the high range to the westward, and issue 
at the Ojos de Agua. On aclear day it has the transparently blue color of the sky, and trees 
and vegetation only are wanted to make it a most romantic-looking spot. 

Here, for the first time, I attempted to make use of my tent. It was one of my own inven- 
tion, intended to shelter the instruments from the sun while at work, and myself, during bad 
weather, or at night; but, unfortunately, it turned out to be a failure, and of no value for one 
purpose or the other. The pole was too long to be carried on the mules, and the amount of 
surface exposed to the wind too great for its stays to prevent it from being blown over. 

We nade our fires at nightfall with mules’ dung—the best fuel to be had; and as the wind 
was strong in squalls, our stew was pretty well seasoned with the ashes. These, however, are 
things to which one becomes accustomed. 

All that we saw of animal life, to remind us of the valleys of Chile, were small birds resem- 
bling sparrows in size, form, and color; the only difference being that the males had top-knots 
and a stripe of orange-colored feathers around their necks. They were very tame, and hopped 
about picking up crumbs within a few feet of us. 

November 22.—Concluded my work in the calm of the morning, and at 7 o'clock set out for, 
the Cumbre, or summit of the range, where we arrived about 10 a. m:; but found the wind so 
strong that it would have been impossible to set up the instruments; we therefore retraced 
our steps across the snow to the Casucha de la Cumbre, about half a mile from the pass. 

The road from the Alto de la Laguna, after ascending a tolerably steep hill to the right, 
continues for about three miles up a valley not very steep or stony, passing, about half way, the 
Casucha de las Calaveras, and arrives at the foot of the steep part of what may be called the 
spine of the cordillera. Here there is no longer a stream to follow, but the ascent must be 
accomplished by zig-zags up the ridges. This is necessarily a very slow process, and frequently 
one finds himself but a few feet advanced after toiling over a great deal of ground. 

On this morning we passed, for the first time, several patches of snow in the road, but none of 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 7 


great magnitude until we commenced to ascend the Cuesta de la Cumbre, where in one place 
we had to cross a field a third of a mile wide. This was already undermined by the melting 
snow from the more exposed places above, and our mules frequently sank into it so deep as to 
make it very difficult to extricate them. It was necessary for us to dismount and feel our way 
on foot, and in this exercise I experienced, for the first time, what is called the puna—a diffi- 
culty in filling the lungs in consequence of the rarity of the atmosphere. This is frequently 
accompanied by.partial blindness and vomiting. My attack, however, was very slight, merely 
causing a necessity to halt and pant every fifty yards or so. 

We found in the snow a stray mule, belonging to a train that had passed over early in the 
morning. He was unable to get out, and would probably have died soon; at all events, two or 
three condors appeared to think so, as they were hovering around him in close circles, evidently 
expecting a feast. We extricated him and carried him along with ours. 

The casucha where we stopped for work is situated on a little knoll which was sticking out 
of the snow, like an island. It is a sufficiently inappropriate place for magnetic observations, 
as the cold wind whistles around the corners with such violence as to jar the instruments, and 
render it necessary to make duplicate measures. There was no better place to be found, how- 
ever, and I therefore set to work. The mules were unladen and sent down in charge of the 
peon to where pasturage could be found; the arriero and myself remaining at the casucha. 
As much of the work as possible was completed before dark, but enough remained to detain us 
till next day. 

I have rarely passed so uncomfortable a night, nor one, at the same time, more impressive. 
My face and hands were blistered by the sun and chapped by the cold winds to such an extent 
as to produce fever, and I found it impossible to sleep. Nor did the arriero appear to be any 
better off. He was troubled with what he called the ‘‘ whiffles,’’ which he attributed to drink- 
ing a cup of tea. What the disease is I do not know, but it kept him awake ; and so we both 
got up, made a fire of the tent-pole, and passed the greater part of the night in conversation. 
I volunteered two or three stories to pass away the time; one of which was so very good that 
I am sorry it cannot be given here. At least Joaquin—the arriero—thought so, for he did not 
recover from it for a long time. Occasionally, as we were riding along the next day, I would 
see him check his mule and wait for me to overtake him, when he would ask me a question 
bearing on the pith of the story; but, without waiting for an answer, would trot on ahead 
again, whickering to himself with great satisfaction. 

From time to time our conversation would be interrupted by hearing hoarse shouts on the 
eastern side of the mountain, and pretty soon we would see a long line of cattle coming over 
the summit. On they would come at a slashing pace, followed by ten or a dozen swarthy looking 
centaurs, shouting and stoning them to the path. In a moment the casucha would be sur- 
rounded by them, and then down hill they would go again, helter-skelter and heels over head; 
their drivers only stopping for a moment to light a cigar, or inquire about the condition of the 
road below, and very soon we would be left to the dismal silence of the cordillera. 

There also passed a small train, consisting of some twenty mules, twelve of which were laden 
with tobacco, intended to be smuggled into Chile. The owners of this were very particular in 
their inquiries about the custom-house officers, and went on apparently satisfied with the in- 
formation they had gained, for which they had but little reason, as the sequel proved. 

The night was so beautifully clear that I had the curiosity to set up the theodolite and turn 
on Saturn. With its little telescope—only twelve inches long—I was able to make out the 
rings clearly. ; 

Besides the road by which we ascended the spine of the mountains, there is another that 
branches off about a mile below the casucha and curves the summit farther to the northward. 
The descent on the eastern side by that is better than by this, but it opens later, and at the time 
we passed was impracticable. 

November 23.—Finished work and started for the summit. Having arrived there, we were 


8 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS, 


on the dividing line between Chile and Mendoza, and even from this point a difference could be 
noted. There was no snow in the road on the eastern side, nor was there but little on the hills ; 
and there appeared to be a total absence of those green grasses and mosses which were in sight 
not far down on the Chilean side. 

The height of the pass is twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

On the eastern side the road is very steep for about three quarters of a mile, when it arrives 
at a valley down which runs a muddy streamlet, called the Rio de las Cuevas, on whose bank 
there is a casucha. When we passed there were around this a great number of skulls and 
bones, the remains of a large drove of cattle which was caught in a heavy snow-storm on its 
way to Chile. ¢ 

Turning more to the eastward after passing the casucha, though descending but little, at the 
distance of about three miles we reached the brink of a steep descent, at the bottom of which is 
another casucha. Afterwards entered on a more smooth road, leading down a uniform valley ; 
the hills on each side being covered about half way up with thin pasturage, on which a number 
of guanacos were browsing. They were the first I had seen in the mountains. 

Continuing along the north bank of the Rio de las Cuevas, passing several streams on either 
hand—the principal of which is the Rio de los Horcones, that issues from a deep valley to the 
northward, and also passing a natural bridge across the Cuevas, called the ‘‘Inca’s bridge’’—we 
arrived at the “‘Casucha de las Puquios,’”” where we again stopped for work. Up the valley of 
the Horcones is seen an enormous mountain, which I supposed to be the volcano of Aconcagua, 
but it is called by the arrieros La Torlosa.* 

While at this casucha Mr. Blanchard, late French consul to Valparaiso, accompanied by a 

-Cordovese and several peons, overtook us; they were bound across the pampa, and desired to 
make arrangements for us all to travel together, but unfortunately their baggage had gone on 
ahead, and they could not pass the night with us; so we parted company, promising to meet in 
Mendoza. 

The evening of the day of our arrival and a part of the next was sufficient for me to complete 
my work, though it was done under the usual disadvantages of a strong wind and in the sun- 
shine; but we determined to remain until the following morning, because there is no other 
place between the casucha and Uspallata, except the Punta de las Vacas, a few miles farther 
on, where pasturage can be found free from a poisonous weed, generally fatal to cattle. An 
additional reason for our remaining was, that there was near the casucha a small marshy stream 
of good water, which is unusual on that side of the pass. A singular difference exists in this 
respect between the two sides. On the Chilean, I do not recollect a single stream whose waters 
are not clear and pure; while on the Mendoza side there are only two or three that are not 
muddy, and charged with salt and lime to such extent as to be unfit to drink; the small stream- 
lets generally having their banks covered by a thin, white deposit or efflorescence called by the . 
natives salitre—literally saltpetre—but it isnot pure. It appeared to me to have the taste of a 
mixture of salt, soda and lime. 

Early on the first night of our stay here, one of the contrabandistas who had passed us on 
the Cumbre arrived in a very melancholy mood, and informed us that they had lost nearly all 
their tobacco. It appeared that after they got down on the Chilean side to what was considered 
dangerous ground, one of the party, an old and experienced hand, was sent ahead to reconnoitre 
and make signal to them on the appearance of danger. The custom-house guard to the num- 
ber of about eight men, with an officer, had by some means got notice of the expedition, and 
were in ambush at a part of the road where the look-out must necessarily lose sight of his com- 
panions. He arrived at a point of hills, made signal of the coast being clear, and was proceed- 
ing tothe next point, when the guard took possession of him and carried him out of sight. The 
rest of the party, not suspecting danger, came on and likewise fell into the hands of the guard, 
with all their animals and tobacco, except what was on two mules some distance behind. They 
had time after the surprise to unload these, and hide their loads among the rocks. Every 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. ) 


attempt was made to bribe the officer in charge, but without effect; and I inferred from the con- 
versation between the smuggler and my arriero that he would be assassinated, as one of his 
predecessors had been, for being too honest. 

The hospitality of the arrieros appears to be worthy of remark. Several men stopped here 
by our fire, as elsewhere, to warm themselves, chat or smoke, and there was invariably prepared 
for them, without asking, the best meal our fellows could offer; and as this attention was 
received as a matter of course, I conclude it is a general custom, 


Ny 
I 


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Inca’s Bridge. 

On the 24th, after finishing work, I rode back to the Inca’s Bridge to examine it more fully, 
and to bathe; the latter being very necessary, as I had, by advice, allowed the dirt and grease 
to collect on my face and hands to prevent them from chapping. 

Mr. Darwin says that the bridge was formed by the stream breaking through underneath ; 
but without pretending to controvert his opinion, appearances justify the belief that it was 
formed by the concretion of the water from several calcareous springs in the hill-side, which 
may have gone on forming shelf after shelf, until they reached across. Such a process is now 
going on. 

The length of the bridge is near sixty feet, its width fifty at the northeast end, and seventy 
at the southwest; and its height above the river is about forty feet. On a shelf of rocks under 
it are two boiling springs, which have been hollowed out so as to form baths. The water of 
these has a temperature of 97° Fahrenheit, and tastes like soda-water: the arriero said it was 
purgative ; but I drank a quantity, and experienced no other effect than increased appetite. 


While bathing in the spring, I occasionally got my face into the vapor jetting out with the 
o* 


10 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. 


water, and found great difficulty in breathing, although there was little or no smell of 
sulphur. 

Another place worthy to be seen near the Casucha de los Puquios, is a hill called the ‘‘ Cerro 
de los Penitentes,’’ from the appearance of several isolated and turret-like rocks on it. Seen at 
dusk when the outlines only are distinct, this hill has so perfectly the appearance of a castle 
as to deceive any one who did not know that he was beyond the limits of all castles. 

Considering the breaking of my aneroid barometer as my first misfortune, the second 
happened here. I took the chronometers out, and wound the two silver ones; but as the gold 
one had such a highly burnished case, I stopped to examine in it, as in a mirror, the condition of 
the sores formed on my nose by the sun. ‘I’! e inspection was interesting, and led to so long a 
train of thought as to whether my friends would recognise me, that I eventually forgot to wind 
it, and the next morning found that it had run down. The only remedy was to make another 
set of observations, and trust to the chronometer taking up its old rate from the start. It was 
the only reliable time-keeper I had. 

On the evening of the 25th we again set out, greatly refreshed by the resting spell. A 
distance of about seven miles down a straight valley bounded by nearly uniform hills, brought 
us to the Punta de las Vacas, near which, on the southern bank of the river, is the last casu- 
cha; and on the left of the road are the ruins of a stone hut, formerly the Guardia, or toll-gate. 
Vegetation became more abundant and varied as we descended. Besides the thin grass and 
weeds we had seen before, there were two classes of low bushes; one, somewhat resembling 
myrtle, is, I believe, called the Chilea, and the other Jarilla. The latter was in bloom, its 
leaves and flowers being arranged in palm-shaped branches, and the flowers almost invariably 
towards the eastward, probably for protection from the wind, which is generally from the 
opposite direction. 

After passing the ruins of the Guardia Vieja, the road crosses the Punta de las Vacas, and 
at a short distance is in front of one of the finest views in the cordillera. To the southward is 
a long valley, down which flows the Rio de Tupungato, a stream tributary to the Cuevas, taking 
its rise at the base of a majestic mountain called Tupungato. (See wood-cut, opposite.) 

This appears to lie midway between the two ranges bounding the river, and to block up the 
valley at that point. Its summit is nearly hemispherical in form, and covered with perpetual 
snow, and there is a quiet grandeur about it, as seen from this place, far exceeding anything 
else in this pass. 

A short distance from the point we forded the Rio de las Vacas, the most formidable stream, 
not bridged, in the mountains.* At its junction the main stream loses its name, and from the 
Rio de la Cuevas becomes the Rio de Mendoza. Crossed the Ladera de las Vacas, and arrived 
at the Pefion Rasgado. This is a large rock, split both latitudinally and longitudinally, which, 
like a quartered orange, appears to be on the point of falling apart. From here to the Ladera 
de las Polvaderas there is nothing worth noting. There is, or was, in this ladera a very start- 
ling place called La Caleta. The path sweeps up the skirt of a hill, which at the commence- 
ment is not very precipitous on one hand or the other, but at the distance of about a third of a 
mile it becomes almost perpendicular, and just in the worst part the road turns abruptly behind 
a large rock and enters a few paces into the mountain. Overhead is a jutting rock, which, 
although high enough, does not appear so, and the rider mechanically dips his head to avoid 
contact. After passing this, there is an immediate descent, by a few rude steps cut in the 
mountain; and before one is aware of it he is again out of the cave, and on the brink of a 
precipice near two hundred feet deep. 

Farther on there is another ladera called Las Cortaderas, which has also its dangerous part; 
being cut into the hill, so that it looks like a tunnel, except that it is open towards the river. 


*T learned that a bridge was being made for this stream in Mendoza, and, on my second trip in the following year, found an 
excellent one erected—the work of my friend, Colonel Rivarola. 
t On my second trip, this plaee was so mueh improved as to be no longer formidable. 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS. ll 


While we were adjusting the girths of our saddles, the two burden-mules went ahead, and met 
a train descending in this tunnel. To pass each other was impossible, and we were all alarmed 
lest they should be knocked over the precipice. They succeeded in turning, however, by bring- 
ing all four feet close together and poising themselves beautifully on the brink of the road, and 
then came trotting back, apparently as much relieved as we certainly were, 


Ee Se 
ROLES Ns 


Valley of the Tupungato. 


I do not think I was ever more provoked by the want of knowledge on the part of the arrieros 
as regarded distances, than I was this day. At the time of starting from the Casucha de los 
Puquios, I was informed that we would go but a short distance and take our meal at the river 
Pichiuta. My habit was to provide myself, before setting out, with crackers to nibble on the 
way; but this morning, in consideration of the short distance, I had neglected it. By noon I 
was quite hungry, and, on inquiry, I was told that we were near the Pichiuta, whose locality 
the arriero indicated by sticking out his chin and saying: ‘‘Un poco mas alla, al otro lado de 
aquella lomita’’—a little farther on, on the other side of that hill. As the hill was near, I 
resisted the gnawing of my stomach for a while; but lost patience after passing not one, but a 
dozen lomitas, and asked the peon to point out the exact place where we were to stop. He 
showed me a hill some ten miles off, and said the Pichiuta was just this side of it. As it was 
now four o’clock in the afternoon—more than twenty-four hours since our last meal—I ordered a 
halt; and we got a pot of charqui soup, made from the muddy and disagreeable water of the 
Mendoza. 

Two hundred yards farther on we arrived at the Pichiuta, a fine stream of clear and excellent 


12 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS, 


water, with pasturage and fire-wood in abundance—altogether a delightful spot for an hour’s 
resting-spell. 

The traveller will save annoyance by not asking distances of the arrieros. They have no idea 
at all, except what is based on the condition of the road and of the animal on which they may 
be mounted. To them, with a good horse on a good road, a place is very near which is very 
far off, on a bad horse or road. Their ‘‘all4 no mas,’’ (just there;) or ‘‘alla-cito,’’ (a little this 
side of just there;) generally turns out to be as far as the eye can reach. 

From the Pichiuta to the table-land there is very little worthy of note. Vegetation increases ; 
several streamlets enter the river from one side or the other; and the mountains decrease in 
height. On entering the table-land near Uspallata, we left the Rio de Mendoza, which flows 
off to the southeastward, and at the distance of about seven miles reached the river and hamlet 
of Uspallata. 

On our way we saw a beautiful false sunset. The sun was below the summits of the main 
range; but some scattered clouds, high overhead, intercepted in part its last rays, and the bright 
and dark streaks of atmosphere converged in the distance to the eastward till they appeared to 
come to a focus at the summit of the range separating Uspallata from the plain, presenting a 
perfect appearance of sunset in that direction. . 

Uspallata is merely a rancheria, consisting of low adobe houses built round a court-yard. 
The principal part of it is divided into small rooms for the accommodation of travellers; these 
have no other furniture than one chair and a very small table in each. Here, as in all the 
post-houses across the country, the bed-place consists of a shelf of adobes against the wall, 
raised about two feet above the level of the floor; this is generally whitewashed, but is not 
covered, even with ox-hides—the general bed of the traveller—it being supposed that he has 
blankets and sheep-skins enough about his saddle-gear to furnish a couch. The building also 
contains the ‘‘guardia,’’ or deputy custom-house, the few soldiers belonging to which are 
quartered in a little detached shed. These are militia, draughted for duty by the month, during 
which time they receive a real, or twelve and a half cents, per diem. 

Around the houses are several large pasture-fields, planted in clover, for the use of cattle 
and mule trains. They must yield a large revenue to the proprietors, as the price was, I 
think, eighteen and three-quarter cents a head per diem; and on the night of our arrival, the 
place was alive with mules and horses. 

On the following morning I saw illustrated, in a most striking manner, the great value of 
the madrinas, or bell-mares. Before daylight the arrieros were out preparing to start; and as 
there were half a dozen trains—some bound east and others west—I supposed it would be very 
difficult to separate them. On the contrary, it was the easiest matter in the world; each arriero 
led off his madrina, tinkling her bell, and in a moment the different troops parted and followed 
after their respective leaders. For this reason the arriero regards the madrina, or rather her 
bell, as the apple of his eye; for, although his mules readily follow the bell on another mare, 
they will seldom follow the mare with another bell. 

The animals most readily trained to this, or, as it is called, ‘‘amadrinado,”’ are the offspring of 
mares and jacks ; those of jennets and horses being apt to leave the drove when there are horses 
in sight, appearing to prefer the company of the latter to that of mules. 

The mule I rode was perfectly amadrinado; and gave me no little trouble whenever I wished 
to stop for a while to make a note. I found it necessary on such occasions to make the arriero 
dismount and hold her; for as soon as the bell-mare was out of sight or hearing, she would 
become exceedingly troublesome, kicking and jumping to an alarming extent, and when turned 
loose would be off at a gallop to join her companions. This is universal with well-trained 
animals. 

The river of Uspallata is about six yards wide, knee-deep, and clear, and its water excellent. 
In it there are quantities of small crabs of a very singular form, and a few little fish resem- 
bling cat-fish. 


.* Seaaiibe: ¥.0 


so ! 


FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS, 1133 


On the morning of the 27th we again set out; and after travelling about fifteen miles to the 
northeastward, along the skirt of the Uspallata range, and gradually ascending, we reached 
its highest point, called ‘‘E] Paramillo’’ par excellence ; for although there are several para- 
millos—places exposed to the cold winds of the mountains—this is perhaps the most exposed of 
them all. Here we fell in with the tail of a snow-storm, which prevented me from seeing any- 
thing more of the nature of the country than that the hills were higher on both sides than in 
the road. 

From this we turned to the southeastward, and commenced to descend by a steep and narrow 
valley with high hills on both sides. Passed two mining establishments, one on the right and 
the other on the left. I believe they are not worked at present; the few peons employed about 
them only picking out enough grains of gold to cover their expenses. Passed also, on the left, 
a high bronze-colored hill called the Cerro Dorado, or gilded hill; and finally, after a ride of 
nine hours, arrived at the high-sounding, but wretched place, Villavicensio. The name indi- 
cates a town, but there is really nothing more than one long hut, divided into two parts, with 
an adjoining shed for a kitchen. The room for travellers is without any furniture except a 
small table and a couple of knotty logs on crutches for seats. Its floor is of earth, and at the 
time of our arrival the rain had leaked through the roof to such extent, that it would have 
served better for a brickyard than a chamber. Add to this, that we could get nothing to eat 
but bad beef and four eggs, and you have a description of Villavicensio as I found it—a place 
rendered notable from the fact that the wife of an English traveller was here confined and 
delivered of a child. How she managed to exist through such a complication of miseries is 
a mystery. If it had been a man, accustomed to all hardships, it would have been a small 
matter; but for a delicate woman to be confined in such a place must have been the acme of 
misery. 

Upon consultation with the arriero, who was as little pleased as myself with the prospect of 
a night’s lodging there, I learned that the mules would be capable of going on as far as Men- 
doza, and after allowing them to graze for a couple of hours wé pushed on. 

A short distance down the valley brought us in sight of the plain, spreading out with un- 
broken horizon from north, around by east, to south. Its appearance is generally like that of 
the ocean; but on this occasion it was particularly so. The sky was entirely overcast, but some 
reflected light fell on the nearer part of the plain, giving to it the appearance of shoal-water. 
Far in the distance to the southward, Mendoza, with its tall poplars, was in sight, requiring 
no stretch of imagination to fancy it a port with shipping ; while, rising above the horizon to 
the eastward, were the peaks of a remote range of hills, finishing the picture in their resem- 
blance to islands. 

On emerging from the mountains we were saluted by the familiar notes of the partridge and 
mocking-bird, giving us assurance that we had arrived at habitable regions. 

I think the mocking-bird very much slandered by those who suppose it to have no notes of its 
own. Here, and elsewhere in those parts of the plain where there are woods, it is common, 
and has many of the same notes that it has in the southern parts of the United States; and it 
certainly has no originals to copy from hereabouts, the country being remarkably destitute of 
warblers. 

By nightfall we were in the well-beaten road, and being desirous to enjoy the luxury of a 
bed under shelter, I left the party behind and pushed on alone—a step I had reason to regret, 
as the distance was so much greater than was anticipated, that I believed I had lost the way ; 
but at length the outer settlements of Mendoza were discovered, and two drunken gauchos 
informed me that I was on the right course. One of them was disposed to be very familiar, 
and leaned on my mule to hold a conversation, which I cut short by spurring ahead and leaving 
him sprawling in the road. Of course I was saluted with very complimentary epithets, which, 
as I was out of reach of their knives, I cared very little for. I should not have been guilty of 
this great discourtesy, but that I was badly scared. It was a late hour and a lonely place; and 


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14 FROM SANTIAGO TO MENDOZA BY THE USPALLATA PASS, 


the gaucho who wishes to commit robbery or murder generally comes close up, assumes a 
familiar manner, asks for a cigar or light, and before the victim is aware, whips his knife out 
from under his poncho and accomplishes his purpose. 

After arriving at the town, I was as badly off as when in the country; it was half-past one 
in the morning, and the streets were completely deserted, so that there was great difficulty in 
finding the hotel. By good luck another drunken man turned up, who, for a consideration, 
showed me the way; and finally, after a ride of eighteen hours, or thirty leagues, I alighted, 
completely knocked up. The worst of it was that I could not get a bed, nor anything to eat or 
drink, and had to put up with saddle-cloths on the brick floor till next day. The men with 
the mules arrived at 6 A. M., and were paid off; and here ended the first part of my journey. 

The principal streams passed in the cordillera are the following—commencing at Santa Rosa : 
Ist. The Aconcagua, whose width where it is crossed by the Puente de Biscachas is about ten 
yards. It is there deep and rapid. 2d. The Colorado, from the northward, which is ten yards 
wide, and not fordable. 3d. The Rio de Gualtatos, from the southward, ten yards wide. 4th. 
The Rio Blanco, from the southward, six yards wide. 5th. The Rio de los Hornillos, 
from the northward, crossed by a bridge. 6th. The Rio del Pejion, from the northward, five 
yards wide. ‘th. The Joncal, from the southeast, at its junction with the Joncalillo, where 
the road leaves it, is about ten yards wide. 8th. The Rio de los Horcones, from the northward, 
about six yards wide. 9th. The Tupungato, from the southward, eight yards wide. 10th. 
The Rio de las Vacas, from the northward, ten yards wide. 11th. The Pichiuta, four yards 
wide. All of these streams are very rapid, and the quantity of water discharged by them 
depends very much upon the season of the year and the hour of the day. In the spring, when 
the snows begin to melt, they are full; and many of them which are insignificant early in the 
morning, are very formidable after mid-day. They are all tributaries either to the Aconcagua 
on the west side, or the Rio de Mendoza on the east. 

Of wild animals, I saw only guanacos, foxes, and mountain rabbits about the size and color 
of rats. 

Of birds, the little sparrows and the enormous condors are the most common; but there are 
also mountain partridges, ducks, and a few hawks. 

The weather during our journey was exceedingly favorable. From our departure from San- 
tiago, till our arrival at Uspallata, we had clouds part of one day only. The wind generally 
sprang up about six o’clock in the morning from the westward, and by nine was blowing half 
agale. Near nightfall it would again die away, and generally during the night there was a 
light counter breeze from the eastward. In Uspallata, and from there to Mendoza, we had 
southeast winds and cloudy weather, with a fall of snow in the mountains. 


CHAPTER Tt. 
MENDOZA. 


PLAN OF THE TOWN.—ALAMEDA.—SANJON.—BRIDGES.—CHURCHES AND CONVENTS.—STYLE OF BUILDING. 
CHEAPNESS OF LIVING.—GOVERNMENT.—HEALTH.—GOITRE.—AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.—NUMBER OF CATTLE 
SENT TO CHILE.—CRIMES.—DEMOCRACY OF THE BILLIARD ROOM.—MARKET.—MODES OF CROSSING THE 
COUNTRY.—GALERAS.—IWO-WHEEL CARTS.—OX-CARTS.—MULE TRAINS.—POST HORSES. 


Mendoza contains a population of about nine thousand. It is laid off in squares of one 
hundred and forty English yards each; the streets running nearly north and south, and east and 
west. One or two of these appear to have been paved in former times, and all have very 
narrow and uneven sidewalks. The western part of the city is bounded by the Alameda—a 
fine walk shaded by poplars, and furnished with stone sofas at convenient distances for the use 
of promenaders. On the evening of feast days a band of music plays here; and this, with the 
facility of getting ices—of which the Mendoginos are passionately fond—from two or three 
cafés near by, attracts nearly the whole population. Horsemen are excluded from the walk, 
but congregate in front of the cafés, and enliven the time by running short races down the road, 
which is separated from the Alameda by a canal or ditch cut from the Rio de Mendoza. This, 
and another canal called the Sanjon, are at nightfall the common bathing places of the popula- 
tion. Sir Francis Head states that he saw here men, women, and children, in a state of nudity, 
bathing in common. Such may have been the case when he passed, but I certainly saw no 
indecent exposure except on the part of small boys, who I believe are the same in that respect 
everywhere. 

The Sanjon is in the eastern part of the city, and separates it from a suburb called La Chimba. 
Across it are two bridges, one square apart; the smaller of which is of wood, on brick piers, 
and was built by a governor by the name of Molina, whose fame is commemorated on its col- 
umns in rather a singular manner. Near the top of each is one large letter of his name, and 
below on tablets are records of some of his good qualities or acts, to read which the large letter 
above is necessary, thus forming a kind of acrostic. The other bridge was built afterwards, in 
a spirit of emulation, by one of Molina’s successors. It isof masonry, very neat and firm, and 
its columns also serve as monuments of departed heroes, whose particularly praiseworthy acts or 
qualities are there recorded. 

The banks of the Sanjon are thickly covered with roses, whose fragrance on summer eve- 
nings makes the bridges a favorite resort for the sentimental. 

There are two plazas in the city; but they have nothing more to recommend them than most 
plazas in Spanish towns—great extent and desolate appearance. In the centre of the principal 
one is adry fountain, guarded by four posts and a chain, to keep it, I suppose, from going to 
the river for a little water. 

Of churches there are several, all of them unfinished exteriorly. There are also four con- 
vents of monks and one of nuns. The inmates of the latter I believe teach female children. 
The usual stories are told about the licentiousness of the friars; but, whether with good founda- 
tion or not I am not prepared to say, as I saw nothing of it. 

The houses, with one or two exceptions, are of one story ; the best of them being flat-roofed, 
but the majority having peaked roofs, thatched, and covered over the thatch with a mixture of 


16 MENDOZA. 


mud and chopped straw, such as is used for making adobes—a style of building that gives a 
very dull appearance to the place. Nearly all of the houses have window-sashes, though very 
few have glass. The government house—which, however, is a private one rented for the pur- 
pose—has, I think, but one window glazed, and in other respects has about it an air of most 
republican simplicity. Indeed, the same may be said of the whole place not only in regard to 
the appearance of the building, but also of the manners of the people. Judging from what I 
saw, there is very little offensive pretension to superiority on the part of those in authority, or 
well to do in worldly goods; and the aristocracy of dress has not progressed so far as to make 
a respectable woman ashamed to be seen in calico, There is, therefore, a greater feeling of 
equality than is usual in so large a community. 

Mercantile business is generally conducted on small capital; and as living is cheap, any 
industrious man may maintain his position and support his family at a very small cost. I 
visited in one or two houses which had fronts of about sixty feet on two streets, and gardens and 
out-houses, covering near half a square ; yet their rents were only five dollars a month, and the 
wages of cooks and men-servants are only*about a lke sum. 

The salaries of public officers are very small, and there does not appear to be the same facility 
for them to accumulate fortunes by dishonest means, as in some other parts of South America. 
The people appear to have but little, or want but little; and notwithstanding they have recently 
been embroiled in civil wars, all party feeling seems to be extinct, and in its place they have 
adopted the harmless idea that Mendoza is a great city, and, from its geographical position, 
destined soon to astonish the world; under which belief they get along as peaceably and happily 
as could be desired even in Utopia. 

The government is representative, but is administered at present rather by traditionary laws 
than by any well established constitution. Since the downfall of Rosas a general call has been 
made for deputies from the several provinces of the Argentine Confederation, and they are now 
waiting for these to form a constitution and code of laws. 

In the formation of laws and enactments relating to the province, the governor has, as in 
Chile, the initiative; or, in other words, he proposes to the provincial congress such as he deems 
necessary, and instances of laws originating with the congress are exceedingly rare. Of the 
health of the city I could learn but little. It was very common to hear people talk of the prev- 
alence of pulmonary diseases ; but an intelligent English physician, of long practice in the 
country, informed me that it was their custom to call everything consumption which they did 
not understand, and that consumption was almost entirely unknown—the place being in reality 
so healthy, that invalids repaired there for the benefit of its pure air. 

Goitre in its ugliest form is very common. It is said that in some parts of Europe this dis- 
ease grows very symmetrically in the middle of the throat, and is considered an ornament, as 
it serves to display fine laces and jewels. In Mendoza it is quite the contrary, being generally 
knotty and on one side ; and not unfrequently there are two—one on each side of the throat ; 
but even in this case the symmetry is spoiled by one being higher than the other. There can 
be but little doubt that it is produced by the use of the water of the Rio de Mendoza, or rather 
of the Sanjon, which comes from the Mendoza, five leagues to the southward, as the disease is 
almost wholly confined to the lower classes, who are unable to pay for the spring-water brought 
inon mules. A few leagues distant, where the water of the Tunuyan is used, it is said never to 
originate.* 

The principal cereal produce of the province is wheat, which grows well and is of good 
quality. Indian corn is also raised without difficulty, but not in large quantities ; so also are 
grapes, peaches, melons, figs, and olives. Indeed, the want of a market is the great obstacle to 
agriculture. Flax grows readily, and is cultivated in small quantities ; but the great source 
of revenue is the alfalfa, or clover of the country. Large numbers of cattle and horses are driven 


* Doctor Day—the English physician previously referred to—assured me that he had known an incipient case of goitre in a 
newly-born infant. 


MENDOZA, 7 


through the province on their way to Chile, and are nearly always detained long enough to 
give them an opportunity of fattening and recruiting before attempting the mountain passes. 
These pay so much per head to the owners of the pasturages for the time they may remain. I 
was told that about fourteen thousand head of horned cattle, fifteen hundred horses, and six 
hundred mules, were sent to Chile in one year, and from observation do not think the account 
exaggerated. Of these, many are lost before they arrive. Some split their hoofs to such an 
extent that they are unable to travel; others die from eating the poisonous weeds on some 
parts of the road; and a few are lost over the precipices. The oxen are always shod on the 
fore feet before they are driven across the mountains ; but notwithstanding the great care taken 
of them, they die in such numbers that the road from the entrance on one side to the outlet on 
the other is perfectly marked out by their skulls and bones. 

From a pamphlet published in Mendoza I translate the following statistical information : 

«Without doubt the most important branch of our external commerce is that of quadrupeds, 
which we carry on with the neighboring republic on the other side of the Andes. From what 
we have been able to gather, there have been exported across the cordillera, between the first 
of May, 1851, and the first of January, 1852, fourteen or fifteen thousand head of horned cattle, 
seven or eight hundred mules, about two thousand horses, and three hundred mares. 

“That which evidently gives most increment to this interesting article of our trade, 
and consequently an augmentation to the public riches of the country, is the consumption and 
sale of alfalfa for fattening the animals sold. The province is opulent in this precious produc- 
tion, and will be doubly so. 

«‘ We have made a calculation from data furnished by competent persons as regards the 
number of cuadras—140 English yards square—of alfalfa cultivated in Mendoza, and this gives 
a result of eighty thousand cuadras. 

“¢ As regards cereals, Nature and the fertility of our soil spread with prodigal hand their 
savory treasures. This branch of our produce is of the most excellent quality, and yields con- 
siderably. 

“¢ By what the table of the annual rent of tithes furnishes we may estimate the amount of the 
harvest of the principal grains thus: Wheat at from ninety thousand to a hundred thousand 
fanegas—(a fanega contains two bushels and a quarter) ; Indian corn about the half, and beans 
about a tenth part of that quantity. 

“¢ The vintage, which has been neglected in the country, has diminished very much in its pro- 
ducts. Nevertheless the table of rents before spoken of warrants us in computing the quantity 
annually made at one hundred thousand arrobas of mosto, or unfermented wine.”’ 

This last item is certainly a great exaggeration. Of crimes the most common in Mendoza is 
theft. Murder, except in brawls, and occasionally for revenge, is very rare; and generally 
speaking, the lower classes, among whom those crimes are usually confined, are a peaceable, 
civil, and good-natured people ; but as they are fond of drink, and all carry long knives in their 
belts, they are sometimes awkward fellows to deal with. 

One thing remarkable from Mendoza to Rosario is the perfect democracy of the billiard-room. 
At pool it is not unfrequent to see a colonel in the same game as the common soldier, the dandy 
with the loafer, or the rich employer with the ragged and dirty laborer. Indeed, the only 
qualification required is the necessary money to enter with, and it appeared that the poor work- 
men who have a fondness for billiards labored all the week to gain a few reals for the pleasure 
of losing it in good company on Sunday. 

Besides billiards, which is the favorite amusement of the young men, card-playing is very 
common among the older ones. At the hotel in which I lived, every evening when the weather 
was good, four or five tables were set out in the patio or court-yard, and by nine or ten o’clock 
they would generally be all occupied by grave-looking old Dons, smoking paper cigars, sipping 
ice cream, and playing a dull and stupid game, somewhat like whist. Their sitting generally 


lasted till one o’clock in the morning, when the old codjers would toddle home. 
3* 


18 MENDOZA. 


In warm weather Mendoza is like a deserted city from about eleven A. M. till five p.m. The 
stores are closed, and people all retire to take the siesta, or pass the heat of the day as best 
suits them. 

From the little I saw of the polite society of the place, 1 was very favorably impressed. 
When walking about the streets at night I could not help learning, however, that the plague 
of pianos was making its inroads. 

The government, although hampered in its means, was endeavoring to improve the condition 
of the roads and bridges. A gang of hands was at work in the mountains clearing the road as 
far as the Cumbre, and a fine bridge was being built, under the direction of Don Carlos Maria 
de Rivarola, for the Rio de las Vacas. I mention this gentleman’s name in order to state that he 
was universally kind and attentive to me, and rendered me any assistance in his power in the 
discharge of my duty. Through his introduction I obtained from an exceedingly interesting 
and amiable lady, with a charming impediment in her speech, the use of a fine shady vineyard. 
Here, under shelter and refreshed now and then by a rum punch or lemonade made by the lady’s 
own hand, I was enabled to complete my work. 

Don Carlos was colonel under Rosas, but for some years has been chief of the engineer depart- 
ment in Mendoza ; and, although never educated as an engineer, he has very excellent practi- 
cal knowledge, and is quite suited to the wants of the country. 

The market of Mendoza is supplied with scarcely anything more than beef, squashes, and 
potatoes. Chickens, eggs, and a few other articles are hawked about the streets, but are very 
scarce. In the hotel the cook came every day to inquire what we would have for dinner ; and 
in answer to our questions as to what she had, invariably said, whatever we wished; but we 
soon found that we must choose only from beef or chicken, eggs or squashes. 

The various modes of crossing from Mendoza to Rosario or Buenos Ayres are, first, in what 
are called galeras—enormous, heavy four-wheel coaches, hung like our stage-coaches, and bound 
and lashed around the spokes and axle-trees in every direction with raw-hide thongs, to 
strengthen them. In some parts of the country—as from Rosario to Cordova, for instance— 
these travel regularly, the passenger paying about fifty dollars for his seat, and having no 
responsibility for the horses or coach. But from Mendoza there is not travel enough to justify 
this, and therefore the usual way is for two or three to club together and purchase a galera. 
As to the cost, I can only give my own experience. Before we had decided how to travel, Mr. 
Blanchard and myself cast about us for one, but could find only one at all fit for the journey 
under four hundred dollars, and this was in a dilapidated condition. 

Harnesses are not necessary for these or any other wheel-vehicle used in the pampa ; so that 
after paying for the carriage, the only other expense is for horses. These are obtained at the 
post-houses at the rate of one real—twelve and a half cents—per league each, except for the first 
post out of the towns, which are generally double rates. The galera requires four horses, each 
of which is mounted by a postillion. They are connected with the carriage by means of lassos 
hooked to the saddle-girths—two alongside of the tongue, and the other two at its end, so that 
it is only a momentary job to change them. When the post is long, it is necessary to have a 
relay or two driven in company, which, of course, increases the expenses. This is perhaps the 
most comfortable, although the most expensive way of travelling. It is also rather rapid, 
the horses being spurred along at a gallop where the road is good, and the post short. 

Besides the galera there is a nondescript vehicle, on two wheels, that looks like a peak-roofed 
house. It has no springs, and is drawn either by horses or oxen, Next comes the ox-cart 
itself, an immensely high and narrow affair, mounted on very large wheels. The wood-work 
of this is necessarily very strong, but the sides and top are of straw, closely woven over half 
hoops. Hach cart is furnished with a large earthen jar, strapped behind, for carrying water—a 
very necessary article, because in some parts of the road they are frequently two or three days 
crossing what are called travesias, places where there is no water to be had. 

These vehicles are generally drawn by three pairs of oxen; the first supporting the tongue ; 


MENDOZA. 19 


the others a little separated ahead, and capable of being let out to some distance when the 
wagon gets into a mud-hole. The object of this arrangement is, that the two front pairs may 
get on dry ground, where they will be able to pull the cart out. The oxen are always yoked by 
the horns, which I do not think preferable to our way. The driver of one of these ox-carts sits 
in front, armed with a short goad for the first pair of oxen; and has control of another long 
enough to reach the head pair, which is slung from the root of the cart in such a manner as to 
be nearly balanced. This is armed with an iron point at the extremity, and has another pro- 
jecting from it at right angles in such a position as to reach the middle pair. Their rate of 
travel is from three to six leagues a day ; and this mode can recommend itself only to a naturalist 
or to a person fond of hunting. Wither of these could have a horse along, and whenever he 
should get tired of the cart, could mount and gallop off in any direction as far as he pleased, 
with a certainty of being able to overtake the train by night. I thought of taking a cart for 
myself and instruments, making it comfortable by half filling it with straw, and learned that 
it would cost me sixty dollars to Rosario; but I had to decline, as the owner of the train would 
not consent either to my going ahead or remaining behind—which would have been necessary, 
as the trains do not halt long enough to accomplish the work I had to do. 

Simple passage in a cart from Mendoza to Rosaria is usually from seventeen to twenty dollars, 
beef included; but the passenger must accommodate himself in the best way he can on top of the 
load. The time of travel between the two places ranges from thirty-five to forty-five, and 
even to sixty days, depending on the state of the road. 

These are the only modes of travel across the pampa by wheel conveyance; but there are still 
three others more usual than either. First, by hiring one mule, or as many as may be needed, 
of a train bound over with produce. In this case, you put yourself entirely under control of 
the capataz, or chief arriero, setting out and stopping when he pleases. The expense is gene- 
rally very small, but is not at all fixed, and the proper price will be about what the shipping, 
or rather muling merchant pays per load, which, I think, is not far from fifteen dollars. <A 
stranger, however, will, in all probability, have to pay more; and if he travel in this way, it 
will be well for him to have a native servant, accustomed to the ways of the road, who should 
be made to provide fresh provisions, whenever they can be had, and carry along a keg or a 
couple of bottles of good water, which must only be used in case of necessity: otherwise he will be 
obliged to put up with one meal of charqui a day, taken, probably, at a pond of stinking water. 
The arrieros generally carry water in a pair of large ox-horns, called chifles, which are hung 
over the crupper of the saddle; and it is almost unnecessary to say, that after riding six or seven 
hours in the sun, with the additional heat of one’s thighs on them, the water, however good 
when first put in, is sufficiently disagreeable. Taking everything into consideration, I think 
this the most inconvenient way of travelling. J met in Mendoza a small party of half-starved 
Italians: they had come from Rosario, with a train of mules partially laden, for the small sum of 
eleven dollars each, including beef on the road ; and their complaints of suffering for want of 
proper food and water were lamentable. I can answer, from experience, that the idea of a 
person who has been brought up to some of the luxuries of life being able to jump, without 
preparation, into the habits of the people of the pampa, is almost, if not quite, as preposterous 
as for him to say, that because cattle subsist on pasturage, he can, Nebuchadnezzar-like, live on 
grass also. It requires a special dispensation of Providence for him to come out safe. 

The difference between the prices of taking mule trains from Mendoza to Rosario, and 
from Rosario to Mendoza, consists in the fact that the first trains take down cargoes of greater 
bulk than they have on their return, and that mules are much cheaper in Rosario than in Men- 
doza. Therefore the capataz of the downward train will take the least number of animals pos- 
sible, knowing that, if any fail, he can purchase and make a profit on his return. Next to 
hiring mules belonging to a train, is to agree with an arriero for the requisite number of 
animals, both biped and quadruped, stipulating that they shall be entirely under the traveller’s 
control. In this case, one may go when and where he pleases, and, of course, must pay accord- 


20 MENDOZA. 


ingly. It is difficult to say what the price ought to be in such a case. When I was looking 
about me for a conveyance from Mendoza to Rosario, the best arriero in the place offered to take 
me, with two loads of baggage, under the above stipulations, for the sum of one hundred dollars; 
and I was led to suppose that he would eventually agree for seventy-five, which I had offered. 
Probably when there are two or three persons together, with a tent and some necessary small 
stores, this, after the galera, would be the most comfortable way of travelling, because one 
becomes accustomed to the men, and, what is more important, to the horse or mule he rides, 
which is not the case in travelling by post—the last to be mentioned of the several modes of 
crossing the country. 

To go by the post does not imply, as one would suppose, going with the mail, and obliged to 
keep pace with the courier. It merely means that, by paying a certain tax for a certificate from 
the administrador de correos, or postmaster general of the province, you are authorized to call 
at the post-houses and demand of the master of the post the number of horses stipulated in the 
certificate, which he is bound to furnish at a fixed price. The privilege is granted to the master 
of the post, in consideration of the advantages he derives from the traffic, which is not inconsid- 
erable in a country where the wages of a postillion rarely exceed five dollars a month, and the 
value of horses is almost nominal. With the exception of the first post out from the seat of 
government of a province or department, which is charged double, the price per league is six 
and a quarter cents for a saddle-horse and twelve and a half for a carriage-horse. In some of 
the provinces, the charge for burden-horses is the same as for saddle-horses, and in others 
double. I paid twelve and a half cents in Santa Fé and San Luis, but in Cordova and Mendoza 
only six and a quarter. The horse ridden by the postillion is also paid for by the traveller, 
who will find it to his convenience, if he be in a hurry, or encumbered with but little baggage, 
to pack his things in a soft valise, which, if not too large, is carried by the postillion across the 
crupper of his saddle. In this way I have seen them carry valises at least three feet long and 
one thick, for which they did not receive a cent beyond the six and a quarter cents per league 
for the horse on which they rode. 

Provided with a certificate from the administrador, for which he has paid one dollar, the tray- 
eller goes to the post-house and notifies the master of the post at what hour he wishes to have 
the horses, and they are brought at the stipulated time. He may then go to the next post-house 
leisurely or at a gallop, as he pleases; and, on arrival, may either call for horses immediately 
or wait any length of time he wishes. 

It is advisable, if one wants good horses, to fee the master of the post, and a feeling of gen- 
erosity will generally suggest a small gratification to the postillion who accompanies him ; but 
for the purpose of obtaining good horses, feeing the postillion is of no use whatever, because he 
is generally occupied preparing for the ride while another is catching them. 

The great inconvenience attending this mode of travel is, that one hardly becomes accustomed 
to his horse before it is necessary to change; and if there is a burden-horse along, the postillion 
from one post may be perfectly versed in arranging the load, and the one from the next know 
nothing about it, so that if it begins to turn on one side there is a deal of trouble to get it straight 
again. Besides this there is another inconvenience. Every man or boy in the pampa rides as 
if he was born to it—which is in reality the case—and they have a thorough contempt for any 
one who does not ride well; so that the chances are rather more than even that the inexpe- 
rienced rider will have the most vicious horse in the drove palmed on him, and if he does not 
get a fall before arriving at the next post it will be little short of a marvel. 


CHAPTER LIT: 
FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


LEAVE MENDOZA.— OUR PARTY.—CHACRA OF THE ALDAOS.—HOSPITALITY OF THE SESORA. — WATER OF THE 
TUNUYAN. — LA RETAMA.— SAN ISIDRO,— LOMBARDY POPLARS.— SANTA ROSA.—— A FALL,— RIVER TUNUYAN.—— 
ACOROCORTO. — MISHAPS.— POETRY OF THE PEONS. —DESAGUADERO. —LAS TORTUGAS. — LOCUSTS. —REPRESA,— 
VIEW OF THE CORDILLERA.— THE BEBEDERO.—EL BALDE.—THE REPRESA,— sued AT SAN LUIS.— AN 
ENORMOUS NOSE. — SEPARATE FROM MY COMPANIONS.——PORTRAIT OF DON MANUEL. — SAN LUIS.— POPULATION.— 
GENERAL APPEARANCE. — SOLDIERS’ COSTUME. — HEALTH, — HOTEL,— MISTAKE OF THE COOK. — OULTIVATION. — 
COCHINEAL.-—GOLD MINES. . 


On the 7th of December I left Mendoza in company with Mr. Blanchard, a Cordovés by the 
name of Figueroa, and young Aldao, the owner of a small train of mules with which he was 
going to the Rio Cuarto for a drove of cattle. He contracted to take us that far at the rate of 
six dollars per mule, and in addition furnish us with beef. 

Our first stage out was made in a nondescript vehicle loaned to Mr. Blanchard by a friend, 
in which we proceeded about ten leagues and stopped at the estate of the Aldaos, where we were 
received with great hospitality by the mother. 

For nearly the whole distance the road leads between rows of poplar trees, bounding wheat- 
fields and pasture-grounds, with houses and grog-shops occasionally. Passed two places 
marked ‘‘Rodeos’’ on the map—the ‘‘Rodeo de la Cruz’’ and the ‘‘ Rodeo del Medio’’—which, 
from their high-sounding names, I supposed meant towns or villages; but they are merely con- 
venient places for carts and trains to stop at on account of the water and pasturage. ‘The name 
Rodeo comes probably from the habit of arranging the loads and pack-saddles in a circle, 
when the train stops for the night or siesta; every load being covered by its proper saddle and 
other horse-gear. 

About nine leagues out we crossed the Rio de Mendoza, running to the north-northeastward, 
It is divided here into three streams, about half a mile apart; but a league off on either hand 
they unite. The first stream is about three yards wide; the second, ten; and the third, four. 
Each of them is a foot or eighteen inches deep, and has a very sluggish current. In dry weather 
nearly all the water of the Mendoza is consumed in irrigating the land; but in rainy weather a 
considerable stream finds its way into the lakes of Guanacache, to the southeastward of San 
Juan. These lakes also receive the waters of the river San Juan, and, I believe, of one or two 
other small streams. Fine fish are said to abound in them; one kind, called the trucha de 
Guanacache, being much vaunted for its excellence. The flats between the three streams, into 
which the Mendoza is divided at the ford, are covered with a thin white deposit, called salitre. 
So much of this exists in the earth as to render the river salt before it reaches the lake. 

The soil over which we passed is a fine, loose, and rich one, and of a dark-brown color; want- 
ing only water to make it yield abundant crops. 

Discovered that one of my pistols had either been stolen or lost; which was rather distressing, 
considering the number of stories told of danger from the Indians. 

The chacra of the Aldaos is one of a scattering settlement called “El Barrial,’’ from its being 
very muddy in wet weather. Nearly all the farms (chacras) thereabouts are irrigated by means 
of canals or ditches from the river Tunuyan, which runs to the eastward along the base of a 
low range of hills about eight leagues to the southward. The water of this stream is quite 


22 FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


muddy, but very readily settles when taken out for drinking purposes; differing in this respegt 
from that of the Mendoza, which requires to be filtered before use. 

December 8.—The-first part of the day was rainy, and, as we were very comfortable under the 
motherly care of the Sefiora Aldao, we were in no haste to depart; but about nine o’clock in 
the morning it cleared away in part, and we took our leave. On mounting I discovered that 
my saddle-girths were entirely too large for the mule; but being assured of her perfect gentle- 
ness, I concluded to make them answer till we reached our next stopping-place. So, ‘‘making 
myself light,’’ I jumped into the saddle without using the stirrups, and set out in fine spirits; 
these, however, were not destined to last me all day. 

From the Barrial, travelling through almost continuous lines of Lombardy poplars and fields, 
for about five miles, brought us to another scattering settlement, called ‘‘H] Retamo;’’ and six 
miles farther, through the same class of country, to San Isidro, a counterpart of the Retamo— 
the existence of a shop where aguardiente and knick-knacks are sold appearing to establish the 
identity of a-place, or father of a name. 

In connection with the rows of poplars which form one of the distinctive features of the 
country around Santiago and Mendoza, it is worthy of remark that the first were brought to this 
country about the year 1810; and from this original stock they have been transplanted and 
propagated to such an extent, that they have become the principal ornaments, and, as this is 
almost the only wood known, it is one of the most useful productions of middle Chile and 
Mendoza. 

At about twenty miles from San Isidro we arrived at an estate called Santa Rosa, having a 
good dwelling-house and several ranchos about it, where we stopped for the night. It is two 
miles north of the Tunuyan, and is watered by a ditch cut from that stream. 

For the first few miles the road leads through a partially cultivated country, and after- 
wards through one open, uncultivated, and thinly wooded with small, thorny trees, called 
Chafiares, the highest of which scarcely exceeds twelve feet. On leaving the cultivated country 
we passed a small stream running to the southward, which is singular, because all the rest we 
had seen ran to the northward. This one is the surplus waters from the fields above, which is 
thus returned to the Tunuyan. I mention this to show the flatness of the country. 

About half an hour after leaving San Isidro I checked my mule, and took out a map, for 
the purpose of examining whether the road corresponded with it or not. The wind set the 
paper to rattling, which frightened the animal to such an extent that she ran away. For fear 
of coming into collision with the burden-mules, among which she was running, I turned out of 
the road, sawing on the bridle, at the same time, to bring her up; but the saddle-girths being 
too long, the more I pulled the more the saddle went to her neck, and she eventually stum- 
bled over a bush—myself, the mule, and saddle, going down together, head foremost. I had an 
indistinct recollection of seeing any number of stars and mule’s heels playing about me; and on 
recovering from the stunning effects of the fall, found that I had been kicked lightly on the 
head and ankle, but severely on the knee. The rest of the day’s journey was painful enough, 
but was performed on a very gentle horse. This was my third misfortune, or mismanagement, 
for by it I broke the barometer tube into a thousand pieces. 

One of the old women about Santa Rosa was kind enough to rub my knee, at night, and 
bind it up in salt and aguardiente, which reduced the swelling somewhat before morning. 

It may be as well to remark, here, that the distances I have or may set down, in crossing 
from Mendoza, are merely estimated by the time occupied in accomplishing them, allowing, 
generally, about four miles an hour to the regular walk of the mules; but these distances are 
considerably exaggerated, partly from over-estimate, but principally from the sinuosities of the 
road, 

December 9.—Set out at 5.30 a. M., and travelled twenty miles to the east-southeastward, 
through a country cultivated in some parts, but generally thinly wooded with Chafiares and Reta- 
mos. At the distance of two miles passed the post-house of Santa Rosa; at six miles a rancho; and 


FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 23 


at eight arrived at a scattering settlement called Las Catitas, consisting of some half a dozen 
houses, about which there are afew small, cultivated fields. Turned to the south-southeastward 
at a bridge across a large acequia, or ditch for irrigating, and continued along, between pastures 
on the left, and thinly wooded country on the right, to a farm-house on the one hand, and the 
post-house of La Dormida, off among the woods, on the other;@afterwards, five miles through 
uncultivated country, and around a low hill toa grove of Algarrobas, on the banks of the Tunu- 
yan, where we stopped to get dinner and pass the siesta. 

My leg was very much swollen, and so painful that I was obliged to make a cushion on the 
horse’s neck with a blanket, and ride lady-fashion. The weather till noon was rainy, and the 
road very slippery. Wind from the northward. After noon it cleared up. 

The Tunuyan, at our stopping-place, is a third of a mile wide, full of sand-flats, and appa- 
rently shallow, with a current of about'three miles an hour. A number of ducks and cranes 
were feeding on its flats, and there are said to be fish of good quality in it. 

At 4.30 p. M. set out again, and at 8.30 arrived at a small town called Acorocorto, or La 
Villa dela Paz. The first six miles of the road is by the river, sometimes over its flats, and at 
others through tolerably thick groves of Chafiares, Algarrobas, and Retamos; the remainder is 
at a little distance from the stream, and leads through groves of the same wood. At two-thirds 
of the way passed a couple of huts on the right, occupied by goat-herds; and about three miles 
before arriving we found the guard in one of a collection of huts. Here we were put under 
charge of a soldier, who led us on a wild goose chase through mud-holes and bushes to the 
town, where he left us, after notifying the comandante of our arrival. 

Our first impressions of Acorocorto were anything but favorable. It had rained very hard 
there, and the whole town appeared to be one great mud-pool. The only lodging-place we 
could find was at a wretched pulperia; where, besides the grog-shop, there was but one room, 
which was lumbered with casks of aguardiente, sacks of grease, horse-gear, and a variety of 
other articles. Into this we were all tumbled with baggage and saddles, and passed the night, 
of course very indifferently, the only redeeming point in its experience being a good supper. 
Mr. Blanchard had shot several partridges and plovers along the road, and having found a dry 
spot in the yard on which to make a fire, he turned to—Frenchman-like—and prepared for us a 
most savory mess. 

In addition to the discomfort of our quarters, we had other reasons to be doleful. In the 
efforts to conquer an unbroken mule, one of our best peons, by some inexplicable means, man- 
aged to run a knife through his foot; and on entering the yard of the pulperia, Aldao got a 
severe wound just above the knee-cap, from the roasting-spit, which had been foolishly left 
sticking out from one of the loads; so that we now counted three cripples in three days’ travel. 

December 10.—A fine day rendered our prospect less gloomy; and Acorocorto, instead of 
being a mud-puddle, really turned out to be a town—if the existence of one principal street and 
one or two cross-streets, sufficiently built on to make their limits and direction known, are 
enough to constitute one. It has a large plaza, bounded on one side by the government house, 
embracing the barracks and prison, and on the opposite side by two or three dwellings; the 
two remaining sides being partially marked out by mud-walls. The houses are of one story, 
built of enormous adobes (about four feet long by two feet thick*), are without windows, and 
have nearly flat parapeted roofs. Only one or two in the town are whitewashed. 

I suppose the population of the place and its environs to be about five hundred, including 
some twenty-five or thirty soldiers, kept here by the province of Mendoza—of which this is the 
most easterly settlement—to prevent incursions of the Indians. 

There is but little cultivated land about it, and that is principally planted in alfalfa. It is 
irrigated by water from the Tunuyan, which passes about two miles south of the town. 


* These large adobes are made on the spot they are intended to occupy; and when the first course is sufficiently hardened to 
bear the weight, another course is moulded on top of it, and so on. 


24 FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


While at work in the plaza, an enormous herd of oxen was driven in from the eastward; and 
I had barely time, with the aid of the peon, to pick up my instruments and hobble off before 
they swept, like a living sea, over the very spot we had occupied. From Acorocorto the cor- 
dilla is fully in sight, and as the lower portion is below the horizon, it presents the fine view 
of a barrier, apparently entirely covered with snow: Tupungato, with its hemispherical summit, 
towering above all. 

At 5.15 p. M., having finished work—for which my companions had waited—we again set out, 
and at 8.30 stopped for the night on the side of a little hollow; where, however, there was no 
water to be found. 

Road generally through low bushes—principally jarilla and algarroba; mocking-birds 
abundant, as they have been since leaving the mountains. Found this day, as heretofore, that 
where there had been a deposit of water, there was a thin coating of salitre. 

The distances, as usual, are all gum-elastic; and places said to be four leagues off, may turn out 
to be two or eight. 

Our arrieros and peons were as amusing and light-hearted a set of fellows as I ever met, and 
two or three of them had some pretensions to poetry. As we rode along, in the cool of the 
morning or evening, they would enliven the time by improvising some long-drawn-out song, 
generally referring to their personal adventures, but occasionally conveying a hint that a 
present or treat from their ‘‘patrones’’ would be acceptable. 

Their ordinary style was for one to commence with a lusty interjection of ‘‘4y, que me ha 
dicho ;’’ and after chanting all he might have to say, end with some strongly accented word. 
Another would then take up the song, make some response to the subject of his companion’s 
verse, and finish by rhyming his last word. This in Spanish, where the past participles sound 
so nearly alike, is very easy ; and I have known these fellows goon, alternating in this way, for 
one or two hours together; not making very good music, certainly, but displaying considera- 
ble wit and humor. 

December 11.—Twenty miles from last night’s stopping-place brought us to the Desaguadero, 
a stream which discharges the surplus waters of the ‘‘Lagunas de Guanacache.’’ Where we 
crossed, it was about four yards wide and eight inches deep, with a current to the southward, of 
three miles an hour. It is salt and bitter, except after heavy rains. A few miles to the south- 
ward it unites with a part of the Tunuyan, with which, after spreading out in marshes, it turns 
to the northward and enters a salt lake, called El Bebedero, where it is either absorbed or 
evaporated. 

Two or three leagues to the westward of the Desaguadero, a place is marked on the map we 
had ‘‘Las Tortugas:’’ there is no sign of a habitation on that part of the road, and we should 
have passed without thinking of it, if we had not discovered a terrapin. I suppose the name 
comes from the fact that tortugas (turtle) are found there. It is not at all uncommon to find 
instances of the kind; there are very many places on the maps with imposing names, where 
there is not even a hut. 

The road from Acorocorto to the Desaguadero is over what is called a travesia, or place where 
no water can usually be found; but when we crossed it there was a great deal in many parts of 
the road, from the heavy rains of the two previous days. Country wooded with Chafiares, Reta- 
mos, and Algarrobas. Passed on the road a swarm of large grasshoppers—locusts—apparently 
at war with strange-looking black flies. These were about the size and shape of wasps, and 
had a red spot on their tails. Their hostility to the locusts appeared to be wholly wanton, for 
I could not observe that they did more than kill them. We had before seen myriads of small 
locusts, generally feeding on the leaves of young algarrobas, but had not seen any large ones 
except these. 

After crossing the Desaguadero, which is the dividing line between the provinces of Mendoza 
and San Luis, we proceeded two miles farther, and stopped for dinner at what is called a 
represa—a flat or hollow place, dammed around, so as to contain the rain-water. As the 


a 


» 


FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 25 


represas are not protected by any shade, the water is warm and disagreeable ; but still, it is 
better than that of mud-puddles, from which both cattle and men are frequently obliged to 
quench their thirst. 

From here the cordillera is still in sight, and a view of it bothered me a good deal. At 
Acorocorto I took a general look at the whole chain, and saw -nothing higher than Tupun- 
gato; but just before arriving at the Desaguadero, I turned to look, and discovered that there 
was another peak to the northward, much higher. At first I supposed it to be a cloud; but as 
it did not change appearance, I concluded it was Aconcagua, and determined to take angles 
on it, but on dismounting, found myself too much knocked up with my lame knee ; and before 
I was sufficiently recovered, the cordillera was enveloped in clouds, so that I was left in doubt 
as to whether I had really seen Aconcagua or not. 

At 4p. M. we set out, and at 6.30 camped at the Represa de las Cabras. There is one hut 
at this place. Country as usual. Liebres and large partridges abundant. Grasshoppers in 
myriads. 

December 12.—Started at 2 o’clock A. M., and after travelling twelve miles, passed the Re- 
presa de Chomes, where there are two wretched huts. From this the lake called the Bebedero 
is in sight, about nine miles to the southward. It appears to be nearly circular, and is perhaps 
ten miles in diameter. Thence twelve miles further, brought us to the post-house and represa 
called ‘‘ El] Balde.’’ Country up to this point less thinly wooded. 

This post-house is built of adobes, is square and high like a block-house, and surrounded by 
a stout palisade made of trunks of trees. There are three or four ranchos,about it, in one of 
which dwells the owner of the land bordering the Bebedero. Being referred to him as the 
person best acquainted with the country and streams thereabout, I made him a visit, and, after 
answering the usual questions as to whether I was a medico, or had any remedios, succeeded in 
obtaining the following information: That the Desaguadero, and a part of the Tunuyan, 
enter together a small laguna called the ‘Corral de Tortoras,’’ which is sometimes nearly dry; 
and that from this pond or marsh, a stream flows to the northward, and empties into the lake 
called the Bebedero, or drinker, from which there is no outlet. To account for what becomes 
of the water that enters it, the popular belief was, that there was a whirlpool (resumidero) in 
its.centre, through which it is discharged into the earth. That part of the Tunuyan which 
does not unite with the Desaguadero turns to the southward, and after receiving the waters of 
the Atuel and Diamante, finally ends in a salt lake far to the south. 

From El Balde we proceeded six miles farther, and stopped at a represa. Our road lay 
through a country with very little undergrowth, but with larger trees than any we had seen, 
some of the algarrobas being sixteen inches in diameter, and thirty feet high. Weather warm 
and clear, the thermometer in the shade being 93°, and in the sun 101°—not as comfortable as 
it might be for a ride of nine hours. 

This represa, which is now abandoned, consists of a collection of about a dozen huts, formerly 
occupied by soldiers, stationed there to protect the country from the Indians, and has on its most 
elevated ground the trunk of a large tree, with a scaffolding on tup, where a look-out used to be 
kept. The represa itself—that is, the pond of water—had been neglected so long, it had dwindled 
to a mere puddle, some twelve yards long by three yards wide, and six inches deep. The water 
was perfectly green, and had to be strained through a handkerchief before it was fit to drink. 

Saw a large iguana and a number of liebres in the course of the morning’s ride. 

Twenty miles from the represa brought us to San Luis, where Aldao and myself arrived at 
sunset, having pushed on at a gallop, leaving the rest of the party behind. The country 
through which we passed is more cheerful, the approach to the town being marked, of course, 
by the presence of occasional farms and houses. About half way there is another represa, with 
a few huts in its neighborhood. 

Feeling the effects of the impure water we had drank at the place where we passed the siesta, 


we made if a point on our arrival to call for and drink three several tumblers of water each, 
4* 


26 FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


and by that time we were ina fit state to contemplate calmly the nose of the keeper of the 
hotel, which was of such wonderful dimensions and form as to require one to be perfectly cool 
before approaching it. I have never seen anything, in all my experience, either in nature or 
caricature, equal to it. From the eyes it branched off, and became wider and longer till it 
completely hid the mouth and a great part of the chin. “Its color was of a deep purple; and as 
the owner of this tremendous appendage was so palsied that his nose never would keep still, it 
will readily be believed that it was an object of deep interest to me. 

Our companions arrived at the Fonda about nine o'clock at night, and, being anxious for 
their comfort, I hastened out to welcome them with a large glass of good cool water. Unfor- 
tunately a misstep in the court-yard dislocated anew my knee-cap, which was just recovering 
from the effects of the kick. This determined me to do what I had frequently thought of before, 
viz: to take an arriero and mules for myself, and travel alone, as I had already found that, 
however willing my companions were to stop whilst I did my work, it was annoying to feel that 
I was detaining them, and very fatiguing for me to mount and keep along with them after eight 
or nine hours’ work. Accordingly, on the second day after our arrival, I managed to get to the 
door and see them off, feeling much more friendly towards them at the moment of separating 
than I had done during the trip. 

Before separating, however, I succeeded in getting permission for Mr. Blanchard to take a 
portrait of Don Manuel. This, of course, was rather a delicate matter. As I was to remain 
behind, it was my interest not to offend either the patrén or his family ; but a desire to give to 
the world the picture of a nose which is, I have no doubt, the same that Sterne describes in 
Slawkenbergius’s story, overcame my discretion. Approaching Don Manuel, therefore, I said to 
him, in a most insinuating and deferential tone, I supposed he could not be ignorant of the fact 
that he had a most remarkable feature in his physiognomy ; that I was very far from wishing to 
offend him, but my friend, Mr. Blanchard, being a celebrated philanthropist, had, through life, 
endeavored to do everything in his power to relieve persons suffering under painful or inconve- 
. nient diseases; and having noticed his nose, was desirous to have a picture of it, for the purpose 
of submitting it to a distinguished surgical friend in France, in order to learn the nature of 
and a remedy for the disease. I added, that as Mr. Blanchard had a delicacy in asking, I had 
volunteered to request him-to sit for his portrait. The old Don was overcome by my eloquence, 
and readily consented; and in a few minutes we had a perfect fac-simile (barring the palsy 
movement, which could not be put on paper) of the greatest nose that ever existed. 

“San Luis de la Punta,’’ so called from its being situated at the point of a range of mount- 
ains, is a miserably decayed place, and, to judge from its appearance, must be rapidly decreas- 
ing in population. It is the capital of the province of San Luis, which probably contains fifteen 
thousand souls—the town itself and its environs having about three thousand. It has, of 
course—no Spanish town is without it—its plaza, one side of which is bounded by a barrack and 
a church, both in good repair; on another side by a second barrack and a few one-story adobe 
houses in bad repair; and on the other two, by huts and walls in ruins. The streets are at 
right angles with each other, and in some places have narrow sidewalks, and paved gutters 
in the middle. As the houses are nearly all built of adobe, and very little attention is paid to 
whitewashing or repairs, at least one-third of them appear to be in ruins from the effect of 
the heavy rains of summer. The house of the Governor was the only one I saw built of brick, 
or in thorough repair. Many have window-frames, but I saw no glazed windows. 

There were quartered in the town about fifty soldiers of the line, whose pay was ten reals 
(one dollar and a quarter) per month, and one suit of clothes a year. Their term of service 
depends upon the wishes of the government, as they do not enlist for a fixed period, but are 
draughted. Notwithstanding the smallness of their pay, they were comparatively well dressed, 
and appeared to have an easy time of it. Their uniform was picturesque, and not unlike the 
Greek dress. It consists of a flat cap, (which, if blown out, would resemble’a sugar-loaf,) com- 
mon with nearly all Spanish or Spanish-American soldiers; a close-fitting jacket, the chiripa, 


FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 2G 


and calzoncillas. The chirip4 is generally made of a poncho, or blanket, one end of which is 
tucked under a waist-belt behind, and the other brought down between the legs and tucked in 
over the belt before, in such manner that the whole waist is encompassed by the two ends—the 
middle hanging loosely as low as the knees. Calzoncillas are very wide, loose drawers, 
embroidered and fringed at the foot, but not gathered round the ankles—the amount of em- 
broidery generally depending on the social position of the individual, or upon the state of 
feelings of his female friends or relations, whose principal occupation beyond household cares is 
to prepare them. For boots or shoes, the soldier, as well as the ordinary gaucho of the country, 
uses the skin from the legs of horses or mules. This is cut around near the knee-joint and 
stripped off. The hoof is then removed, and the skin tanned and rubbed until it is pliable. The 
part from which the hoof is taken is sometimes closed, but generally is only gathered in, leaving 
room for two of the toes to stick out—an arrangement very necessary for the use of the stirrups 
of the country, which are so small as not to admit more than the point of the foot; and not 
unfrequently a simple knot in the stirrup-leather serves as a substitute by being grasped between 
the first and second toes. : 

The health of San Luis appeared to be good, and, from all I could learn, no epidemic had 
ever raged there. The secret of this probably consists in the fact that they have no medical 
men whatever, and therefore never yield to imaginary diseases, thus producing real ones. On 
the other hand, they of course suffer actual diseases, without knowing what they are or how to 
cure them. 

I had some medicines with me, which had been brought along to patch myself with from 
time to time, and having no further use for them, was about to throw them away, when a visitor 
in the hotel begged them of me. He only knew that they were ‘‘ remedios,’’ and it was little 
matter to him for what diseases they were efficacious. As they were great specifics, I had no 
hesitation in giving them away, and have no doubt they have effected wonderful cures before 
this time. 

Perhaps I speak too broadly when I say that there were no medical men in San Luis. There 
are certainly ‘‘ curanderos’’ and ‘‘curanderas’’—curers, male and female, who are competent, 
and do treat simple cases. 

There is only one church in the town, which is under the charge of a curate, who is, doubtless, 
a very lazy and greedy fellow, for, on the Sunday I passed in the place, there was only one 
mass, and that at too early an hour for me or any one else to attend who had no obligation to 
prepare for it by fasting. 

But little attention is paid to religion, and less to dress—if the two may be included in the 
same category. 

The hotel, or ‘‘fonda,’’ is, in some respects, better than that of Mendoza. There, at least, 
one gets what he asks for, provided his desires are moderate, whilst, in the latter named place 
there is nothing to be had out of the usual routine of beef, squash, and chicken. It is possible, 
however, that I have made a wrong estimate of the comparative merits of the two, from a curious 
mistake of the cook in that of San Luis. Nothing I could say would convince her that I was 
not a certain Don Guillermo—an American circus-rider, who had passed through with a troupe 
some two or three years before. From some of the attempted attentions of this damsel, I 
formed a very poor opinion of the taste of Don Guillermo. 

The only instance of goitre I saw or heard of, was in the case of this very cook, and she had 
brought it with her from Mendoza. 

Wheat, Indian corn, figs, grapes, and other fruits, are here cultivated for home consumption, 
and could be profitably grown for a market, if there were one at hand. In the vicinity of the 
town, and to the westward, there are not sufficient means of irrigating, and they depend in a 
great measure on rains, which I was told were abundant in summer, but of rare occurrence in 
winter. The farms to the eastward and southward are irrigated by the waters of a small 
stream coming from the mountains. 


28 FROM MENDOZA TO SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA. 


Cochineal is gathered in small quantities in the neighborhood, and sold, I think, very cheap, 
as an old woman brought a cake of it, about the size of my hand, into the shop of a Chilean, 
while I was present, and sold it for twelye and a half cents’ worth of goods. It is, however, 
only collected by the lazy peasants, when they have necessity for a little yerba (tea of Paraguay) 
or tobacco. 

About fifty miles to the northward of the town, and in the range of hills at whose point it is 
situated, are the gold mines of ‘‘ La Carolina,’’? which were formerly worked very successfully, 
but are now nearly abandoned—there being no one about them except a few natives, who live 
in wretched hovels, and collect only gold enough by washing to cover their actual expenses. 


CHAPTER LV. 
FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


LEAVE SAN LUIS,— NATURE OF THE COUNTRY.—OUR PARTY.—RIO GUINT OSS SSN JOSE DEL MORRO.—FORTIFICATIONS,—— 
CHURCH WITHOUT A PRIEST.—POPULATION.—A NEW YORKER.—WILD HORSES.—BISCACHAS.—INDOLENCE OF THE 
ARRIERO STRIKINGLY ILLUSTRATED.—ACHIRAS,——VILLA DE LA CONCEPCION,—APPEARANCE.—POPULATION.—DON 
MARTIN QUENON.—STATISTICAL TABLE.—MY LANDLORD.—AN ADVENTURE.—ADVENTURES OF A DUTCH CHEESE.— 
INDIANS.— CHRISTIAN CAPTIVES AMONG THEM.—DIFFIOULTY OF OBTAINING INFORMATION.—PRESENTS FROM THEM 
RATHER EXPENSIVE.—AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS.—HAIL-STORMS.—BISCACHAS.—LOCUSTS.—CHRISTMAS DAY.— 
LEAVE THE VILLA DE LA CONCEPCION.—RIO CUARTO.—UN-ENCLOSED CORN FIELDS.—HUTS OF HERDSMEN.—LA 
REDUCCION.—SICKNESS OF ONE OF THE MULES.—NOVEL CURE.—VIPERS,— OSTRICH NEST.—MOSQUITOS.— GLUTTONY 
OF THE ARRIERO.—DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING FOOD.—PEJE,TREE STATION,—ALMOST PERFECT HORIZON.—SALADILLO 
DE RUI DIAZ.—FORTIFICATIONS OF THE CABEZA DEL TIGRE POST-HOUSE.—RIO TERCERO.—DESMOCHADOS.—SUPER- 
STITION OF THE PEOPLE.—ARRIVE AT ROSARIO. 


December 20.—Left San Luis at 6 a. M., and at 3 Pp. M. arrived at the Rio Quinto—distance 
estimated thirty-six miles, as follows: Five around the point of the San Luis range, through a 
wooded country, with occasionally huts on either hand; five to two streamlets flowing to the 
southwestward, whose waters are consumed in irrigating the neighboring fields ; and thence, 
at a very short distance, the road emerges from the wooded country, and for twenty-three miles 
leads across the pampa or prairie land, where there are no trees or shrubs, except chafiares and 
algarrobas, at long intervals—the surface being gently rolling, and covered with wire-grass 
about a foot high. Three miles before arriving at the Rio Quinto, there are occasional clumps 
of algarrobas, and ridges of low, rocky hills—some of the rocks appearing to be marble, and are 
of dazzling whiteness. 

Our party consisted of the arriero, his peon, and myself, with only one wretched old horse for 
a change in case any of the animals in use should fail. As for the arriero and his man, they 
were very different from my former companions. The first was very taciturn, and travelled along, 
with his enormous ill-looking facedropped on his breast, looking as surly as a bull, and the only 
words I could ever get out of him were, ‘‘ What did you say, sir?” ‘Yes, sir,’’ or ‘‘No, sir;’’ 
or, if I asked where we would stop, he would answer, ‘‘in such a place,’”’ ‘‘con permiso de Dios 
y Maria santisima’’—never failing to add this devout clause of ‘‘ with the permission of God 
and the most holy Mary.’’ The peon was a fool, and appeared to have no other idea than fear 
of the arriero ; so that I was lonesome enough. 

We stopped for rest, and to eat our dinner on the bank of the river; and after remaining there 
nearly three hours, set out again, and travelled till nine o’clock, when we camped by the road- 
side. The weather during the day was nearly clear, and the sun very oppressive. Wind light 
from the southeastward. 

The Rio Quinto, or fifth river, rises near the Carolina mines, in the mountains north of San 
Luis; and where we crossed it was about twenty-five yards wide and two feet deep, with a current 
of five miles an hour to the south-eastward. Six or eight leagues to the southward it reaches the 
more level land of the pampa: has scarcely any current: spreads out into lagunas and marshes, 
and is lost. There are several ranchos on and near its banks at the ford, with some few small 
corn fields. The people appear to live in great wretchedness, but are very polite and obliging. 
After crossing the river the road leads over rocky hills, thinly wooded with algarrobas and 
chafiares for about six miles, when it again enters on the open pampa. 


30 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


December 21.—Started at daylight, and at 11.30 a. m. arrived at the little town of San José 
del Morro. Weather clear. Wind strong from the northward. At the distance of twelve 
miles from the river we passed a hut, and two miles farther on, a second—there being between 
the two a marshy hollow, overgrown with long grass, called ‘‘cortaderas,’’ from the edges of 
the blades being serrated. Hence this pair of wretched huts, two miles apart, is dignified by 
the name of ‘‘Las Cortaderas.’’ At eighteen miles passed a dry river-bed, which, after leaving 
the cortaderas, is the only break in the plain. About fifteen miles to the northward of this 
there is an isolated range of hills, some ten miles long, lying south-southwest and north-north- 
east. On arriving within three miles of San José the pampa ceases, and the road leads over 
rocky hills to the town. : 

San José del Morro is at the southern point of a range of tolerably high hills, which does not 
appear to be more than sixteen miles long, and tapers to the southward of the town till it 
blends with the plain. Its appellation of ‘‘del Morro’”’ comes from a high and solitary hill 
jutting into the pampa from the range to the southward, which, from its form, is called ‘‘ El 
Morro.”’ Itis acompact place, walled and ditched on two sides to protect it against the Indians, 
the other two sides being partially protected by a small stream of good water; but the absence of 
trees of any kind gives it rather a desolate appearance. It covers about four squares of ground, 
one of which is the plaza. This has a neat+ little church on one side, that, singular to say, is 
without a priest, and depends upon the curacy of San Luis; so that, when there is necessity for 
clerical aid, the inhabitants have to send twenty-four leagues. On my second journey I took a 
letter from a distressed woman to the curate of San Luis, requesting that he would come down 
to perform a marriage ceremony. JBesides the houses in the town proper, there are a number of 
huts scattered about, on the banks of the streamlet. The population is estimated at one thou- 
sand, including in this number some two hundred soldiers, who are quartered there, and in the 
small forts more advanced towards the Indian frontier. 

The best house in the town is that of a ‘‘New Yorker,’’ named Van Sice, who, after establish- 
ing several printing-presses in various parts of South America, and pursuing fortune in other 
honorable ways, finally married an intelligent and very comely native, and settled down in 
San José. His assortment of merchandise was the best I had seen on the eastern side of 
the cordillera, and he appeared to be doing a thriving business. 

Notwithstanding the little attention paid to religion in that part of the country, and the 
great advantage it was for any woman there to obtain a husband so industrious, intelligent, 
and ‘‘well to do in the world,’’ Mr. Van Sice was obliged to turn Catholic, and confess himself 
—or, as he said, tell a pack of lies—before he could be married. I passed the siesta at his 
house, and was very hospitably entertained. 

Nearly all the horses I had seen on the road had very thin tails, and were so different from 
the droves of wild horses I had been led to anticipate, from reading narratives of travellers, 
that I inquired about the matter, and learned that there are no wild horses on the pampa, or, 
at least, none which had not owners; and, as regards their tails, I was told they were plucked 
once a year, the hair being about the most valuable part of them. With the exception of one or 
two droves we passed on the day of our arrival at San Sosé, all that I had seen since leaving Chile 
were very ordinary looking animals. Of horses proper, however, but few were seen, as the 
droves we had passed, grazing on the pampa, were composed almost entirely of brood-mares, 
with their respective stallions. The horses are broken as soon as they are old enough, and 
are either sold to drovers or used for travel, so that they are seldom seen grazing in herds, 
Mares are very rarely ridden, and are only of value for breeding, or for their hair and tallow, 
large quantities of which are exported from Buenos Ayres. 

We saw a great number of biscachas on the road, but they only appeared early in the morn- 
ing or late in the evening, when it was too dark to examine them. During the day they keep 
in their burrows, at the mouths of which little owls are generally perched, apparently on duty as 
sentinels. I suppose that, as they can only see at night, they are kept awake by the darkness 


_ 


FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. am 


of their holes, and therefore during sun light take a nap. After leaving the wooded land near 
San Luis we saw no more large partridges or liebres. 

As it was not certain that Mr. Van Sice would ask me to dinner, I gave the arriero money 
to buy beef, with directions to let me know when it was roasted, in order that, if I failed in 
obtaining somebody else’s dinner, I should have my own to fall back on. In due time, how- 
ever, I partook of a good meal served in the house, and, supposing the men would look out 
for themselves, turned in for a nap. When it was nearly time to start again, I went out, and 
found the arriero asleep under an ox-cart, but without beef. He said he had not been able to 
find any, and that neither himself nor the peon had eaten since the previous day—a matter 
which appeared to give him no uneasiness at all. In answer to my inquiry as to what we were 
to do for dinner the next day, he very coolly said he supposed we should have to ‘‘suffer.”’ 
At the expense of a good growl on his part for the want of endurance of ‘‘los estrangeros,”’ 
I succeeded in persuading him to exert himself, and we procured enough charqui for our neces- 
sities. He was perfectly willing to fast for sixty hours, rather than trouble himself; and as 
the peon was away taking care of the horses, he had no vote in the matter. 

At 6.30 p. M. we left San José, and at 9.30 P.M. camped. The first part of our road was 
over rocky hills, and the last over rolling ground. Passed two or three streamlets running to 
the southward. 

December 22.—At 5 A. M. left camp, and after travelling twenty-four miles, by estimation, or 
thirty-six from San José, we stopped in a small valley watered by a streamlet whose banks are 
shaded by a little grove of willows. This is the dividing line between the provinces of San 
Luis and Cordova, and was one of the most delightful places we had found in which to pass the 
siesta—the water and shade being both equally cool and refreshing. At the distance of ten 
miles from our last night's stopping-place, we passed a low rocky hill lying north and south, and 
at twenty miles crossed a streamlet running to the southeastward, near which there are one 
or two ranchos with small patches of cultivated ground around them. The road leads over 
pampa except at the streamlet, where there are low rocky hills. Wind strong from the north- 
ward. After the siesta set out again, and at the distance of five miles we arrived at the village 
of Achiras: road, as before, leading over rocky lomas tltinly covered with soil, in many places 
entirely bare. Achiras, like San José, is partly surrounded by walls and ditches, which, with 
two little streams, constitute its defences. It is built more scatteringly than the latter, 
and covers a greater space, but I think does not contain more than half the population. It has 
a plaza and chapel, but there is a decayed look about the place very different from the fresh ap- 
pearance of San José. Perhaps the style of building and general aspect of the two places may 
be better understood by comparing San José to a pile of new-made adobes, and Achiras to a 
cluster of old ones, rain-washed. The latter, however, has the advantage of being partially 
surrounded by trees. On the banks of the streamlets by which it is watered, there is a fine 
grove of fig-trees, which very much relieve the otherwise decayed appearance of the collection of 
ruinous, thatched mud-huts. 

While the arriero was procuring food for the following day I rode into the town to obtain 
cigarritos, and was amused at the astonishment and contempt expressed by an old gentle- 
man, to whom I referred for information as to where they could be bought, when he learned 
that I did not know how to make them. After lecturing me severely upon the folly of travel- 
ling in the pampa without carrying my own tobacco and paper, he insisted on my dismounting 
to take a lesson in the art of cigar-making; and when I had acquired knowledge of the modus 
operandi, he made me a present of a few, and started me off, not, however, before I had obtained, 
through the agency of a soldier, a good supply ready made. 

As soon as the arriero was ready—he having procured a sucking calf for food—we continued 
our journey and travelled till ten o’clock, when we camped on the pampa. After crossing the 
streamlets near the town, the road leads for about four miles over rocky hills, similar to those we 
had passed near some of the other streamlets, with the exception that the prominent rocks here, 


32 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


instead of lying horizontally, are inclined to the westward at an angle of about thirty degrees 
from the horizon, the strata cropping out above the road. At the distance of five miles there 
isa grove of willows, and near it is the Rio de la Laja, a small stream, about fifteen feet wide 
and two deef, running to the southwestward. On reaching the level country, this stream, like 
most of the others, is lost in the lagunas and marshes. 

After crossing the river, our road led over pampa, and, at the distance of twelve miles from 
Achiras, we passed a rancho or two called Los Barranquitos. Met a drove of some five hundred 
cattle bound to Chile. 

December 23.—Rain and hail throughout the night, and no shelter. Mosquitos excessively 
annoying. 

Fourteen miles over pampa brought us to a streamlet of brackish water called Arroyo de 
la Lagunilla, flowing to the southeastward ; and thence about nineteen miles over the same 
kind of country to the ‘‘ Villa del Rio Cuarto,’’ or more properly the ‘‘ Villa de la Concepcion.” 
We had passed two huts, one at twenty and the other at thirty miles from our camp of last 
night—the country is diversified by occasional shallow ponds and marshes, around which num- 
bers of deer and guanaco were seen grazing. 

The Villa de la Concepcion is situated near the west bank of the Rio Cuarto or Fourth River, 
and, like other towns on the Indian frontier, is fortified by ditch and wall. These fortifications 
would be of but little avail against soldiers, but are quite sufficient against Indians, whose only 
arms are the lance and the “ bolas,’’ and who always attack on horseback. 

The town is laid off in squares—has its plaza, with a barrack and church on it, as usual, 
and in almost every respect is like others I have described ; the outskirts consisting of sorry 
mud-huts, and the centre but little better, except that its houses are whitewashed and of a 
more regular construction, the best of them having brick floors instead of the bare earth. It 
has not so large a population as San Luis, but is a much more thriving-looking place. About 
five hundred soldiers are stationed there, and in several little forts to the southward, to keep a 
look-out for inroads from the Indians. 

The necessary formality of presenting myself to the official dignitary of the place was more 
profitable to me here than in any other town through which I had passed on the road. It 
gave me the opportunity to make the acquaintance of Don Martin Queiion—the dignitary in 
question—from whom I received many polite attentions, and some information respecting the 
rivers, and which confirmed what I had learned before. Don Martin also gave me the fol- 
lowing statistical table, which I have no doubt is perfectly correct: 


Table of the Population, dc., of the several Towns and Villages of the Depart- 
ment of the Rio Cuarto, in the Province of Cordova, furnished by Don Mar- 
tin Quefion, Jefe Politico del Departamento. j 


& se ||) 3 da iL 

Ra lecten [Preens| (erin ats Ss| ge 

= a o = =] FH 4 ao 

2 2 =) = a 2 S § =o 

I 3 3 = =I = = s = ES 

= S S = S S 2 2 J a+ 

So | = 5 S) A x -) a 5 a 
Villa de la Concepcion. .| 1 217 | 1,222 1,300 | 499 | 3,500 | 37,000 | 38,000 74 | $12,900 
Villadela Carlota . . .| 1 85 | 230 | 255 92 |1,339 | 1,637 | 5,966 21 850 
Fuerte dela Reduccion. .| 1 32 84) 107 42) 27 279 | 1,814 6 
Fuerte de las Achiras . .| 1 75 | 178) 297 92} 287 734 | 2,374 14 1,000 
Fuerte del Rodeo Viejo. . 45 | 114] 128 94 | 438 890 | 3,865 4 


Twas amused at this gentleman’s quiet way of getting rid of my landlord—an officious 
fellow, who pestered me no little during my stay here. I requested Don Pancho—the landlord— 
to show me the way to the government house, and as he was glad of an opportunity to intrude 


FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 33 


himself among his superiors, he insisted upon going with me. All the women in the house 
were called in requisition to fit him out, and half an hour afterwards the illustrious Don made 
his appearance ‘‘dressed to kill’? ina blue broadcloth jacket and pants, and a red gold-laced 
waistcoat; the suit, he told me, in which he had been married, and which he never wore except 
on special occasions. Thus equipped, he set out to accompany me, evidently expecting to be 
treated according to his cloth; the eyes of an admiring mother, wife, and child—to say nothing 
of the cook—following us till we were out of sight. Greatly to his disappointment and 
mortification, he was received in a manner decidedly contemptuous. As soon as he had made known 
the object of my visit, Don Martin invited me into the parlor, and turning to Pancho, dismissed 
him with a ‘‘Very well, my man; the gentleman now knows the house, and you can go.” 
Poor Pancho retired, crest-fallen, and on my return I found him in his dirty every-day suit, 
very much overcome with liquor. 

One of my fellow lodgers at the posada—in which there was only one room for travellers, 
serving as bed-room, dining-room, and parlor—was an old Bolivian, who used to bore me a geat 
deal by talking about the dangers of travelling, which he illustrated by narratives of personal 
adventures. One evening a person dressed as an officer called, and informed me a lady 
who was a half country-woman of mine—her father having been an Englishman—had seen me 
the day of my arrival, and learning that I had difficulty in obtaining lodgings, was about 
inviting me to her house, when told that I had found accommodations, but she had deputed 
him to say that she should be happy to see me. As it was dull enough at the posada, 
I accepted the invitation, and while dressing for the visit, noticed that the Bolivian was very 
uneasy. He made several signs to me, and finally, during a momentary absence of the officer, 
told me I ought not to go alone with that person, because he had a notoriously bad character, 
and would entice me to some out of the way place and rob me. Finding that I paid no atten- 
tion to his warnings, he requested my arriero to follow to prevent foul play; but I soon put a 
stop to that, by sending the arriero to give some directions about the horses, and finally sallied 
out in company with my military friend, whose features, I must confess, were not very prepos- 
sessing. 

Although I had despised the warnings of the Bolivian, a nervous feeling came over me when 
I found myself alone with my companion. This made me regret I had not brought a pistol, and 
induced me to open a sharp penknife, which was held in readiness for use. Armed with this, 
I proceeded three or four squares along dark and solitary streets, keeping close to my com- 
panion, watching every movement with the vigilance of a cat, and expecting him to turn on 
me at every dark place we passed. I had become so nervous with the idea, that I am certain 
if he had stumbled against me by accident, or had made the least movement of a hand towards 
his knife, I should have stabbed him on the spot, without waiting to learn his intentions. The 
open door of one of the best houses in the place, the cordial welcome of a well-dressed and 
fine-looking Jady and her family, and the dignified reception of an elderly Don Marido, into 
whose house my companion ushered me, drove away apprehensions, and gave place to a 
feeling of shame and mortification for my cowardice. 

We passed an agreeable evening, heard some excellent singing from the lady of the house, 
who accompanied herself on the guitar, and returned to the posada sworn friends. After this, 
I stopped the Bolivian’s grog—which he had been drinking at my expense—and found, from 
his altered manner towards me, that this was the only link of sympathy between us. 

You will perceive there was wanting only a knave to make this an adventure. The fool was 
already supplied in my proper self. 

One of the few amusing incidents that happened on the journey was at this place. Among 
the articles of small-stores remaining of those laid in at Santiago, was the shell of a 
Dutch cheese. On the road this had attracted the attention of my arriero, who greatly won- 
dered at a shape and color so different from the cheeses of the country; and on our arrival, 


he had informed the keeper of the posada that I possessed this great curiosity. It soon became 
5* 


34 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


the lion of the hotel, and after being tasted and examined by every one there, was about to be 
returned to its place in the provision chest, in a very dilapidated condition, when we were 
honored by the presence of two handsome and well-dressed young ladies, who called ostensibly 
to visit the wife of Don Pancho, but really, either to see a tall and handsome young Mendocino, 
a fellow lodger, or my bar magnets, (which had acquired some fame), or both. Their curiosity 
with regard to the cheese was as great as that of the people of the hotel, and it was a matter 
of regret to me that I could not offer them, in addition to the few crumbs scooped from its 
bottom, any other delicacy than “‘ Eau sucre,”’ slightly dashed with aguardiente. The last 
affeeted their tongues to such extent that they bored us, for near an hour, with a conversation 
which was entirely local, and therefore uninteresting, At length they took leave, to our great 
satisfaction, when I again restored the unfortunate cheese to its place, and prepared to retire for 
the siesta. The cheese was worse than a nightmare. I had hardly made myself comfortable 
before a servant came in with a note from the mother of the young ladies, stating that she 
regretted exceedingly her health would not permit her to call on me, and requesting that I 
would send her some of the cheese to try. I suppose I ought to have sent her the whole; but it 
was really too valuable a ‘‘stand-by,’’ and so I*sent only a few crumbs. 

There were some thirty odd Indians in the Villa del Rio Cuarto, who had come in to traffic, 
and were guests of the government while they remained. 

Their appearance does not differ from that of our North American Indians; and, like them, 
they are addicted to the vice of drinking to excess. They had only for sale ponchos, mantas, 
and bolas. Of these they were disposing little by little, according to their desires for aguar- 
diente or toys. Among them were several Cristianos, as they are called—natives of some of 
the provinces, who had been carried off when young, and reared among the Indians, till they 
preferred that mode of life to any other. One of these was rather an interesting woman. She 
was still young, and had evidently been very fair and handsome; but was now so burned by 
the sun, and had so far acquired an Indian expression of features, as to attract but little sym- 
pathy by her looks. She came to the posada to beg bread, and remained some time in con- 
versation with the women; who, seeing that she still preserved a little silver cross hung around 
her neck, that she appeared to regard with childish delight, endeavored to persuade her to 
leave the Indians and return to Christian life. She played with her cross, wept a little, but 
said it was too late then; that she had a husband and children among the Indians, and 
could not leave them. While she was talking, a fine-looking young Indian passed on horse- 
back, sawing on an accordeon, and so drunk he could hardly keep his seat; and, on discovering 
the woman with us, he addressed a few guttural sounds to her in a very surly tone, and rode 
on. She now became urgent for the bread; stating that she had been placed under his charge 
by her husband, and that he had ordered her to the camp. What she asked for was given, and 
she went away at a trot, apparently a good deal alarmed. 

Hoping to obtain information from a party who came to the posada, I ordered a large glass 
of aguardiente, and commenced questioning the cacique through a young Cristiano, who acted 
as interpreter; but could get no answer to inquiries respecting the Tunuyan and some other 
streams, except that they were ‘‘ Alla, muy tierra adentro’’—a long way in the interior. As 
regards the nature of the country in which they live, he said it was not pampa, but thickly 
wooded. He also told me that I could go down among them in perfect safety, as they were a 
peaceable people, and never interfered with those who did not trouble them. I have no doubt 
that, personally, I should have been safe; but it is more than probable I would have been 
robbed of everything. Indeed, several of the natives along the road told me that a foreigner 
was much less exposed to danger from the Indians than themselves; and there is good reason 
for this, for it is known (or at least is generally stated) that one of the former governors of 
the department of the Rio Cuarto treacherously induced twenty-five or thirty Indians to come 
in for the purpose of making a treaty, and then had caused them all to be assassinated. 

While we were talking, the liquor was brought out and handed te the chief, who took a sip 


FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 35 


and passed it round, first to me, and then from one to another, until it was finished. They 
declined to drink more, on the ground that they had been very drunk the night previous. 

’ This cacique made the interpreter take off his poncho and present it to Don Pancho; who, I 
was surprised to see, bitterly regretted the necessity of accepting it. On inquiry, I learned that, 
in consequence of that present, the whole party would consider themselves entitled to the hos- 
pitality of the house; and, in all probability, would drink enough liquor to pay for the poncho 
three or four times over. 

Their style of dress did not differ much from that of the gauchos; and nearly everything 
they had for sale was carried on their persons. Although they come on their trading expe- 
ditions well equipped with ponchos, &c., they manage to leave with a very limited wardrobe. 

In the vicinity of the town Indian corn is cultivated in small quantities; and also figs, grapes, 
peaches, plums, apricots, &c. Of the latter, the figs were just ripening at the time we passed, 
although we had had them ripe in Mendoza. 

At the time of our arrival in la Villa de la Concepcion the tops of the trees were entirely bare 
of leaves and twigs, from the effects of a heavy hail-storm, which had passed over a few days 
before. The frequency of these storms in summer is one of the three principal bars to agricul- 
ture on the pampa. The first are locusts, which are very destructive; the second the biscachas ; 
and the third, as I have said, the hail-storms. 

Christmas day would have passed away without our knowledge, but for the serenade of a 
military band composed entirely of negroes. They were all drunk, and made such an infernal 
noise, that we paid them pretty roundly to stop their music; indeed, they threatened to play 
until we did pay them. It is their custom, like that of our negroes in some parts of the south, 
to go round on this occasion, and either play or dance in front of a house until they receive a 
present. 

December 26.—At 5 o’clock a. M. left the town; and after coasting the west bank of Rio 
Cuarto for four miles, forded it at a part where it was about fifty yards wide and two feet deep, 
with sand-flats and marshes in it. Thence our road lay over pampa, and along the north 
bank of the river. At noon we stopped for the siesta under the shade of a small algarroba. 

We passed two or three ranchos, and a small field of corn without a fence or wall, a man on 
horseback serving for this purpose. This is common on the pampa, where wood is so scarce as 
to render it impossible, in many places, to obtain a sufficient quantity for fencing. 

Although the river was near the road, it was only distinguishable by a dark line on the 
pampa, and by the tops of a few willows and reeds appearing above its banks. Half a mile 
from where we stopped there was a hut, which the arriero insisted was uninhabited, and there- 
fore refused to go further; but it afterwards proved to be occupied; and as there was easy 
access to the river at that point, we might have got plenty of water, and hada bath. As it 
was, we passed the siesta very uncomfortably, annoyed by flies and mosquitos; and, through 
the stupidity of the arriero, we were obliged to send the mules back, about three miles, for water, 
as the river bank near us was a high cliff. 

The hut of which I have spoken is similar to nearly all on the pampa occupied by herds- 
men, the principal part of it being like a wagon-top in form, gnd well thatched to keep out 
rain; while the front is merely a flat, thatched awning, for protection from the sun. In the 
interior of this one the clothes and othe» perishable articles belonging to the occupants were 
stowed, and outside them were two or three stools, a small table, and a very few pieces of 
wooden-ware, as substitutes for crockery. Both inside and outside there were a number of 
dogs. These huts, however, are distinct in their construction from the adobe ranchos, which 
are the head-quarters of the estobicie or estate. 

The arriero left his spare horse here, which had become so ) jaded and galled as to be useless. 

At 4p. M. set out again, and travelled till 10, when we stopped for the night. At a distance 
of about twenty-five inaies from the Villa del Rio Cuarto we passed the small village of ‘‘La 
Reduccion,’’ and from there turned off from the river and followed a path leading more directly 


36 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


than either of the two main roads. From the ‘Villa’ there are three roads. The principal, 
or post-road, turns to the northeastward, and after reaching the Rio Tercero, joins that 
from Cordova, and follows the bank of the latter river to Saladillo. The next road coasts the 
Rio Cuarto to its junction with the Tercero, at Saladillo; and the one we took diverges from 
this last at La Reduccion, and strikes directly across the country. Of the three, the safest 
is by the Tercero; and next that by the Cuarto, or by the Punta del Sauce, as it is called ; 
these two being defended against Indians by post-houses and forts, or stockades; while the last 
is over adesert country. La Reduccion is fortified, as usual, by a ditch and wall; its population 
is given in the statistical table of the department; and as we did not stop there, I know nothing 
more respecting it. 

The place where we stopped for the night is near a stream called there Las Chilcas; but far- 
ther to the northward, Chucul. At the ford it has very little current, and half a mile to the 
southward spreads out into marshes and ponds, which are quite salt, and swarming with wild 
fowl. Lions and tigers are also found there. These, and, indeed, everything undomesticated, 
from a mosquito to a lion, are called, by the country people, by the name of ‘‘bichos’’—a word 
meaning, literally, vermin, and corresponding, in its corruption, to our southwestern significa- 
tion of the term ‘‘varmint.’’ 

Before our arrival at camp we missed the track and got into the edge of this marsh, and 
were soon so completely bewildered that we did not know how to get out: fortunately, the 
arriero discovered, through the darkness of the night, a distant hut, and, leaving us to await his 
return, rode off to procure a guide. The denizens of the pampa, like sailors, have, by long 
practice, acquired the habit of discerning and ‘‘making out’’ distant objects that are invisible 
to the unpracticed eye. Those of them with whom I haye been would frequently call attention 
to some distant speck and confidently assert whether it was a deer, an ostrich, a horse, or an 
ox; just as the sailor knows land in the faint pencil-mark above the horizon, which to the eye 
of a landsman has no meaning. : 

December 27.—Travelled about sixteen miles over pampa, with occasional lagunas on each side, 
and stopped for the siesta near one of these, where, except an occasional clump of low bushes called 
chilcas, there was no sign of a tree or shelter from the sun. We were delayed on our journey, first 
by losing the road, and next by the sickness of one of the mules. As it may appear singular 
we should lose our path on the open pampa, I will state that we followed a track which had been 
used in dry weather, and it led us into a marsh, around-which we were obliged to make a long 
detour. The illness of the mule was supposed to arise-from a retention of urine, from which 
animals on the pampa frequently suffer, in consequence of the bad water they drink. In order 
to induce him to make an effort to relieve himself, the arriero and his man commenced emitting 
wind violently from their mouths, thus making a disagreeable though not uncommon noise, 
which at times appeared to be on the point of producing the desired effect; but after a while a 
more desperate remedy was resorted to: the mule was ridden at full speed two miles up the 
road and back, under which operation he fell several times, and then followed a repetition of 
the former remedy. In the mean time, we were at a halt on the pampa where there was neither 
shelter, water, nor prospect of, getting an animal to supply the place of the sick one nearer 
than La Reduccion. The efforts to effect a cure, therefore, were highly interesting to me, and 
I readily lent my aid as far as wind went. At length, after repeated gallops and volleys, the 
poor animal did really relieve his bladder, and at once got well; whereupon, the arriero threw 
his head back and piously—but rather indelicately, considering the character of the Virgin— 
exclaimed, ‘‘Gracias 4 Dios y Maria Santisima, ya me6.’’ He told me he had made a vow to 
the Virgin that he would perform some kind of penance if she would relieve the mule; and had, 
done the same for me on our departure from San Luis, when he found I was almost too lame to 
travel, and seemed very much shocked when I doubted that the vow had anything to do with 
the cure of either myself or the mule. 

At our, stopping-place I made a bed with my horse gear, in a position that would at least 


FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO, 3ik 


afford shelter for my head; but when I was about to occupy it, the peon discovered a vibora 
coiled away between the holsters, which put all further ideas of rest out of the question. 

The vibora is a small snake, from eighteen inches to two feet long, very much resembling in 
appearance what in North Carolina is called the ground rattlesnake. Its bite is said to be a 
deadly poison. We passed the siesta in wandering about looking for ostrich nests, of which we 
found one filled with eggs and young birds. Some of the eggs were quite fresh, and served the 

-men for dinner; but I found them hard and unpalatable, and preferred to make my meal of 
charqui. 

We saw large numbers of deer, guanacos, and water-fowl feeding about the laguna, and /felé 
enough mosquitos to last me till doomsday. 

Weather clear. Wind from N.E. Thermometer 92° in the shade, and 95° in the sun. 

At 3.45 P. M. set out again, and travelled till 9, when we camped. Passed two ranchos, 
dignified by being called Lucacha. Road as before—over pampa, with occasional lagunas, in 
which a great number of ducks, cranes, and plover were feeding. 

December 28.—Passed a miserable night. With his usual want of foresight, the arriero 
stopped in a bight nearly surrounded by marshy ground and lagunas, where we were so pestered 
by mosquitos that at one o’clock—finding it impossible to sleep—I ordered a march; but, unfor- 
tunately, two of our mules had strayed off, and we had to endure the discomfort of the flies and 
a drenching shewer of rain till half-past six. 

Travelled till noon, and stopped near a rancho called Los Torsales. 

® On the way the peon killed a partridge with singular dexterity by riding around it until the 
bird was confused, and then knocking it over with his knife. At our stopping place it was 
roasted and offered me, I conceived, as a compliment; but, as we had started on the principle of 
all sharing alike, I divided it into three parts, and we partook equally. After a while, feeling 
hungry, I inquired for dinner, and learned that my two worthies, to whom I had been so gen- 
erous with the partridge, had eaten up all there was, supposing thatthe bird would suffice me. 
I have before spoken of the habits of these people with regard to fasting, and I mention this 
circumstance as proof of a directly opposite quality. When we left the Villa de la Concep- 
cion we had enough beef and charqui to last any three reasonable appetites a week, but these 
fellows had eaten it all in tw» days. 

They can fast a long time, but are also capable of devouring more meat than grizzly bears. 
Fortunately, the owner of the rancho was kind enough to sell us some new cheese, on which 
we made a comfortable dinner. 

The traveller on the pampa must not take it for granted that he can procure food at the dif- 
ferent houses along the road. On the contrary, he would be more able to sell than to buy the 
necessaries of life. It is a remarkable fact, that although essentially a cattle-growing country, 
it is very difficult to obtain beef. One may purchase a whole ox or a sheep; but to buy a few 
pounds is almost impossible: the country people kill and dry only the amount they require for 
their own use, and have none for sale. At one place where we stopped, on my second journey, 
the people refused to furnish us at any price, denying that they had anything, until the arriero 
discovered a pile of charqui, which I suppose was prepared from some animal that had died a 
natural death, as it was so inferior that it was destined for the use of the dogs; and even this 
they were very reluctant to sell. As for bread, except in the towns, it is wholly out of the ques- 
tion: the natives generally beg bread of travellers. 

At 4 P.M. set out again, and travelled till 8.30 p. m., the road leading over pampa, with 
occasional lagunas. We saw several swans and flamingoes in some of these. Wind strong 
from 8.E. Weather clear and warm. Thermometer at 3 Pp. m. 84°.5. Mosquitos pestiferous! 

December 29.—Left camp at daylight, and at 9 stopped for work under the shade of a fine peje 
tree. Nothing could have been more fortunate than the discovery of this tree. I had been in- 
formed farther back that in Saladillo there was no appropriate place for magnetic observations, and 
had been on the look out for a shady tree under which I might make my experiments free from the 


38 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 


interruption of curious people, which, by the way, was always an important consideration, for the 
gauchos universally wear spurs and sheath-knives, and it was difficult to make them understand 
that these affected the magnets. Sometimes they would come close to where I was at work, 
with hidden knives, merely for the purpose of seeing whether I could detect their presence by 
the action of the magnet. Near some of the lagunas, we had passed occasional trees that would 
have answered but for the annoyance of mosquitos. At length this one presented itself, at some 
distance to the right of the road, and, allowing the mules to go on, I galloped off, and found it 
the most appropriate place I had seen since leaving Chile. To hurry on and stop the party was 
my next step; and as fortunately there was a pond of tolerable water near, we had all we could 
desire. This peje tree, with three or four algarroba companions, stands on a little knoll; and 
what was particularly delightful about it was, that although the mosquitos were swarming at 
the distance of fifty yards in every direction from it, there were only a few under it. 

Here, in its delightful shade, I was able to conclude work before sunset, and be off again in 
time to avoid an attack from flies, which, with the falling shades of evening, were losing 
all respect for the tree, and came swarming around us. We had the satisfaction, however, 
before finally leaving, to see them slaughtered right and left, by hundreds of mosquito-hawks 
(dragon-flies) that appeared to have sprung into existence by miracle, as we had before only 
seen an occasional straggler. 

The tree was about two feet in diameter, forty feet high, and had fifty feet spread. Its limbs 
were closely interlaced, and filled with nests,-principally of the scissor-bird, common to the 
country from Mendoza to Rosario. This is about the size and color of the mocking-bird, an 
gets its name from two long tail-feathers, resembling the blades of a pair of scissors. 

As this was one of the most level parts of the pampa we had passed, I had the curiosity to 
set up the theodolite, and see how far it departed from a perfect plane. Setting the horizontal 
wire on the horizon in one direction, I turned the instrument through the circle, and found five 
minutes’ depression at every point except north, where, by the intervention of a knoll, it was 
only two minutes and thirty seconds, and at northeast four minutes; so that an observation 
with the natural horizon, in the most unfavorable direction, when corrected for dip, would have 
been only two minutes and a half in error. 

It may seem ridiculous to attach so much importance to a single tree, but it really is not so. 
The traveller on the pampa frequently looks in vain for one under whose shade to pass the 
siesta, and with whose wood to cook his beef. He may discern one, apparently a long way off, 
that offers, as he thinks, every requisite; but, on nearing it, he finds that what looked stately 
in the distance is a mere shrub. These disappointments are of continual occurrence. One of 
the places where we passed the siesta had so very little shade to recommend it, that I urged the 
arriero to go farther; but he refused, telling me I ought to give ‘‘gracias 4 Dios’’ for even that 
much; and after we were farther advanced over the pampa, I found he was right. 

Travelled about sixteen miles farther on the 29th, and stopped near the little village of Sala- 
dillo. During the night there was a very heavy dew; weather clear, and, for the season, cold. 
Thermometer at 4.30 a. m. (December 30) 56° Fahrenheit. 

December 30.—Set out at daylight, and at 5 o’clock entered the town of ‘‘Saladillo de Rui 
Diaz.’’ Itis partially surrounded by walls and ditches, and consists of some two hundred 
thatched adobe houses and huts, not one of which is decent in appearance. It has a plaza and 
barrack, where there were about eighty soldiers quartered, but has no church, and, with greater 
advantages than any other town along the road, is perhaps the most wretched looking. The 
three roads from the westward, and that from Cordova, all pass here, and, to judge from what 
we saw, there must be a great deal of traffic and travel at this point. The country was alive 
with trains of ox-carts and mules, going or coming. There were in sight about a hundred 
carts, and altogether it was a very enlivening scene, reminding us, in an unmistakable manner, 
that we were approaching civilization; for which, to use the arriero’s expression, I gave ‘‘ gra- 
cias 4 Dios y Maria Santisima.’’ ‘The creaking wheels of the ox-carts, heard far and near, the 


FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO. 39 


bleating of kids and calves, and the lowing of cows, although not very agreeable music in them- 
selves, were highly refreshing after our solitary journey. 

They were killing an ox for the use of the soldiers, but we were unable to buy any beef, and 
had to fall back on miserable charqui. 

Saladillo is situated near the junction of the rivers Tercero and Cuarto, the latter of which 
was very much smaller there than at the place where we formerly crossed it. Near the Punta 
del Sauce it spreads out, forming*lagunas and marshes, and a great part of the water is either 
evaporated or absorbed in the soil. ‘That which reaches the Tercero is impregnated with 
salt to such an extent as to be useless for irrigation or drinking. The Tercero is a more con- 
siderable stream. It empties into the Parana, and only in very dry seasons is too salt for use. 

Crossed the Rio Cuarto where it was fifteen yards wide, two feet deep, and had a current of 
about two miles an hour, and thence proceeded along near the south bank of the Tercero, over 
pampa, as far as the post-house of ‘‘ Cabeza del Tigre,’’ where we stopped for the siesta. Half 
way we passed a post-house called the ‘‘ Esquina de Lovaton.”’ 

“Ta Cabeza del Tigre”’ is better fortified than most of the post-houses we had passed. It is 
surrounded by two walls and an intermediate cactus hedge, with another cactus hedge and a 
ditch outside of all. Besides the post-house, there are one or two huts outside of the fortifica- 
tions. Weather very oppressive. Thermometer 93° in the coolest place about the post. 

This day, for the first time, I was obliged to use authority with the arriero. He fancied that 
his animals were suffering in their hoofs from the heat of the ground, and wished to stop for 
the siesta on a part of the road where there was neither shelter nor fire-wood with which 
to cook our dinner; and although the post-house was in sight, about a league and a half farther 
on, I was only enabled to force him to proceed to it by threatening not to pay him the stipulated 
price on arrival in Rosario. The secret of the matter was, that my man was as avaricious as 
he could be, and invariably preferred camping away from settlements, for fear of having some- 
thing to pay. 

Left the post-house about 4 p. M., and travelled till 8 o'clock, when we camped three miles to 
the eastward of the post called ‘“‘La Cruz Alta.’’ Country pampa, with occasional marshes. 
Wind H.S.E. Weather clear. Mosquitos awful. 

December 31.—Five miles farther brought us to the post called the ‘‘ Guardia de la Esquina,”’ 
which is not so well fortified as many others. It is surrounded by quite a collection of huts, 
in one of which I saw a young man and his sister who had been captives among the Indians, 
but had succeeded in effecting their escape. They had been about a year among the ‘“ Chris- 
tians,’’ and the woman had married, but the man was pining to return to savage life. He 
sold me his best poncho, and with the money proposed to purchase a horse to carry him back 
to the Indian country. Saw also a remarkably pretty and bright-eyed girl—not a very com- 
mon sight on the pampa. 

The Rio Tercero here was near fifty yards wide, apparently deep, and had a current of about 
three miles an hour. The gauchos had lassoed and dragged on its banks a few large logs, 
indications that the country is better wooded farther up. 

Left ‘‘La Guardia,’’ passed the post of Arequitas, then a deserted two-story brick house, and 
stopped for the siesta at one of the ranchos in the vicinity of the post of Los Desmochados. 
The post-road which follows the river Tercero from beyond Saladillo here leaves it, and turns 
more to the southward, the river trending to the northward. 

On the afternoon of our arrival at the Desmochados a violent thunder-storm arose; and as 
the rain continued all night, we did not leave our comfortable quarters at the farm. The 
people did everything they could to make our time agreeable. I had a good meal, a comforta- 
ble room, where there was a raw-hide bedstead and no bugs, and, what was more important, 
some one to talk to, for which I was beginning to feel great necessity in consequence of the 
taciturnity of my arriero andhis man. The people were very devout, and had prayers at night 
in presence of the whole family. I was in my room when they commenced their devotions, 


40 FROM SAN LUIS TO ROSARIO, 


and, without being aware of what they were about, intruded, but did not disturb them in the 
least: the old lady offered me a chair, and the service went on as usual. When the thunder- 
storm commenced, a little bell was brought out, and rung violently at every sharp flash of 
lightning, with a view of warding off danger. They had implicit faith in its virtues, as it had 
been specially consecrated for that purpose. This superstition probably comes from Spain. In 
Moratin’s comedy called ‘‘El si de las Nifias,’’ ) ma Francisca, in examining the presents 
made her by the nuns whom she had just visited, makes an exclamation of delight on discover- 
ing among them a little bell blessed for thunder—‘‘una campanilla de barro bendito para los 
truénos.”’ 

January 1, 1853.—Set out at 5 a. M., and at 3p. m. arrived at the town of Rosario, situated 
on the west bank of the Rio Parané; and here my journey on horseback ended. 

The day was rainy, and our road lay over pampa and, in some places, very marshy ground. 
This is not the post-road, but a short cut through the country—that road turning more to the 
southward, and passing round the marshy ground. Saw an iguana, about four feet long. Passed 
several ranchos and immense herds of mares grazing. As we approached the town, we of 
course found the houses more frequent. 

About twelve miles out, the vegetation of the pampa, instead of being wire-grass, as we had 
had it all along, was principally fennel, thistle, and other weeds. From the accounts of some 
travellers, one is led to believe that there is at certain seasons a rank growth of thistles all the 
way across the country. This, I think, is a mistake. Thistles are common near Buenos Ayres 
and Montevideo, and generally near the river banks; but on other parts of my road I saw no 
signs of such a growth. 

Paid the arriero the sum agreed on for my transportation from San Luis, (sixty-five dollars,) 
gave him all my blankets and some other riding gear, and dismissed him, rather glad of the 
riddance. The rascal had so little grace as to offer the blankets for sale before my eyes within 
two minutes after he had received them. It was very plain that he had no romantic ideas of 
sympathetic affection. I was obliged to sell my saddle, bridle, and holsters, in order to raise 
means to pay expenses down the river; for I was reduced to the last extremity in money 
matters. 


———_ 


CHAPTER Vv: 
ROSARIO, AND A VOYAGE TO THE UNITED STATES AND BACK. 
» 


DESCRIPTION OF ROSARIO.—COMMERCE.—DANGERS OF THE ROAD ACROSS THE PAMPA.—VOYAGE DOWN THE RIVER.— 

VESSEL LOAD OF FRIARS.~—BIRD CALLED THE “BIEN TE VEO.”—RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES,—OBTAIN PERMIS- 

; SION TO RETRACE MY STEPS.—SAIL FOR MONTEVIDEO.—AN OVER-RELIGIOUS FELLOW PASSENGER.—ARRIVE IN THE 

RIO DE LA PLATA.—VOYAGE TO ROSARIO.—HAMPERED WITH A FRENCHMAN.—NEW IMPRESSIONS OF ROSARIO.— 
DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING CONVEYANCE TO MENDOZA. 


El Rosario is the most modern-looking town on the road. With the exception of huts on the 
outskirts, the buildings are all of brick and mortar, and for one falling to decay there are ten 
being built. The plaza has on one side a neat church, and on the others comfortable-looking stores 
and residences, in front of which there are wide sidewalks—the latter being unusual in Spanish 
American towns. The streets are not yet paved, but in most places have sidewalks. Along 
the west bank of the river there are occasional algarrobas, and lower down on the flats there 
is a grove of willows. The banks are about forty feet high; and in muddy weather it is rather 
a difficult undertaking to reach the landing-place—there being no improvements in that direc- 
tion for foot-passengers, and the road very much cut up by ox-carts. While I was there, there 
were eighteen vessels loading for Buenos Ayres and Montevideo. Nearly all were owned and 
sailed by Italians, although under the Buenos Ayrean flag. 

The opening of navigation of the river, and the blockade of Buenos Ayres, had brought all 
the trade of the interior to Rosario; and as transportation from there by water is so much 
easier than by land, it is probable that the town will increase rapidly. There is very little 
cultivated land about it; and, indeed, after leaving the Villa del Rio Cuarto I saw no more than 
small garden spots near some of the post- houses. 

As it is usual at both ends of the road to talk a great deal about the dangers of crossing the 
pampa, it may be as well to say something here on the subject. 

As the Indians were at peace when I passed over it, I cannot speak from experience with regard 
to danger from them; but I do not believe it ever has been very great for travellers. Their 
inroads were generally made at night, and with great secrecy; and their principal object was to © 
drive off mares and horned cattle. If in the pursuit of this they fell in with defenceless drovers 
or herdsmen, they usually put them to death—partly to prevent news of their presence being 
carried to the fort, though most generally from a desire to retaliate, or from a naturally cruel 
disposition; and it is probable that travellers fallen in with under the same circumstances have 
shared the same fate. But as it was contrary to the interest of the Indians to follow the main 
road, or of travellers to take any other, these encounters were not of frequent occurrence. At 
all events, I do not think that, foran Englishman or an American, the danger from Indians ever 
was or ever will be so great as that to be apprehended from some of the lower class gauchos. 
We are all known as or are supposed to be heretics, the shedding of whose blood is not considered 
a very grave sin, and is sometimes even considered a merit. ‘To the commission of this meri- 
torious act let there be added the prospect of pecuniary benefit, and the heretic who finds him- 
self unprepared, and in a lonely place, with no other company than two or three gauchos, 
stands but little chance for his life. As they are cowardly, so are they treacherous; their usual 
mode of attack being to approach with a very civil air, requesting fire or a cigar, and at the 
first unguarded moment of the traveller out comes a knife, and—acdios! 

6* 


42 ROSARIO, AND A VOYAGE TO THE UNITED STATES AND BACK. 


Generally, however, there is no necessity to run such risk. By taking a well-known arriero, 
and being careful not to stray away from him when near suspicious characters, but little danger 
need be apprehended. From the arriero there is nothing to fear, if proper precaution has been 
taken to procure one well recommended. They know very well that, if anything happen to 
their ‘‘patrén,’’ they will be required to account for him; but it is quite as necessary to learn 
who and what the persons recommending one are, as to know the character of the arriero himself. 
Generally it is better to refer to the chief of police, or juez del barrio. A Chileno in San Luis 
recommended my man, Luis Alvarez, to me, and I ascertained afterwards that it was only to 
recover a debt of four dollars due from him. On my second journey across the country, as 
there was some difficulty in obtaining good horses in the province of San Luis, I inquired for 
Alvarez, intending to bargain with him to carry me to Mendoza, but was told that I had better 
put my head in the fire than trust myself with him, for he was the greatest knave in the country. 
The Chileno was among those who gave me this advice, notwithstanding his former recom- 
mendation. 

If, in addition to other precautions, the traveller on-the pampa will profess himself a Catholic, 
or ‘‘Christian,’’ (as the Catholics are called), or wear a rosary, cross, or scapulary, in such a 
manner that it may be seen, the danger will be much less; for, as it is unusual to see a ‘‘ gringo”’ 
who is not a heretic, any exception is looked upon with great consideration. 

Ido not know that I would have been exposed to danger under any circumstances, but am 
satisfied that the chance was much less in consequence of my having a scapulary—a present 
from a friend in Chile—worn at first as a memento; but so soon as I found that my arriero, 
although a great knave, was a devout Catholic, I determined to make another use of it, and 
allowed myself to be surprised several times attentively regarding it, apparently engaged in 
my devotions. The desired effect was produced, and I was firmly believed to be a Christian ; 
taking which in an un-catholic sense, I never denied. 

What I have said of the arrieros may also be said of the postillions who accompany travellers 
from one post to another; they are considered perfectly trust-worthy. 

On the 5th of January I embarked on board of an uncomfortable little Italian schooner, for 
Buenos Ayres, where I arrived on the 10th, heartily sick and tired of the mosquitos and of 
eating tripe and maccaroni—the only food our capt in povided. 

On the passage down the river we passed an Italian brig on her way up, which had on board - 
some forty friars bound across the country to Chile. 

It often struck me, as we drifted or sailed down the Parana, that the people thereabouts ought 
to be very honest. There is a little bird very common on its banks, called, from its notes, 
<‘bien te veo.’’ These notes come out so suddenly and clearly, that I thought it would be 
impossible to be guilty of bad conduct in the presence of the little monitors. Sometimes when 
taking a pull at the captain’s jug of aguardiente, the clear, sharp, and spiteful ‘‘que bien te 
veo’’—how well I see you—would break on me an the overhanging trees, and almost induce 
me to return the jug untouched to its locker. 

I arrived in Buenos Ayres without money, and was unable to get a draft cashed; so that I 
was ina strait. Commodore McKeever relieved me, however, by giving an order on Purser 
Gulick, of the Jamestown, for the amount of pay due me. 

The custom-house officials in Buenos Ayres appeared to take particular delight in throwing 
as many obstacles in my way as their infamous system admitted. Before attempting to disem- 
bark my baggage, I went to the resguardo, and stated that, besides personal equipage, I had a 
set of instruments, with which I proposed to make a series of observations, and was told that 
there would be no difficulty in passing them. Acting on this assurance, I landed and got my 
things into a cart, expecting to have no other trouble than merely opening them on the mole. 
On the contrary, I was obliged to go to the custom-house for a permit; and from the custom- 
house it was necessary to go and look for a shop where stamped paper could be bought ; then to 
find some person who would word the permit in due form ; and finally to the collectors, to get 


ROSARIO, AND A VOYAGE TO THE UNITED STATES AND BACK. 43 


it signed. Supposing my troubles over, I repaired to the mole, where, after unpacking in 
presence of the officers of the resguardo, I found that I should be obliged to carry everything to 
the custom-house, because, forsooth, some of the instruments looked new. At the custom-house 
it was necessary to go through the same labor of unpacking again—and all this in the sunshine, 
with the temperature of the air about 90°, that of my temper at 212°. When the curiosity of 
the clerks was satisfied, I was told quietly that the instruments could not pass, because they 
were not comestibles—as if anybody ever supposed that magnetical instruments were comestible. 
Heartily wishing that the custom-house officers were food for the worms, I repaired to the col- 
lector, and, by speaking my mind very freely to him, succeeded in getting an order to have the 
things passed. 

After making a full set of observations in Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, I embarked on 
board the American barque “‘ Almeida,’’ Captain Kearney, and without special incident arrived 
at New York, after a passage of fifty-six days. 

A short time before my return, Congress had passed a law giving extra pay to officers and men 
who had served in the Pacific during the Mexican war, and I found myself with sufficient funds 
to enable me to return to South America and ascertain the longitudes of my stations satisfactorily, 
as also to complete the chain of barometrical measures across the country. Having obtained 
permission to do so, at my own expense, I again, on the 12th of August, 1853, sailed from New 
York for Montevideo, on board of the ship ‘‘ Margaret Eliza.’’ We had a pleasant passage out, 
and an agreeable set of passengers, with the exception that they were too religious for me. One 
of them, who was fresh and red-hot from a camp-meeting at Cape Cod, seemed to think it his 
special mission on earth to convert me, and gave me no peace until he concluded I was past redemp- 
tion. He was constantly telling me, with a whining, nasal twang, that he had Christ in his 
heart ; he knew it ; he felt it: that he was ready to die at any moment, and that death had no 
terrors for him. Nevertheless he was very scary about the ship; and all day long, in bad weather, 
when not praying, would sit in the boat stowed on the poop, and watch both captain and the 
weather with intense anxiety. I®fa squall struck the ship, he would turn very pale, shut his 
teeth hard, and hold on to the boat’s gunwale with both hands, looking the picture of terror. 
On such occasions I could not resist a desire to ask him if he had Christ in his heart then. 

I made a set of observations in Montevideo, and another in’ Buenos Ayres, and then engaged 
passage in a Buenos Ayrean schooner for Rosario. The captain and crew were, as usual, 
Italians. 

On embarking, I found some seven or eight passengers, among whom there was an overgrown, 
sentimental-looking Frenchman, who appeared to be a stranger to all on board, and was pen- 
sively whiling away time with a flute. His green spectacles, and indeed everything about him, 
made me suppose he was an author, and it was not until we were near Rosario that I found him 
to be a cook—a regular Parisian artiste—who had been thrown out of occupation by the siege 
of Buenos Ayres; was ‘‘hard up,’’ and bound to Chile in search of employment. All this was 
told me when he learned that I had been looking for a servant in Buenos Ayres. He was 
anxious to serve me, and asked no more than that I should pay his expenses; but as I wanted ° 
a man accustomed to the country and to the management of horses, I declined the offer, suggest- 
ing, however, that he should make a bargain with the arriero whom I might employ, and in 
that way he could get a mule or two added to my train at a very low price. This he decided to 
do, and I thus became burdened with an incumbrance that could not be gotten rid of until our 
arrival in Chile. 

Rosario did not make so great impression at my second visit as at the first. The houses did 
not look so fine, nor did the dresses of foreigners, attired in the European style, appear so 
elegant. I suppose the reason was, that on the first visit I saw it after crossing the pampa, 
where nearly all the towns have an aspect of decay, while on the second I was fresh from New 
York. Nevertheless it is an exceedingly thriving place, and even during my short absence 
gave evidence of increased prosperity, in the organization of a club of foreign residents, where 


44 ROSARIO, AND A VOYAGE TO THE UNITED STATES AND BACK. 


the amusements incident to civilized life were afforded to the better class of citizens and visitors ; 
and in the establishment of agencies to some of the large English and German commercial 
houses, as well as in the eeceeaee size of the town itself. 

There was greater difficulty i in obtaining conveyance to Mendoza than I had anticipated. 
There are no professional arrieros about Rosario, except those who come down with trains from 
the interior, and all my efforts to find a trust-worthy man who would transport me, with baggage 
and instruments, at anything like a reasonable rate, were unavailing. The only chance was to 
buy animals, and hire the men myself; and this might have been the most economical if I had 
been accustomed to a country life; but as there was a strong probability of being imposed on 
by careless or dishonest men, who would either lose or steal the animals, I did not care to run 
the risk. I next tried for a carriage; but the expense was too heavy. Then the idea of buying 
an ox-cart and three or four pairs of oxen suggested itself ; but this, too, offered so many diffi- 
culties in the way of time and money, that it was abandoned. At length, after losing several 
days in fruitless negotiations, I determined to go by post, for one of my objects was to arrive 
in Mendoza in time to observe the solar eclipse of the 30th of November. 


CHAPTER VI. 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


" LEAVE ROSARIO BY POST.——POST-HOUSES.—-ARMADILLOS.—=SALADILLO DE RUI DIAZ.—FRAILE MUERTO.—FAMILY OF 


THE COMANDANTE.—VILLAGE SCHOOL.—MASTER OF THE POST AT THE ARROYO DE SAN JOSE.—VIOLENT 
THUNDERSTORM AND EXTRAORDINARY DISCHARGES OF ELECTRICITY.—VILLA DE LA CONCEPCION.—THE 
LANDLORD AND HIS COMPANION.—LABORS OF THE VESSEL LOAD OF FRIARS.—SAN JOSE.—SAN LUIS.— 
BOILING-POINT APPARATUS.—COLONEL BAIGORRI.“-EL BALDE.—\CATCH A TARTAR.—ACOROCORTO.—MY MAN 
DON MARCOS.—THE FRENCHMAN’S FALLS ACCOUNTED FOR.—ARRIVE IN MENDOZA.—RESUME.—NATURE OF THE 
COUNTRY.—AGRICULTURE.—RIVERS.—CANALS.—RAILRO AD.— ANIMALS.— BIRDS, 


After having made arrangements to send all my heavy baggage by a train of ox-carts, and to 
take with me only what was absolutely necessary, packed in two small trunks, I advised the 
Frenchman to go by the carts, because it would cost him very little; but, as he expressed great 
disinclination to travel alone, it was decided that as the two would require but one postillion, 
he would be relieved of that part of the expense, and therefore should accompany me. 

We left Rosario at half-past three p. M. of the 7th of November, and rode at a gallop through 
a hard rain a distance of about twenty-four miles, to the post-house called El Saladillo de la 
Orqueta, only stopping to change horses at the post-house ‘‘ De Luna,’”’ as there were then no 
accommodations for travellers. 

Procured a chicken for supper at the Saladillo de la Orqueta, and a hide bedstead to sleep on. 
Foolishly pulled off my boots on going to bed, and in the morning found my feet so much 
swollen that I could not get them on: therefore travelled in slippers, which, as one of my 
ankles is weak, was exceedingly inconvenient. 

November 8.—Changed horses at the post of La Candelaria, and stopped at Los Desmochados 
for dinner, but could obtain none. This post consists of three or four adobe huts; that for 
travellers having a hide bedstead in it, which was occupied while we were there by a sick 
gaucho, who stuck to it like a leech, taking care when he had necessity to go out, to have a 
friend occupy it until he should return, for fear we would take possession. Besides this bed, 
there was the usual adobe bed-place against the wall; but as we had ridden all the morning in 
a hard rain, our things were too wet to sleep in, and we therefore determined to push on to the 
next post-house. The beautiful girl I had seen the trip before at the Guardia de la Esquina 
was now at the Desmochados, having married a ferocious-looking gaucho. 

Pushed on to the post of ‘‘ Arequitas,’’ where I arrived so completely used up that I could 


with difficulty sit my horse. The barometer and three chronometers, together with my money 


and cartridges, after three or four hours’ travel, appeared to weigh twice as much as before. 
Weather still rainy. Found the master of the post very civil and attentive. 
November 9.—The first post to La Guardia de la Esquina lies over pampa. Passed a polecat 


in the road, which was disposed to show fight; but as he had the advantage of weapons, I backed 


out. Found everything about the post-house exactly as I had left it, except that the man who 
sold me his poncho had left for the Indian country, and the pretty girl was away. 
Second post to ‘‘ La Cruz Alta.’’ Crossed and recrossed the Rio Tercero at fords which were 
about twenty-five yards wideand a foot deep. Stream not near so full as on my former journey. 
Cruz Alta is a little settlement of some twenty huts, with gardens about them. There, as 
elsewhere on the road, we were pestered by people desirous to change Cordova money, which 


46 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


is not current in any of the other provinces. Stopped here for dinner and rest, for the French- 
man was tired out, and had travelled the last post with a firm hold on the crupper and pummel 
of the saddle. 

Third post to La Cabeza del Tigre, where we stopped for the night. Road leads near the 
south side of the Tercero, which, as its banks are high and bare of trees, is only marked on 
the pampa by a dark streak. One of the peons about the place having just returned from a 
hunting expedition, on which, with the aid of dogs, he had captured a dozen armadillos, I 
ordered one prepared for supper, and found its flesh very savory. The meat is dark, and 
resembles that of the opossum in flavor. We had a chicken to fall back on in case we did not 
like the armadillo ; but the Frenchman, who for the first and only time volunteered his pro- 
fessional services, spoiled it by too much seasoning. Passed the night here, and experienced 
very sensibly one of the great inconveniences of travelling fast on horseback before being accus- 
tomed to it. All night long in my muscles I felt the gallop of the horse, the weight of the 
barometer hanging across my shoulder, and the breech of the carbine thumping against my 
back, exactly as if I had been awake and riding. 

November 10.—Our first post was to ‘‘ Esquina de Lovaton,’’ coasting the river; country 
pampa. Saw a number of horn-plovers, and birds resembling canaries, though smaller. 

Second post to the Saladillo de Rui Diaz, where we stopped for a set of observations. This 
place did not present the same appearance of business as on the first trip. Here I was bothered, 
as usual, by people seeking remedies for their diseases. 

During the night—which we spent at this post—we had rain, thunder, and lightning, con- 
fining us to the house, where our companions were fleas and lice. 

November 11.—To the post-house of Las Barrancas. First part of our ride rainy, and last 
part clear. The master of the post at Saladillo maliciously gave me a horse that would not 
stand to be mounted, which came very near finishing my trip suddenly. After the rain ceased, 
I alighted to put my poncho on the crupper, and when about remounting, the horse dashed off 
before I could get into the saddle ; but by good luck and hanging on by his mane, I succeeded 
in attaining my seat before he had gone far. 

The river at the Barrancas was only fifteen yards wide and one foot deep. It had very little 
current, and was brackish. The post-house consists of three mud-huts, unenclosed. 

Second post to the Zanjén. Passed a rancho; country pampa; vegetation, wire-grass; river 
bank in sight, about a mile from the road. This post-house is worse than the last ; it consists 
of two ranchos, with the wreck of a shed for a kitchen. We could get nothing to eat there but 
four eggs. ; 

From this post to the village of ‘‘ Fraile Muerto’’ country pampa, with occasional hammocks 
of chafiares and algarrobas. Passed several ranchos to the right and left; and also two women 
on one horse, the oldest and ugliest of whom rode astraddle. 

Stopped in Fraile Muerto for the night, and for work on the next day. 

The village is built in an irregular and straggling manner, and contains a population of 
about seven hundred inhabitants. It has some few comparatively good houses, the best being 
that of the governor. The post-house is a part of his, and is the most comfortable on the road. 
Here the attentive care of the servants of the governor, who is also master of the post, made our 
time very pleasant. 

This gentleman appeared to use his authority over the people to a very good end. By per- 
suasion or force he had induced them to plant fruit-trees, and build walls to enclose their 
grounds ; had established a school, and forced them to send their children to it; and in other 
respects had paid such attention to the comfort and appearance of the place as to give it a much 
more prosperous look than others of its size on the road. 

He had an intelligent and agreeable family, whom I could not help pitying for being obliged 
to live so far removed from the refinements of the society to which they had evidently been 
accustomed elsewhere. 


? 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. AT 


While there we saw a procession of bare-headed, and in some instances bare-breeched boys, 
on their way to chapel to hear mass; the schoolmaster following them, armed with a large 
rod, apparently for the purpose of whipping up the stragglers. They were chanting a hymn in 
a very monotonous tone. 

November 13.—First post to Las Tres Cruces. Road thesame. Weatherclear. Met at this 
place a Cordovese merchant, whose galera had broken down on the road. | e was very elo- 
quent on the subject of the misfortunes to which travellers are exposed. Next, to the post of 
‘«Esquina de Medrano,”’ consisting of two tolerably good houses, and three or four ranchos. 
Road pretty well wooded with chafiares and algarrobas. Saw a number of scissor-birds, and 
passed the broken galera in ‘the road. Its passengers consisted of two priestlings, on their way 
to Buenos Ayres to receive holy orders, and two young women under charge of the merchant I 
had met af T Cruces. . 

The river at Esquina de Medrano was nearly dry, but the water was good. We had found 
at nearly all the post-houses, before this, very good well-water. 

The wife of the keeper of the post at Las Tres Cruces was evidently master, for which I had 
reason to be thankful; because the nominal master gave me a very vicious horse, which she 
made him change for one more gentle. The postillion rode that which had been destined for 
me; and I was satisfied, from his tricks on the road, that I should have had a fall. 

Third post to the Arroyo de San José. From the Esquina de Medrano the road follows the 
course of the river for about three miles, and then separates from the Cordova road, turning to 
the \ estward, at a rancheria called the Esquina de Ballesteros, consisting of twenty or thirty 
houses. Thence to the Arroyo de San José, a small stream of tolerable water, about three 
yards wide and six inches deep. It rises a short distance to the southward, and runs towards 
the Tercero, but is absorbed before reaching it. There are a few huts on its banks, and the 
place is known by the name of the Cabral. The post-house is nearly a league farther on. 

About half way we passed a rancho, with one or two small patches of land planted in corn ; 
they were unenclosed, and, as usual in similar cases, a man on horseback supplied the place of 
a fence. 

The post-house consists of an ordinary adobe dwelling, with the travellers’ room adjoining, 
and a few huts near it for the use of peons. In the absence of travellers, their room is generally 
occupied by dogs. The master of the post, who was a dirty old fellow, refused to let us have 
our meal separately ; but when his own was ready, invited us to join him. It consisted of the 
usual pampa fare—junks of beef—and was eaten in the customary manner, each one helping 
himself from the same dish—for there were no plates—and fingers served for forks. One 
peculiarity of these people is, that they seem to consider it necessary to spread a cloth over the 
table; and, in nine post-houses out of ten, these are actually so filthy-as to spoil any but the 
most ravenous appetite. For this reason I always preferred to go to the fire and get my 
dinner, as the peons do, directly from the spit. 

Passed the night here; and in consequence of the filth of the inside, we preferred to sleep out- 
deors. 

November 14.—To the ‘‘Cafiada de Luca.’’ Road over pampa. Passed a rancheria, and, 
at some distance south of the road, a grove of trees. As they had no burden-horses at the last 
post-house, my trunks were put on one not broken to packs, and he gave us great trouble on 
the road. 

This post consists of two wretched huts, and has nothing in the world to recommend it 
except good well-water. ' 

To the Tortoral. Country the same. Passed a rancho on the left and a laguna on the 
right. The Frenchman was thrown from his horse, but, except a few bruises, suffered no harm. 
This post-house consists of a good dwelling, a tolerably clean room for passengers, and one or 
two out-houses, and is much more comfortable than the two preceding. Its name, Tortoral, 


48 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA.™ 


comes from a marsh and pond near by, overgrown with a kind of blade-grass called tortora. 
In this pond there were a large number of flamingoes feeding 

After a good dinner, proceeded to the next post, called El] Guanaco; where, although it was 
still early, we stopped for the night, on account of the inability of my companion to travel 
farther. This gave me a good of deal uneasiness. I was apprehensive that from bad riding, 
some serious accident would happen to him; and knowing him to be almost destitute of means, 
I should have been very reluctant to abandon him in the road; while, on the other hand, any 
detention would have defeated the object of my expedition. Up to the last post he had been of 
some service in helping to arrange the load on the burden-horse, and I had willingly paid his 
expenses; but as he was no longer of use on account of the fall, and, moreover, as I was afraid 
of getting a fall myself, from the frequent changes to horses I did not know, I took an extra 
postillion from El Guanaco, to carry the barometer and aid in adjusting the load. As far as 
the barometer was concerned, I soon found the postillion so awkward that I preferred to 
carry it myself. 

November 15.—To the post of Tambillos. Country the same, with the exception that near 
the post-house there is a considerable sand-hill, which is unusual on the pampa. ‘The post con- 
sists of two or three houses situated on the banks of a laguna, surrounded by thinly wooded 
sand-cliffs, and, for the pampa, has a decidedly picturesque appearance. The master of the 
post had a family of very handsome children, the males of which were occupied in tending 
horses and cattle, and the females at their accustomed occupation of embroidering calzoncillas. 
One of the latter was very desirous to buy my vest, as a present for her father. 

After a long delay in procuring horses, we set out for the post of Chucul, where we arrived 
about four o’clock, but found no person whatever at the place. Road over pampa, but very 
much cut up by rains. 

Chucul consists of one hut, and is situated on the east bank of a stream of good water, run- 
ning to the southeastward; the same stream was passed on my first trip, near a place where it 
spreads out in marshes, and is called there Las Chilcas, but here is designated by the name of 
the post. 

My companion, whose habit was to ride carelessly when not fatigued, swinging arms 
and body to the tune of some French opera, and who wore green glasses, in order to see 
nature under the most favorable auspices, neglected to guide his horse, and allowed him to 
tread into a biscacha hole. The consequence was that the pair of them got a fall, though 
fortunately there was no harm done. 

We were in a great strait at Chucul, for we could get no other postillion than a boy so small 
as to be unable to arrange the load, but, by good luck, an arriero happened to pass, who did us 
this favor, else we should have been obliged to do it ourselves. Not that either of us objected to 
the work, but it requires more skill than we were possessed of to arrange a pack-saddle, and 
lash on its load in such manner that it will not turn. 

Between Chucul and the Villa del Rio Cuarto we were caught in a violent storm, that lasted 
about two hours, during which the wind blew from every direction, commencing at southwesé6, 
and going around by south through all the points of the compass. The lightning surpassed any- 
thing I have ever seen—discharges taking place from the earth towards the clouds, and from 
the clouds towards the earth, not far apart, and almost simultaneously; some of those going 
upwards were remarkably like rockets, exploding after reaching the clouds, and sending off 
numbers of smaller flashes in different directions. Then, again, there were flashes like balls of 
opaque light, or the turning a dark lantern across the eyes, shining dimly for a moment, and 
then disappearing. The rain and hail, in the mean time, were very violent; the latter inflicting 
such severe blows, that we were obliged to turn our backs to the wind, and wait for it to shift, 
before we could proceed on our journey. 

Tam aware that it is not orthodox to say that the clouds and earth were discharging elec- 
tricity at the same time; nor do I state this. I only assert what the evidence of my senses 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 49 


assured me was perfectly true—namely, that at or near the same moment and place, discharges 
of electricity oceurred vertically upward and perpendicularly downward. During the storm 
occasional puffs of warm air passed by, indicating that it was a local phenomenon, and confined 
to a small space, which after experience proved to be the fact; for we found that at the time we 
felt the storm, it rained but little in the Villa del Rio Cuarto, and a short distance to the west- 
ward it did not rain at all. As soon as the wind was sufficiently fair for us we pursued our 
journey, and arrived at the villa about ten o’clock at night. 

On going down the steep cliff to the bed of the Rio Cuarto we came near having a mishap, 
the rain having rendered the road so slippery that it was very difficult to descend. The postil- 
lion, who was ahead leading the baggage-horse, got down very well; but the Frenchman, who 
followed next, had not descended half way when his horse slipped, and for a while the pair of 
them floundered in the mud at a terrible rate; but at length the horse lodged in a gutter, with his 
heels in the air, from which we had some trouble to extricate him, and the Frenchman escaped 
with no other damage than being muddy from head to foot. We found very little water in the 
river—not a tenth of what there was at the same place I crossed before. 

Stopped at the old posada, and found Don Pancho still drunk. In addition to his imperti- 
nence, I had to suffer that of a drunken companion, who claimed to be the son of some foreigner, 
and seemed to think this fact gave him exclusive right to be civil tome. As soon as I asked if 
we could have something to eat, he bolted out of the house, and in a few minutes returned with 
a disgusting mess of scraps of beef—the remains of his own dinner. On my refusing to partake 
of it he became outrageous; and, eventually, it was necessary to point a cocked pistol at him in 
order to get rid of him. 

November 16.—Weather partially cloudy. Made a set of observations. 

November 17.—Detained by rainy weather. 

From what I heard in this place, the troop of friars passed on the Paranda, last journey, must 
have sweated under their load here. Their provincial, or leader, preached two sermons a day 
for the nine days they remained, and all the friars—thirty-five, I think—had authority to receive 
confession and give absolution. This they did in the church, every day, except Thursdays and 
Sundays, when they sallied forth to visit the houses and receive confessions of the sick, the lame, 
and the lazy. When they left town, all the women, and half of the men, accompanied them on 
the road, and government furnished them with an escort of fifty soldiers as far as the province 
of Mendoza. 

November 18.—The weather was still rainy; but as we had already lost one day, I determined 
to set out. Before doing so, however, in order to have no further trouble with the load, I made 
a contract with a man to accompany us and attend to its arrangement. 

Left town at 8 o’clock, and rode till night, when we stopped in Achiras. Changed horses at 
the post-houses of ‘‘Los Ojos de Agua’’ and Las Barranquitas. Weather chilly. Wind 
southwest, with a heavy Scotch mist. As the road from the Villa del Rio Cuarto is the same 
passed over on my first trip, it is unnecessary to say anything about the country. 

November 19.—To San José del Morro, where we were delayed for the remainder of the day, 
because the villain of a post-master would not have his horses brought up. It turned out that 
he had a letter to write to San Luis; and notwithstanding he had all the afternoon before him, 
he put off writing till the next morning, again delaying us more than two hours. Between 
Achiras and San José we changed horses at the post of Portezuelo, which consists of two or 
three huts, situated at the eastern base of a range of rocky hills running to the northward. 

November 20.—To the post-house of Rio Quinto, where we dined. The heat of the sun was so 
oppressive as to produce, at times, a film over my eyes and a singing in the ears. Found much 
less water in the river than on the former occasion. After dinner, set out on such wretchedly 
lean horses, that, from the heat and length of the post, (twelve leagues), we could not afford to 
push them until after nightfall, and even then we could not get more than a draggling trot out 


of them; we therefore did not arrive at San Luis till after midnight. We found the city illu- 
1x 


50 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


minated—that is to say, there was a light over the door of each of the four principal houses in 
the main street—in celebration of the election of electors for the presidency of the confederation. 
The people were all up, and nearly all in the hotel were either drunk or gambling, or both. I 
met there a Chilean acquaintance, bound to Buenos Ayres to embark for England, who gave me 
very bad accounts of the condition of the post-horses farther on—as little encouraging to me as 
my information on the same subject was to him. 

November 17.—Made a set of observations here, and, as had been done at Rosario and the 
Villa del Rio Cuarto, tried the boiling-point apparatus. In Rosario it indicated the same 
atmospheric pressure as the barometer, but in the Villa del Rio Cuarto, and at this place, very 
much lower temperature. 

I had been desirous, from the time of my departure from Rosario until my arrival in San Luis, 
to fall in with a Colonel Baigorri—a great man among the Indians—from whom I wished to 
obtain a safe conduct, in case opportunity should offer for me to penetrate into the Indian 
country to the southward; but before my arrival he had gone off among them. His nephew, 
however, was there, engaged in the very characteristic occupation of trying to stab a man with 
whom he had quarrelled over the gambling table, and to accomplish which he made several 
unsuccessful efforts during the day. 

Colonel Baigorri is a Putano, or a native of San Luis de la Punta, who committed murder, 
and, to escape the penalty, took refuge among the Indians, where he was kept for a while in 
close captivity, but was allowed, subsequently, to accompany plundering parties, and on these 
occasions committed more atrocities than the Indians themselves, after which he was granted 
full liberty. He soon became a man of great consideration among them, and was their pleni- 
potentiary in all treaties or transactions with the different towns or provinces on the frontier. 
After the fall of Rosas—the late Dictator of the confederation—General Urquiza succeeded, 
through Baigorri, in making a treaty with the Indians on a firmer basis than any they had had 
before ; and up to the time I left the country, its conditions—paying a tribute in mares on one 
side, and abstaining from predatory incursions on the other—had been strictly observed, and 
the beneficial effects were apparent in the greater confidence with which people along the fron- 
tier devoted themselves to raising cattle. Besides this, Urquiza had made Baigorri a colonel, 
and his nephew a captain in the army, and, to create greater confidence between the two races, 
had adopted the rather dangerous plan of placing one of the frontier forts under charge of the 
former, who, I was told, would man it with Indians. 

November 22.—Posted, on wretched horses, to E] Balde. Found the post-house in charge of 
a woman, who was the most shrewish vixen I had ever met. At first, she was all amiability ; 
but ‘when I had satisfied her curiosity respecting the instruments, and commenced to hurry her 
for the horses, stating that I was an officer on duty for the confederation, she inveighed vio- 
lently against the government for requiring her to keep horses; against travellers in a hurry ; 
and particularly against the drought, which had lasted so long that her animals were as lean 
as skeletons. 

I had heard, before leaving San Luis, that at the Desaguadero, the next post to the Balde, 
the horses were worse than at any other point, and therefore asked the woman to inquire if any 
of her neighbors had animals with which they would take me directly to Acorocorto, prom- 
ising to pay double post-fare the whole way. After getting dinner, for which we paid roundly, 
and waiting patiently two or three hours, I inquired the result of her efforts, and was informed 
that an old man, whom I had seen about the house ever since our arrival, would take us for 
double post as far as the Desaguadero, but that he would go no farther. It vexed me so much 
to find that we had lost three hours by the huambugging of the woman—who knew as well as I 
did that she was obliged to furnish horses to the Desaguadero for single post charge—that I 
lost all patience, and told her if she did not immediately give me horses I would send my ser- 
vant to San Luis, and see what the government could do for her; and, moreover, if she did not 
stir herself, I would have her saddled and ridden to the devil. It was worth anything to see 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 51 


how the old termagant hopped around at that. As for listening to what she said, it would not 
have been advisable. I certainly did not, but rested satisfied with the fact that the desired 
effect had been produced, for we soon had the horses forthcoming. While settling my accounts, 
I noticed a malicious twinkle in her eyes, and we had not gone far before we found that she 
had, to use a common expression, ‘‘taken her change.’’ A set of more worthless animals I never 
saw. By nightfall we were only a third of the way, and two of the horses were so dead beat 
that neither whipping nor spurring would induce them to go farther, and we were obliged to 
stop in the woods, where there was neither water nor food. The next morning (November 23) 
we started early, and after travelling at a snail’s pace, got about five leagues farther, when we 
were obliged to halt again and let the horses rest; so that it was near eleven o’clock before we 
reached the post-house of the Desaguadero. 

After obtaining something to eat for ourselves, my attention was attracted to the woebegone 
looks of our postillion, and another, a boy about fourteen years old, who had arrived with a 
courier two or three hours before. We had passed this little fellow two leagues out, sleeping 
in the sun while his horses grazed, and he had turned back with us. On inquiring, I learned, 
that although neither of them had eaten for twenty-four hours, and had to return immediately 
with their horses, which would probably occupy nearly twenty-four hours more, they could get 
nothing to eat, because they had no money. Of course, I ordered as much as would satisfy 
their hunger, which, by the way, was no little, and after giving them a real or so, saw them 
off, highly contented. 

The post-house of the Desaguadero is nearly four miles south of the ford by which we crossed 
it on the former trip. It consists of two or three miserable ranchos. The travellers’ room, at 
the time we passed, was occupied by two litters of puppies and several chickens. 

Asit was very warm, the thermometer being 97° in the sun, and the wet-bulb 72°, we allowed 
the heat of the day to pass before we continued our journey. At midnight, arrived at Acoro- 
corto, after a long, dusty, and tiresome ride. Found but little accommodation at the post-house, 
and less desire to accommodate; the master of the post being the nabob of the place, and con- 
sequently too important a personage to attend to the wants of travellers, but not too great, 
to receive their money. 

Before arriving at this place, my man ‘“‘Don Marcos’’ informed me that at one time he had ~ 
been better off in the world, and as we were now approaching a part of the country where he 
was well known, it would be very mortifying for him to have his friends suppose he was trav- 
elling as a servant. He therefore requested I would say that he was merely accompanying us. 
I told him I did not care how he represented himself, provided he performed his work. But 
when we arrived he walked into the post-house, told the master of the post—who was an 
acquaintance, by the way—that he had been taken sick at the Rio Cuarto, and was returning 
home in our company; then seated himself very comfortably, leaving me to unsaddle my horse 
and make my own bed. Next morning I told him he must either do his duty, which was very 
little, or quit, and thus brought him to his senses. After all his pretension to belonging to the 
“first family,’’ the fellow was very desirous, on our arrival in Mendoza, that I should employ 
him as my servant in crossing the mountains, and came several times to effect that object, tell- 
ing me, on each occasion, about the tabletas (cake made of alternate layers of sweetmeats and 
pastry) that his wife was making, as a present for me. As soon as he learned I had engaged 
another servant, he borrowed a dollar of me, and I did not see him again until I was leaving 
Mendoza the last time, when, at about a mile out, whom should we meet but Don Marcos, 
riding with a party of friends. He did not see me until I was close up, and hailed him, 
to know where my dollar and his wife’s tabletas were. I never saw such a crest-fallen devil in 
my life as he was, on being thus accosted. 

On the afternoon of the 22d of November, a smart shock of an earthquake was felt from 
Mendoza to Acorocorto. 

November 24.—The forenoon was clear and very warm, the dry-bulb thermometer standing 


52 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


at 94°, and the wet at 70° in the coolest place. Finished work, and set out with a storm brew- 
ing. Ina short time the rain commenced, and continued to fall violently until night. 

Stopped for the night at La Dormida, formerly a post-house, but not so now; the post being 
from Acorocorto to Santa Rosa, a distance of twenty leagues. Slept in wet clothes under a 
shed, the house being full of people, some of whom were ill. 

November 25.—Found that the lazy scoundrel of a postillion had left the horses tied to posts 
all night, instead of allowing them to graze, so that we were obliged to go more slowly than 
we wished. Got dinner at Santa Rosa—a very comfortable post-house—and afterwards pro- 
ceeded to the post-house of Retamo through a drenching rain, and until night overtook us, 
at avery rapid pace. After dark we were obliged to go slowly. There were ditches on both 
sides of, and frequently across the road, and as the night was very dark—the obscurity rendered 
more intense by flashes of lightning—it was necessary to proceed with caution. Weall arrived 
at the Retamo in sweet humor: four or five leagues out, the postillion told us that we were one 
league off, and for three hours it was the same story of ‘‘ cosa de una legua;’’ then to increase 
our discomfort, we found that we could get nothing dry to sleep on, and had to pass another 
night in wet clothes. Fortunately, we were able to obtain a bottle of aguardiente from 
a pulperia about a mile from the post-house, and each of us taking a large dose, we managed 
to get through the night tolerably well. 

Shortly after leaving Santa Rosa, the Frenchman’s horse slipped, and he got another fall. 
Being in a position to witness this, his frequent falls were fully accounted for. Instead of 
endeavoring to recover his horse, he let himself drop off like a bag of sand. 

November 26.—Set out at daylight, and arrived at Mendoza about 10 a. M.; having stopped 
on the way to salute the Aldaos at El Barrial, where I met with a very cordial reception from 
the Sefiora, who thought, as did many others, that I had only been as far as Buenos Ayres, and 
could hardly believe I had passed four months in the United States. 

Having finished my narrative as far as it is connected with the pampa, I will endeavor to give a 
general idea of the country in as condensed a form as possible; premising, that as I know nothing 
of geology, mineralogy, botany, or, indeed, of any of the ‘‘ ologies,’’ I cannot speak technically 
on these subjects. 

From Mendoza to a few leagues beyond San Luis, the country is thinly wooded with algarro- 
bas, chaflares, retamos, and—where there is an undergrowth—Jarillas. The portion between 
San Luis and the river Parand is pampa or prairie land, interrupted only by low rocky ridges 
near the Rio Quinto, San José, and Achiras, which extend some three miles on each side of the 
river and streamlets watering thase two small towns. All of these ranges taper off to the 
southward, and at the distance of a few leagues from the road appear to blend with the plain. 
The vegetation of the pampa, with the exception of occasional clumps or isolated trees, is prin- 
cipally wire-grass, interspersed with thin pasturage and small wild flowers. Around the lagu- 
nas—of which, owing to the flatness of the country, there are many in rainy weather—there is 
frequently a rank growth of marsh grass; and in the province of Buenos Ayres, farther south 
than my road lay, a rank growth of thistles is said to alternate with the other vegetation. The 
soil appears to be alluvial, and, wherever it can be irrigated, yields abundantly; but there are 
two great drawbacks to successful cultivation in that part of the country through which I passed, 
namely, locusts and hail-storms. The former frequently sweep off whole crops; and on the 
pampa the latter are probably quite as destructive, but are not so frequent or violent in the 
wooded country. Another difficulty they complain of on the pampa, is the want of wood for 
fencing; but they could make mud-walls if they chose; and near Mendoza, where there is wood, 
they prefer walls on account of their durability and cheapness. 

In the parts of the country where there are no means of irrigating, and the people are 
obliged to depend on rains, we passed small patches of corn a foot above the ground; and 
perhaps a hundred miles farther on, found that they were still waiting for a shower before 
planting. 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 53 


The biscacha, also, is said to be very destructive to the crops; and persons who have unen- 
closed gardens make it a point during heavy rains to dam the water up, and, by means of a 
ditch, turn it into the burrows, thus drowning them or driving the animals out, when they 
are killed as they attempt to escape. 

Of the rivers passed on the road, the first is the Mendoza,* which rises near the Uspallata 
Pass, and reaches the plain about sixteen miles south of Mendoza. It then runs northeastward, 
gradually turning more to the northward until, at the distance of twenty-five miles from the 
city, it flows nearly due north to the Lagunas de Guanacache, a very small portion reaching 
those lakes in dry weather, and that portion is salt. The Lagunas de Guanacache also receive 
the waters of the San Juan from the northward, and I believe of one or two small streams from 
the westward; and their surplus waters, after speading out into marshes in some places, form 
a stream called the ‘‘ Desaguadero”’ flowing to the southward. 

Next to the Mendoza is the Tunuyan, which takes its rise at the base of Tupungato, between 
the eastern and western ranges of the cordillera; flows first to the southwestward, then to the 
southeastward, and issues to the plain about seventy-five miles south of Mendoza, where it 
turns to the eastward and receives several small streams from the mountains. About two 
leagues beyond Acorocorto it divides; the principal part running to the southward, and the 
rest joining the Desaguadero, ten leagues farther on, and after spreading out in marshes in one 
place, the water collects, turns north, and empties into a salt lake some ten miles in diameter, 
called the Bebedero. That part which goes to the southward receives the waters of the Dia- 
mante, Atuel, and some other smaller streams from the mountains, and is finally lost in a salt 
lake near the parallel of thirty-eight degrees. 

The next is the Rio Quinto or Fifth river, which rises in the San Luis range, and runs south- 
eastward to about latitude thirty-four or thirty-five, where it is lost in lagunas and marshes. 
It is possible that in rainy weather some of its waters find their way through, and form the 
source of the Salado, emptying to the southward of Buenos Ayres. 

The Rio de la Laja, just to the eastward of Achiras—an inconsiderable stream—is also lost 
in marshes and lagoons. Then comes the Rio Cuarto or Fourth river, which takes its rise in 
the mountains to the southwestward of Cordova, and runs southeastward by the Villa del Rio 
Cuarto to a bend called the ‘‘ Punta del Sance,’’ where it turns to the northward of east, and 
enters the Rio Tercero near the village of Saladillo, being considerably smaller at its junction 
than at the Villa del Rio Cuarto, and in dry weather quite salt. 

About ten miles east of the ‘‘ Villa’’ there is a small stream called the Chucul, which runs 
to the southeastward, and spreads out in marshes and lagunas near a place called ‘‘ Las Chil- 
cas,’’} not far from the Rio Cuarto. 

Finally, the Rio Tercero or Third river, the last on the road before reaching the Parand, takes 
its rise in the same mountains as the Rio Cuarto; follows a course nearly parallel with it till 
the two unite; then runs more easterly as far as the post-house of Los Desmochados, where it 
turns to the northeastward, and at length empties into the Parana. 

It is almost unnecessary to say that the Parana is a second Mississippi; which, together with 
the Uruguay, forms the Rio de la Plata. 

It will be seen, on referring to the narrative, that the Mendoza, at the ford, was divided into 
three streams of about three, ten, and four yards wide, respectively, each a foot or eighteen 
inches deep; that the Tunuyan, before it divides, was about one-third of a mile wide, full of 
sand-flats, and apparently shallow; that the Desaguadero was four yards wide and eight inches 
deep; that the Quinto, on the first journey, was about twenty-five yards wide and two feet 
deep, and on the second, twenty yards wide and eight inches deep; that I found the Cuarto, on 
the first trip, sixty yards wide and two feet deep, but full of marshes and sand-flats at the first 


*Mr. Darwin calls this the Luxan. 
tThere is one hut near this; but except that anda thicket of bushes called chilcas, there is nothing to justify the application of 
a name to the locality. 


54 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 


ford, while at that near Saladillo it was only fifteen yards wide and two feet deep; and that on 
the second it was near the same at the latter ford, but much smaller at the Villa del Rio 
Cuarto: and, finally, although the Rio Tercero, in consequence of a freshet, is noted as full and 
deep on the first journey, yet, on the second, we forded it two or three times, and found it 
but twenty-five yards wide and one deep. None of these streams have an outlet, except the 
Tercero and its tributary the Cuarto; and in consequence of their shallowness, none of them 
are navigable but the Tercero, and this only for a short distance in time of a freshet. 

While in Mendoza, besides the project of a railroad to Rosario, the subject of a canal was 
under consideration; and one or two persons were desirous I should give them the results of 
my barometric observations, as also my views of the practicability of cutting a canal. As I 
am not a civil engineer, Iam unable to give accurate information upon the subject, but think 
it probable that, by throwing the water of the Mendoza into the Tunuyan, this again into the 
Quinto, by a detour to the southward to avoid the San Luis range, and finally the Quinto with 
the Rio de la Laja into the Cuarto, a water communication could be made nearly all the year 
from Mendoza to Rosario. But I do not believe it would materially benefit the country if con- 
structed. Increased facility for transportation would induce greater activity in agricultural 
pursuits, and consequently more water for irrigating would be needed, and this could not well 
be spared from the canal. As regards a railroad, nothing is wanted but timber and money, 
the country being highly favorable. The best quality of timber is said to abound in Paraguay, 
and I suppose the expense of rafting it down would be small; but, with respect to money, the 
country is entirely too thinly settled for such a work to be accomplished by private enterprise, 
and, to judge from present appearances, it will be long before the government of the Confedera- 
tion will sufficiently recover from the effects of civil wars to enable it to undertake the work. 
The Mendocinos, however, are very sanguine about the matter. 

Of animals, the most common, from Mendoza to Buenos Ayres, are the biscachas. These 
are about the size and color of the badger, but stand higher from the ground. Their heads 
are short, and formed like those of rats; and on each side of the face there is a black streak, 
which gives them the appearance of wearing regulation whiskers. Both upper and under jaws 
have two very large gnawing teeth. They live in communities, in burrows, which consist of 
one large apartment with chambers or nests running off from it, which are kept very clean. 
One of their peculiar habits is to collect round the entrance to their holes all the bones 
and skulls found near—with what object it is difficult to guess, if it be not to warn horses and 
cattle, for in case a careless animal should knock down their edifice, they have the labor of 
repairing it. 

The first joint of the hind legs of the biscacha has a hard, callous sole on its under side, and 
this serves him for the purpose of locomotion, which is effected by springing like the kangaroo— 
the hind feet appearing to be of no service, except for throwing out dirt when he is digging. 

A singular bond of union exists between this animal and the little owl of the pampa. One 
or two of these birds are nearly always found sitting at the entrance to the biscachera, and, 
when alarmed, give a harsh cry, and either fly off a short distance or take refuge in their holes, 
which are just inside of the entrance to the biscacheras—the porter’s lodge, as it were. 

The biscacha is seldom seen out of his hole in the day-time.* 

Deer and guanaco are very common on the pampa, and are generally found feeding near the 
lagunas. Their flesh is rank and unsavory, and they are considered of very little value except for 
their skins. The mode of capturing them is with what are called “‘bolas,’’ two or three round 
stones covered with raw-hide, and connected together by braided or twisted hide-cords. Where 
two stones are used, as among the Indians, the cord is about six feet long; but where there are 
three, each cord is three feet long, and the three cords are connected at their ends. The 
hunter, armed with bolas, depends on the fleetness of his horse to overtake the game; and on 


* This animal is distinct from the biscacha of the cordillera, which is smaller, and more nearly resembles the squirrel, having 
a longer and more bushy tail than the former. : 


FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 55 


arriving at a convenient distance, takes one of the balls in his hand, swinging the others 
swiftly round his head until they have acquired sufficient momentum to throw them. If they 
strike their object, the balls wind around its legs, and trip it. Balls used for catching deer 
or ostriches are about the size of a hen’s egg—those for horses as large as the fist; and I have 
seen them thrown about a hundred yards from a horse at full speed—the speed of the horse 
being, of course, an advantage, when the balls are thrown in the direction of his motion. 

In the wooded country between Mendoza and San Luis, an animal called the liebre* is very 
common. It stands about eight inches high, and has a body two feet long. It is nearly the 
color of the biscacha, except that the lower part of its rump is white and the upper almost black. 
Its tail is a very small affair without hair, and resembles the stump of a rat’s tail. In its wild 
state the liebre is very timid and difficult of approach; but when taken young, is easily domes- 
ticated and becomes very familiar, readily approaching the hand for offered food. One that I 
saw in Mendoza had a vile habit of turning round suddenly, when annoyed, and ejecting its 
urine. This, however, not being odoriferous, was not offensive, except as a mark of contempt. 

Lions and tigers are said to be common among the marshes, but I saw none of them. 

We saw one polecat and two or three iguanas, but whether they are common or not I do not 
know. 

Lastly, there are found armadillos, and a small animal called pichiciego, something between 
the armadillo and the mole. There are at least three species of the armadillo; the most 
common of which are the peludo, or hairy, and the pelwdo; or bald—from the fact that one 
kind is covered with thin hair, and the other is without it. The third species I only saw near 
Mendoza; it is smaller, and is covered completely, except on its belly, with a flexible shell 
which the others have not. All of these, although common, are seldom seen, as they live in 
burrows. 

The pichiciego—so called from the Indian word pichi, meaning small, and the Spanish word 
ciego, blind—has a coat of armor similar to that of the smaller species of armadillo over its 
back and on the top of its head, and on its sides and belly very fine white fur. As you have 
one of them in your possession, it is unnecessary to say anything more about it, except that 
even in Mendoza it is considered a great curiosity, and is not found, I believe, except in the 
wooded country near the base of the Andes. 

Of birds, the ostrich is found throughout the country, but principally on the open pampa. It 
is very shy, but its young are easily tamed. 

The large partridge is also found entirely across the continent, but is most common in the 
wooded country between Mendoza and San Luis; while the small partridge is more common to 
the pampa. Parrots and paroquets are also common to the wooded country. 

The mocking-bird (or calandria) and the scissor-bird (tijeras) are found wherever there are 
trees. There are several kinds of small birds in the prairie grass, but they generally keep out 
of sight. The principal of these is a black-bird and a kind of bastard canary. 

Around some of the lagunas swans, flamingoes, ducks, waders from the largest to the smallest 
size, and beach plover, are common. ‘There are also very large birds of the buzzard kind, with 
a good deal of white and black about them, but I never was near enough to examine them; and 
over all the plain the carrancha (or traro, as it is called in Chile) and the horn-plover are 
common. 


* Liebre literally means hare, but the animal is the Agouti of Patagonia. 


CHAPTER VII. 
FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 


LEAVE MENDOZA.—LUJAN.—SINGULAR PHENOMENON IN THE VALLEY.—TAME OSTRICHES.—=PASSPORTS.—ARENALES.— 
SINGULAR WATER-FOWL.—VEGETATION.——-EASTERN PORTILLO.—LA OLLA,——FUEL.—VALLEY OF THE TUNUYAN.— 
FATE OF A FAMILY CAUGHT IN THE VALLEY.—WESTERN PORTILLO.—PATH DOWN.—SINGULAK APPEARANCE OF THE 
HEAD OF THE VALLEY OF THE YESO.—BARRIER RANGE.—LADERA DE SAN FRANCISCO.—RIO MAYPU.—PROSPEROUS 
CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY.—CONTRAST WITH THE EASTERN SIDE.—SAN JOSE.—RIDE TO SANTIAGO.—ANOTHER 
CHARACTERISTIC OF CHILE.—RETURN TO SAN JOSE.—SNOW: STORM AT THE OLLA.—LODGINGS IN THE MOUNTAINS.— 
PASS THE EASTERN PORTILLO IN A SNOW-STORM.—PUNA.—INVULNERABILITY OF ARRIEROS.—ARRIVE AT MEN- 
DOZA.—DON SANTIAGO ARCOS.—CONVENTION OF INDIANS.—INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THEM.—COLONEL 
RIVAROLA.—EXECUTION OF FIVE MEN.——BOILING-POINT APPARATUS.—SET OUT FOR SANTIAGO BY THE USPALLATA 
PASS.—OUR PARTY.—VILLAVICENSIO.— ‘PALLATA.—SPECIMENS OF NATURAL HISTORY.—ALMOST A DISASTER.— 
CRUPPERS NOT USED.—NATIVE MOUY *8S.—ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE.—GOITRE.—EXPENSES OF THE TWO 
TRIPS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS.——THF =. —RETURN HOME, 


After completing all the work to be done in Mendoza before the arrival of my baggage, I 
learned from a courier that he had passed, near the Rio Cuarto, the train of carts by which I had 
shipped it; and, knowing it would not arrive under twelve or fourteen days, I determined to 
occupy the spare time by going over the Portillo Pass. For this purpose I employed an arriero 
to take myself and servant, with one load of haggage, to San José de Chile and back; and to 
remain there long enough for me to visit Santiago and make a set of observations for clock 
error. 

On our arrival at Mendoza the Frenchman took charge of the hotel, but found that more 
money went out than came in, and when he learned I was going, became so unhappy that 
I consented to the arriero’s taking him, making such a bargain between themselves as they 
could agree upon, for I was tired of paying his way. I do not know that I would have had so 
much feeling against the man if it had not been that, in consequence of his wearing green 
spectacles, and being idle when I was at work, he generally passed for the ‘‘ patrén,’’ while I 
was considered his steward or assistant. 

Before setting out on this journey I took the precaution to engage another arriero to take me 
over the Uspallata Pass on my return, in order that he should have his animals in good 
condition. 

We left Mendoza on the evening of the 6th of December, and, passing through the village of 
San Vicente, stopped for the night at a place called La Cruz de Piedra, three leagues south of 
Mendoza. 

December 7.—A league farther brought us to the outskirts of the town of Lujan, and thence 
one league through it to the Rio de Mendoza. Crossed this stream where it is divided into 
three parts, each about ten yards wide and one foot deep; and two miles farther from there, 
through cultivated land, we were in a thinly-wooded and uncultivated country. At the 
nominal distance of eight leagues from Lujan we entered on a rocky range of low hills parallel 
with the cordilleras, and, after travelling three leagues, crossed them ; then two leagues across 
a valley to the skirt of the mountains, where we turned to the southward. From the skirt we 
saw a singular phenomenon in the plain. At times there were in view as many as twenty col- 
umns of dust carried up by whirlwinds to a considerable height, and moving about rapidly in 
different directions, 


FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK. 57 


The valley is crossed by a number of streamlets, and has houses and farms scattered about it 
pretty thickly—the presence of those in the distance being indicated by rows of Lombardy 
poplars. Stopped for the night near one of these, and the next morning—December 8—went 
on six leagues farther, to a rancheria called La Arboleda, where we stopped at a rancho owned 
by relations of the arriero. 

At the distance of five leagues from our last night’s stopping-place we crossed the Rio de las 
Tunas, a tributary of the Tunuyan. Its bed is extensive, and the stream divided into six 
streamlets, each about two yards wide. Country thinly wooded with jarillas, chafiares, and an 
abundance of cactus bearing the prickly pear, which is called tuna—hence the name of the river. 

As it was snowing in the mountains, we employed the remainder of the day in preparing 
charqui, killing and cleaning a sheep to take with us, smoking, and sleeping. During the 
afternoon two of the men went off to look for nests, and returned at sunset; one of them, by 
tracking an ostrich, having found a nest containing eighteen fresh eggs. 

In a garden belonging to the rancho there were eleven tame ostriches, which laid their eggs 
very regularly, but did not breed. 

December 9.—Set out early, and, after travelling seven miles in a southwesterly direction 
across a thinly-wooded and stony plain, arrived at the point where the road enters the mount- 
ains. Thence a ride of two miles farther brought us to the banks of a rapid stream called the 
*« Arroyo Grande,’’ along which, sometimes on one side and then on the other, but always 
gradually ascending, we reached the ‘‘guardia’”’ or custom-house, about eight miles from the 
plain. The only other house on the road after entering the mountains is a small hut occupied 
by men who cut out drip-stones from a quarry at the base of a white hill on the left. Crossed a 
streamlet from the southward and a short ladera. 

At the guardia it was necessary to show our passports, always a disagreeable business, but 
which in this instance was particularly annoying. I had called on the chief of police before 
leaving Mendoza and told him I was merely going across the mountains by the Portillo Pass 
for the purpose of measuring their heights, but would return immediately, and wished to know 
if it was necessary to take out passports except for my final trip. To this question I received 
the very abrupt answer, ‘‘As many times as you leave the territory of Mendoza, just so many 
you must pay for a passport’’—or, in other words, give five dollars for myself and seventy-five 
cents on account of my servant for the privilege of leaving such a miserable country ; and I am not 
sorry to state, in this connexion, that I owe the government of Mendoza the sum of five dollars 
and seventy-five cents, for the officer at the guardia was so drunk that he forgot to endorse 
the document, and it served me on the next trip across the Uspallata Pass. 

From La Guardia we proceeded eight miles farther along the south bank of the ‘‘ Arroyo 
Grande,’’ and as it was snowing in the portillo we stopped at a part of the road called ‘‘ Los 
Arenales.’’ We passed a deserted hut, two streams from the southward, and one from the 
northward, after leaving the guardia. 

This place is about eight thousand two hundred feet above the level of the sea, with high 
snow-capped mountains on each side; and as a strong bleak wind was blowing from the east- 
ward, we found it cold in the shade and too warm in the sunshine. When we attempted to 
make it warm in the shade by building a fire, the wind blew the smoke into our eyes and drove 
us out, so that there was no comfort. 

Having nothing else to amuse me, I occupied myself observing some curious looking ducks 
disporting themselves in the stream. They were about the size of teal. Those I supposed to 
be males, because they were larger, were dark on the breast, had white heads and tails, chocolate- 
color on the back, and red about the roots of their bills. The females were slate-colored on the 
back, and brownish-red on the breast ; their bodies and tails were long, and, with the exception 
of the short legs, their form resembled that of doves. They appeared to have power to fly but a 
short distance, but had great facility in crossing, ascending, or descending the rapid stream. 


The larger or male bird appeared to take more care of the young than the female, and it 
8* 


58 FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK 


was curious to see their manceuvres to get them out of danger when alarmed. One of the two 
would go down stream a yard or so, apparently making a survey of its rapids and eddies; then 
perch itself on a rock and call the attention of its companion, upon which the latter would - 
leave with the young under convoy, go over the first waterfall, take refuge in an eddy, and 
finally climb on the rock with the brood. As soon as the pioneer saw that all were safe, it 
would proceed to examine the next fall, and in this way they moved off down stream very 
rapidly, pitching at times over waterfalls of five or six feet. 

December 10.—Set out at 5 a. M. for the portillo, and at the distance of half a mile crossed 
a stream from the southward, whose banks are both high and steep, the descent to and ascent 
from it being difficult: hence its name of ‘‘ HE] Mal Paso’’—the bad pass. Crossed to the north 
side of the Arroyo Grande, and about four miles farther: on recrossed it and turned to the 
southward at the base of a high hill. Wound to the southward of this for near two miles 
over a mass of angular rocks from the size of a hogshead to that of the fist, the only 
sign of a pathway being that the sharp edges of the rocks were a little travel-worn. We here 
saw the last of vegetation. From the Mal Paso we had had only low thorny shrubs among the 
rocks, and a beautiful green velvet-looking turf on the smooth spots of ground. This turf was 
only velvety in appearance, for on the occasion of adjusting our saddles, some of us, invited by 
its soft look, seated ourselves for a comfortable resting spell, but were forced to spring up in all 
haste, by finding that each particular twig carried a sharp thorn, 

After tightening the saddle-girths we commenced the ascent of the first back-bone in this part 
of the mountains. This was slow work, for although the steepness of the road was overcome 
by zigzags, the rarity of the atmosphere made it necessary to allow the mules to stop every fifty 
yards and breathe. Fortunately, the sun had melted a great part of the snow, and the path 
was easily kept, so that we arrived at the portillo about nine o’clock a. M. 

This range, as well as the western, has a break in the pass over which the road leads, 
which has the appearance of a gate-way; hence the name Portillo—a gap or breach. Its 
elevation is about fourteen thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. 

Although the snow had melted to a great extent on the eastern side, the western was com- 
pletely covered two or three feet deep, and was withal much more steep, so that the prospect 
to those of us who were uninitiated looked to be full of dangers and difficulties; but at length— 
on foot, stumbling and wallowing in the snow-drifts—we reached the base without any damage. 
From the foot of the ‘‘back-bone’’ our road was again over sharp, angular rocks and stones along 
the south side of the stream flowing to the westward. At noon we stopped on its banks at a 
part of it called La Olla. Vegetation here commences, and consists of very thin pasturage, 
with occasional clumps of those thorny little shrubs I have spoken of as limiting vegetation on 
the eastern side. This shrub is called, I think, ‘‘Cuerno de vaca’’—Cow’s horn—and is invalu- 
able in the mountains for fire-wood ; its roots being large and easily torn up, and very combus- 
tible. With the exception of mule’s dung, or the back-bone and skull of an ox not long dead, 
this is the only fuel to be found. 

After dinner we crossed to the north side of the streamlet, and as its course is very precipitous, 
coasted the southern skirt of the spur bounding it for three miles, when we descended its 
point to the valley of the river Tunuyan bya steep path. This stream, which comes from the base 
of Tupungato to the northeastward, here joins another from the west, and then turns to the south- 
ward, At the ford, the Tunuyan is about twelve yards wide, two feet deep, and very rapid; the 
other stream, from the westward, is eight yards wide. After crossing the Tunuyan we travelled 
eight miles farther, and camped on the north bank of its tributary, nearly opposite a high and 
singularly castellated mountain called the Palomares, at the base of which there is a square 
jutting rock, hollowed out in such a manner as to present the exact appearance of a house. 

Passed several streams entering the ‘‘tributary’’ from both sides. Hills not very steep, but 
high enough to shut out the view of the lofty ranges back of them, so that it was difficult to 
realize that we were in the middle of the cordillera. The valley is thinly covered with pasturage, 


BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 59 


and it is usual for drovers to stop there in order that their animals may recruit. It has no 
houses in it, but there are several small ‘‘corrals,’’ or yards, built by arrieros and drovers. 
We saw a party of French artisans bound to Chile camped here, who had organized themselves 
for the journey before leaving Buenos Ayres, and, as a matter of economy and speculation, had 
bought some eighty mules in Rosario and on the road, some of which they used and drove the 
rest along. They had only two peons to aid them in the care of the animals, and performed all 
other work themselves. Their intention was to remain there until the mules were in good con- 
dition, and then cross the second range into Chile, where they expected to sell them at such a 
price as to make their trip profitable rather than expensive. 

It is very well to stop in the valley of the Tunuyan for this purpose, in the first part of the 
season—for, although a snow-storm may come and block up the passes for a few days, the 
summer’s sun is certain to open them again before 1ong—but in the fall of the year it is highly 
dangerous. One storm succeeds anothet.so rapidly, that there is no escape till summer comes 
again; and as the passes are generally closed nine months of the year, even supposing the 
traveller to have plenty of food, he could not exist such a length of time amid the snow. Some 
few years ago a family, consisting of several gentlemen, ladies, and children, were caught here 
by a snow-storm. At first, they supposed the detention would be temporary; but, as day after 
day passed, their hopes gave place to fear, and at length the arriero—the only one of them all 
who knew the road, or was, as they say, ‘‘vaqueano’’—under pretence of examining the pass, 
left them, and never returned. As he was never heard of, it was supposed that, in attempting 
to escape alone, he was lost over some precipice. Their situation was now desperate; winter 
had fairly set in, and their provisions were failing. They therefore determined, as a last resort, 
to attempt to reach the plain by following the Tunuyan. Killing one of the mules, and pro- 
viding themselves with as much of the meat as they could carry, they set out. I forget how 
long it was, but think that some weeks afterwards two or three of the party reached the plain, 
half starved, naked, and covered with sores; the others had perished. They were for a while as 
badly off in the plain as they had been in the mountains. There were no habitations near, nor 
any kind of food to be had; but, by good fortune, they fell in with a flock of condors feasting 
on a dead mule, from which they supplied themselves with a sufficient quantity to last them 
to the nearest house, where they arrived looking so wretchedly that the people were frightened 
and ran away. It was only by kneeling, and clasping their hands in the attitude of prayer, 
like Captain Riley and his men, that they could induce the residents to return and supply their 
wants. 

I wish I could tell this story as it was told to me; but for a proper appreciation it is necessary 
to be as I was when I heard it, in the valley of the Tunuyan, with a snow-storm raging above me. 

December 11.—Passed an uncomfortably cold night. Thermometer at 5 a. M. 29°.5; wet- 
bulb, 24°. 

Set out at 5.30 A. M., and travelled about four miles along the north bank of the tributary to a 
point where it forks at the foot of the western portillo ; one branch entering from the westward 
and the other from the southward; thence’one mile to a stream issuing from beneath several 
snow-bridges, where we arrived at the foot of the second spine of the cordillera. It is almost 
unnecessary to say that the road ascends gradually after crossing the Tunuyan. By reference 
to the table it will be seen that the bottom of the valley is nine thousand five hundred feet 
above the level of the sea, while the foot of the second portillo is near eleven thousand. 

By nine o’clock we had accomplished the ascent to the western portillo, and were on a spot 
where we could stand with one foot in Chile and the other in Mendoza. The eastern side is not 
very steep, nor are there any dangerous places on it; but the western appeared very formidable, 
and experience proved that it did not belie its looks. 

The elevation of this pass is thirteen thousand three hundred feet, and, like the other, there 
is really no level ground on it. The first step of the mule, after reaching the summit of the 
ridge, and passing between the high rocks forming the portillo, is downhill: 


60 FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK 


Greatly to my surprise, there was very little snow on the road, and that was lying in patches; 
the greater part of the mountain near being as dry as a desert. 

After making a barometrical measurement for the elevation, we started down, and very soon 
found the road so bad that we had to dismount and descend on foot. Properly speaking there 
is no road, but the mere semblance of a mule-path, winding by zigzags down a spur whose 
surface is covered with loose stones which roll from undeaeort to its ise: threatening at times 
to end in a general avalanche of mules, men, and stones, 

After about a league of zigzagging, we arrived at a little arroyo at the base of the steepest 
part, where we stopped to drink and rest. We again mounted here; proceeded two miles 
along the south side of this streamlet; then crossed the head-waters of the Rio del Yeso, 
which comes from the northeastward; and, a mile farther on, after crossing a spur from the 
northward, we entered the valley of the Yeso. The appearance of the valley hereabouts is very 
singular. It is covered with rocks of many kinds, décomposed and decomposing, and presents 
the appearance of an immense bed of half-slacked lime—not so much from the color of the rocks, 
although white predominates, as from their crumbling condition. Large masses of pudding- 
stone are to be seen, so far decomposed as to require only a slight blow to split them in pieces. « 

The account given of this singular place by the inhabitants of San José is, that some years 
ago, while the mountain-passes were closed by the winter’s snow, a shock was felt like that of 
an earthquake, accompanied by a great noise from this direction; and on the opening of the 
spring the muleteers found the road blocked up. 

The appearance of the surrounding hills does not warrant the belief that it was a land-slide ; 
and unless due to volcanic eruption, it is difficult to conceive how such a state of things could 
have been produced. 

Besides these decomposed rocks, the flats near the stream are covered with a white efflores- 
cence resembling soda. 

Two or three miles in a direction north of west over this kind of ground, brought us to a 
gorge on our right from which a streamlet issues. We here turned to the southwestward, and 
travelled about nine miles down a flat valley covered with vegetation, to a barrier range running 
from the high mountains on the north nearly across to those on the south, only separated from 
the latter by the Yeso, which, with the waters of its tributaries, passes between it and the foot 
of a high and rugged mountain, which I believe is the extinct volcano of Jan José. The road 
generally leads between the Yeso and the streamlet to the northward, but crosses to the south 
side of the former in front of a hill called the Cerro del Yeso, from which the stream takes its 
name. We saw a party of men there loading mules with yeso (gypsum) for the Chilean market. 

Fording this stream was rather a formidable business. It was about eight yards wide and 
three feet deep, with a rapid current, and the loose and rounded stones of its bed made it very 
difficult for the mules to keep their footing. 

On the north side, and about half way down the valley, there is a steep hill, with quite a 
plane front, crossed by several dikes nearly at right angles with each other, which give it the 
appearance of a field divided into small, irregular lots. In the corner formed by the barrier 
hill and the northern range there is a small laguna, around which were a great number of 
birds, principally waders, about the size of curlews, but with wings of a dark color, and white 
bodies. They are called piuquens. 

About three miles (including turns) over the barrier hill, and one more across a small valley, 
brought us to the banks of a stream issuing from a deep ravine to the northward, where we 
camped for the night. 

I regret that I did not measure the height of this barrier. It must be near a thousand feet 
above the valley, and in crossing appears to be almost interminable. The road is tolerably 
good, but there is a dangerous-looking ladera on it—the valley, on the one hand, being several 
hundred feet below, and the hill-side, on the other, uncomfortably studded with large boulders, 
which appear to be on the point of tumbling down. I could not help feeling nervous when I 


BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 61 
: ° 


reflected that we were in an earthquake country, and a shock would, in all probability, send 
such a shower of these from above as would sweep all before it. The arriero, to test how far a 
man might roll before he could stop himself in the event of a fall, dislodged a loose rock from 
the road-side, and from the antics it cut on its way down, concluded that he would walk in 
preference to trusting himself on the mule. 

December 12.—Started at daylight, and proceeded eight miles down a ridge separating the 
. Yeso from the Manzanito—the stream on whose bank we had camped. We here found thin 
pasturage and shrubs, and at the end a low growth of Maiten and Quillai trees. In one or two 
places on this ridge the road approaches within a foot of the precipitous banks of the Yeso, and 
is dangerous. 

Forded the Manzanito, and a hundred yards farther on, another stream, called the San Nich- 
olas—both entering the Yeso from the northeastward. These streams are rapid, about ten 
yards wide each, and from one to two feet deep, with rocky bottoms. My mule fell on his 
knees in one of them, but fortunately recovered himself without any harm being done. Thence 
five miles along the bank of the river brought us to a ruined hut, called El Manzanito, after 
passing which we crossed the ladera de San Francisco—without question, the worst place in the 
cordillera, There are two roads from the hut, but we did not know it at the time, and instead 
of taking the upper, which, although longer, is good, we followed the lower one over the ladera. 
This is in very few places more than two feet wide, and in many not one—the hill sloping at an 
angle of twenty degrees with the vertical, and the river rushing and roaring over the rocks at 
the distance of near two hundred feet below. The descent from the ladera is very steep, and 
the zig-zags so short, that the mules had hardly time to recover themselves in one stretch before 
it was necessary to turn abruptly down another. At the end of this perilous pass the road leads 
fo® a short distance along in the edge of the stream, and then ascends its bank to more level 
country. About a mile and a half farther on is the junction of the rivers Maypu and Yeso, 
where the latter, although the larger of the two streams, loses its name, and the whole, to its 
mouth on the Pacific coast, is called the Maypu. 

We were now at the beginning of settlements. Cultivated lands, fruit-trees, comfortable 
huts, smiling faces, bright eyes, and every indication of industry and superior intelligence, 
notified us that we were really in Chile. No contrast can be greater than the two sides of the 
cordillera in nearly all these respects. Nature, in the first place, has been more bountiful to 
the Chilean side. Where there is soil enough on the rocks to cultivate, there is water for irri- 
gation; and an almost total absence of political strife or feeling among the inhabitants remote 
from large towns, has left them nothing to think of but the improvement of their worldly con- 
dition. A good market for their produce is at hand, and good roads lead to it ; so that there is 
no excuse, except laziness, to prevent them from availing themselves of its benefits—and the 
Chileans are the least indolent of any of the Spanish race. 

We passed a settlement of five or six houses called San Gabriel, crossed an arroyo, and 
stopped for dinner at a rancho by the roadside. After dinner we started for San José, crossed 
a hill to a gorge from the northeastward, and then a ladera to another from the southward, out 
of which comes a stream. There is here a foot-bridge over the river. Crossed a stream about 
twelve feet wide, by a bridge; then passed behind a hill called the Divisadero; and from there we 
had quite a long stretch to another point where there is a suspension bridge across the river. 
Ranchos, farms, and orchards on both sides, of course, and hills high, but gradually decreasing. 
About five o’clock we reached the meecanio or deputy custom- hoaeen had our baggage over- 
hauled, and paid twenty-five cents for it; and from there proceeded through the same nature of 
country to San José, where we arrived ae sunset, without causing any unusual stir among the 
inhabitants, for the reason that they were run half mad by the discovery of some rich silver 
mines in its vicinity. 

We here turned the mules into a pasture-ground, in order that they might recuperate by the 
time of my return from Santiago. For the sum of four dollars the keeper of the fonda was 


62 FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK 
* 


obliging enough to let me have two horses, one for myself and another for my servant, which 
was a great favor, considering the rush for the mines; and after these arrangements were made 
I went to bed, with the happy thought that I should be in Santiago next day. Just as I 
was getting into a doze the Frenchman came into the room, and, with the most lost-all-my-poor- 
relationish look and tone, requested that I would allow José—my servant—to take charge of 
his bundle, as it would be rather inconvenient for him to carry, walking. The poor fellow had 


not eaten any dinner, and as I was in too good a humor to stand on trifles, I told him to get | 


a horse and dinner, and I would pay for them. This was done, and by four o’clock next morn- 
ing the three of us were off again ; slowly at first, but at a gallop as soon as daylight showed 
us the nature of the ground over which we were travelling. About five miles from San José 
we crosed the Rio Colorado by a bridge, and thence followed the Maypu through lanes bounding 
farms and houses to the plain of Santiago. For further information regarding streams crossed 
or passed, I refer to the map. 

I have spoken of the prosperous appearance of the country as a distinctive feature of Chile: 
before arriving at Santiago I saw another and very common characteristic in the person of a 
sturdy beggar priest on horseback. This particular one was very familiar to me, for there 
was seldom a day during our residence in Santiago that I did not see him, as then, riding along 
in his blue dress of the order of San Francisco, with a blue umbrella over his head, and a saint 
in a glass case under his arm. 

All my efforts to prevent José from dismounting and having a kiss at the saint were ineffectual, 
and when I saw him pay a real for the privilege I was disposed to discharge him on the spot. 
However, it was the ‘‘costumbre del pais,’’ as they say, and so I let the matter pass. 

On arrival at Santiago, I rode along the well-known street behind Cerro de Santa Lucia, 
and stopped at the house of Don Carlos Moesta to make arrangements for making a set of @b- 
servations in the observatory, but to my regret learned, from the lady of the house, that Moesta 
was away, and the observatory closed; and afterwards ascertained that the object and eye glasses 
of the telescope had been taken out for safe-keeping, and were ‘‘ nobody knew where.”’ For- 
tunately Mr. Mowatt, of Valparaiso, was in Santiago at the time, and had a pocket-sextant 
and an artificial horizon-with him, with which I made the necessary observations. 

The remainder of the day of our arrival and all the next were passed in a whirl of giving 
salutations to and receiving them from old friends and acquaintances, who appeared as glad to 
see me as I certainly was to meet them ; and on the following morning—the 15th of December— 
we turned our backs on Santiago again. The twelve leagues to San José was accomplished at 
a slashing pace, and on reaching there we found the arriero ready and anxious to be off; so, 
changing from horses to mules, we started for the portillo. 

From the time of our first arrival in San José until daylight of the third day afterwards, when 
my servant turned me out for the purpose of saddling up, everything had passed so rapidly as 
to appear a dream, and I was at a loss for a while to determine whether I had been in Santiago 
or not; but when I felt my bleeding heart, and got the scent of French brandy from my pocket 
handkerchief, I knew that all was reality, and that the confused images of Dofia Cualquiera 
and Don Antonio were tangible facts. 3 

Nothing worthy of remark occurred on our return trip until we arrived at ‘‘ La Olla.”” We 
stopped there at three p. M. of the 17th for dinner; but as it was evidently snowing in the 
pass, I called a council of war to determine whether we should proceed or not. The arriero 
thought we could cross before night; the peon—who was really the only one among us ac- 
quainted with the road—was non-committal; I myself, resting my judgment on notes of the 
first trip, stated just how long it had taken us to accomplish the passage; so that my servant 
had the casting-vote. I told them, however, that if they thought it imprudent to attempt the 
pass, they must go to work at once and collect fire-wood, as we were likely to have a cold night 
of it, and very soon learned the result of their deliberations by seeing them busily engaged 
rooting up the shrubs which serve for this purpose in the mountains. In a short time we were 


a tp 


BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 63 


all seated around a bright fire drinking tea, smoking cigars, and telling stories to enliven the 
time. 

By sunset the snow-storm, which before had only raged in the eastern portillo, became settled 
and spread over the whole valley of the Tunuyan. Our preparations for the night were neces- 
sarily the same as usual; but for the benefit of the curious, it may be well to describe them. 
The arrieros, in crossing the mountains, at convenient stopping-places have selected some rock, 
or rocks, affording shelter from the wind, and on their lee sides have built out short walls of 
loose stones, so as to make the shelter more perfect; the rubbish being then cleared out, and the 
surface made as smooth as possible, a bed-place was ready. Chileans have so many sheep-skins 
on and under their saddles, that their beds made in such spots are not at all uncomfortable; but 
the Mendocinos have seldom more than two or three sheep-skins, and perhaps a pair of ponchos 
or blankets; and yet with these they appear to be comfortable on the coldest night. I think 
that was about the amount of bed furniture each of my party had; and it was a matter of sur- 
prise to me to find that they suffered less than I did. My own bedding consisted of an ox-hide 
on the ground, two sheep-kins, a saddle-blanket, and one other spead upon it to make a soft 
bed; a thick blanket and a poncho for covering, and of course all my clothes, for these I never 
took off. Yet with all this, I frequently suffered with cold. 

December 18.—It turned out very well that we remained at the ‘‘ Olla,’’ for by sunset the 
cordillera* looked so black and threatening that we congratulated ourselves on not having 
attempted to pass. It snowed lightly all night; but this, instead of being an inconvenience, 
was a comfort; my blankets were thick enough to turn water, and the coat of snow that fell on 
them kept me as warm as I had ever been in the mountains. When we set out, it was not 
snowing at the ‘‘ Olla,’’ and appearances seemed to indicate that it would clear up; but before 
long it commenced to snow again, and a northeast wind sprung up, which drove the drift into 
our faces with such violence as almost to blind us. As we advanced, we found that the fall of 
snow had been so great as to obliterate entirely the path, and we were obliged to feel our way with 
great caution. At the foot of the portillo it lay from three to five feet deep in the road; and 
in going up, the peon—who kept ahead to open the track—found that his mule was too much 
frightened to proceed. It was, therefore, necessary for him to dismount and open the way on 
foot; through which we floundered along on a hill-side whose angle with the vertical is near 
forty degrees, without knowing whether the next step would not take us into eternity; but 
placing our trust, after Providence, in the sure-footedness of the mules, we succeeded in reach- 
ing the portillo. The wind there was blowing violently, and the drift-snow swept around us to 
such extent as at times to obstruct our view entirely ; but enough was seen to prove that the 
descent was as perilous as the ascent had been, and therefore we concluded to go down on foot. 
The delay necessary to make a barometric observation gave the party time to get half way 
down before I started; and I had not gone far before everything began to look green around 
me, and a severe attack of the puna rendered it impossible for me to proceed until the arriero, 
who had seen me succumb, brought my mule back. 

We found the place where we proposed to pass the night, if we had started the day previous, 
covered two feet deep with snow; and, indeed, from the ‘‘Olla’’ on the west side to the ‘ Mal 
Paso’’ on the east—a distance of seventeen miles, or seven hours’ travel—the whole country 
was covered with snow; so that if we had set out, in all probability we should have perished. 

Rested and got dinner at ‘‘los arenales,’’ and afterwards proceeded to the rancheria of the 
Arboleda, where we stopped for the night. 

December 19.—I expected to be off for Mendoza this morning at daylight, but found that 
both arriero and peon were nearly blind from the effects of travelling over the snow. At first 
I supposed they were skulking; but on examining their eyes, I saw that they were really suffer- 


* The arrieros call only the spine of the mountains the cordillera; so that although one may be near the summit, he is not yet 
in the cordillera, 


64 FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK 


ing very much, and applied the only remedy at hand—diluted laudanum—and by noon we were 
able to move on. 

People of the country, and foreigners of little experience, are in the habit of speaking of the 
arrieros and peons as invulnerable to disease, and capable of enduring any quantity of hard- 
ship. To acertain extent this is true; but the secret of it consists in a constant and practical 
application of the Spanish proverb, ‘‘Si hay remedio, remediarlo; y si no hay, para que 
llorarlo ?’’—‘‘ if there be a remedy, apply it; but if not, where is the use of crying over it?” 
While out of reach of assistance, they bear up on this principle most manfully against all ills; 
but when aid can be obtained, they yield to a greater extent than an unaccustomed traveller 
would. For instance, when we were among the snow of the mountains, the arriero and peon 
were as brisk and lively as bees, whilst I was on the point of giving up entirely; but after our 
arrival at the Arboleda, where their ailings could be attended to, they yielded to an extent I 
should have been ashamed of. 

At noon set out and travelled till night, and early the next morning commenced the last 
stage towards Mendoza. Before arriving, we met the peon of my other arriero, who was on the 
look out for me, and anxious to be off. 

Reached Mendoza at mid-day of the 20th, and found that my baggage had arrived three days 
before. My friend Don Santiago Arcos had kindly taken charge of it, thus adding one more to 
the many favors Ialready owed him. 

As I have mentioned this gentleman’s name, it may be as well to state that he is one of the 
most intelligent men I ever met in Chile, but unfortunately his constitution did not suit the 
climate of that country ; and his uncles, ‘‘ Los Sefiores Varas and Valdivieso,’’ had insisted on 
his removing to the more genial one of Mendoza. He was thus torn from all his associations 
and forced to live among strangers. This over-exertion of friendly compulsion may not be 
understood among our people, but in Chile, where the authority of a parent or guardian is abso- 
lute, it is looked upon as a matter of course. 

Mernpoza.—Between my first and second visits to this place, with a view of obtaining more 
accurate knowledge of its territory, the government had induced upwards of twenty caciques of 
the Indian tribes to the southward to come in and give information. My old friend Don Carlos 
was charged with the business of interrogating them and collating their reports ; and attached 
so much importance to the data furnished that he was engaged in making a map of that part of 
South America, which he proposed selling to the British government or our own, and was evi- 
dently so unwilling for me to copy it that I did not care to press the matter. Indeed, from* 
practical experience, I knew that information collected in this way was so little reliable that I 
was not disappointed by his reluctance to have me forestall him in the work. Twenty Indians 
all speaking different dialects, and with knowledge of neither north, south, east, nor west, except 
by the rising and setting of the sun or other heavenly body, nor any idea of distance but that 
which depends on the condition of their horses, could not be expected to give information suf- 
ficiently exact to insert in a geographical map. 

There were some things, however, that they all concurred in, and, as I was able to obtain 
the pith of these, I will give them : 

First: that the Tunuyan, besides receiving the Diamante and Atuel, also receives the waters 
of a number of small streams from the cordillera; but, notwithstanding this increase, termi- 
nates in a salt lake, called on Parrish’s map ‘‘ Urre Llauquen,’’ but which they called ‘‘ Cur- 
raca ;’’ that about one degree and a half north of this lake there is another, of fresh water, 
on the west bank of the Tunuyan; and that not far from latitude forty degrees south, nearly 
opposite the port of Valdivia on the Pacific, there still exists the ruins of an old Spanish’ settle- 
ment, where rich copper mines were formerly worked very successfully. On an invasion by 
the Indians, all the men were killed and the women and children carried into captivity, and 
from these has sprung a tribe with lighter complexion, more European features, and greater 
intelligence, than the other Indians of the country. They also stated that there was a well of 


BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 65 


water thereabouts, to which it was necessary for them to make a pilgrimage once in their lives 
for the welfare of their souls; and a river, in which they were obliged to bathe whenever they 
passed. On these occasions they have a grand frolic in honor of the deity they worship ; and 
when they have spirituous liquor, it ends by all getting drunk and having a free fight. This 
is the Indians’ story, as furnished me by Rivarola, and I give it for what it is worth. 

While I was in Mendoza, five men were shot for stealing cattle ; they were old offenders, and 
the vice had become so general that the government found it necessary to make an impressive 
example. 

On settling accounts with the cartmen for the transport of my baggage from Rosario, I found 
that the Frenchman, whose trunk was with mine, had made no arrangements to pay the 
freight, and that I was considered responsible for it. Having made up my mind in Santiago 
that I was finally done with the fellow, I felt so much annoyed at his conduct, that his trunk 
would have been left at the disposition of his creditors ; but Arcos suggested that I should pay 
it in memory of Lafayette, and accordingly it was done. 

I am inclined to think this countryman of the illustrious Lafayette was rather more knave 
than fool, for although he called several times after my last arrival in Santiago to see me, and 
talked over arrangements of accounts, his cash was not forthcoming at the proper time, and I 
never heard more of him. 

On making my last set of observations in Mendoza, I discovered the reason why the boiling- 
point apparatus indicated a greater elevation than the barometer, viz: a portion of the mercury, 
by the jarring of travel, had lodged in the cell at the top of the tube. 

On the 23d of December I again set out for Santiago by the. Uspallata Pass, and shortly after 
leaving town found that my party, instead of consisting of myself and servant, with the 
arriero and peon, was increased by the sister of the arriero—Doiia Juana—and a young Italian, 
a manufacturer of fideos, whom the arriero had contracted to carry over. As it was the last 
stage of the journey I made no objection, and had no cause afterwards to regret it. Dofia 
Juana was a very good hand at making a stew or a cup of maté; and the Italian, although 
frequently of service to me, was so grateful for the little benefit I could render him that I can- 
celled a resolution, made on parting from the Frenchman, of never doing another generous act 
without a guid pro quo. 

We stopped at nearly all my former stations, to repeat some of the observations, and finally 
arrived in Santiago, early on the morning of the 2d day of January. In looking over my 
notes of this journey, I find but few worth transcribing, and those I will throw in as odds and 
ends, without order or connexion, to fill up the seams of my loosely-worded report. 

We passed a part of Christmas day at Villavicensio, and found that the place, under the 
influence of a cheerful sun and a feast day, was more pleasant than at our former trip. 

Accomplished the journey between Villavicensio and Uspallata on the 26th, and stopped there, 
to give the peon a chance to recover from the effects of a kick from one of the mules. 

Among the baggage left behind at Rosario was a chest, containing two tanks of alcohol, 
which I had volunteered to bring from the United States for the purpose of preserving specimens 
of natural history. When I found it necessary to leave my heavy baggage behind, I had made 
up my mind to neglect entirely this part of my original intention; but having the tanks with 
me on this last trip, I felt disposed to add a mite to that science, and accordingly offered one of 
the soldiers at Uspallata twenty-five cents each for every snake or animal he should bring. He 
was at first doubtful about my sincerity, but when I paid him fifty cents for a pair of mountain 
rabbits, set himself to work in earnest; and before long I had specimens of crabs from the river 
de Uspallata, several snakes, and at last near a peck of tadpoles, for each of which I was 
expected to pay twenty-five cents. 

This was like my experience in Rosario. I there commissioned three or four men and boys 
to bring me specimens of snakes, fish, &c., but for two or three days got nothing. At length, 
when I had given up all hope, I was called out one morning, and found two fishermen from the 

. g* 


66 FROM MENDOZA TO SANTIAGO AND BACK 


river, each one having ten or a dozen enormous catfish, which they had been instructed to bring 
me. As any one of the fish was large enough to fill my tank, I had, of course, to decline pur- 
chasing, very much to the annoyance of the fishermen and the indignation of my emissaries. 

A short distance above the Puente del Inca there is another natural bridge, over the Rio de 
las Cuevas, formed by two large boulder rocks, which have lodged against each other, leaving 
enough space underneath for the water to pass. This bridge is made transitable, by having 
sheets of the rock of which the Incas bridge is formed laid like a pavement over its inequalities, 
and is frequently used by arrieros, in order to avoid the steep descent to and ascent from the 
Rio de los Horcones. With this view we passed the Puente del Inca, followed the south bank 
of the river, and recrossed at this bridge, where we were near having a serious accident. The 
ascent from the bridge to the road is by a short ladera; and as we were passing this, one of the 
burden-mules struck his load against a jutting rock, which partially turned it. As usual, the 
mule, on feeling all the weight on one side, became frightened, wheeled round, and came down 
the ladera at full speed, to the imminent risk of the whole party. He passed me so suddenly— 
the boxes grazing my knee—that I had no time to be alarmed for my own safety; but the chance 
for those below me—la Juana in particular, who was in a narrow part of the road, and so much 
frightened as to be incapable of exertion—appeared to be very small. My man, José, dis- 
mounted, and attempted to stop the mule, but was knocked over, and, in company with one of 
the boxes of instruments, went heels over head down the steep hill for about a hundred feet, 
both box and man bringing up at the river bank, without farther injury than a few bruises. 
Fortunately, before the mule arrived at the place where the woman was, the load had worked 
round under his belly, and prevented him from proceeding farther. 

Notwithstanding the steepness of the path across the cordillera, cruppers are never used, 
between Chile and Mendoza, for saddle or burden mules; nor does this appear necessary, with 
native mountings. These are furnished with wide double girths, working in large iron rings 
at their connection with the saddle. One of these is placed under the breast, and the other 
well back, near the flank, and both are girthed so tight that the poor animal’s belly is sorely 
pinched between them. In this position the saddle or load is immovable, forward or backward, 
until after a long march, when the animal becomes thinner by sweating. But, unless they 
are nicely balanced, the loads are constantly working over sideways, and as soon as the mule 
begins to feel the weight too heavy on one side it runs away, seldom stopping till the load gets 
under its belly and impedes progress, when it vents its uneasiness in kicks. In such cases, 
as also in loading, the first thing to be done is to blindfold the animal, without which it will 
not stand still. The arriero’s poncho, or blanket, serves for this purpose, which is, indeed, one 
of its principal uses. 

With an English or American saddle, where the girths are so arranged as not to admit of 
their being spread apart, there is frequent necessity, in going down hill, to halt and set the 
saddle back. 

I find that no mention is made, in the first part of my narrative, of the existence of ruins of 
Indian houses in the Uspallata Pass. There are ruins in at least two places—at the Rio de 
Tambillos, on the eastern side, and near the Alto de la Laguna, on the western. Those at the 
Rio de Tambillos are the most perfect, and resemble the foundations of a large house. The 
walls are not more than three feet high, and it is difficult to understand what the nature of the 
structure was. Their use was probably the same as that of the casuchas. In the Portillo Pass 
there are several corrals or yards, that serve for a similar purpose; but these are not as large 
or of the same construction as the tambillos, and were probably built by drovers. These ruins 
are called ‘‘tambillos,’’ which is the diminutive of the Peruvian word ‘‘tambo,’’ meaning 
an inn. 

Just before reaching the posada de Colina we discovered a snake, which my servant disabled 
by a cut across the back with the horse-whip, and it was afterwards choked until all signs of life 
were ended. Wishing to preserve it, and not caring to stop and unload the mules then, I put it 


i 


BY THE PORTILLO PASS, AND RETURN HOME. 67 


in my saddle-bags, intending to deposit it in the tanks at Colina. On our arrival I was aston- 
ished to find that it was not only alive and hearty as ever, but eagerly bent on biting me. Of 
course I dropped the reptile; and it soon made its way to a large party of women, who had 
collected at the posada to celebrate the new-year’s day. The amount of squalling and fluttering 
of petticoats that took place, and lasted till I got his snakeship by the throat, may be better 
imagined than described. ; 

I have said that it is the universal impression in Mendoza that goitre is caused by the use of 
the water of the river; it is also a very common belief in Santiago that it is there produced by 
the water of the Maypu. Indeed, many of the old inhabitants say it was not known before 
that water was brought to the city by the Maypu canal. There is a peculiar feature about both 
of these rivers which appears to justify this belief. Their banks are coated in many places 
with a white deposit, or efflorescence, called salitre; whilst the Aconcagua and Tunuyan—the 
one a companion of the Maypu, and the other of the Mendoza, which pass through settle- 
ments free from the goitre—have very little or no salitre on their banks. I took pains to bring 
home some of this efflorescence, and it is now in the hands of a chemist for analysis. There 
are also with the principal part of my baggage and instruments—which were left in Val- 
paraiso for shipment around Cape Horn—two bottles of the water of the Mendoza, and two from 
the Tunuyan. On their arrival they will be analyzed, and, it is hoped, will give some informa- 
tion on this subject. 

A striking change had taken place in the appearance of the outlet at the Uspallata Pass, on 
the Chilean side, between the time of my first and second journeys across it. On the former 
occasion there were but two or three huts below the Guardia Vieja, and around it there was no 
sign of cultivation; whereas, on the latter, instead of the one lonely hut at that place, there were 
quite a number, and several small farms; and from there to the valley of Santa Rosa there was 
almost a continuous line of farms and houses. 

My expenses from Mendoza to San José and back, by the Portillo Pass, were eighty dollars, 
exclusive of food ; and from Mendoza to Santiago, by the Uspallata Pass, fifty-four dollars. In 
the first case I had only two light trunks ; and in the last, two loads and a half of baggage. 

It may be proper to remark, that the accompanying map (No. 9) is compiled from others, 
except in the immediate vicinity of my road, where I have corrected it by observations. The 
map of the two mountain passes (No. 8) is entirely from observations; that of the Portillo 
Pass having been planned from estimated distances uncorrected, but the Uspallata Pass having 
the estimated distances corrected by positions astronomically determined. 

I left Valparaiso by the English mail-steamer of the 15th of January, proceeded to Panama, 
and, after an unusual and harassing detention on the isthmus, returned to the United States by 
the first steamer. 

Appended I give a table of the distances paid for on the post-road from Rosario to Mendoza. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
ARCH. MacRAE, 


Lieutenant U. S. Navy. 
Lieut. J. M. Gutiss, 
Supt. U. S. N. Astronomical Expedition. 


we 


68 TABLE OF DISTANCES, ETO. 


TABLE OF DISTANCES, BY THE POST-ROAD, FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA.—ANALYSIS OF POWDER 
COLLECTED ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER YESO. 
PROVINCE OF SANTA FE. 

From Rosario to the Saladillo de la Orqueta q 
“Candelaria - - - - 5 

‘¢ Desmochados - - - - 6 = 
4 
5 


‘¢ — Arequito - - - - 
‘¢ Guardia de la Esquina’ - - 


PROVINCE OF CORDOVA. 


to the Cruz Alta - - - - 
‘¢ Cabeza del Tigre - - - 
«¢ Esquina de Lovaton * - - 
‘¢ Saladillo de Rui Diaz = - - 
‘¢ “Barrancas - - - - 
‘¢  Zanjon - - - - - 
‘¢  Fraile Muerto - - - 
‘¢ Tres Cruces - - - - 


4 leagues. 
4 
5 
5 
4 
4 
4 
4 
«¢ Arroyo de San José - - Digan oS 
5 
4 
6 
6 
8 
4 
7 
5 
5 


ce 


sc’ Cafiadade Luca - - - 
‘¢ —- Tortoral - - - - - 
‘¢ ~~ Guanaco - - - - 
‘¢ Tambillo - - - - 
«¢ ~Chucul_ - - - - - 
‘¢ = Villa del Rio Cuarto - - 
‘¢ Ojo de Agua - - - - 
«¢ Barranquitas - - - = 
s¢ ~~ Achiras - - - - - 


PROVINCE OF SAN LUIS. 


to the Portezuelo - - - - 5 leagues. 
«¢ San José del Morro - - - a nntES 
‘¢ Rio Quinto - . - = r2 Ke 
‘¢ San Luis - - - =r 12 ce 
co Balde* == . - - - 9 ee 
‘¢ Desaguadero - - - SO IZ Res 
PROVINCE OF MENDOZA. 
to the Acorocorto = - - - - 12 leagues. 
‘¢ =6Santa Rosas - - - - 20 = 
‘¢ Retamo - - - . - 10 ee 
‘¢ Mendoza - - - - =o te 2, Cs 


The efflorescent powder collected on the bank of the river Yeso has been analyzed by 
Professor J. Lawrence Smith, and found to consist of— 


Sulphate of magnesia = - - - - - - - 40.10 
Sulphate of soda - - - - - - - - 26.25 
Chloride ofsodium- - - - -— - - 33.65 


100.00 


Pica ty tees bal 


OBSERVATIONS. 


OFFIce oF THE Untrep States Navan Astronomical EXPEDITION, 
Washington, D. C., June 29, 1854. 
Str: I beg leave to submit herewith the results of my observations, made between Santiago 
de Chile and Montevideo, for the determination of geographical positions, elevations above the 
sea-level, and the magnetic elements; and, in connexion therewith, to present a statement of 
the manner in which they were obtained, and the amount of reliability to be attached to them. 


OF THE LATITUDE. 


The altitudes were invariably measured with a sextant and artificial horizon, and, as the 
sun’s meridian altitude was too great for the sextant, the latitude has been generally derived 
from double altitudes—there being two or more determinations for each place. 

In the months of November and December, during which these observations were generally 
made, the sun passes too near the zenith in the parallel to which my work was confined for 
very accurate determinations; but, from the close agreement of the results, I consider them 
sufficiently reliable for all practical purposes. 

Mendoza, for example, was found to be in 32°50! 51” by two altitudes. 
51 18 (a4 (74 
51 Silk co cc 
50 45 ce ce 
51 O07 by meridian altitude of moon. 


Mean 32 51 04 latitude of hotel. 
+ 11 


South 32 51 15 latitude of Plaza. 
These results, however, agree more closely than the generality of them. 
OF THE LONGITUDE. 


On my first trip across the country I had three pocket-chronometers, only one of which was 
of the least value for the determination of longitudes; and on two occasions, although I wound 
the others, I neglected to wind that particular one. Having no known position from which to 
determine its error, and not time enough to ascertain definitively a position, I, of course, could 
not rely on it. Moreover, I made the mistake of marking time by it at all observations, and, 
by the necessary shifting from hand to pocket, vitiated its rate. I have, therefore, rejected all 
chronometric determinations of the first journey, except that at the Casucha de la Cumbre, at 
which place I did not stop on my second expedition. In this instance, taking the rate from the 
Alto de la Laguna to the Casucha de los Puquios, according to their positions as determined on 
the second journey, there is only to be considered a rate for about fifty hours, and, consequently, 
no probability of great error. 

On the return to South America, I was better provided, and had more experience. In addi- 


70 OBSERVATIONS. 


tion to the best of my former chronometers, P. & F. No. 1915, belonging to the government, I 
had Barraud No. 523, also belonging to government, and P. & F, No. 2683, of my own. 

Taking Rosario, on the Parana, as my initial point, and assuming its longitude as determined 
by Captain Sullivan, R. N., in H. B. M.’s brig ‘‘Philomel,’’ to be correct, I made as little 
delay as possible in reaching Mendoza, my first terminal point, making observations at several 
places on the road. The longitude of Mendoza was then determined by chronometric differences 
with Santiago, in the following manner: 

The day of my departure from Mendoza, (December 6, 1853), and again on my return from 
Santiago, (December 21, 1853), I made observations for clock error. This gave meonerate. I 
also obtained observations in Santiago, on my first arrival from Mendoza (December 14, 1853), 
and again on my last arrival (January 3, 1854), which gave me another rate. The longitude 
of Santiago having been accurately determined by the observations of the ‘‘Expedition,’’ I 
worked back from December 14 and January 3, to Mendoza, December 6 and 21, with both 
rates, and obtained the following results: 


Barraud. | P. & F.1915.| P. & F.2683. | Means. 


hem. 8 hem. 8. hem. 8. hem. & 

4 35 56.6 4 36 05.7 4 35 53.9 4 35 49.2 
42.1 35 39.0 49,0 4 35 50.3 
48.8 35 51.2 48.9 4 35 48.6 
29.8 (a) 35 45.2 42.6 


4 35 44.3 4 35 50.3 4 35 48.6 4 35 49.4 


Or, rejecting (a), 4h. 35m. 49.2s. 


The last determination by Barraud is rejected; because, at the Estero de las Cruces this 
chronometer slipped from#my pocket, and, although it fell on the sand, the jar was sufticient to 
alter its rate. 

The longitude of Mendoza being thus determined to my satisfaction, I adopted the rate 
between that place and Rosario for all intermediate places; and between Mendoza and Santiago 
for stations in the mountains. 

In order to judge of the amount of probable error in these determinations, I append the 
Greenwich mean time as shown by each chronometer, (with errors applied) at those points on 
the road where the greatest discrepancies existed : 


Villa de la Concepcion, November 16, 1853— 


him. & 
Barraud . . . 755 12.0 
RSIS ie oe LOD Ore 
2683 . . . . 7655 32.4 

Uspallata, December 26, 1853— 

hom, 8. 
Barraud . . . 7 2321.0 
19S) ws a os 17 R9DB.4 
2683 . - »« 723 26.8 


It may be as well to remark, that I carried all three chronometers in a belt strapped around 
my waist, and under my clothes. In this way they were kept at as near the same temperature 
during the journey as was possible. 

As an additional proof of the accuracy of determinations of longitude by means of pocket- 
chronometers, I beg leave to recall to your memory the fact that Mr. Mowatt, of Valparaiso, 
determined the difference of longitude between Santiago and Valparaiso’ by this means in Jan- 
uary, 1852, and that this difference was found to agree, within a very small fraction of a second, 
with our determination by electric telegraph in September, 1852. 

Besides the chronometric determinations, I had also determinations deduced from the begin- 
ning and end of the solar eclipse of November 30, 1853; the observation of the end being very 


OBSERVATIONS. ; ial 


good. I was disappointed, however, from not having any observations at other stations, with 
which to compare my own. The only place from which proper observations could have been 
expected was Santiago; and you are aware Dr. Moesta, the chief of the observatory at that 
city, was away for the purpose of making observations in Peru, where the eclipse was central. 
Moreover, the eclipse was very partial in Mendoza; and the result differs so much from the 
determination by chronometer, that [ have not hesitated to reject it. 

I have also rejected the observations of lunar distances in Mendoza and elsewhere. So far 
as my experience goes, they are, at best, only approximations; and where, as in this case, it 
was necessary to calculate the altitudes—thereby introducing another source of error—less 
dependence is to be placed on them. 

I was unable to observe any occultations on either journey. When the star to be occulted 
was of sufficient magnitude to be observed with my ship’s spy-glass, clouds intervened. 

The positions of Santiago, Rosario, Buenos Ayres, and Montevideo, are not by my determina- 
tions; the first being by the ‘‘Expedition,’’ and the rest from the best English authorities, 

The longitude of Mendoza, by the observation of the end of the eclipse, is 4, 35m. 04s. 


ELEVATION ABOVE THE SEA-LEYEL. 


In these calculations, which have been made by the formula published by the Smithsonian 
Institute, it was necessary to assume a base; and for want of better I adopted Santiago, taking 
the mean of all observations at 9 A. M., noon, and 3 p.M., for the months of November and 
December, during which two months my journeys were made. Supposing the mean height of 
the barometer at the level of the sea, in Valparaiso, to be 30 inches, and the temperature the 
same as in Santiago, the corresponding difference of level is 1,793 feet; which I have applied to 
the calculated elevations above Santiago to obtain elevations above the sea-level. The only 
exceptions to this in the table are at Rosario, Acorocorto, and Tupungato. The difference of 
level between Rosario and Buenos Ayres is given by a comparison of all observations made in 
each place. , 

Acorocorto is so near the level of Santiago that there is doubt whether one of the temperature 
corrections is positive or negative; and I have, therefore, worked from assumed readings at 
Valparaiso. The height of Tupungato is calculated from a vertical angle measured from la 
Punta de las Vacas. 

A glance at the table of heights will show the amount of reliability to be placed on them. 
In all places near the level of the sea the ordinary fluctuation of the barometer renders deter- 
minations of but little value. At the Villa de la Concepcion, for instance, the observations of 
the 16th of November give an elevation of 1,696 feet, and that at noon of the 17th gives 1,369 
feet. For a proper understanding of the records in the column marked aneroid, it is necessary 
to state that on my departure from Santiago, in November, 1852, I had an aneroid, which I 
broke accidentally on mounting my horse the first day out. On the second trip I had another, 
which was compared daily, at Rosario and Buenos Ayres, with the mercurial barometer, and 
was not altered till I reached San Luis, where, from dampness or other cause, the dial, which 
was of pasteboard, had expanded so as to impede the motion of the index. It was necessary, 
therefore, to cut out the central part to allow free motion to the index, and probably in so doing 
the reading was altered. After obtaining careful comparisons in Mendoza, I left for Santiago 
by the Portillo Pass, and made corresponding observations with the syphon barometer as far as 
the eastern Portillo, where the final lever, b, (see figure,) had reached a horizontal position; and 
as it was not possible to wind up the chain, of course the barometer ceased to act. On the second 
trip from Mendoza I turned one of the screws d of the leverage apparatus e, until the lever was 
thrown back as far as possible. Though this gave it greater range for diminished atmospheric 
pressure, and I passed over the Uspallata Pass without having it cease to act, it was also without 
accurate measures; and, moreover, when I descended to near the level of the sea the lever was 
resting against the side of the case, and the barometer could rise no farther, 


72 OBSERVATIONS. 


The difference between the reading of the aneroid and mercurial barometers in passing the 
cordillera, was as follows: 


Miler doze tee sees cswtaiort lois ciStoe dine ols iSleteaye o cielo uetsivate Sele ee bicteisirod somimisersaiten 2.82 inches, 2 
WalllaivitCenstOtencecseess seK. ose ‘geit sles Seta welectnn ge Sanita eeaiela cee eRe atenk blemwrekias 2653 
Usspallata...........cccsscccescceses sosceeececsssenenseccusecssesscsneeesesancceseess 2638) Wiis 
@asucha de los Puquioss.:. 25a: cseense cess bannechenetslese=anenssakesesshiehe DEA eS 
@asucha de® la Cumbres. <:. ies sees daceses seca toeeses con betes sue erooeeeeeeeee Delle aeetse 
ENTtoy de) Wa) Tae ass.cpe deste eerste ase ceee seeeece eet a= eeeee tars = aereeer meee PALS 
Histero:de las ‘Crucesiss:¢. seacssseosseeconnatentbeecscmecwense cet cant eke ee ceetoe Rasy 
Ghacra de) Montimasis.cossssecacs tess pec cceeanoneneceaate otembtetisesctcnekcentis Dept 1e FE 


Showing a regular decrease of difference in going up, and, with the exception of the difference 
at the Alto de la Laguna, which may be a false record, a regular increase coming down. This 
proves that the aneroid, or at least the one T had, is not adapted for measuring heights. 

It has been objected to the aneroid that it does not remain constant; that is, a comparison 
made to-day will not agree with one six months hence. I think the difficulty may be obviated 
in this manner: 


Under the end A of the first lever A F F there is a spiral spring 8, which rests on a washer 
connected with a screw in the back of the barometer, and intended to adjust the instrument by. 


OBSERVATIONS. 73 


When this is screwed up enough to raise the washer off the base of the instrument, the hand 
may be regulated backwards or forwards by turning the screw, but at the same time the con- 
stant action of the spiral is against the washer, and will in time force it down, particularly 
when there is any jarring, as there is in travelling. I found that the comparisons remained 
constant when the washer was resting on the base of the instrument. It is to be remarked, 
however, that I made but a short series of observations. 


MAGNETIC DETERMINATIONS. 


The declination and inclination were determined in the usual mode, with a portable decli- 
nometer and Barrow’s dip-circle. It is therefore unnecessary to say anything respecting them 
in this place, except that the observations for inclination are the least reliable of all. The 
axis of the needle has a shoulder on each side, of such short proportions that, in raising the 
needle between readings, if great care has not been taken to re-place it, the Y’s only take hold 
on one side, and therefore, in returning it to its place on the agate supports, it is apt to lodge 
diagonally. I did not discover that this was the cause of the discrepancies until I had finished 
the work. 

The horizontal force was determined from the usual data, by the formulae of Riddell. 

The moment of inertia of the magnet found, by vibrating it with two different rings, and 
also without weight between the two sets of ring vibrations, to be equal to 2.66092, by the fol- 


lowing formula : 
m2 
—— feel 
k= Kara) 


Where K" is equal to the moment of inertia of the ring, and T and T, = the times of vibra- 
tion with and without weight, T and T, were corrected by the formula— 


, r aa = H 
f= 2 (— 86400 — 16 (1 +7) 


in which T= the recorded time of one vibration in seconds. 


3 eA n= the rate of the chronometer per second; + when gaining; — when losing. 
aa __ os 1 2 
i> dd' x .0000727227. 


d and d' denoting the semi-arcs of vibration in divisions of scale, and a the angular 
value of one division. 


— the ratio of the torsion and magnetic forces. 
ee Ge 2) w, where w is the weight (in grains) of the ring used, and r and 7, 
the exterior and interior radii, in decimals of a foot. 

The value so found is corrected for the difference of temperature between what it was when 
K was determined and the actual temperature at the time of observation, by multiplying it by 
1+ 2e (¢'—12), where ¢' denotes the actual temperature of the magnet, ¢ the temperature at 
the time of the original observations, and e the coefficient of dilatation of steel for 1° Fahrenheit: 
the numerical value of e being 0.0000068. 

The change of magnetic moment for a difference of 1° of temperature was found to be 
0.000394, by the formula— 


xX an, co tan wu; 


aot, 
q denoting the temperature coefficient. 
a denoting the arc value of one division of the scale in terms of radius. 
m denoting the difference of scale readings, corrected for change of declination. 
é and ¢, denoting the corresponding differences of temperature. 
u denoting the angle of deflection at the lowest mean temperature. 
10* 


74 OBSERVATIONS. 


With these constants, the horizontal force = X, and the magnetic moment = m, were found 


as follows: 
23 ot 23 ot 1 
ee Zrsinwu 4 7, sin w 
r= 4 (G42 re ine 


aE 
ry 


where 7 and 7, = the distance between the centres of the deflecting and suspended magnets 
in decimals of a foot, w and uw! = the corresponding angles of deflection 
, Pies, Leen, SU ie I sin & 
pa 7? sin wu! —r° sin wu. 


P was determined by the above formula, by taking a mean of twenty sets of observations at 
1 foot and 1.3, including those made during the trip, and found to be equal to — 0.0022001. 
And this value was used as a constant. 


Senet 
m X =~ 7 
where x = Circumference of circle to diameter 1; 


K = Moment of inertia of suspended magnet and stirrup; 
T = the time of one vibration given by the formula, 


rafr(i— sia 88) 104 F 00) 


These symbols being the same as those used in determing the value of K. And 
t= temperature of deflecting magnet during the experiments of 
deflection. 
f= temperature of deflecting magnet during the experiments of 
vibration. 
q = the temperature coefficient. 


And finally, calling x = 


m X=B 
x = B 
A 
and m= vV AB 


While in Buenos Ayres I made observations, from early daylight till dark, for change of 
horizontal force, by taking the time of 300 vibrations every hour, but Imeglected to observe the 
angle of deflection except at the beginning, middle, and end. At these times, viz: 

At 6.30 a. Mm. X= 6.19309 
At 1.30 P?. mM. X= .19886 
At 6.30 Pp. M. X= .22289 


At Santiago, the value given of X and m is the mean of several sets of observations imme- 
diately preceding my departure. At the Chacra de Montumas the observations were made 
about mid-day; at the Estero de las Cruces about 11 A. M.; at the Alto de la Laguna about 3 
Pp. M.; at the Cumbre about 6 A. M.; at the Casucha de los Puquios about 6 a. M.; at Uspallata 
7 a. M.; and at Mendoza about noon. 

The total force was found by multiplying the horizontal force into the secant of the inclination. 

In conclusion, I beg leave to state that from several causes it is difficult to make accurate 
observations in a mountain pass; the principal obstacles are, local attraction and strong winds. 
In the case of my observations, there was the additional difficulty of being obliged to make 
them in the sun, because the tent I had was of such construction that it was useless as a shelter 
to the instruments, 


OBSERVATIONS. 75 


I think, however, the observations are sufficiently accurate to establish the fact that the 
magnetic force decreases with the altitude, but in what ratio I am unable to say. 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
ARCH. MacRABE, 
Lieutenant U. 8. Navy. 


Lieut. J. M. Griuiss, 
U.S. Navy, Chief of Expedition. 


TABLE SHOWING THE LATITUDES, LONGITUDES, ELEVATION ABOVE SEA-LEVEL, AND MAGNETIC ELEMENTS AT THE 
SEVERAL STATIONS BETWEEN SANTIAGO AND MONTEVIDEO. 


From Santiago de Chile to Mendoza and back by the Uspallata Pass. 


| 
. . ati e i | . : 
Place. pouass West longi: above Bast deeli: Inclination. moteen “otinagnet Total force. 
‘or Pei orn Feet. CP met] Ot dh 
Santiago. . . 2 «© 2 « « @ 8 33 26 25 70 38 24 1,793 16 27 29 35 36 40 6.451385 0.42105 
Posada de Chacabuco. . . « « « 2,173 
Cuestade Chacabuco. . . « « - 4,225 
Santa Rosadelos Andes. . . . + 32 48 14 70 40 09 2,564 
Chacrade Montumas. . . . « - 32 46 17 70 40 33 2,584 16 22 14 35 10 30 6.49090 0.42375 
Do do Sl Ce sOuns Be 2,649 
Mouth of Rio Colorado . »« .« « . 3, 454 
Estero delasCruces . « «. 6 « « 32 55 43 70 24 43 4, 388 15 55 54 34 54 30 6.47505 0.42255 7.89574 
Do COGS Te sate take 4, 426 
Rio del Peffion . . . « « « « - 6,608 
AltodelaLaguna. . . - « « « 32 50 56 70 12 39 9,207 15 43 17 34 51 00 6.44369 0.42447 7.85192 
Do do Ore oe teens 9,267 
CasuchadelaCumbre . . . . .« 32 49 06 20 09 45 12,135 15 39 27 34 52 30 6.41623 0.42666 7.82243 
Cumbre Pass, NorthRoad . . . . ; 12,656 
Cumbre Pass, South Road . . . . 12, 488 
Casucha delos Puquios . . .. . 32 50 29 69 57 5L 8, 869 15 14 24 34 44 00 6.42626 0.42605 7.81960 
Do dob aaNet tees 8,961 | 
Puntadelas Vacas . . . « e « 32 53 00 69 50 51 7,979 
Tupungato, (Peak) . . « +» © « 33 21 40 69 50 43 22, 460 
Epa ata wie) le) el eat sorte 32 34 24 69 27 19 6, 426 15 06 26 34 05 30 6.40651 0.42363 7.73538 
Do aie Toke, tat war Pes 6,350 
ElParamillo « « = « « « « « 9,395 
Villavicensio . . . » + © «© « 32 29 37 69 05 01 5,501 
Do Phin May a Mons ic 5,567 
Mendoza. . « « «© © « «© « « 32 51 15 68 57 15 2,497 15 05 02 34 22 42 6.40731 0.41970 7.76337 
Op te ice a ek tn eal eee 2,469 


From Mendoza to Santiago and back by the Portillo Pass. 


Rio de Mendoza . 

LaArboleda . 1. « » « « « 3,778 

iaiGUALdia, ss) ee ey 0) eo) May eu 6,677 

Los Arenales . 1... » «© e 8, 193 

Foot of steep ascent of Eastern Portillo, 13, 331 

east side. 

Eastern PortilloPass . . . . . 14,311 
Do do ehaeifas (a (sas 14,319 

LEONE: 6 GG eek ety ate IEEE 10, 350 

Valley of the Tunuyan . . . . 9, 521 
Do do t, Sec 70 9,442 

Western Portillo Pass. . . » « 13, 189 
Do do hee se 13,475 

Foot of steep part of descent, west side 

San Jos6deChile...... . 


76 OBSERVATIONS. 


From Mendoza to Montevideo and back across the Pampa. 


. 7 I 
Place. Sani) pens West Wek falove Be Mneell Inclination. wreen ‘ormagnet Total force. 
CS eh ony ay Feet. Otay) AT Ls wet) 
os'Barisles™ ss ss es ss 1,954 
(ACOFOCOTLON g) a) 5) 8) 10 «= fon 33 25 36 67 41 44 1,726 14 55 48 34 26 30 6.37344 0.42019 
El Desaguadero . . - «+ + « + 1,648 
Balde’ ss cet se eg 8 1,565 
San LuisdelaPunta. . ... . 33 16 57 66 27 13 2,548 14 39 45 33 24 30 6.36979 0.42085 7.63060 
Rio Quinto . . . »- « «© « « « 2,434 
San Josédel Morro .« .« . .. | 3,193 
Villa dela Concepcion . . . .*. 33 06 37 64 22 46 1,582 13 28 22 32 38 30 6.31460 0.42121 7.49900 
El'Tortoral . 2. 2 0 «© «© «© « = 798 
Esquinade Medrano. ..... 509 
@iraile:Muerto.<) 3) f= sss» 32.36 24 62 38 37 305? 
Peje Tree Ptavon esta) ell elisin ts No 32 58 00 62 32 09 13 00 00 31 50 30 6.28374 0.41860 
Saladillode RuiDiaz. . ... . 32 56 09 62 18 49 541? 
CabezadeliTigre . 2 5 «st 339? 
Los Desmochados. . . «. - + - 477? 
Saladillodela Horqueta. . .. . 261? 
IEVRosarig) 5; fe 1« ais) ie) ve 32 56 15 60 32 19 *234 12 01 13 30 57 00 6.23680 0.41971 
Buenos:Ayres) 5 s+) eo) se ee 34 35 30 58 22 00 11 45 17 32 11 30 6.19705 0.41814 
Monteyidepi. 2) es ek kw 34 53 18 56 13 30 10 12 41 32 07 30 6.15906 0.41616 


* Above Buenos Ayres. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE BETWEEN SANTIAGO AND BUENOS AYRES. 


g Se 5 eles eal 
= £ Sean | a5 
Place. Year, day and Hour. Ss 5 s eis = 2 5 2 Sky. Remarks. 
month. Bo | Bo |S2/28 zs 
£ = 2 peas 
e g £5) S58 Be Direction. |Force 
D < < = [=] 
Inches. | Inches. s - a 
Santiago. © . . .| Nov. 14, 1852 M. | 28.3246) 31.252 | 65 Clear. . . 
Do. «. « « » «| Nov. 15,1852) -8 A.M. 316 -270 | 63.5 Oa ig 6 Set out at 9.30 A.M. 
SanIgnacio. . . .| Nov. 15,1852) 11 A.M. 525 8 |Clear. .. 
Posada de Colina . . | Nov? 15,1852] 3 P. M. 125 86 |Clear. . . Broke the aneroid. 
Posada de Chacabuco . | Noy. 15, 1852} 8 P. M. | 27.753 59 Clear. . . 
Cuesta de Chacabuco , | Nov. 16,1852) 7 A.M. | 25.843 68 * Clear. . ? 
Chacra de Montumas , | Noy. 16, 1852 M. | 27.170 72.5 | 60 73 +#|Clear. . . 
Do do - | Nov. 16, 1852} 3 P. M. +357 73 60.5 | 77 Clear. . . 
Do do . | Nov. 16,1852) 9 P.M. «403 56.3 | 51.5 | 57 Clear. . 
Do . do . | Nov. 17, 1852) 6 A.M. ~462 53.6 51 55 Clear. . 
Do do . | Nov. 17, 1852| 9 A.M. 477 62.6 | 55 64 |Clear. . 
Do do . | Nov. 17, 1852 M. +458 70.2 | 55.5 | 70.5 | Clear. . 
Do do . | Nov. 17, 1852] 3 P.M. 466 71.6 | 56.7 | 72.3 | Clear. . 
Do do . | Nov. 17, 1852} 6 P.M. +454 63 55.5 | 67.5 | Clear. . 
Do do . | Noy. 18, 1852} 6 A.M +434 49 45.5 | 49 | Clear. 2 
Santa Rosa . . . .| Nov. 18,1852; 9 A. M. 387 64.4 | 54.3 | 64 Clear. .. 
Chacra de Montumas . | Nov. 18, 1852 M. +450 74.7 | 61.5 | 7. Clear . 
Do do . | Nov. 18,1852] 4 P.M. +410 73.4 | 57.5 | 73 Clear. . . 
Do do . | Dee. 31, 1853 M. | 27.364 | 29.937 | 82 64 83° |Clear, . . Routhwest 3 | Different instrum’ts. 
ward. 
Mouth of Rio Colorado | Nov. 19, 1852 M. | 26.564 70.7 Clear. . 
Do do . | Nov. 19, 1852] 2 P.M 509 82.4 Clear. . . 
Estero de las Cruces . | Nov. 19, 1852| 6 P. M. | 25.710 69.3 | 51 70 Clear; + 4 
Do do . | Noy. 20, 1852) 5 A.M +658 48.2 | 42 47.5|Clear. . . 
Do do . | Nov. 20, 1852} 8 A.M -698 63.8 50.2 | 64.5 | Clear. 
Do do . | Nov. 20, 1852} 9 A.M. -694 70.7 | 53.5 | 71 Clear. 
Do do . | Nov. 20, 1852} 1 P.M +658 75.2 | 50.5 | 75.5} Clear. . . 
Do do « | Dee. 30, 1853 M. -708 | 28.100 | 78 55.5 | 78.5 | Clear. . .| Westward 4 
Rio del Pefion . . «| Nov. 20,1852) 7 P.M. | 24.044 61.2 Clear. . 
Do. . . * . «| Nov. 21,1852] 5 A. M. -017 51.8 | 36 52.5/Clear. . . 
Alto dela Laguna , , | Nov. 21, 1852 M. | 21.591 62.6 | 40 60 Kid io) uae peer: 5 
ward. 


» | Alto de la Laguna . 


Do 


do 


Casucha de la Cumbre 


Do 


Do 


Do 
Do 


do 


do 


do 
do 


Cumbre 8. road . 


Cumbre N. road 
Casucha de los Puquios 


Do 


Do 
Do 


Do 


Do 


Punta de las Vacas 


Uspallata 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 


El Paramillo 


Villavicensio 


LG 5 
Mendoza . 


do 


do 
do 


do 


do 


do 
do 


Year, day and 
month. 


Noy. 21, 1852 


Noy. 21, 1852 


Noy. 


Dee. 


Noy. 


Noy, 


Noy. 


Noy. 


Nov. 


Noy. 


‘| Dee. 


Nov. 


Noy. 


Noy. 
Noy. 


Noy. 


Dee. 
Dee. 
Nov. 
Noy. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Dee. 
Dec. 
Nov. 
Dee. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 


Dee. 
Dec. 
Dee. 


Dee. 


Dec. 


Dec. 
Dec. 


Dee. 


Dec. 


Dec. 


Dee. 


22, 1852 
29, 1853 


22, 1852 
92, 1852 
22, 1852 


93, 1852 
23, 1852 


23, 1854 


29, 1853 
23, 1852 


23, 1852 


24, 1852 
24, 1852 


24, 1852 


98, 1853 
28, 1853 
26, 1852 
26, 1852 
26, 1852 
26, 1852 
26, 1852 
26, 1853 
25, 1853 
27, 1852 
25, 1853 
28, 1852 


30, 1852 
30, 1852 
30, 1852 
1, 1852 
1, 1852 
1, 1852 


1, 1852 
1, 1852 
2, 1852 


9, 1852 
2, 1852 


3, 1852 
3, 1852 


3, 1852 
4, 1852 
5, 1852 


5, 1852 


OBSERVATIONS. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


Hour. 

3 P.M. 
6 P.M. 
6 A.M. 
2 P.M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
6 P.M. 
6 A, M. 
9 A.M. 
9.30 A.M. 
M. 

3 P. M. 
6 P.M. 
6 A.M. 
9 A. M. 
M. 

6 P.M. 
9.30 A. M. 
6 A. M. 
9 A. M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
9 P.M. 
M. 

5 P. M. 
3 P.M. 
ll A. M. 
6 A.M. 
9 A.M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
Midnight. . 
9 A.M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
7 P. M. 
9 A. M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
9 A. M. 
M. 

4 P.M. 
10 A. M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 


Syphon barom- 
eter. 


Aneroid barom- 
eter 


Inches. 


23.687 


21.262 


24,137 


26.400 


Attached ther- 
mometer. 


° 


x 
2 


40.6 


38.8 


50.9 


71.4 


62.6 


51.8 
64.4 


68.0 


68.0 
75 
51 
60.8 
64 
63 
55.4 
72 
79 
52.3 
76 
60.8 


71.6 
75.2 
76 
72 
67 
71.6 


73.4 
73 
73.4 


76 


79 


73.4 
75.2 


79 


78.8 


81 


Wet-bulb ther- 
mometer, 


43.5 


67.7 


66.8 


82.4 | 68.5 


Dry-bulb ther- 
mometer. 


oO 
@ 


Co 
a 


a 
or 
w 


37.5 


41.7 


40 


36.5 
47.5 


58 
68.5 


63 


47.5 
65 


68.8 


69 
68 
51 
62.5 
65.7 
64.5 
55.5 


Sky. 


RetSiretie) ue 
VBP IS iG 5 
Clear. . 
Clear... . 
Clear. . 
Clear . 
Clear... = 


Clear. . 
Glears 2.) 


Clear. . . 


Clear. . 
Clears. . 3 


Clear. . 


Clear. . 
Olear sae 


Clear. . 


Clear, . 3 
Clear.) 3 
K. to eastw’d 
K. toeastw’d 
K. to eastw’d 
K. to eastw’d 


K. to eastw’d 
Clear. . . 
Ves iS Bk BG 
Clear. . 

CHER GA 


Clear... 
iClEarS 6 is 
Glear. <5 
Clear. . « 
Clear, .: i 
C.K.S.8 . 


CUBS » 
CuK. 4). 
Clear. . . 


Clear. 
K.8.2 


K. 8.1 
K. 8. on mts. 


EIA 5 


Clear. . . 


Direction. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Westward 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Southwest- 
ward. 


Westward 
Eastward . 
Eastward . 
Eastward . 
Eastward . 
Eastward . 


Eastward 


Eastward . 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Eastward . 

Calm , 

Northeast- 
ward, 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Southward 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Northeast- 
ward. 


Northeast- 
ward. 

East-north- 
east. 


Winds. 


Force 


5 


1 


17 


Remarks, 


Snow on hills tinged 
rose-color from the 
rays of setting sun. 


Barometerin the sun. 


Observations in Men- 
doza all made in a 
draught of airin a 
room of hotel, 


Temperature in sun, 
Wet, 73°; dry, 100°. 


78 


Place. 


Mendoza. . »« «+ « 
WDOfe, fi) te a 8 8 
OI seine deans. ke 


DOV efkls Mose! {> 
Ge Ser Wels: cate! 
DOs aioe) 8) my Eo 


DG Ise eutaaics ois 
Do. . ee 
DOr. 6 Je) os) 9 ks 


IG a) ees eee 
Oe siicy ene 

MOY else ber ols 
LD eee ey Mee UT his 
OTn) chee soe 
DO.) ye eae 


IDO 2) sie lonks 
oy. 0 sie be 
DO} 5) a ceeatne 

LNG) Geer) 5 igh 


Rancheria called La Ar- 
boleda. 


La Guardfa. . . - 
Los Arenales eo. 
Foot of E. Portillo, (E. 


side.) 
Eastern Portillo . 
DOs co elke: oh 


LaOlla .... - 


Do do 


Base of W. Portillo, (E. 
side.) 


Rio de Mendoza........ 


Valley of the Tunuyan.. 


Year, day and 
month. 


Dee. 
Dec. 
Dec. 


Dec. 
Dee. 
Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Noy. 


Nov. 


Nov. 
Nov. 


Novy. 
Nov. 


Nov. 
Dec. 
Dec. 


Dec. 


Dec. 
Dec. 


Dee. 
Dec. 
Dee. 


Dee. 
Dee. 
Dec. 
Dee. 
Dec. 
Dec. 


Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 


Dec. 
Dee. 


Dee. 


Dec. 


Dec. 


Dec. 


Dec. 


Dec. 


Dee. 
Dec. 


Dee. 


6, 1852 
6, 1852 
6, 1852 


6, 1852 
7, 1852 
27, 1853 


27, 1853 


27, 1853 
28, 1853 
28, 1853 


28, 1853 


29, 1853 
29, 1853 
29, 1853 


30, 1853 
30, 1853 


30, 1853 
1, 1853 
1, 1853 


1, 1853 


2, 1853 
2, 1853 


2, 1853 
3, 1853 
3, 1853 


3, 1853 
4, 1853 
4, 1853 
4, 1853 
5, 1853 
5, 1853 


5, 1853 
6, 1853 
21, 1853 
23, 1853 


7, 1853 
8, 1853 


9, 1853 
9, 1853 
10, 1853 


10, 1853 
18, 1853 
17, 1853 


10, 1853 
17, 1853 


11, 1853 


10 


10 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


OBSERVATIONS. 


Hour. 


A.M. 


g z 5 |5 
g 2 Ss /ss 
& s & I I = 2 = 
go | Bo | 25/28 
= 3 SA) S58 
a 2 < |& 
Inches. | Inches.| _° ° 
27.237 78.8 | 70.5 
178 84.2 | 69.3 
245 81 
497 7 
.634 68 
-560 | 27.325 | 80 71 
.492 -275 | 81 70 
«374 175 | 82 71.5 
-638 .362 | 79.5 | 69.5 
+560 -837 | 81.5 | 69.5 
532} 925 | 80.5 | 70 
-610 .395 | 80 71 
.540 -325 | 81 70.5 
-420 ,225 | 80.5 | 70 
-380 -170 | 79 68.5 
«346 150 | 81 68.5 
.700 475 | 77.5 | 64 
670 -437 | 79 62 
-600 .375 | 79 63.5 
648 ~425 | 78 62.5 
092 -370 | 79 63 
492 +275 | 80 63.5 
602 .375 | 79 65.5 
044 «325 | &2 64.5 
454 .237 | 80 64.5 
576 337 | 74.3 | 60.5 
556 325 | 80 60.5 
.512 «300 | 78.5 | 63.5 
-630 .400 | 76.5 | 61 
-526 300 | 79.2 | 60 
386 .170 | 79 61 
424 -200 | 80.5 | 65.5 
-460 79 65.5 
-550 | 30.375 | 77.5 | 60.5 
26.800 
26.262 | 26.160 | 71 
23.768 | 24.120 | 80 53.5 
22.530 | 23.000 | 7. 45 
18.534 | 21.737 | 56 36 
17.814 | Don’t | 60 26.5 
work. 
17.774 30 
20.586 39 
21.448 68 | 44.5 
21.396 54 
24 


Dry-bulb  ther- 
mometer. 


C.K.3 


K.3. 


K.8.7 
K.9. 


K. 8.6 


K.2. 
K.S.7 
K.8.1 


Clear. 
Clear. 


Clear . 
Clear. 
Clear. 


Clear. 


Clear. 
Cc.l . 


C.2. 
K. 8. 6 
K.8. 9 


K. 8.2 
Clear. 
Clear. 
Clear. 
Clear. 
Clear. 


Clear. 
Clear . 


Clear. 


Clear . 
K. 8. 10 


Clear. 
K.5 . 
Clear. 


K.1. 


Clear. 
K.8.1 


Clear . 


Winds. 
Direction. | Force. 
Northeast- 2 

ward. 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
Southward 3 
Southeast- 3 
ward. 
Southeast- 3 
ward. 
Eastward . 1 
Eastward . 2 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
0 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
0 
Eastward . 3 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
0 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
North-north-| 2 
eastward. 
Southeast- 3 
ward. 
Southeast- 2 
ward. 
Eastward . 1 
Eastward . 3 
Eastward . 2 
Eastward . 2 
0 
Southeast- 3 
ward. 
Eastward . 2 
Eastward . 2 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
Eastward . 3 
Eastward . 4 
Northeast- 2 
ward. 
Westward 3 
Westward 5 
South-south-| 6 
eastward. 
0 


Remarks. 


A storm brewing. 
A storm brewing. 


A squall of wind and 
rain from the south- 
ward. 


Raining. 
Cloudy. 
Different instruments. 


At 2 P. M. a light 
shower of rain. 


Occupied with eclipse. 


Altered one of the 
springs of aneroid 
for greater range. 


Snowing in the moun- 
tains. 


Snowing and wind 
blowing in squalls. 

Snowing; wind light 
and variable. 


OBSERVATIONS. 79 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


! : ea es 
B | |2./22|2s Winds. 
ese (Se | se 
Place. Year, day and Hour. a S s § |oo | 23/28 Sky. aes Toit S| Remarks, 
month. ES Bo | 28/28) 58 
a 3 =e |e Be Direction. |Force. 
= SI = = 
a < < i) 
Inches. | Inches. S ? 
Western Portillo . .|Dec. 11,1853} 9 A.M. | 18.616 68 32 45 |Clear. . .| Westward 3 
DGlt et ae) 6) of DECeelzZ, 185i) 10 A.M. 400 46 32 40 |Clear, . .|Northwest-| 5 | Cloudy over E. Por- 
ward, tillo. 
Foot of W. Portillo, (W. | Dec. 11, 1853 | 10 A.M. | 20.166 63 At foot of steep part 
side.) _ . of descent. 
San José de Chile......| Dec. 15,1853) 3  _P. M. | 26.864 81/61 | 81 |Clear. . . 0 | Broke the wet and 
dry thermometers. 
Los Barriales . . .|Dec. 7, 1852 M. | 28.016 68.4 K.S.10. . 
DO ig 6. ic) 01h) <}]| DECaomleosiinG A. M. | 27.965 60.8 Nw: 10. Light rain, occasion- 
y= 
EnCamino. . . .| Dec. 8,1852] 9 A. M.- Broke my barometer. 
Acorocorto . . . .| Dec. 10,1852] 7 A.M. 58 64 |Clear. . .| Northward 2 
Do. . .. . .| Dec. 10, 1852 M. 82 Clear. . .|Northward 3 
Do. . . « « «| Nov. 24,1853) 9 A.M. | 28,230 85 nR 84.5/Clear. . . 0 | Differentinstruments. 
Do. . . « « «| Nov. 24,1853 M. 168 | 27.950 | 87.3 | 72 Ene ES tae 0 
Do. . .. . «|| Nov, 24,1853) 3 P.M. -106 92.5 | 70.3 | 94.5|/K.8.9 . .|Eastward.| 2 | Appearances of a 
storm. 
La Represa . . . .| Dec. 12,1852] 2 P.M. 66.5} 93 |Clear. . . In the shade & draught. 
Don os & 0) a) Dees tebe) (2 PUNT. 70 |100.1/Clear. . . In the sun & draught. 
El Desaguadero . . | Nov. 23, 1853 M. +358 86 69 85.5 | Clear. . . | Southeast- 2 |Inthesun: wet, 72°; 
ward. dry, 97°. 
ElBalde. . . . .| Nov. 22,1853] 11 A.M. 524 96 88 Clear. . .|West-north-| 2 
westward. 
Do. . .. . .| Nov. 22,1853 3 P.M. +380 89 89 |K.2 . . ,|Southwest-| 2 
ward. 
San Luis de la Punta . | Dec. 13, 1852) 9 A.M. 64.5 | 83 
Do. . .. . .| Dec. 13,1852 3 P.M. 66 85 
Do. . . . . .| Dec. 13,1852] 6 P.M. 66 | 82 
Do. . « . « .| Dec. 14,1852) 6 A. M. 54.5 | 66.5 
Doisies cle. fe) ol Deeataiesay| (9) + ANI. 57 «| 78 
Do. . « « « «| Dec. 14, 1852 M. 
Do... <« « .| Dec. 141852) 3 P.M. 63.5 | 84 
Do. . . « « «| Dec, 15, 1852)| .6 A.M. 62.5|73 |C.K.S.8 . Rained during night. 
Do. . . « « «Dec. 15,1852) 9 A.M. 64.5 | 76 {C.K.2 . ,/} Northeast- 5 
ward. 
Do; .. . » .| Dec. 15, 1852 M. 64 82 0. . .| Northeast- 6 
ward. 
Do. . .. . .«|Dec. 15,1852) 3 P.M. 63.5 | 79.5 0. . .| Northeast- 4 
ward. 
Do. . .. » «| Dec. 16,1852) 6 A.M. 68 7A |K.8. . .|Northeast- 1 
ward. 
Do- . . « .. «|\Dec. 16,1852) 9 A.M. 70.5 | 73 |K.10. . . | Northeast- 3 
ward. 
Do. « . « « «| Dec. 16, 1852 M. 67.5 | 72.5 | Raining . . | Northeast- 2 
ward. 
WON fe se ah oi] (DEC. UZah852)]| 16 A.M. 64 67 | Heavy rain . | Southwest-| 5 | Thunder & lightning. 
ward. 
Do. . . « « .|\Dec. 17,1852] 9 A.M. 58 62 | Heavy rain .| Southwest-| 8) Do do. 
ward. 
c 5 This blow was felt for 
WO)e se fey, 3) ol) Decr aly, te59 M. 56.5 | 60.5 | Lightrain . | Southward 6 two or three days 
Do. . . ; . .| Dee. 17,1852] 3 P.M. 55.5 | 62.3/K.8.1 . . | Southward 6 at Buenos Ayres; 
Don. « « o) (Decisis) Pant 54.5 /61.5|K.S.9 . [South-south] 7|| Stongest at M. of 
westward. ‘ 
Do. . . « « «| Dec. 18,1852 At work, 
Do. «. « » « «| Dec. 19,1852) 6 A.M. 53.5 | 62.5] Clear. . . 0 
Do. « « . .« «| Dec. 1951852) 9 A.M. 58.5 | 70.5 | Clear. , .|North-north-| 3 | In the sun: wet,64°; 
westward. dry, 74°. 
Dow «.. « «| «||\Dec, 19,1852 M. 65.5 | 73.5 | Clear. . .|North-north-/ 2 | In the sun: wet,66°; 
westward. dry, 84°.5, 
OP as, =) 68 ai|NOVei2l,,1853)|| | 9 A.M. | 27.496 76.5 | 62 73 Clear. . .| Northwest- 2 
ward. 
Doweers) <0 -1| Noveot. 1653) M. +484 80 64 75 Clear. . .|Northwest-| 2 | Adjusted aneroid. 
ward. 
Do\-) es! em) -1|(NOv.21, 1653)! (3 P.M. 384 | 27,150 | 82.3 | 60.5 | 86 | Clear. . .|Northwest-| 1 
ward. 
Do. . . « « .| Nov. 21,1853] 6 P.M. 67 95 | Clear. . . In the sun, 
Rio Quinto . . . .|Nov.20,1853| 2 P.M. 576 83 83 |Clear. . .| Eastward. 2 
San José del Morro . | Nov. 19,1853} 2 P.M. | 26.796 65 65? |Clear. . . 0 
Do. . » . « i NovgtO, 1853) 6 Pp. M. +770 59 59? |Clear. . 0 


a 


80 OBSERVATIONS. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


. : a oe ee 
5 5 2 » | ee s s Winds. 
Place. Year, dayand| Hour. Bs | 25 = = ears oe 5 Sky. Biveed tt Remarks. 
month. Bo = 5 2 E 2 z 3 E | 
e g BE) 55) S58 Direction. Force. 
Fe | a ise ls | 
Inches. | Inches.| _° 2. e 

San José del Morro. | Nov. 20,1853/ 6 A.M. | 26.754 56 662 |Clear. . - 0 

Villa de la Conception | Dec. 24,1852) 7 A.M. 57 61.5 |K.S.10. .| Southward 5 
Do. . » « » -| Dec. 24, 1852) 8 A.M. 56 64.5 |K.2 . . .|South-south| 5 

eastward. 
Do...» «| »|Dec.24,i8m/f9) Asam 55.5|67 |C.K.1 . ~|South-south| 5 
eastward. 
Do. « - « « «| Dee. 24 ie) 3 A.M. 56 71.2 Clear. . . | Southeast- 4 
ward. 
Do. . . « « «| Dec. 24, 1852 M. 55.8 | 71.2 | Clear. . .| Southeast- 4 
ward. 
Do. . . - - «| Dec. 24,1852) 1 P.M. 56.5|73 |Clear. . .|Southeast- | 4 
ward. 
Do. .o« « «©  «Dere24,1854))) (3 P.M. 56.5 | 73 |Clear. . .. | Southeast- 3 
ward. 
Do. . . - « «| Dec. 24,1852| 4 P.M. 57 |73.5/C.1 . . .|Southeast-| 3 
ward. 
Wo ene ae) «hee. 2a uSoe tS: Pe. M. 56 72.5|C.S.1 . . | Southeast- 3 
; ward. 
Dos se ve || Dee. 245-1852) 56 P.M. 57.5 | 65 Clear. . .| Southeast- 1 
ward. 
MD poy jena. ro. xe «Det. 25,1852), 9 A.M. 58.5 | 71 C.K.8 . ./North-north-| 3 
eastward. 
Dox ss «so Der nes eae M. 63 77.3 |C.K.2 . .| Northward 2 
Do. . . »« « «| Dec. 25,1852) 3 P.M. 63 77.5 Clear. . .| Northward 2 
Do. .. . « .| Dec. 25,1852) 6 P.M. 63 75.5 | Clear. . .| Northward 2 
Do. . . . . .|Nov. 16,1853} 9 A. M. | 28.260 74 |67.5|73.5|C.S 10. .|Eastward.| 2 
Do. . . . « «| Nov. 16, 1853 M. -296 | 28.255 | 76 71 74.5 |€.K,9) . . og 3 
ward. 
Do. . .. .« «| Nov.16,1853) 3 P.M. +258 7 169 |76.5\|C.K.5 . .« oo, 3 
ward. 
Dodie cae fe Pall NOV a, Doos M. 552 56.5 56.5 | Raining. . Suet 4 
ward. 

Bank of Rio Cuarto . | Dec. 26, 1852 M. 66 86 Clear. . . eae 4 

ward. 

Near a laguna on the | Dec. 27,1852 | 1 P.M. 71.5 | 91.5 |K.S.2 . .| Northeast- 3 

Pampa. ward. 
Do. .°. « « «| Dec. 27, 1852} 2 P.M. 72 92 K.S.3 . .| Northeast- 3 
ward. 
Do. . . ~. « '«|\Dee. 27,1852} 12 P.M. 74 94 In the sun. 

El Tortoral. . . . | Nov. 14, 1853 M. | 29.216 85.5 | 65 85 C.2 . . .|Eastward .|| 3 
Do. . . ~. « « | Nov. 14,1853 M. 66 92 In the sun. 

Esquina de Medrano . | Nov. 13, 1853 M. | 29.488 84.5 | 65.5 | 83.5 |Clear. . .|Northward| 4 

Fraile Muerto . . . | Nov. 12,1853} 9 A.M. | 29.704 71.5 | 59 7 Clear. . «| Southward 2 

Do « «© « « | Noy. 2271853) 12 M. | 27.710 | 29.590 | 76 61.5 | 77 Clear. . . | Southward 2 
Do. . . « «| Nov. 12,183) 3 P.M. | 27.642 | 29.605 | 80 65.5 80.5|Clear. . .|Southward| 3 

Los Torsales . . . | Dec. 28,1852) 3 P.M. 63.5, 8.5 |Clear. . . Moretivaxt- es 

ward. 

Peje Tree Station . | Dec. 29,1852) 11 A. M. 67.5 80.0 | Clear. . .| Northward 3 
Do do . | Dec. 29, 1852 M. 67.5 81 |Clear. . . Northward 3 
Do do. | Dee. 29,1852} 1B. 67 |81 |Clear. . .|Northward| 3 
Do do . | Dec. 29, 1852} 2 P. 68 83 |Clear. . .|Northward,| 3 
Do do . | Dec. 29, 1852] 3 P.M 67.5 | 84 Clear. . .| Northward 3 
Do do . | Dec. 29,1852) 5 P.M 68 | 86 Clear. . .|Northward| 2 
Do do . | Dec. 29, 1852| 6.30 P.M. 67 77.5 | Clear. . .| Northward 1 

Saladillo de Rui Diaz . | Nov. 10, 1853 _ M. | 29.488 81 81 
Do do . | Noy. 10,1853) 6 P.M -404 | 29.325 | 77 81 C.K.3 . .) Northward 2 
Do do - | Dec. 30,1852) 5 A.M 55.5| 56 (Clear. . - 0 | Heavy dew. 

Cabezadel Tigre . . | Dec. 30, 1852/ 2 P.M 7 93  |Clear. . . | East-south- 

E eastward. 
Do do . | Noy. 9, 1853) 6 P.M 646 71 71 C.K.9 . . | Westward dl 
Do do . | Noy. 10,1853) 6 A.M. 622 58 58 K.S.9 . .| Northward 1 

La Cruz Alta . . .|Nov. 9, 1853 M. +808 74 74 C.S.1 . .| Westward 2 

Guardia de Ja Esquina | Nov. 9, 1853) 10 A.M. | 30.330 68 68? |C.K.2 . .| Westward 3 

Arequitas . . . .|Nov. 9, 1853 | 6 A.M. | 29.748 62 62 Bi) Van ee 0 

Los Desmochados . . | Nov. 8, 1853 M. 598 64 64 Raining . «| Bastward . | 

Saladillo de la Orqueta | Nov. 8, 1853) 6 A.M. 708 64 64 | 

El Rosario . . . .|Jan. 3, 1853) 6 A.M. p 67 69 Clear. « - 

Do; . . . .|Jan. 33,1853) 9 A.M. % |8& |C6..-. Northward| 4 


OBSERVATIONS. 81 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


' a u io 4 
=| 
5 £ Sulas/4 5 Winds. 
Place, Year, day and) = Hour. Ss 25 [co |25|.5 Sky. Remarks. 
month. ES 3s | 26/28/58 | =. |] 
= = Ore. |e |! aS 
a 2 SF /o8/] 28 Direction. | Force 
> Sy} q 
7) < < = Aa 
Inches. | Inches. S| : e 
El Rosario . . , .|Jan. 3, 1853 M. 75 87 C.3 Northward 4 
Danes. .) «6 7. | Jane edgy leoa:|) 13 P.M 75 86 C.3 Northward 
1h) Fe oo 6 4dr BEIESEN (i P.M. 74.5 | 84 C.8 Northeast- 1 
ward. 
Do .. . . .j|Jam. 93,1853) 11 P.M. 7 80 Clear. . . 0 
Uo a ow alee ac ga S313 A.M. 69.2 | 75.5|C.8. 1 . .| Northeast- 5 
ward. 
DY yp oko. Silico eHESS3 Ft) A.M. 72 80.7/K.9 . . .| Northeast- 5 
ward 
Do , .. . .|Jan. 4,1853 M. 75 8 |K.S.8 . . | Northeast- 4 
ward. 
DOR eye fe fel | VAM Aas) |e P.M. 74.5 | 82 Casey 0 
Do ... . «|Jan. 451853)/| 1.30 P.M. Auriclentesqurninen 
Dos = «, dane 4, 1Spsi 5 P.M. 69 73 | Nimbus10 . | Southeast- 6 windand rain with 
ward. ubunder and light- 
ning, during which 
a house near by 
My 6 o oe olden “irs Ose 7 #(75 |N.S.10. . o | Wasstruck. 
Do .. .. .j|Jan. 4,1853) 11 P.M. 68.5 | 72 SLO sM eis 0 
DO fer er os) | Oct 29518531)" 9 A.M. | 29.988 | 29.848 | 77 69.5 | 76.3 |K.S.10. .|Eastward .| 2 
Wy 6 6 gee a ebia PEh ees) M. 996 -855 | 80.5 | 72 75 K.2 . . .|Bastward .| 1 
DO ee) Oct eo s5si 23 P.M. +954 »837 | 82 73.5 | 80 K.S.7 . . | Eastward 3 
Do = « « .@ |. |\@ct. 30)1853))| 9 A.M. +954 +850 | 72 69 7 N.10. . . | Southeast- 6 | Raining during the 
ward. night. Heavy thun- 
le der and lightning. 
Do cae Oct. 30, 1853 M. .934 .805 | 70 67.7 | 70 N.10. . ./| East-south- 6 Rain oceasionally. 
eastward. 
DOW fe aera) ol te POCKaUseteus 1a P.M. +948 .800 | 69 67.5 | 68 N.10. . .|Eastward .| 6 | Heavy rain. 
Doo os se Oct SI5 1853) 19. A.M. | 30.088 -945 | 66 62 66.5|}S.10. . , | Northeast- 3 
ward. 
Doo. = = se Octrol, 1803 M. -028 -900 | 66 63.5 | 67 8.10. . .| Eastward. 3 | Water boils at 100°,1 
centig. 
DOW ss ss) OCtuicl, 1853)|| 3 P.M. 000 -870 | 66.7 | 64.3 | 67.5) S.10. . .| Eastward. 3 e 
DOM ei ei cite) | NOs) 2511500! |) 39) A.M. | 29.868 -748 | 65.5 | 64.5 | 65 N.10. . ,|North-north} 2 | Rain, thunder and 
eastward. lightning. 
DON.) ee || Nove 1, 1853 M. 800 -680 | 68 66 67.5 | K.S8.10 . . | Northward 2 
DO We rece ete ||PNOWs 12531 God|ero P.M. -766 -655 | 69.3 | 67 69 8.10. . .} Northward 2 | Appearances of rain. 
Do... ...| Nov. 1, 1853) 4 P.M. N.10. . , | Southeast- 2 | Raining. 
eastward. 
WO er eo) te, iP NOM) 2526533), 29) A.M. 966 -830 | 72 68 7 K.2 . . . | Southward 3 
Wey 56 o o 6 allo Ba akess M. -976 840 | 74 68.5 | 74 Clear, . . | Southeast- 3 
ward. 
WO es a NOV. 12,,1e50; 1-3 P.M. - 984 -845 | 75.7 | 67 76.5|K.2 . . .|Southward 1 
WI eg oN Hepa SEH| 8) A.M. | 30.108 +970 | 75 68 74 Clear. . . | Southeast- 2 
ward. 
Does ee NOV, S51B53 M. 082 -937 | 78.5 | 68 76 Clear . 0 
Doe a ss bes) |PNOVa Gd, B5a) | 2 P.M. 022 -880 | 79.3 | 67 77 Clear. . .| Northward 2 
DORs) oe eal NOW. 4501553)|) 99 A.M. -004 -875 | 77.7 | 69.5 | 78.5] C.S.1 . .|North-north| 3 | Air feels dry and dis- 
eastward. agreeable. 
DOW sy se ea eNO 45u1B53 M. | 29.956 -825 | 80 70.3 | 80 |Clear. . .| Northward 3 | Air feels dry and dis- 
agreeable. 
DO) ee ew ete INOW. 45 01B53i|" 3 P. M. -840 -730 | 81 70 80.5 | Clear. . . | Northward 2 = 
Do « s . 2?) !Novn 5,1653))' 9) A.M. -756 .637 | 82.3 | 73 83 K.2 . . .| Northwest- 3 | Atmosphere smoky. 
ward. 
DO ee INOVe ro sloos M. 712 .595 | 87 78.5 | 88 K.2 . . .|North-north} 3 | Atmosphere smoky. 
Westward. 
WEP einer ae oy NO) GH IESS i) 083 P.M. -678 -570 | 88.5 | 79.5 | 89.5} K.1 . . .|North-north} 3 | Atmosphere smoky. 
westward. 
DOWD oo) 5) os te | NOVO Luce) A.M. -898 -775 | 70 68 70.5|N.8.10 . .| South-south} 3 
eastward. 
De Bea BA a lea tpakhs M. .898, o1t5 | 75.5 | 72 75 K.S.9 . . | Southward 2 
Doh. =< =~ % i Nova) 651853)" 3 P.M. -846 .725 | 75.3 | 72.5 | 75 N.8.1.0. . | Southward 2 | Raining. 
IGE. vs . | Nov. 7, 1853 M. -750 74 73 73.5|N.10. . .| Northward 1 | Scotch mist. 
Buenos Ayres . . .| Jan. 16,1853} 9 A.M. 60.7 | 67.3 | Clear. . . 
Dow Vee) «ans 16531853) M. 64 72 K..2. 
Dove ee idan. lG1855)|) 3 P.M. 64.5 | 72 K.1 
Do J metas |idans, 17, E53 M. 68.8 | 76 Clear. . 
Do. . = © cmeeidan, Ly 1853)|| 3 P.M. 638 77 Clear . 
Do. . . . . .|Jan. 17, 1853) 10&11P.M. A hard squall of wind 
and rain,with thun- 
der and lightning. 


ilyes 


82 


Place. 

Buenos Ayres . 

Do. - 

Oy © « 

DOT) ss 6) 

Do. 

Do 5 

Do . 

Do 

Do . 

Do. . 

Do 

DOr een ss. 

Do. . 

Dow . . 

Do 

Do. . 

DOs), =e elt 

Do. . .«'s 

DOr i 1° 

DD) shes os 

Do. . 

Do... . 

Do, & 

Do 5 

Dore: 

Do. . 

Do 

Do. 5 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. . 

Dor. . 

Do. 5 

Do. 

Wey BB eo 

DOs, ode ke 

Do. . 

Do 

Do. 

Doe sss 

Ove: os inte 

Do 5 

Ove, 

Do 

Do. obs 

Do. . 

DG. usted 

Do. . 

Do 


Year, day and 
month. 


Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 


Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 


Jan. 
Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 


Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Oct. 


Oct. 
Oct. 


Oct. 
Oct. 


Oct. 
Oct. 


18, 1853 
18, 1853 
18, 1853 


19, 1853 
20, 1853 
20, 1853 
20, 1853 
20, 1853 
20, 1853 
21, 1853 
21, 1853 
21, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 


22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 


92, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
22, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
23, 1853 
14, 1853 


15, 1853 
16, 1853 
17, 1853 
18, 1853 
19, 1853 
20, 1853 


OBSERVATIONS. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—Continued. 


Hour. 

9 A.M. 
M. 
3 P.M. 
9 A.M. 
6 A.M. 
9 A.M. 
M. 
3 Tee NG 
6 P.M. 
9 A. M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
Midnight. 
9 A.M. 
M. 

1 P.M 
2 P.M 
3 P.M. 
4 P.M 
5 P.M 
6 P. M. 
iz P.M 
8 P.M. 
9 P.M 
10 P.M 
il P.M 
Midnight. 

1 A.M. 
2 A.M. 
3 A.M. 
4 A. M. 
5 A.M. 
6 A.M. 
ti A.M. 
8 A.M. 
9 A.M. 
10 A.M. 
ll A. M. 
M. 

3 P.M. 
4 P.M. 
7 P.M. 
M. 

M. 

M. 

M. 

M. 

M. 


v . fe 2 a 
5 g g s a a a Fo Winds. 
Sy: Sa 2/22 = Sk 
£8.| 52 (Se leelee ts 
s* | 8° |les/as/ae 
= 3 SF] s5/ 25 Direction. |Force. 
a 4 at ie ia 
Inches. | Inches.|  ° 2 4 
65.5 | 69.3 
67 71 C.K.8.7 Southward 2 
68 73 C.K.6 Southeast- 4 
ward. 
72.5 | 78 Clear . 
68 71 Clear . 
R 77.5 | Clear . 
76 82 Clear . 
75 84 Clecr . 
74 83 Clear . 
73 82.5 | C. K,3 
74.5 | 83 C.K. 8.8 
73.5 | 83 C.K.8.10. 
74 80 CiK.6 . 
74.5 | 79 G.8.6 . . 
74.5 | 80.5/C.5 . Northwest- 4 
ward. 
74.3 | 81.2 |} C.2 Northwest 4 
ward. 
75 82 C.2 Northwest- 4 
ward. 
75 83 |C.2 . Northwest- 
ward. 
75.5 | 83.7|C.K.S.2 -|Northwest-| 3 
ward. 
73.8 | 82.3|}C.K.S.2 Northwest-| 3 
ward. 
73.5 | 81.5 | Clear . Northwest-| 3 
ward. 
74 80.5 | Clear. . Northwest- 2 
ward. 
75 80 Clear. . . 0 
73 7 Clear . 0 
70.5 | 78 Clear . 0 
69 7 Clear. . 
68 76.3 | Clear . 
65.5 | 72 Clear. 
64.5 | 71 Clear . 
64.5 | 71 Clear . 
64 70 Clear. 
63 69.3 )Clear. . . 
63.5 | 69 Clear . 
65 71 Clear . 
: 67.5 | 73.5 | Clear. 
70 an \(Clears 3. 
70.7 | 75 5 | Clear. 
71.5 | 78.3 | Clear . 
71.8 | 78.5 | Clear. 
74.5 | 77.8 | Clear. 
71.0 | 77.5 | Clear. . 
70 77 Clear. 
30.174 | 30.075 | 71 63.3 | 70 K.8 Northeast- 4 
ward. 
+226 -125 | 69 64.5 | 68.5 | K.8.10. . | Northeast- 4 
ward. 
.054 | 29.955 | 67 614.5 | 67.5 |K.S.10. Northeast- 5 
ward. 
-900 K.S.9 . .| Eastward . 4 
.182 | 30.080 | 63 56.8 | 63.3 | K.8.8 . | Southward 4 
.060 | 29.975 | 63 56.5 | 64 | K.3 . . .| Eastward. 4 


Remarks. 


Heavy rain during the 
night. 


connexion with 
observations for 
change of declina- 
tion, &c. 


These observations 
were made in 


No observations; pre- 
paring to depart. 


Sympots.—C, cirrus; K, cumuli; 8, stratus; N, nimbus.—10, entirely clouded over.—Strength of wind: 0, calin; 1, light air; 10, strong gale. 


January 3, 1854, 


No attached thermometer to standard. 


Comparison with the standard barometer in Santiago. 
December 14, 1853, 1 P. M.—Syphon, 28.264; standard, 28.268; attached thermometer, 79° ; external, 73.4°. 


-—Syphon, 28.156; standard, 28.254; attached thermometer, 70°. i 
In the calculation of elevations I have not taken into account this last comparison. 


eb NDT Xe 0). 


REPORT 


ON THE 


MINERALS AND MINERAL WATERS OF CHILE: 


BY 


J. LAWRENCE SMITH, 


PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY OF THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE. 


REPORT ON THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


BY J. LAWRENCE SMITH, 


PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY OF THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE. 


The minerals collected by the United States naval astronomical expedition were almost 
exclusively those of silver and copper. The specimens of the ores of these two metals, taken 
in connexion with all authentic accounts, would lead one to believe that Chile hardly has a 
parallel in any region in the globe for the abundance as well as purity of these ores. Were it 
not for the physical difficulties connected with the surface of the country, and the scarcity of 
water and fuel, the wealth accruing to Chile from the working of these mines would be far 
greater than it is now. 

Although the expedition furnishes no geological report of the country, it is thought proper, 
before describing the minerals in detail, to give some general idea of the geology of the coun- 
try, more especially as connected with the minerals collected; and, for this purpose, recourse 
is had to the labors of M. Domeyko and M. L. Crosnier, as published in the ‘‘ Annales des 
Mines.”’ 

A general idea of the geological structure of Chile is readily formed, although we might be 
led to suppose otherwise from the great disturbing forces that have operated in that part of 
the world, in the form of injected masses of igneous rock, as well as from the present changes 
produced by existing volcanic action, and the gradual elevation of the whole country, with daily 
recurrence of earthquake action. These disturbing forces do not, however, in any way interfere 
with our study of the general geology of the country, while, of course, it renders the investiga- 
tion of the geology of any particular region exceedingly embarrassing. 

The great chain of the Andes extends parallel to the coast of Chile, at a distance of from 90 to 
100 miles. On the eastern side it descends by gradual slopes towards the immense plains of the 
Argentine republic. On the western side, where the upheaving force appears to have concen- 
trated all its energy, the slopes are abrupt, and transformed frequently into vertical precipices 
of considerable height. The mountains appear heaped confusedly one on top of the other, and 
the first impression is, that, in the midst of so much confusion, it is vain to seek for the primi- 
tive condition of the surface of Chile. Stratified rocks disappear entirely from north to south 
for the mean width of 45 miles—from the desert of Atacama to Valdivia. These rocks, 
although they once existed, are now profoundly altered or entirely melted by contact with 
the enormous masses of granite. The clay shales, which doubtless constituted the mass of 
the original stratified rocks, are now transformed into porphyries of every shade and of the 
most varied composition, alternating, in some parts, with beds of compact quartz. Even when 
the rocks are seen stratified, far removed from the masses of granite, and in beds sensibly 
horizontal or little inclined, still the numerous injected veins which traverse them, and ramify 
in all directions, prove that hardly anywhere have the rocks escaped the modifying force of 
igneous action. 


86 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Two immense granite elevations appear to have disturbed Chile in its entire length, parallel to 
the coast. One is immediately on the coast, with an average breadth of 45 miles, while the 
other is 100 miles east, in the midst of stratified rocks. The first range plunges into the sea, 
having valleys in various parts of it filled with tertiary deposits. As regards the respective 
ages of these two ranges, there appears to be a difference of opinion; some supposing that the 
range on the coast was first upheaved, and at a subsequent peried the inner range, while others 
suppose them to have originated at the same time. But whichever one of these suppositions 
is true, the general characters of the rock of the two ranges are the same, as well as the 
metalliferous veins and accompanying vein rocks. Associated with the granite of these ranges, 
are hornblende rocks of the greatest variety, porphyries of all shades, containing crystals of 
feldspar, sometimes of considerable size. Besides these, there are other compact rocks, which 
cannot be properly classified. 

The principal masses of secondary rocks that lay between the two ranges of mountains are com- 
posed of metamorphic porphyry, of a great variety of shades of color. Sometimes the porphyry 
is entirely altered; it then contains well-formed crystals of feldspar, and appears to have been 
melted where it now rests; and at other times it is earthy, as if the transformation has been 
incomplete. Large masses of reddish, yellow, and violet quartz, alternate with the porphyry, 
in certain points; also, calcareous beds, sometimes fossiliferous. These stratified roeks are 
elevated on the flanks of the Andes, and form some of the most prominent peaks of this 
range. These strata are so completely pierced and elevated in every direction by the masses 


of granite, a8 to modify in every possible manner their direction, inclination, and mineralogical 
character. 


Besides the secondary stratified rocks just made mention of, there are other stratified rocks, 
which are horizontal, having been deposited since the elevation of the mountain chains. They 
are all, however, of recent origin and of small extent, disseminated along the coast, with the 
exception of the sandy plain that extends between Huasco and Copiapé, having a length of from 
120 to 130 miles, with a variable width. This plain has, however, been elevated since its form- 
ation; in fact, M. Domeyko has determined three distinct terraces of successive and gentle 
elevation. d 

There are also alluvial deposits now going on in some of the valleys of the elevated portions 
of the mountains, consisting of a fine clay, transported there by the mountain streams. 

According to the observation of M. Crosnier, he has encountered but one formation that 
appears to be of lacustrine origin, and this is situated in the cordilleras of Chillan, 45 miles 
north of Lavaderos. 

The tertiary deposits subsequent to the elevation of the Andes contain, in many parts, 
lignite. Some of these places are worked. The principal mines are situated to the south of 
Biobio, some 20 miles distant from the mouth of this river, on the sea-shore. The mines are 
called Lota and Lotilla. 

Some of the departments of Chile have been examined with minuteness by M. Domeyko, 
more especially that of Copiap6; which, although little else than a vast desert, is the richest 
department of Chile in mines of every description, there not being a single mountain where 
the veins are not of sufficient importance to be worked. And it is worthy of remark, that no 
mines are found higher than 4,500 feet above the level of the sea; and this peculiarity, I 
believe, pertains to all parts of Chile. P 

Taking the Bay of Copiapé as a starting point, and going east, we find the underlying rock 
of the country granite, the surface being covered with tertiary deposits of very modern origin, 
the same that is found at the mouth of all the Chilean rivers. These deposits form two and 
three terraces, and consist principally of sand, mixed with shell and gravel. At about six miles 
from the sea, solid calcareous beds show themselves, containing species of crustaceze, now found 
living on the shore. The granite of this coast is fine grained, having the same aspect as that 
in the neighborhood of Coquimbo, and is the same as that of the mountains of Carrisal, San 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 87 


Juan, and La Higuera, celebrated for their copper mines. Granite hills project frequently above 
the tertiary planes that extend to and rest on the first chain of granite rocks, which are low and 
rounded. It is in these rocks, wherever seen, whether on the coast or projecting above the 
tertiary planes, or, when still further east, projecting through secondary strata, that the copper 
and gold are found. A good example of this is the Cerro del Cobre mountain, which elevates 
itself at the bottom of the valley of Copiap6. This mountain is composed of an elevated mass 
of porphyritic diorite, traversed by veins of iron and copper ores, containing considerable 
quantities of magnetic iron and ferruginous oxide of copper, copper pyrites, &c. It forms a 
species of granitic island in the midst of stratified porphyritic and other compact rocks, 
more or less calcareous, and preserves all the characters of the coast rocks, even to the nature 
of the veins that it contains. 

Further east, overlying the granite and dioritic rocks, are stratified porphyries; and here, 
at a height of 2,250 feet above the level of the sea, as at Ladrillos, commence the indications of 
silver, disseminated in extremely fine particles of chloro-bromide; but, on excavating, this 
indication soon disappears, and it is not until we reach a more elevated point that silver is 
found very abundantly, and where the stratification becomes more perfect. 

Above the stratified porphyries there are calcareous and schistose rocks, more or less disturbed 
from their original position. 

What is here said of the geological structure of the country east of Copiapé is true of many 
other parts of Chile, from the coast eastward. From these general views of the geology of 
Chile, I next pass to the consideration of the minerals collected by the expedition, accompanying 
the mineralogical description of them with an account of the manner of their occurrence. 
For the latter, I am also indebted to the geologists already made mention of. 


GOLD. 


Native Gold.—The specimens of this metal were contained in quartz rock, exhibiting all the 
usual characteristics of auriferous quartz. The gold contains silver, with but a trace of copper. 
In Chile, this metal is found in veins as well as in the drift ; the whole granite of the country 
is traversed by quartz containing more or less gold, associated with the peroxide of iron ; and, 
at some depth from the surface, with iron pyrites; sometimes with cupreous pyrites, arsenical 
pyrites, blende, galena, and sulphuret of antimony. These veins, by their decomposition, fur- 
nish auriferous deposits of considerable extent that are now worked. 

Mention is made by M. Crosnier of a number of gold deposits, irregularly disseminated in 
the midst of decomposed granite and red clay, which contains a large quantity of peroxide of 
iron, and which appears not to have originated from the decomposition of regularly formed 
veins. This fact is apparent in the neighborhood of Valparaiso. It is also stated that gold is 
found in clay, more or less ferruginous, arising from the decomposition of the granite in the 
most elevated portions of certain mountains, and consequently in a situation where it could not 
have been carried by water. 

It is supposed that the gold came up with the mass of granite at the time of the elevation of 
the latter, and not by subsequent injection of veins; and, in most instances, iron pyrites is 
regarded as its original associate. This character of auriferous formation is, of course, the 
exception, as, in most instances, the gold is traceable to regular veins, or to the decomposition 
of these veins. Although gold seems to be quite generally distributed through Chile, but few 
of the deposits remunerate exploration; the most extensive are on the flanks of the Andes, 
about 40 miles east of Chillan, where it exists to the depth of 35 feet in a very fine yellow clay, 
mixed with black sand; the yield of gold is not very great. 


COPPER. 


Native Copper.—This is very commonly found in all the copper mines of Chile. In one 
specimen, from Andacollo, (Coquimbo,) it was found crystallized in modified octahedrons ; it is 


88 THE MINERALS OF CHILE, 


very commonly associated with the red oxide of copper, as beautifully shown by a specimen 
from Iapel, (Coquimbo.) It is also found with copper in quartz at Andacollo, (Coquimbo.) 
Others of the specimens came from San José, San Pedro Nolasco, Hinchado, Higuera, and 
Aconcagua, 

Red Copper.—This mineral is found beautifully crystallized in octahedrons, more or Jess 
modified. The most beautiful specimens of this description are from Coquimbo ; other speci- 
mens are massive and granular. 

Its hardness is 3.5; specific gravity, 5.9. Its color is various shades of bright red, and 
the crystals are transparent, although, from the exceeding intensity of their color, they must 
be examined by a strong light. 

This mineral is quite brittle, and is composed of— 


Copper = = = = - - - 88.88 
Oxygen ie cae ey Shots, dene aT 
100.00 


Formula is Cu? O. 


It sometimes forms veins, coated with green and blue silicates of copper, in the mines of 
Camarona and Cortadera, in the province of Coquimbo. In the Andacollo mine it is found pure 
and abundant, below the oxy-sulphuret, resting on metallic copper, with which it is very com- 
monly mixed. Aconcagua also afforded specimens. At Illapel it is found, containing native 
silver. 

Capillary Red Copper.—This beautiful form of the oxide of copper is found in fine delicate 
rhombohedral crystals. It was found in the cavities of massive specimens of the red copper, . 
from Aconcagua. ‘The crystals are as small as the finest hair, and sometimes half an inch in 
length. Its color is crimson red; specific gravity, 5.8. Its composition is the same as the last 
described mineral. 

Lenorite or Black Oxide of Copper.—This is found massive, almost always mixed with 
other minerals of copper. It has a black metallic lustre, and when pure contains— 


Copper - - - - - - - 79.86 
Oxygen - - - - - - - 20.14 
100.00 


Its formula is Cu O. 
Atacamite.—This mineral was first discovered in the sands of the desert of Atacama, and 
hence itsname. It is crystallized in modified rectangular prisms, and rectangular octahedrons. 
Its color is of a dark emerald green, almost black at times. It is translucent; has a hardness 


of from 3 to 3.5, and a specific gravity of about 4.00. It consists of water, chloride and 
oxide of copper, and contains, according to analysis of Ulex— 


Chlorine - - - - - - - 16.12 
Oxide of copper - - - - - - 56.23 
Water . - - ~- - - - 11.99 
Copper - - - - = - ~ 14.56 
Silica - - - - - - = - 1.10. 

100.00 


Corresponding to the formula Cu Cl +3 Cu +3 H. 
This mineral is also found in the district of Tarapaca. It is ground up in Chile, and is used 
as powder for letters, under the name of arsenillo. 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 89 


Copper Glance.—The specimens of this mineral examined were all massive, of a black metallic 
lustre, soft, and easily cut with a knife, having a specific gravity of 5.7. It commonly has 
green and blue carbonate disseminated through the mass. It is composed of— 


Copper’ - - - - - - = 79.8 
Sulphur “Ss = VOSS oS Mer ee os 20.2 
100.0 


Having for its formula Cu’ S. 

It is most abundant in those mines furthest from the coast, existing in secondary stratific 
porphyry, and sometimes containing a notable amount of silver. It is also found abundantly 
in the mines of Chile that are near the coast, and are in dioritic and porphyritic rocks ; but 
in them it is rarely found pure, being almost always mixed with the black oxide of copper 
or the oxy-chloride. The specimens examined were from Copiapé, although there are numerous 
localities. It is remarkable that, at San Antonio, this mineral is associated with native silver, 
and yet often contains hardly more than one thousandth of this latter metal. Specimens of pure 
sulphuret of copper are found, in which metallic silver is imbedded in the form of grains or 
little plates; and the same sulphuret contains grains and plates of native copper, entirely 
separate from the silver. 


* Erubescite or Purple Copper.—This is one of the most abundant of the minerals of copper 
found in Chile. It is procured in large quantities at the mines of Tamaya in Coquimbo, 
Los Sapos, and Higuera. No crystals were seen. It is massive, of a purplish, variegated 
color, with a metallic lustre. It is brittle, and not very hard. When the surface is freshly 
broken, it is of a brass color, that very often tarnishes, acquiring a purplish hue. ‘The massive 
varieties of this mineral always vary more or less in their composition. ‘The specimens exam- 
ined contained from 55 to 65 per cent. of copper. ‘Three specimens, that have been thoroughly 
analyzed by M. Domeyko, gave— 


Tamaya. Los Sapos. Higuera. 

Copper - - - 66.7 56.1 59.5 
Iron - - - - 8.9 foes 18.2 
Sulphur - - - 22.8 23.1 20.5 

_ Quartz - - - 1.6 Biol 1.8 
99.8 100.0 100.0 


The formula is Fe S + 2 Cu’S. 

This mineral furnishes a great deal of the copper produced in Chile. 

Copper Pyrites.—This is the most abundant copper ore of Chile, and is found in immense 
quantities in the province of Coquimbo; some of it, as that from Tamaya, contains .0025 
per cent. of silver, while that of another mine contains gold. All the specimens were massive, 
of a brass yellow color, metallic lustre, fresh fractured surfaces tarnishing readily. In fact, it 
possesses all the known characteristics of this mineral as found elsewhere. Its composition, 
when perfectly pure, is— 


Sulphur - - - - - - - 35.05 
Copper eee = el lUlUlUlhCU 
Tron - - - - tia - - 30.48 

100.00 


12* 


90 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Several specimens examined gave— 


lL. 2. 3. 4. 

Sulphur - - 33.05 BT2Q2¢ | caatees Sil Sslonees 

Copper -  - 36.60 33.67 31.02. 35.01 

Tron - - 29.33 2Bib60 ] asides gikebatest 
98.98 99.45 


Its formula is Cu? S + Fe? 8%. 


This mineral is rarely found in granite, but often in hornblendic and porphyritic transition 
rocks, accompanied by iron pyrites, magnetic iron, asbestos, quartz, and various species of 
clay; very rarely with carbonate of lime. The most important mines yielding the copper 
pyrites are Carrisal, Atacama, and Higuera, Brillador, Tambillos, &c., in Coquimbo. 

Arsenical Gray Copper.—Gray copper appears not to be found very abundantly in Chile; there 
are, however, three varieties of it, one of which contains quite an amount of mercury, another 
haying the composition of ordinary gray copper, while a third abounds in arsenic. They all 
three possess the ordinary physical characters of gray copper; namely, a steel-gray and iron- 
black color, with metallic lustre, rather brittle: hardness 3 to 4, with specific gravity varying 
from 4.5 to5. No specimen of this variety was obtained. It is found at San Pedro Nolasco, 


and its composition, as made out by M. Domeyko, is— . 

Copper - - - 2 6S - = - 48.5 
Tron - - - ayn: Sp eat hie - 4.8 
Zine = = - - - - - - 2.3 
Silver - = “ = 5 3 5 = 0.3 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 11.4 
Antimony - - - = = = . 6.4 
Sulphur - - - é - - - 26.1 

99.8 


Mercurial Gray Copper.—This is found in some of the mercurial mines of Chile in small 
amorphous masses, disseminated in a quarter gangue, accompanied by the blue carbonate of 
copper anda red earthy substance of deep red color, apparently an antimoniate of mercury. 
This also has been analyzed by Domeyko, with the following result— 


Antimony - - - - - - - 20.7 
Iron - - - - - - - - TES 
Zinc - - - - - . - - trace. 
Copper - - - - - - - - 33.6 
Mercury - - - - - - - 24.0 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 20.2 

100.0 


Antimonial Gray Copper.—This is the common form of gray copper, and several specimens 
were brought home by the expedition ; it contained but a small amount of silver, as seen by 
the following analysis— 


: THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 91 


Sulphur - - - - - - - 26.83 
Antimony - - - - - - - 23.21 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 3.05 
Copper - - - - - - - 36.02 
Tron - - - - - - - 2.36 
Zinc - - - - - - . 4.52 
Silver - - - - - - - 3.41 

99.40 


The formula of gray copper is represented by— 

(4 Cu,? Ag, Fe, Zn) S + (Sb As) S*. 

Besides the above species of gray copper, others are found, which, whether arsenical or anti- 
monial, contain only a few thousands of mercury; these varieties are almost invariably destitute 
of silver. 

Domeykite, Arsenical Copper.—This mineral is massive, of a tin-white color, with a metallic 
lustre, and specific gravity of 4.5. It is about the hardness of copper pyrites. The specimen 
examined was not a pure one; it furnished— 


Arsenic - - - - - - ~ 22.08 

Coppa ass, = 5 (= en oe Oe 2a 

Tron - - - - - - - 3.22 

Sulphur - - - - - - - 2.01 

99.72 

Perfectly pure specimens, accotding to Domeyko, contain— 

Arsenic - - - - - - - 28.36 

Copper - - - - ~ - - 71.64 

100.00 


Which give the formula Cu’ As. 


It is found pure without any admixture of sulphuret near Illapel, in the same veins which, 
near the surface, yield red copper with native silver ; it is also found in some of the silver mines 
of Atacama, particularly in those of San Antonio. 

It is almost always mixed with copper pyrites in varying proportions, and sometimes with 
the oxide and amorphous green arseniate of copper. 

Besides this species, there is found in the cordilleras a kind of white native copper, contain- 
ing from 8 to 5 per cent. of arseniuret of copper and resembling native silver. 

Olivenite, Arseniate of Copper.—It always accompanies the arseniurets and is amorphous, 
with a compact earthy structure, green color, with varying shades, and is always mixed with 
carbonate and silicates of copper. This mineral it appears is never found perfectly pure in 
Chile ; but when pure, as found elsewhere, it contains— 


Arsenic acid = - - - - - - 31.78 
Phosphoric acid - - - - - 6.57 
Oxide of copper - - - - - 58.34 
Water. - - - - - - - oro 

100.00 


and the formula is— ~ 
Cut (As, P) +H 


92 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Chrysocolla, Silicate of Copper.—This is very commonly found in all the copper veins of 
Chile, always massive, sometimes in the form of mamillary coatings and concretions. It is of 
various shades of green and blue, sometimes of a dark and almost black color. Its specific 
gravity is 2.2; it is easily crushed. Itis not an easy matter to find the chrysocolla perfectly 
pure. The specimen that furnished the material analyzed was a mass of copper pyrites, covered 

‘with a mamillary coating of the silicate, which was detached with much care. It furnished— 


Oxideofcopper-  - - -— = - 42.51 
Silica - - - - - - - 31.35 
Water - - - - - - - 21.62 
Oxide of iron - - - - - - 1.97 
Alumina - - . - - - - 2.83 

100.28 


Corresponding very nearly to the formula— 
Ou? Si? +.6 H; 
other specimens were found to contain oxide of copper varying from 20 to 50 per cent. 

The name Llanca is given by miners to a silicate of different shades of green and blue, which 
very often accompanies the copper minerals, especially the oxy-sulphurets, forming the envelope 
of some veins, constituting masses in which native copper, red oxide, carbonate, and at times 
sulphurets of copper, are found. Most of the copper veins in Chile abound in these silicates near 
the surface. The basic silicate found in many of the copper mines of Coquimbo are always in 
the upper parts of the veins, forming narrow seams, between red oxide and green and blue 
Llanca ; it is frequently mixed with the black silicate—La Higuera and San Lorenzo furnished 


the specimens examined. 
Azurite, Blue Carbonate of Copper.—This occurs both crystallized and massive. Among the 
specimens was one crystallized on copper pyrites, from Andacollo, It possesses all the common 


characteristics of this mineral, as found elsewhere, and is composed of— 


Oxide of copper - - - - - - 69.09 
Carbonic acid = - - . - - - 25.69 
Water - - - - - - - 5.22 

100.00 


The formula representing it is— 
Ooh AE ofiqase, 

Tt is found in many localities, associated with the ores of copper. 

Malachite, Green Carbonate of Copper.—This mineral exists abundantly in Chile, but is 
not found in those large compact masses, (such as are procured from Siberia and some other 
places,) out of which ornaments are made. It has no peculiar properties in which it differs from 
the malachite of other localities. Crystallized specimens were procured from Tortolas and 
Tamaya. Other specimens came from Tarienta, San José, &c. Its composition is— 


Carbonic acid - = = = = - 20. 

Oxide of copper - - - - . - 71.82 

Water - - - - - - - 8.18 
100.00 


Formula is Gu? G + FL. 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 93 


Blue Vitriol, Sulphate of Copper.—This salt is found associated with the sulphate of iron 
and alumina, at Tierra Amarilla, in the valley of Copiapé. It arises from the decomposition 
of copper pyrites. It is constituted of— 


Oxide of copper - - - - - - 32.14 
Sulphuric acid = - - - - - - 31.72 
Water . - - - - - - 36.14 

100.00 


Its formula is Cu 8 + 5 TT. 


Volborthite, Vanadate of Copper and Lead.—This rare mineral was first noticed in Chile by 
M. arian in the Mina Grande, about 6 miles from the silver mines of Arqueros. It is an 
amorphous substance, porous, nee and of a dark brown color. It lines the cavities of an 
arsenio-phosphate of ted, At first view, it would be confounded with the hydrated oxide of 
iron, from which it differs, however, by its great fusibility and ready solubility in nitric acid. 
There were no specimens sufticiently pure for analysis. Those examined by M. Domeyko gave— 


a 2. 

Oxide of lead “pA alesiGiel 64.9 51.97 
Oxide of copper - - - - 14.6 16.97 
Vanadic acid - - - - 13.5 13.33 
Arsenic acid - - - - - 4.6 4.68 
Phosphoric acid = - - - - 6 .68 
Chloride of lead - - - - 3 OT 
Silica (?) - - - - - 1.0 E33 
Lime - - - - - - di, 58 
Oxide of iron and alumina - - S510) 3.42 
Karthy residue - - - - 1.0 1.52 
Loss by heat - - - - - 2.7 2.70 

97.20 Oi5b 

. Giving for its formula Pb6 V + Cu’ V. 


This differs somewhat from the formula furnished by the analysis of the volborthite, as found 
in the copper mines between Miash and Katherinenberg, Russia; but, as the Chile variety 
has not yet been found crystallized, the differences may be due to Jaicastitee, 

ftemarks on the Copper Minerals.—The minerals of copper have been described after gold, 
from the fact that the great mass of them occur in Chile in the same geological formation as the 
gold. It is the- granite that is most commonly traversed by copper veins, sometimes of a 
considerable size. Along the coast it is found in the form of copper pyrites alone, or associated 
with two varieties of iron pyrites, and also as peacock or purple copper. Galena and blende 
are rarely found with them, and scarcely ever gray copper. Native copper, red oxide, oxy- 
chloride, oxy-sulphuret, green carbonate, and hydrous and an-hydrous silicates of copper, of a 
great variety of colors, are also abundant, especially at the upper part of the veins. The 
silicates sometimes line the walls of the veins, and penetrate to some distance in the enclosing 
rock, which becomes unequally colored blue or green. The numerous veins of copper are dis- 
seminated very irregularly in the granite, and their value is equally variable ; sometimes the 
veins have a breadth of from 6 to 9 feet, as at Tamaya, near Coquimbo, where, at the depth 
of 600 feet, there is a daily yield of from 8 to 10 tons of an ore yielding Ses less than 50; 
and otentimen as much as 75, per cent. of copper. 


“94 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


SILVER. 


Native Silver.—This is found, in more or less abundance, in the various silver mines ot 
Chile. Most frequently it is associated with dolomite, calcareous spar, sulphate of baryta, and 
some of the minerals of cobalt. Much of it is found in the form of thin sheets, as at San Pedro 
Nolasco ; at Calabago (Illapel) it is in small irregular grains ; and at various mines in Copiapé 
it exists in the form of threads, along with native arsenic and other arsenical minerals. At 
Chafiarcillo it occurs associated with the chloro-bromides, in dendritic forms; and at San 
Antonio, and some other mines, it is found in both small and large grains, in arseniuret of 
copper and arseniuret of cobalt. At Ilapel it is found in red oxide of copper. 

Silver Glance, Sulphuret of Silver.—This mineral occurs in all the mines of silver, although 
in no considerable quantity, and is rarely if ever crystallized. It is of a black lead color, of a 
metallic lustre, having a specific gravity of 7.3, and is readily reduced, on a piece of charcoal, 
by the action of the blow-pipe. Its composition is— 


Silver - - - - - - - - 85 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 15 
100 


Its formula is Ag 8. ae 


Sulphuret of Silver and Copper.—This compound is made mention of by M. Domeyko as exist- 
ing in the mines of San Pedro Nolasco and Catemo. His analysis gave the following, as its 
constitution : 


San Pedro Nolasco. ~ Catemo. 

et ae 3. 4. 
Silver - - - - - 28.8 24.1 16.6 12.1 
Copper - - - - - 53.4 53.9 60.6 64.0 
Tron =8.2 x) = =) 910.0) 2.1 2.3 2.5 
Sulphur - - - - 19.8 19.9 20.5 21.4 


100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 


From the variable nature of its composition I should consider it merely a mixture of silver 
and copper glance. 

Ruby Silver.—tt occurs both crystallized and massive, possessing a very dark crimson red 
color; the color is commonly so intense that the mass appears black except when examined by 
transmitted light in thin pieces; it is easily cut with the knife, and furnishes silver under the 
blow-pipe, when heated on charcoal. Its most constant companions are native arsenic, arseniuret 
and sulpho-arseniuret of iron, arsenical cobalt, blende, calcareous spar, silver glance. It is 
sometimes found crystallized in metastatic dodecahedrons; at other times it is in masses dis- 
seminated in the midst of different spars and argillaceous gangues. It is found in microscopic 
crystals in the cavities and crevices of native arsenic and of arseniuret and sulpho-arseniuret of 
iron. The principal sources of it are at Chafiarcillo in the lower part of the veins, and in other 
mines in the province of Atacama. 

There are two distinct compositions to the dark and light ruby silver; the former being a sul- 
phuret of antimony and silver, and the latter a sulphuret of arsenic and silver. 

Dark Ruby Silver. 


Silver = - - - - - = 58.98 
Antimony - - - - - - - 23.46 
Sulphur - - - - . - - 17.56 

100.00 


The formula of this is- 
3 Ag S + Sb 8S 


* 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 95 


. Light Ruby Silver. 
Silver - - - - - - - 65.38 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 19.46 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 15.16 
100.00 


The formula being— 
3AgS + As8! 
The latter is the most common variety in Chile; one specimen, analyzed by M. Domeyko, 
furnished— 


Silver - - - = - - - 63.85 
Tron - - - - - - - .96 
Cobalt - =e fe - - . - sili) 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 13.85 
Antimony - - - - - - - 70 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 18.00 
Gangue  - - - - - - - 1.60 

99.15 


Antimonial Silver.—lt is found both massive and crystallized near Coquimbo; it does not 
exist abundantly, is of a tin-white color with metallic lustre, having specific gravity of 9.5. 
This mineral is frequently mixed with arsenical and native silver; when pure it contains— 


Silver - - = = - - - - 17 
Antimony - - - - - - - 23 
100 


Having for its formula Ag* Sb. 


Polybasite.—Found in considerable quantity in the province of Atacama, massive, of an iron 
black color, and a specific gravity of 6.2; it is composed of— 


Silver ee ey 66.25 
Copper - - - - - - - 4.08 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 5.22 
Antimony - - - - - - - 2.56 
Iron - - - - - - - - 2.34 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 18.68 

99.13 


Its formula is considered to be— 
9 (Ag Cu’) 8 + (Sb As) 8 
Bismuth Silver.—In the mines of San Antonio, in the province of Copiapé, an alloy of silver 
and bismuth is found; its color is tin-white, high metallic lustre. The only analysis we 
have of this variety of bismuth silver is one by M. Domeyko; the following are the results— 


Silver ae - - - - - 60.1 
Bismuth - - - - - - - 10.1 
Copper - - - - - - - 7.8 
Arsenic - - - - - - - 2.8 
ccamriie, |! STUER a A IEM ON PS) ym ees aR 19.2 

100.0 


96 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Horn Silver, Chloride of Silver.—Thig is one of the most abundant silver minerals in Chile, 
as it is found there in quantities far exceeding anything that is elsewhere known. It is com- 
monly massive, resembling wax of a grayish color, when the surface is freshly broken; but soon 
tarnishes on the exposure to light, acquiring a purplish tint. Sometimes it is of a greenish 
tint. Its lustre is resinous; easily cut with a knife; sp. gravity 5.4. It possesses all the 
properties of the artificial chloride. Its composition is— 


Silver - - - - = = = 75.33 
Chlorine - - - - - - - 24.67 
100.00 


Formula, Ag Cl. 

Several very fine specimens were brought by the expedition from the Chafiarcillo, Valenciana 
mines, in Atacama, and other localities. 

Bromic Silver.—This compound of silver is likewise found in Chafiarcillo, and in many 
respects resembles the chloride; its color is greener, and it never occurs in such masses as the 
chloride. It is equally soft, having a little higher specific gravity—5.8. Composition when 
pure— 


Silver = - = - - - - 58 
Bromine’ - - - - - - - 42 
100 


Formula, Ag Br. 

Embolite, Chloro-bromide of Silver.—This mineral is found both crystallized and massive in 
several of the mines of Chile, in the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo. It is less abundant 
than the chloride, although more so than the bromide. Externally it is greenish, internally a 
sulphur-yellow; it has the same lustre as the chloride ; it is, however, harder than the latter ; its 
specific gravity is the same as the bromide. The composition of it is— 


Silver ae - - - - - 66.96 
Chlorine - - - - - - - 13.20 
Bromine - - - - - - - 19.84 

100.00 


Formula is, Ag (Cl Br.) 

Todic Silver.—This beautiful and rare mineral has been found in some little quantity in the 
silver mines of Algodones, province of Coquimbo. The mineral is of a pale, sulphur-yellow 
color, very fragile and soft, having a specific gravity of 5.5. . One specimen that I saw had 
crystalline faces, indicative of a rhombic dodecahedron. It is commonly lamellar, and M. 
Domeyko has recognised in some small pieces three rhomboidal cleavages; two of the cleavages 
appear quite perfect, having a pearly lustre. It is more brittle and more fusible than either 
the chluride or the chloro-bromide. The presence of iodine and silver are readily recognised 
by the ordinary tests. Its gangue iscomposed partly of carbonate of lime and partly of a brick- 
red fine clay. -In the Carmen mine, a considerable amount of iodide was found in the first 
part of the vein; at the depth of twelve varas (33 feet) it disappeared, and chloro-bromide 
made its appearance in identically the same gangue; and ata still greater depth the latter 
mineral disappeared, and was replaced by the chloride, accompanied with the sulphuret of 
silver. It hasalso been found in small quantities at one of the mines of the Chafiarcillo district. 

This interesting mineral has the same atomic constitution as the other natural haloid salts of 
silver, as originally shown by M. Domeyko; although, in referring to certain works on miner- 
alogy, Domeyko is quoted as giving for its composition one atom of silver and two of iodine, 
while the chloride and bromide of silver are alluded to as constituted of atom and atom, forget- 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. - 97 


- ting that the I? used (as is frequently done) corresponds to I commonly used by American and 
English chemists, making the formula, as given by Domeyko, Ag I, which formula is sustained 
by my analyses, as well as those made by M. Domeyko. 


The results I obtained are as follows: 


ff 2. 
Todine - - - - - - 52.834 53.109 
Silver - - - - - - 46.521 46.380 
Chlorine - - - - - trace. trace. 
Copper - - - - - trace. trace. 


99.455 99.489 
The formula Ag. I gives*as per-centage— 


Todine - - - - - - - - 53.85 
Silver - - - - - - - - 46.15 
100.00 


Arquerite.—This mineral is found in great abundance at the mines of Arqueros, near Coquim- 
bo; in fact, it is the ore of those mines. It is quite like native silver in appearance, with, 
however, a little more greasy lustre. It is disseminated through a calcareous rock. Several 
specimens examined furnished different proportions of silver and mercury, the proportions of 
silver varying from 83 to 92 per cent. Mr. Domeyko, who has had opportunity of examining 
a greater variety of specimens, gives it the following fixed composition : 


Silver - - - - - - - - 86.49 
Mercury - - - - - - - 13.51 
7 100.00 


The formula is Ag.® He. 


In all likelihood there is a definitely constituted silver amalgam at Arqueros, but in most 
instances is altered by admixture with native silver. 

Remarks on the Geology of the Silver Ores.—In speaking of the copper and gold veins, it 
was remarked, that they traversed the granite and other old unstratified rocks. M. Domeyko 
thinks that he has established a law in the distribution of the metalliferous veins of Chile. It 
is, that gold and copper veins, exempt from arsenic, antimony, and silver, abound in the granite 
rock; while all the silver veins, without reference to the associates of the silver, belong to the 
stratified rocks; and also, that the copper veins found in stratified rocks are very frequently 
argentiferous. M. Crosnier, however, points out two exceptions to this rule in the province of 
Copiapo—namely, the Pampa Larga and Garin mines. The Pampa Larga véins traverse com- 
pact feldspar, a portion of which, near the surface, is transformed into kaolin. The upper 
portion of the vein contains chloride, and sometimes native silver; but at a certain distance from 
the surface the entire mass of the vein is composed of compact native arsenic; in which we 
find, occasionally, sulphuret of antimony, realgar, arsenio-sulphuret of silver, (sometimes in 
very beautiful transparent crystals;) arsenical pyrites and calcareous spar are also found. 

The Garin and Pampa Larga mines are the only two exceptions pointed out to the general 
law first mentioned. 

The best method of furnishing a correct idea of the mineralogical and geological relations of 
the different kinds of silver ores, is to give an account of how they occur in one or two of the 
principal mines. 

Some of the most remarkable mines are those in the Chaiiarcillo mountain, which is from 


25 to 30 miles, in a direct line, from the coast. This mountain is composed of calcareous 
13% 


98 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


rocks, more or less argillaceous; some of the calcareous rocks are dolomitic, while others are 
without magnesia. The stratification is regular, and almost horizontal. The argillaceous 
matter in the rocks are of two kinds—a white clay, and another composed of a silicate of alumina 
and iron. 

This locality has been thoroughly examined by M. Domeyko, and he finds no organic remains 
in those parts of the mountain where the metal veins are found. ‘The same geologist has, how- 
ever, been informed that an ammonite was found in the rock of Reventon Colorado, at 
some distance beneath the surface. In other parts of this mountain organic remains are abun- 
dant in the calcareous rocks, especially the Turritella Andii and Terebratule. 

From the summit of the Chafarcillo mountain to the lowest workings of the mines is a little 
less than 1,000 feet, and in that space there can be distinguished something like three distinct 
divisions in the formation of the rocks. . 

The plane at the summit of the mountain is composed of a dolomitic rock, having in some 
places a thickness of 100 feet; it consists of about one-third clay. The rock is split in all 
directions, and the surface of the fissures covered with small crystals of calcareous spar. In 
some places it is so much split that it looks more like a mass of broken rocks piled together, 
the interstices being filled with an earthy matter, as pulverulent as chalk, and composed of 
one-third carbonate of lime and two-thirds clay. It is in these fissures of the upper layer that 
very considerable masses of chloro-bromide of silver have been found. ; 

The second division of the rocks differs but little in character from the last, being an argil- 
laceous limestone; it is, however, more regular, and not so much fissured; at the same time the 
metalliferous veins traversing it are much poorer. The thickness of this division is over 320 
feet; and here commences the third division, where the limestone contains less clay and but a 
little trace of magnesia. The color of the rock is a bluish gray, mottled with yellow; of a 
compact structure, and conchoidal fracture. This rock contains the principal wealth of the 
Chafiarcillo mines, and in it seems to bg the principal deposit of chloro-bromide of silver; the 
thickness of this bed is estimated at nearly 400 feet. Below this again les another bed, 
where the calcareous rock is again more argillaceous, and the veins poorer. In this portion of 
the mountain porphyritic rocks are found at the lowest depths to which the workings have 
gone. 

Numerous metalliferous veins traverse this mountain in every direction. The materials con- 
stituting these veins (and mixed with which the silver ores-are found) are the carbonates of 
lime, iron, and magnesia ; zinc and manganese, and the sulphate of baryta, which, however, 
exists in less quantity in these mines than in those in other parts of Chile. The metalliferous 
portions of these veins are composed principally of chloro-bromide of silver, mixed with native 
silver, and a small portion of sulphuret and sulpho-arseniuret of silver. The chloro-bromide does 
not show itself in equal abundance at all depths of the productive calcareous bed, already 
mentioned: it is, particularly in the upper, one or two hundred feet; below this depth the 
gangue becomes less and less calcareous, and the mineral changes its nature. At first it is the 
pure chloride, or little mixed with sulphuret ; then the proportion of sulphur, antimony, native 
arsenic, and ruby silver commence to increase; so that, at 300 feet depth, hardly a trace of 
chloro-bromide is found, the silver being associated with sulphur, arsenic, and antimony. 

These are the general features of these famous silver mines, and, as here described, some 
idea can doubtless be formed of their geological character. Although the general character of 
the mines resembles those just described, still the minerals and the containing rock frequently 
differ ; thus, in the San Antonio mine, in the valley of Potrero Grande, the rock of the country 
is porphyry, regularly stratified, and the gangue rock of the veins a dark, ashy gray, argillaceous 
rock, of an earthy fracture. It is oftener found impregnated with calcareous and pearl spars, 
which form veins and nodules in the midst of the gangue. The iron found in these veins is in 
the form of protoxide, while that at Chafarcillo is in the form of hydrated peroxide. Again, 
the mines of this latter locality abound in chloride-and chlore-bromide of silver, while on the 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 99 


sulphuret of the San Antonio mine there is arseniuret and native silver. Taking the chloride 
and chloro-bromide as a distinguishing mark between the mines, they may be divided into two 
classes; those like Chanarcillo and Agua Amarga abounding in these two minerals, and those 
like San Antonio, San Lorenzo, San Pedro Nolasco, &c., the prominent minerals of which are 
the sulphuret and arseniuret of silver, with barely traces of the chloride. 


MERCURY. 


* Cinnabar.—This mineral of mercury occurs in no great masses in Chile. It is usually found 
in the granite formation near veins of gold and copper, as in Coquimbo and Aconcagua ; also 
in a vein of quartz, in some stratified porphyry, near the gold mines of Andacollo. The 
gangue accompanying cinnabar is quartz, with micaceous and hydrated oxide of iron. The 
composition of the cinnabar is— 


Mercury - - - - - - - 86.2 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 13.8 
100.0 


The formula is Hg S$. 
LEAD. 


Galena.—It is found in some parts of Chile, commonly associated with the sulphurets of 
other metals. Composition— 
Lead - - - - - - - - 86.66 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 13.34 
Formula, Pb 8. 
Mimetene, Chloro-Arsenate of Lead.—This compound of lead has been found, in an impure 
state, at Mina Grande, east of Arqueros, mixed with the vanadates of lead and copper. The 
analysis of a specimen by Domeyko gives— 


Chloride of lead - - - - - - 9.05 
Oxide of lead © - - - - - 58.31 
Oxide of copper - - - - - - 0.92 
Arsenic acid - - - - - - 11.55 
Phosphoric acid - - - - - - 5.13 
Vanadic acid = - - - - - - 1.86 
Lime - = - - - - - 7.96 
Alumina and peroxide of iron - - - 1.10 
Clay - - - - - - - - 2.00 
Ignition - - - - - - - 1.12 

99.00 


Mimetene, when pure, has for its formula— 

3 (Pb, Ga) 3 (As B) + Pb Cl. 

Vanadinite.—This is found at the same locality as the last mineral, and mixed with it and 
vanadate of copper and lead. It has not been discovered crystallized, nor has it been separated 
in a state of purity from the accompanying minerals. 

Wulfenite, Molybdenate of Lead.—It is found in the province of Coquimbo, in orange colored 
octahedral crystals; also, in lemon-yellow plates, with the usual composition— 

Oxide of lead - - - - - - 60.81 
Molybdic acid - - - - - - 39.19 
Having for its formula Pb Mo. 


100 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Domeyko gives the analysis of a specimen where lime appears to replace part of the lead. It 
is as follows— 


Oxide of lead - - - - - - 43.00 
Molybdic acid - - - - - - 42.20 
Lime - - -  - - - - - 6.3 
Peroxide of iron - - - - - - 8.5 
100.00 

IRON. 


Meteoric Tron.—This is found scattered in some parts of the desert of Atacama, in pieces from 
the size of a small nut to lumps weighing fifty pounds, and more. It is of a porous nature, 
the pores being filled by a yellowish and greenish olivine, sometimes the olivine constituting 
one-fifth the mass. We have no account of the falling of these meteoric masses. One speci- 
men that was examined gave— 


Iron - - - - . - - - 90.08 
Nickel - - - - - - - - 9.12 
Cobalt - - - - - ~ - - 0.39 
Copper - - - - - - - - 0.03 
Phosphorus - - = = = = - 0.13 
99.75 
The olivine accompanying was also analyzed— 
Pulverulent olivine. Compact olivine. 

Silica - - - - - 40.50 39.51 
Peroxide ofiron - - - 11.54 13.38 
Magnesia Se em) Saal 47.37 
Manganese - - - - 35 16 
Lime - - - - - trace, trace. 
98.80 100.42 


Magnetic Oxide of Tron.—Found in veins of copper at Higuera and various other parts of 
the provinces of Coquimbo, Copiapé, and Chillan. Its constitution is— 


con) <)" 2" Se rs 8 = 4 ee 8h 2 eo 
Oxygen - - - - - - - 247.60 
100.00 


Formula, Fe. 

Micaceous Oxide of Iron.—It is abundant in Higuera and Punitaque, where it accompanies 
minerals of copper, gold, and mercury. Its most constant companion is gold. Small veins of 
carbonate or silicate of copper are frequently contained between the scales, and occasionally 
red oxide of copper. Its composition is— 


Tron - ~ - - - - = = Sa 
Oxygen - - - - - - - - 30 
100 


The formula is . 
Gothite—Commonly found in scales or plates, disseminated or grouped, and is sometimes 
mistaken for cinnabar. It is also found in the form of geodes, particularly in Topocalma and 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 101 


Valdivia; in the geodes, marine shells (Turritella) are frequently found of very modern alluvial 
formation, like that in which the lignites of Conception and Colcura are found. Breithaupt 
called a prismatic crystalline variety of this mineral from Chile Chileite, without, however, 
any just grounds of separating it from the gothite proper. The analysis of the Chileite, as 
given by Breithaupt, is— 


Peroxide of iron - - - - - - 83.5 
Water - - - - - - - - 10.3 
Copper - = = = = - - - 1.9 
Silica - - - - - - - auras 
100.0 

Formula, ¥e FI. pam: 


Pyrites.—The different varieties of iron pyrites are found in all parts of Chile. They some- 
times contain an appreciable amount of gold. 

Coquimbite— White Copperas.—The Tierra Amarilla, near Copiapé, is a seam of pyrites that 
crosses compact feldspathic rocks, and from its decomposition several minerals result. The one 
in question occurs in regular hexagonal plates of a yellowish-white color and pearly lustre. 
It has a strong, astringent taste, and is quite soluble in water. It is a neutral sulphate of iron, 
as shown by Rose’s analysis— 


Peroxide of iron - - - - - - 24.11 
Sulphuric acid - - - - - - 43.55 
Alumina - - - - - - - 0.92 
Lime - - - - - - - =) FONTS 
Magnesia - - - - - - - 0.32 
Silica - - - - - - - = ORS 
Water - - - - - - - - 30.10 

100.04 


Its formula is # 83 +9 H. 

Copiapite—Yellow Copperas.—This occurs associated with the last, and is most commonly 
found in fibrous masses, of a beautiful silky lustre when the fracture is fresh; it, however, soon 
becomes of a rusty color. It is not so soluble as the last, and is a basic salt. 

Its specific gravity is 1.84. On analysis it furnished— 


16 2. 
Sulphuric acid - - - - 30.25 30.42 
Peroxide of iron - - - - 31.75 30.98 
Water - = - - - - 38.20 


Undissolved - 2 2 4 3 eA not estimated. 


The analyses correspond to the formula #e S? + 11 H. 

Arseniuret of Iron.—This mineral is of metallic lustre, of a silver-white color. Specific gravity, 
7.3. It is found in several of the silver mines of Chile, especially those of Carriso, where it is 
accompanied by mispickel, iron pyrites, blende, native antimony, ruby silver, and native silver. 
A specimen analyzed by M. Domeyko furnished— 


Arsenic - - - - - - - - 70.3 
Tron - - - - - - - - 27.6 
Sulphur - - - - - - - Sieh oat taal 
Silver - - - - - - - - 2 

99.2 


The formula is Fe As. 


102 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Mispickel.—Is found with copper and cobalt minerals near Coquimbo, with copper and 
tungsten near Illapel, and with ruby silver, antimonial silver, and native silver in the mines of 
Chaiarcillo, in the lower part of the veins; also near to Carriso. A specimen examined gave— 


Arsenic - - - - - - - 44.30 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 20.25 
Tron - - - - - - - - 30.21 
Cobalt - - - - - - - - 5.84 

100.60 


The formula of mispickel is Fe As + Fe 8’, with cobalt replacing the iron to a greater or 
less extent. 


Carbonate of Iron and Manganese.—This is described as a distinct mineral by M. Domeyko; 
but, in all likelihood, it is merely a mixture. It accompanies the sulphuret of copper and gray 
copper, in the silver mines of San Pedro Nolasco, in a formation of secondary stratified porphyry. 
This species is of a dark blackish gray and semi-metallic lustre ; its structure is foliated in their 
lamine diverging and grouped together in such a manner that the whole forms globular concre- 
tions, covered with small crystals of pearl spar. The mineral is soft; the powder is attracted 


by the magnet. It dissolves readily in cold acids, and, according to M. Domeyko’s analysis, 
consists of— 


Oxide ofiron = - - - - - - 32.10 

Oxide of manganese - - - - - 30.50 

Lime . - = - - - - 2.75 

Magnesia - - - - - - - trace. 

Carbonic acid = - - - - - - 32.80 

Not dissolved - - - - - - 30 

98.50 

MANGANESE. 
Oxide of Manganese.—This is found at Arqueros, near the silver veins in secondary porphyry. 
The varieties that appear to exist there are psilomelane and pyrolusite. . 
COBALT. 


Smaltene—Arsenical Cobalt.—This mineral of cobalt is found in Atacama, in transition and 
secondary formation, often accompanying ruby silver, native arsenic, and arsenical nickel. It 
occurs both crystallized and massive, possessing all the properties peculiar to this mineral. The 
composition of the specimen examined was— 


Arsenic - - - - - - - 70.85 
Cobalt - - - - - - - 24.13 
Iron - - - - - - - - 4.05 
Copper - - - - - - - 41 
Nickel - - - - - ~ - 1.23 
Sulphur - - = = = £ u 08 

100.75 


The formula of the mineral is Co As, part of the cobalt being frequently replaced by other 
metals. 

Cobaltene—Sulpho-Arsenical Cobalt.—This is found in Coquimbo, in small, brilliant, octa- 
hedral crystals, with truncated corners. It is also found granular and massive, in pieces of 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 103 


considerable size. ‘The specimens from the mines of Volcan and San Simon are of a steel-gray 
color, imperfect foliated structure, metallic lustre, hard, amorphous, accompanied with arseniuret 
of copper. It is also found associated with copper pyrites ; and there is one vein of it running 
parallel to a vein of copper pyrites. Its composition is— 


Arsenic - - - - - - - 44,23 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 19.82 
Cobalt - - - - - - - 34.12 
Iron - - - - - - - 3.01 

101.18 


The formula is Co! S* + Co As. 


Cobalt Bloom—Arseniate of Cobalt.—It is found in all the veins containing the arseniurets 
of cobalt, and also in most of the silver veins, but never in any considerable quantity. At 
Arqueros it is found with the native amalgam, and with native and horn silver, in the mines 
of Argua Amarga, Chanarcillo, Punta Brava, Tunas, &c. It is crystallized in radiating crys- 
tals of a peach-blossom color, and consists of— 


Arsenic acid - - - - - - 38.21 
Oxide of cobalt - - - - - - 35.92 
Oxide of nickel - - - - - - .08 
Oxide of iron - - - - - - Delis 
Lime - - - - - - - .o2 
Water - - - = - = = 23.16 

99.82 


The formula is Co? As + 8 H. 


NICKEL. 


Nickel Glance—Arsenical Nickel.—This is found in Atacama. It is of a steel-gray color ; 
freshly broken surfaces soon tarnish. No analysis was made of this mineral from the above 
locality ; and we know of none that has been made. When pure, its constitution should be— 


Arsenic - - - - - - - 45.16 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 19.33 
Nickel - - - - - - - 35.51 

100.00 


Its formula is NiS’-+ Ni As. Other metals, especially iron, frequently replace the nickel 
to some extent, 


BISMUTH. 


Native Bismuth.—This is found, alloyed with silver, in the San Antonio mine, Atacama. 
The mineral has already been described, under the head of the silver minerals. It commonly 
contains from 14 to 15 per cent. of bismuth. 


ANTIMONY. 


Native Antimony.—This is found in considerable quantity in the silver veins in the mines 
of Carriso. It is disseminated in small irregular veins, and in lamin, like galena. The most 
constant companions of it are native silver, ruby silver, gray antimony, gray copper, &c. 
The gangue is carbonate of lime and heavy spar. 


104 THE MINERALS OF CHILE.. 


White Antimony accompanies the last-mentioned mineral in several of its localities. It has 
been found massive ; is of a snow-white color, with sometimes a reddish hue. We have no 
analysis of this mineral from any of the localities in Chile. It is an oxide of antimony, and, 
when pure, should consist of— 


Antimony - - - - - - - 84.32 
Oxygen - . - - - - - 15.68 
100.00 


Its formula is Sb O3. 


Antimony Glance.—This is also found in the localities furnishing native antimony, with all 
the ordinary properties of this well known mineral. Its composition is— 


Antimony - - - - - - - 72.89 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 27.12 
100.00 


Its formula is Sb 83. 


ARSENIC. 


Native Arsenic.—This substance occurs abundantly in the provinces of Atacama and Co- 
quimbo. It is of a tin-white color that soon tarnishes; it is volatilized completely by the 
action of heat, and possesses all the other peculiarities of this metal. It often contains a little 
antimony and iron. It accompanies ores of silver, particularly ruby silver, antimonial and sul- 
phuret of silver, native silver, arsenical cobalt, arseniuret and sulpho-arseniuret of iron. I am 
not informed of the existence of any other arsenical minerals in Chile, but presume the oxide 
and sulphuret must also be found. 


ZINC. 


Blende—Sulphuret of Zinc.—This ore of zinc is found near the Leona mine in Rancagua. 
Specimens examined by M. Domeyko contained a notable amount of iron; one of his analyses 
is as follows— 


Zinc - - - - - - - - 43.0 
Iron - - - - - - - - 12.4 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 28.6 
Gangue - - - - - - - 14.7 


97.7 


Its formula is Zn 8, with iron, sometimes replacing a portion of the zine. 


MISCELLANEOUS MINERALS. 


Besides these minerals described, there were a few others of a non-metallic character collected 
by the expedition, which will be simply enumerated. 


Lapis Lazuli.—This beautiful mineral occurs in no inconsiderable quantities in the province 
of Coquimbo. Carbonate of lime runs through the mass, in small veins, and iron pyrites is 
intimately mixed with it in small crystals. It being impossible to separate the two last 
mentioned minerals from the lapis lazuli, no analysis was made of it. .A specimen of the 
mineral from the Andes was analyzed by Mr. T. Field, with the following results: 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 105 


Silica - - - : - - - - 37.60 
Alumina - - - - - - - 11.21 
Sulphur - - - - - - - 1.65 
Tron - - - - - - - - 0.08 
Magnesia = - - - - - - - 0.36 
Soda - - - - - - - - 9.66 
Lime - - - - - - - - 24.10 
Carbonic acid - - - - - - 15.05 

99:71 


Although this analysis differs somewhat from the mineral procured trom other localities, 
still the difference may be accounted for by the unavoidable impurities. 


Calcareous Spar.—This is found in all parts of Chile, and is one of the most common gangue 
rocks of the silver ores. 


Dolomite.—This is also a common mineral in Chile, forming in many places beds of immense 
thickness. 


Heavy Spar—Sulphate of Baryta.—Exists in the silver veins forming ore of the gangue 
rocks. 


Asbestos (green.)—A specimen was brought from the copper mines of Coquimbo, and another 
from Tambillos. 


Tungstate of Lime.—This mineral is found in the copper mines of Llamaco, near to Chuapé, 
and contains about three per cent. of oxide of copper in its constitution. 


Lignite.—This variety of coal has been found in some little abundance at Concepcion, and is 
worked to some extent. These lignites ordinarily form but one seam that is thick enough to 
repay exploration ; it is often accompanied by a second thin seam and one more irregular. It 
is seldom that the seams are found more than 6 or 9 feet above the level of the sea, and most 
always dip to the west beneath the ocean. It has been found on the shores of Concepcion, of 
Valdivia, and on the shores of the island of Childe. The mines that have been worked are, one 
near Penco, another near Lirquen, the mines of Talcahuana, of Las Tierras Coloradas, of Lota 
and of Lotilla; the two last mines are considered those of most importance. 

M. Crosnier gives the analysis of several of these lignites, as follows— 


Lota. Lotilla. Penco. 
@okeW = = = = == = SORES 42.7 39.9 
Volatile matter - - - - - 44.6 54.3 51.8 
We = --- = = = = = =. 3.1 3.0 8.3 


100.0 100.0 100.0 


The coke is light and porous ; it is sufficiently solid when well burnt. 


MINERAL WATERS. 


Five specimens of mineral waters were submitted to examination; but as there was only about 
one pint of each, the analysis cannot be considered as satisfactory as it is desirable that they 
should be. 


No. 1. From the baths of Apoquindo, east of and about 500 feet above Santiago, in the first 
range of the Andes. When the water was collected its temperature was 74°, the air being Dihice 
The specific gravity of it is 1.00226. 
14* 


106 THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 


Solid contents in one litre 2.743 grammes, composed of— 


Gram. 

Chloride of caleitum = - - - - - 1.665 
ne “ sodium - - - - - 1.008 

30 ‘* magnesium = - - - - trace. 
Sulphate of lime - - - - - .032 
Oxide of iron - - - - ~ - .018 
Organic matter - - - - - - trace. 
Silica - - - - - - - .020 


No. 2. From the baths of Colina. The temperature of the water at the source is 893° 
Faht.; sp. grav. 1.00053. The amount of solid contents in one litre are 0.428 gramme, com- 
posed of— 


Sulphate of lime - - - - - - 120 

oe “© soda - - - - - - .089 
Chloride of calcium = - - - - - OTT 

ws “* sodium - - - - - 142 
Oxide of iron = = - - - - trace. 
Organic matter - - - - - - trace. 
Silica - - - - - - - - trace. 


No. 3. This is also from the baths of Colina, and when collected was 79° Faht.; sp. grav. 
1.00045. The composition of the water is the same as the last. Solid contents in one litre 
0.435 gramme, composed of— 


Sulphate of lime - - - - - - 118 

ee ** soda - - - - - - 094 
Chloride of calcium = - - - - - O87 

2h “ sodium = - - - - - .136 
Oxide of iron - - - - - - trace. 
Organic matter - - - - - - trace. 
Silica - - - - - - - - trace. 


No. 4. From Cauquenes Tibia bath; sp. grav. 1.00270; solid contents in one litre 3.3032 
gramme, composed of— 


Sulphate of lime - - - - - .0600 
a ** soda - - - - - .0320 
Chloride of calcium - - - - - 2.1682 
ee ** sodium = - - - - - 1.0310 
ne ‘* magnesium  - - - - trace. 
Oxide ofiron = - - - - - - 0020 
Organic matter - - - . - - trace. 
Silica - - - - - - - .0100 


No. 5. Cauquenes Pelambre bath; sp. grav. 1.00283. It is constituted the same as the last. 
Solid contents in one litre 3.3923 gramme, composed of— 


Sulphate of lime - - - - - .0630 
es *¢ soda - - - - . .0410 
Chloride of calcium - - - - = S2elToi 
ie “* sodium = - - ~ . - 1.1012 
2 ‘‘ magnesium = - - - = trace. 
Oxide ofiron - - - - - - trace. 
Organic matter - - - - - - trace. 


Silica - - - - - - - -0120 


THE MINERALS OF CHILE. 107 
Analysis of water brought from the Rio de Mendoza, by Lieut. MacRae. 


The bottle contained a large amount of mud sediment. The clear water, on evaporation, 
gave 540 grammes of solid matter to the litre, composed of— 


Carbonate of lime - - - - - 110 
Carbonate of magnesia - - - - .072 
Sulphate of lime - - - - - - 192 
Sulphate of magnesia - - - - - 108 
Sulphate of soda - - - - - - 192 
Sulphate of iron - - - - - - 036 
Chloride of sodium — - - - - - .228 
Silica - - - - - - - - 112 


Organic matter - - - - - - 150 


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APPENDIX E. 


A DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIAN ANTIQUITIES 


BROUGHT FROM 
CHILE AND PERU, 
BY THE 
UNITED STATES NAVAL ASTRONOMICAL EXPEDITION. 


THOMAS EWBANK. 


r=, 


Hugi, 


‘, deal ely so aetulas dee : ‘ 


eather Lane aa 


1 = « } ihe iil as. a a we | ae Wy : 
2 0 EO 


A DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIAN ANTIQUITIES BROUGHT FROM CHILE AND PERU, 
BY THE U. 8. NAVAL ASTRONOMICAL EXPEDITION. 


BY THOMAS EWBANK. 


Surprising as are the mutations which the earth has undergone in her internal and external 
features, they are not greater than those to which man is subject. With him, as with it, noth- 
ing is intended to be stationary. An upheaving power is always at work on the deep strata of 
human influences, and hence the ancient elements of his existence are here and there breaking 
up and arranging themselves in new forms. Usages and institutions adapted to his infancy are 
becoming obsolescent. Instead of prostrating his intellect to tradition, and yielding passive 
submission to puerile errors and old organized wrongs, he is beginning to be agitated by a dif- 
ferent order of wonders. Miracles are emanating from the workshop, and marvels of science 
taking the place of legends and legerdemain. A spirit of keen and comprehensive research is 
inaugurated. Besides contemplating the present and anticipating the future, he looks to the 
past, and longs to know what his species have been doing on the earth, what parts of it have 
been occupied, and how long. 

At present we have little more knowledge of the past career of mankind than of that of the 
planet; not even as much, for history, such as it is, is limited to a fraction of the earth’s popu- 
lation, goes back but a little way, and is then lost in the void beyond, It is at best like a 
turbulent geological epoch—a broken record of successive paroxysms of mental darkness and 
of physical commotions. It is not four centuries since the existence of the red race and of the 
Western Continent were announced, and not half that time since the Australian and Polynesian 
regions were made known. Of the early inhabitants of this hemisphere nothing is known. 
Their origin, epoch, and deeds, are alike shrouded in silence and gloom—in darkness so dense 
that not a ray of light has been found to penetrate it. Even of their successors or descendants, 
so late as three centuries back, we have learned but little, and still less of their arts; much less 
than ought to be known, considering the opportunities for collecting information that have 
occurred. But a better feeling is becoming manifest, and numerous and systematic efforts are 
being made to recover, as far as possible, the history of a people we have superseded, and one 
apparently on the eve of disappearing forever. 

But can anything be now ascertained of remotely extinct peoples whom history does not 
mention? Certainly. Except unreclaimed savages, few people have passed away without 
leaving their marks in pottery and in some of the metals, if in nothing else. The earth is 
more or less charged with such remains, and they are unimpeachable witnesses of the condition 
of the people who owned them. Since the discovery they have been dug up both in South and 
North America, and will assuredly abound more and more as civilization sweeps over the forests; 
nor is it at all improbable that specimens of a higher order than any yet found of these medal- 
lions of aboriginal arts will be disinterred, and such as may equal in interest those recently 
found in the debris of Babylon, Nineveh, Sidon, and other oriental cities. 

To gather together the scattered fragments of Indian art is neither useless nor profitless. 
Could we obtain a knowledge of the means by which the old race of artisans and engineers of 


112 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


Mexico, Central America, and Peru achieved their best works, there is little doubt that not a 
few of their devices would be found new, and consequently more or less valuable to us. What- 
ever may be said or thought of the barbaric splendor of Montezuma’s and the Incas’ establish- 
ments, there was genuine ingenuity in the native mechanics of those days. Indeed, semi- 
civilized manners and tastes have little to do with efficient devices and processes for working 
metals and other materials, whatever they may have to do with the forms into which these are 
wrought or the purposes to which they are applied. But there is no information on aboriginal _ 
arts, however trifling, that is valueless; did it only reflect light on the workings of the Indian 
mind, it would be of service, throwing practical suggestions out of the question. 

The following articles were brought up from various depths beneath the surface, and in soil 
that probably was equally calculated to preserve them as the catacombs of Egypt. 


Pirate VIII.—Wetallic Implements. 


The principal object represented on this plate is a copper axe, found in a great quebrada, in 
the province of Atacama, Chile, not far from where the Camino de los Incas diverges rouné a 
hill called Tres Puntas, in latitude 26° 42’. This road commences near the city of Copiapé, 
proceeds in nearly a straight line in a north by east direction until it reaches the base of Tres 
Puntas, passes round the hill—7,000 feet high—and resumes its former direction. It being one 
of the great avenues opened by the Incas into their conquered provinces, remains of Peruvian 
manufactures have frequently been found on it as on others. This axe is an example. It is 
believed to be Peruvian, as the old Chilenos had no knowledge of working the metals. No 
such implements as those figured on the plate have been found in their burial-places. 

The metal of this axe has not been artificially alloyed. It has been cast, weighs three and 
a quarter pounds, and has seen much service, as appears from its battered appearance and from 
smoothly-worn grooves at the sides and edges where the handle was lashed to it. It was prob- 
ably used, as we believe most such tools were, more in the manner of an adze than of an axe ; 
that is, the handle seems to have been placed at right angles to the face of the blade, not 
parallel to it. To the slight movement of the end of the handle that butted against the blade 
the indentations at the sides may possibly be due, while the polished grooves at the edges are 
obviously the effect of the play of the thongs that bound both together. The studs cast on the 
edges below the T-like extension at the top constitute the most interesting feature in this axe, 
because they inform us of a previous existing difficulty. They were designed to prevent, and 
they effectually did prevent, the lashings, and with them the handle, from slipping down below 
their proper place. The cutting edge was kept in order by hammering. For an inch above 
it, where the thickness of the blade begins to diminish, the whole is covered on both sides by 
rough marks of rounded hammers, which were probably of stone. The effect of this is seen in 
the metal being forced over the general surface at the sides; and a further result is, that the 
width of the cutting edge has been considerably increased from what it originally was. After 
bringing down an edge with hammers, a finish was given by rubbing it on coarse and fine- 
grained stones. A narrow border on each side of the extreme edge shows where the marks of 
the hammer were thus obliterated. To a limited extent the cutting parts of these ancient tools 
were rendered harder than the rest, an effect of their constant condensation by the hammer. 
The surface is black almost as ink, but it appears to have suffered little or nothing from 
corrosion. 

As the Peruvians had, long before the Conquest, bronze maces and axes into which handles 
were inserted as in our hammers—specimens are preserved in several collections—it may be 
inferred that this instrument belongs to a remoter period of their history. That it, and such 
as it, were preserved from generation to generation by tribes remote from the capital after better 
ones had been introduced there, is not simply probable—it is certain ; and hence the date of such 
things cannot be determined by that of the huaca, or grave, from which they are taken, even if 


Plate VIII 


USN Aste! Exp? 


Full size. 


L 


PS Duval & Co. sleam hth. press. Phil 


JM. Stanley delt 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. ile: 


that could be made out. This axe was doubtless a costly one at the time it was made, and the 
families successively owning it may never have had the opportunity or means to obtain a better. 
The durability of such a tool, it should be remembered, is almost eternal. Five thousand years 
could make little impression upon it. If not lost, there is nothing to prevent its appearance in 
a museum after the lapse of fifty centuries, and without any sensible change from its present 
appearance. 

The studs for confining the cord fastenings to their places, show that it does not belong to 
the primitive class of metallic axes, since they had no such useful feature. These projections, 
too, are interesting in another point: they make us acquainted with a device that was inter- 
mediate between the first rude contrivance and the final one for securing the handle to the 
blade by insertion. 

As the ancient Peruvians discovered tin, and employed it somewhat extensively to harden 
copper, this axe probably dates from a period anterior to that when bronze ones were first made. 
It is difficult to suppose that such a people would continue to make blades of soft copper when 
they had tin in abundance to render them so much more efficient. 

Stone and copper axes are medallions of the arts in the first and second cycles of human 
progress—the very best that we could have, for they furnish more definite ideas of the early 
condition of our species than volumes of printed speculations. The stone axe is erroneously 
associated in the popular mind with the felling of timber; but certainly a tree was never cut 
down by it. The thing is evidently impossible, when the material of the tool, its thickness, and 
blunted edge are considered. When not used as a weapon, the chief employment of the stone 
axe was as a wedge to split wood, and as a scraper to dig into and remove the charred parts of 
trees and timber. It made no impression on the forest, and hence the log-hut was unknown in 
the age of stone. When it was desired to prostrate a trunk, or to scoop it out for a canoe, /ire 
was the chief operating agent. All the cutting of wood before metals were introduced was con- 
fined to carving and whittling by obsidian knives, flints, and shells. 

The revolution that began with the introduction of axes of copper was only less than that 
caused by those of iron. Wood could then be cut and chopped, though but rudely and feebly. 
The superiority of the new instrument was, however, palpable: it was smaller and heavier 
than its predecessor, and hardly one third as thick in the blade; while the cutting edge, when- 
ever blunted or bent, was readily sharpened and made straight. It was not liable to fracture ; 
while a gap in a stone one, if not fatal, required weeks of labor to bring up a new edge by 
abrasion. But, after all, it is difficult for us correctly to imagine how vast an amount of labor 
was expended in wielding copper axes, and with what slender results. A stone axe tells us at 
once the condition of peoples who had none other, and one of copper is a true index of the arts 
wherever iron is not known. It is, then, no wonder that, from the day this half of the globe 
was opened to the other half, the eager demand of the aborigines for cutting-instruments of 
steel has not ceased. 

The remaining articles figured on this plate were found near the village of San José, on the 
river Maypu, in Chile, by a party of laborers engaged in digging a canal. Human remains, 
which crumbled to dust on exposure to the air, were disinterred with them. They are of 
unusual interest. 

At the right of the axe is another copper implement nearly 33 inches long, one quarter of an | 
inch thick at the thickest part, three quarters of an inch wide at one end, and 13 inch at the 
other. It is of pure copper ; it has been cast, and the cutting end drawn out with the hammer. 
Although called a chisel, on account of its shape, if has never been used as one; there are no 
marks of blows on its upper end. It was undoubtedly used as a knife, and so were all, or 
nearly all, stone and metal implements of the kind. Their resemblance to our chisels has 
naturally led many to consider them such. 

Adjoining the axe on the left, is a long and tapered tool seven inches in length, and one 
eighth of an inch in thickness; it is half an inch wide at one end, and one sixth of an inch 

15* 


114 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


at the other ; both ends are sharpened into cutting-blades. The metal, of a dull yellow color, 
is hard, light, rings well, and weighs an ounce and a quarter. The proportion of tin probably 
approaches six per cent. The surface is corroded, and the sharp, cutting edges are jagged. 

Alongside of the last figure is a similar tool, but larger, being nearly nine inches long, half 
an inch wide at one extremity, and three fourths of an inch at the other. The cutting edges 
are rounded like those of the smaller one, and the thickness varies but little from one eighth 
of an inch; weight, two ounces. The metal is a perceptible shade darker, and, as might be 
inferred from that circumstance, not quite so hard. It contains, perhaps, about five per cent. 
of tin. The surfaces are corroded, but not so much as those of the preceding figure. A number 
of slight depressions mark both sides, as if it had been stretched lengthwise by the pin of a 
hammer, though the composition would seem hardly tough enough to bear that. 

Grasped by the middle, these two instruments would even now be no bad substitutes for steel 
ones for cutting leather, cloth, skins, and other thin materials stretched upon a table, and even 
for entering soft woods, either in the direction of or across the grain. As drills, they would 
be quite sufficient for boring into numerous substances. There are, in Boturini’s Collection of 
Mexican MSS., (Sec. III, No. 3, of his Catalogue,) figures of artisans carving with and other- 
wise using such tools, Simple as they seem, there are good points about them, and even in 
their forms and proportions. Being tapered in width, every instrument presented two blades, 
and two different sized ones; while, from the limited and uniform thickness given to the body 
of each, the least amount of labor was required to restore the cutting-edge when blunted or 
broken. No forging was wanted; nothing but simple abrasion or grinding. Another capital 
feature which we, in the midst of iron and steel and the facilities for working them, can hardly 
appreciate, was, the tool was never worn out until used up. While an inch remained, it could 
be used by sticking one end into a handle. It is very probable that the form and proportions 
of these instruments were given to all hard cutting-tools; while such as were malleable were, 
like our stone-cutters’ chisels, and like the two copper tools, made thicker in the body, and 
thinned down towards the edges by the hammer. 

A Peruvian knife proper, with a curved blade, is represented in full size below, interesting from 
its resemblance to those used by modern glovers and saddlers, and by Egyptian harness-makers 
under the Pharaohs. They have been found variously modified in form and hardness. I met 
with others more elaborately worked in the handles, in collections of South American antiquities. 
Very plain ones, as if hammered out of sheet metal, occasionally occur. Like the preceding 
figures, this instrument was cast, and cast whole. There is an appearance, where the handle 
joins the blade, of something like welding or soldering, but which is, I believe, due to the 
junction in the model. The application of nitric acid did not detect any solder. The blade 
measures 43 inches along the back, which is rather over one eighth of an inch thick, except 
towards the ends, where it tapers down to the sharpened edge. The handle is cylindrical, 
three eighths of an inch thick, and moulded in imitation of an inverted bird’s leg and foot. 
When used, the right hand grasped the shank, while the ball of the thumb rested between the 
open claws. In this way a firm hold and control of the blade was secured. The metal is 
slightly softer than that of the two other bronze tools. The instrument has obviously gone 
through much work. The widest part of the blade is 1} inch across, which was probably about 
the original width of the segment. The ornamental marks cast round the shank are nearly 
worn out. 

With the proprietor of these tools was also buried his whetstone—an indispensable article to 
every workman in wood and metal with us, but of much more frequent necessity to artisans 
whose edge-tools were of bronze. It is represented by the remaining figure on this plate—a 
compact piece of slate 23 inches long, three eighths of an inch thick, and varying from three 
quarters of an inch to an inch in width. A small hole is drilled through one end, most likely 
for a cord to suspend it by. A deep, angular depression has been worn on one side by sharp- 
ening tools on it, and a shallower one on the other. So similar is it to such things in modern 


U.S.N Astc! Exp” 


Plate IX 


One third natural size 


JM. Stanley del' 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


PS Duval & Co: steam hth: press. Phil 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 115 


workshops, and so little change has time wrought in it, that it might readily be taken for a piece 
of a carpenter’s hone. 

Peruvian cutting-tools of bronze which I have met with have been comparatively little har- 
dened, the proportions of tin not exceeding from two to three per cent. Now, why was this? 
Because old workmen preferred keeping them so far malleable that they might be readily 
thinned by the hammer, and have only the finishing-edge to put on by the hone, to making 
them brittle and hard, when nothing but tedious abrasion could restore or bring up a jagged 
or broken blade. From these small amounts of tin, some writers have surmised that the 
knowledge of giving different degrees of hardness to copper by varying the proportion of tin 
put in was not known, and that the alloys were natural ones. There are too many facts to 
overthrow and too few to sustain this hypothesis. The instruments described in this paper are 
of different degrees of hardness, and are certainly artificial compounds. They have by far the 
hardest cutting-edges of any I have ever seen, and show clear enough to my mind that the 
knowledge that copper is hardened in proportion to the quantity of tin mixed with it was pos- 
sessed in ancient Chile and Peru, in Mexico and Central America; that it could be made as 
hard as bell-metal that resists the file; and that brittleness kept pace with the hardness. Bells, 
we know, were made before the conquest in Peru, Mexico, and Mechoacan, and of alloys of gold 
as well as of copper. 

I think these tools go far to explain some matters relating to remote American civilization 
that have hitherto been sore puzzles, though they may be insufficient wholly to account for the 
dressed stone, the porphyritic and other sculptures of Cuzco, Uxmal, Palenque, &e. 


Prate [X.—Pottery. 


With the exception of figures 10, 11, 12, the pottery represented on this plate was taken 
from a family tomb near Arica, in Peru. Figures 1, 2,3, 4,5, were intended to heat as well as 
to hold liquids. None of them has ever been glazed; nor have the slightest efforts at ornament 
been expended on them. In texture, hardness, materials, and rough feeling to the touch, they 
resemble our sand crucibles, and were possibly as well adapted to endure heat. Their capacities 
are, respectively, three quarts, one quart, one quart, a pint and a quarter, two pints anda half. 
These measures are not minutely accurate, but quite sufficient for the purpose of this description. 

The bottoms of all are convex externally, and somewhat conical. There was a reason for 
this. The scarcity of fuel led the ancient Peruvians to a device for economizing it identical in 
principle with that of the classical ancients, and of most of the peoples of the eastern world— 
one still common to all the Latin nations, and the application of which has become a standing 
feature in our cooking-stoves and ranges. They confined the fire between two low walls, (which 
formed, in fact, a shallow, horizontal flue,) and placed upon them a plate of stone, having cut 
in it a row of two, three, or more openings suited to receive the pots and caldrons, and allow 
their lower halves to descend into and interrupt the passing flame. Thus, the heat not taken 
up by the bottom of the first vessel passed on to the second, &c., so that, when the smoke 
escaped at the end of the flue, the greater part of the heat had been absorbed by the pots, 

Figures 6, 7, 8, 9. Four stoppers or covers. The vessel to which No. 9 belonged was prob- 
ably broken in opening the tomb, as it has not been received with the rest. All are hollow, of 
the same hard material as the vessels, and pretty uniform in thickness—from one eighth of an 
inch to three sixteenths. Each has a hole at the smallest end, as represented. These covers 
are in some respects superior to our close-fitting pot-lids, since a vase could never be exploded 
by an accumulation of steam. Ordinarily, the vapor would escape between the stopper and the 
cavity in which it rested ; while a sudden evolution of steam would partially, and for a moment 
only, raise the stopper. It could never be blown out of its seat during the absence or in the 
presence of the cook. 

The vessels 1 and 5 show marks of having been much used; while the appearance of 2, 3, and 
4 indicates that they were new, or nearly new, when interred. The loops moulded on 1, 2, and 


116 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


5 answered to the studs on No. 3: they were substitutes for handles. Their interior surfaces 
are ragged in theextreme. No strings by which to suspend them could have been used without 
being quickly cut through. 

But the most interesting feature in these pots is one which shows they were not exclusively 
formed by hand. It has long been and still is conceded that nothing like the potter’s wheel 
was employed on aboriginal wares; a proof, strong as that afforded by the native modes of 
spinning thread and grinding corn, that the elements of American civilization were inde- 
pendently developed. In every instance the lower portion has been formed on a mould, (and 
most likely between two moulds,) while the upper halves were gathered in, and the necks 
modelled by the hands; the marks and irregularities of which are apparent, and singularly 
contrast with the interior surface below, which is so perfectly uniform that nothing but a mould 
could produce the like. Nos. 2 and 3 seem to have been formed on one mould. » 

Figures 11 and 12 are from the same tomb, in Chile, out of which the bronze implements 
figured on Plate 1 were taken. They are of a softer material and of a finer grain than the 
preceding, and, being glazed, are quite smooth to the touch. They belonged to what may be 
called the fancy pottery of old, being intended for show as well as for use. The saucer-like 
vessels, Nos. 10 and 11, have handles formed after birds’ heads: one resembles that of a duck 
or goose. No. 10 is from Cuzco; it is 53 inches in diameter, and three quarters of an inch at 
the centre. No. 11 is 64 inches across, and 13 inch deep. Each has a couple of studs on the 
edge opposite the handle, on which to rest it on the shelf. This is a common feature in all 
Peruvian pateras; I do not remember to have seen one without it. Thus ancient American 
housewives, like housewives everywhere, took a pride in setting off to advantage their hand- 
some crockery. 


Pate X.—Wooden-ware, cc. 


With the five cooking vases, figured in the preceding plate, were found various articles of 
domestic economy in wood; of these, figure 1 is the most conspicuous. This neat little pipkin 
has been cut out of a solid piece of moderately-hard and red-colored wood. The sides and bottom 
are of proportionate thickness, and the former thinned towards the spreading rim. But the 
design is better than the execution ; the vessel bears marks of the tedious process by which the 
interior matter was scooped out, morsel by morsel, and the exterior dressed down. The bust 
which forms the handle is characteristic of the ancient head-dress, and of the gathering of the 
hair behind into a thick queue—a custom still pursued among the Pueblo Indians and those of 
the Gila river. The diameter of the bottom is 43 inches, across the rim 64, and the depth 44. 
The broad band beneath the rim, and the narrow one near the bottom, are calculated to convey 
the impression that they were carved in imitation of hoops put around vessels made of staves. 
If such was the fact, the date would have, perhaps, to be brought down below the Conquest : 
that is, supposing vessels constructed of staves were not known to the natives during the Inca 
dynasties. The probability, however, is, that the projecting parts were carved for ornament, 
without reference to hooped pails and casks, as analogous bands are found on some of the oldest 
of their gold and silver cups and vases. 

Figure 2 is a rude wooden spoon, probably used with the vessel figure 1. It forms a perfect 
contrast to the exuberantly ornamented ones by modern Indians of, Peru. The edges of the 
bowl are worn, the front part thinned away, and the natural red tint of the wood reduced 
nearly to white, most likely by stirring corn-mush or cassava in the pipkin, and transferring it 
thence to the family mouths. 

Figure 3. A dipper or drinking bowl made out of a calabash. 

Figure 4. A small and nearly globular gourd, probably used for a similar purpose. 

Another example of minute toil in carving is shown at figure 5, apparently in imitation of a 
small gourd, 


— 
JM Stanley dei! 


INDIAN 


ANTIQUITIES. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 1A 


In figure 6 are four irregularly-formed receptacles made in a piece of wood, only 14 inch 
wide, not quite 2 inches long, and only five eighths of an inch thick. Unless the cavities were 
for rare condiments or pigments, I cannot imagine their use. 

The most laborious efforts at carving which the tomb has revealed are displayed in three 
sharply elliptical vessels—all of the same material, form, and, as nearly as may be, dimensions. 

Figure 7 represents one of them. Of a pale-yellow colored wood, its longest diameter at top 
is 6 inches, its shorter one 24; the depth is 3% inches, and the bottom measures 33 by 22 
inches. See A and B. Both sides, the inside especially, are covered with innumerable fresh- 
looking marks of the imperfect tools employed, clearly indicating that the vessels had been 
little used since made. Their design is a perfect enigma; and the puzzle is made still more 
perplexing by two holes, nearly half an inch square, cut through the bottom of each (see A 
and B ;) in addition to which, there are two minute perforations, about one tenth of an inch in 
diameter, drilled through the ends just above the bottom, as if for the purpose of passing a wire 
or small cord from end to end through the interior. One of these holes is shown in figure B. 

Figure 8 is a coarsely-plaited basket, 64 inches long by 43 broad, and 43 inches deep. It is 
made of rushes, whose ends retain their cylindrical form; they slightly exceed one eighth of 
an inch in thickness. 

In this basket were some ears of Indian corn, much shorter than any variety cultivated with 
us. They are from four to five inches in length, the cobs being three quarters of an inch in 
diameter. The grain is narrow and deep, and resembles the gourd-seed corn of the southern 
States. The rows vary from twelve to sixteen. 

There were also some sweet potatoes in the tomb; but they crumbled on exposure to the air, 
and could not be preserved. 

Figure 9 isa neatly and closely woven basket, or bowl, 53} inches in diameter, used for 
holding liquids, and which it would still retain, although a portion of it has disappeared from 
dampness. It contained some small matters—as several rods, 44 inches long, perforated 
lengthwise through the centre, and leaving two notches near one end, opposite each other, and 
communicating by a transverse hole. (See figures 10.) There were smoothly-shaped slips of a 
hard and cocoa-colored wood, whose purpose it is difficult to determine. (See figures 11.) They 
would have made excellent teeth for native combs. 

There were also six sticks, varying in length from 14 inches to 6. (See figures 12.) Three 
of these have holes worked out at one end. All have been colored red, and one with red bands. 
Their use is not known. 

There were found with these things two metallic objects, which are, therefore, figured with 
them. Figure 13 is one: it is a nodule of ironstone, which Garcilasso, the Inca historian, says 
his countrymen occasionally used as a material for tools, and which they named quilley. This 
may have been the upper part of a chisel or punch, for which it seems to have been well enough 
adapted. From the fracture, a considerable part appears to have been broken off. The figure 
is of the natural size. 

Figures 14 and 15. A bronze bodkin, which the finders mistook for gold. The alloy is similar to 
that of the third figure described on Plate VIII. It has been cast, and towards the point is smooth. 
The extreme point has been broken off. The instrument might be serviceable in many opera- 
tions in modern arts. At the upper end is a slit, either artificial or from a flaw in the casting. 
About an inch of the upper part was wound thickly round with thread of Llama wool, and then 
covered with interlaced reed, making a secure and excellent handle. There was no moving the 
instrument from its haft but by cutting through the latter, so firmly were both secured together. 

Figure 16 is an equally interesting instrument—a primeval needle, made of a cactus thorn. 
It is strong, elastic, black like polished ebony, and as sound as ever it was. The end has 
been flattened where the eye is. Portions of a fine thread remain in the eye, as well and uni- 
formly twisted as any in modern ladies’ work-baskets, and composed of jive -distinct strands or 
separate threads, 


118 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


With other primeval inventions, the needle elicits little observation, it being with things as 
with persons: the showy and superficial push aside the unobtrusive and useful. To some 
minds this fac simile of an instrument used by Eve and her daughters, and by their early 
descendants, may appear too trifling an affair to be worth recording; but few things offer in its 
associations more agreeable instruction. In its progressive development, through wood, bone, 
copper, bronze, and iron, into its modern steel representatives, and in the ameliorating and 
refining influence it has exercised over our species, the needle lacks neither point to awaken 
interest nor piquancy to keep it awake. 

The remnant of fine thread left in the eye is also connected with a subject that is equally 
interesting. It presents an opportunity of explaining a remark of Garcilasso, which appears 
irreconcilable with the fact that American spinsters twirled the spindle in a shell, gourd, 
or hollow stone, resting commonly on the floor, or the lap. He observes that his countrywomen 
carried their spinning apparatus with them to social parties, and, like European and Asiatic 
females, spun as they walked through the streets or into the country. Mentioning the difficulty 
to the late amiable and able envoy extraordinary from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Salvador, to 
the United States, Don Felipe Molina, he removed it at once, by stating that the practice is 
still kept up in those States, and particularly by Indian men, who are singularly industrious, 
and who almost always thus occupy themselves when travelling with loads on their backs. 
They whirl the spindle in a small cylindrical gourd, secured to the breast, or lodged in a pocket 
of their jackets. 

Figure 17. A beautifully ornamented cap, knitted or woven out of Llama wool. It is stout, 
and, except the colors and figures formed by them, is in pretty good preservation. Two strong 
cords, each a foot long and with a knot at the end, served to tie it under the chin. The diameter 
of the crown is 53 inches; depth of the rim, two inches. The process of formation began at the 
centre of the crown, as in Leghorn bonnets—the main threads extending outwards spirally. 
A small opening is left in the centre, and doubtless with the same view as similar ventilators 
are made in modern hats. The texture of the cap is very closely woven. Black, red or brown, 
yellow, green and light green, are the colors that remain. 

Figure 18. A portion of the cloth in which the mummies were enveloped. It is worth 
remarking on this fragment, that it has a feature more or less common in the fabrics wrapped 
round Egyptian mummies, viz: in the different sizes of the yarns that compose the weft and 
the warp. The same thing occurs in some fine Navajo blankets which I have examined, though 
the difference in them was not near so much as in this Peruvian Cere cloth. Another trait, 
common to ancient and modern Indian loom-work, is, that two yarns were sometimes used in 
the weft to one in the warp. 

The head of the entombed family was no warrior, since no weapons were buried with him, 
unless a sling (figure 19) netted from Llama’s hair be one. One of the cords is 23 feet long, 
the other a foot shorter. It appears to have been little used, and is still strong enough to 
answer the purpose for which it was wrought. This absence of weapons, and the presence of a 
large number of domestic and industrial implements, is a pleasing and impressive characteristic 
of old Peruvian civilization. 


After the foregoing sheets were in the hands of the printer, the contents of another ancient 
grave near Arica, which had been accidentally delayed, came to hand. As there was not time 
to have suitable illustrations prepared, a brief description of the relics are subjoined, since they 
are of too interesting a character to be wholly omitted. 

From the condition of some, if not all, they may be centuries if not decades of centuries old. 
They consist of movables of a family—of things that were never left behind on a change of 
location. Valuable on earth, they were believed to be equally desirable in the land beyond 
the setting sun, to which their owners supposed they emigrated at death. Here are ears of 
corn, and grains carefully sewed up in a bag to plant there, with vessels in which to cook them ; 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 119 


hooks to catch fish there, arrows to kill game, and implements of male and female industry, 
with smaller matters to please their children. There is something affecting in the members of 
a family being thus accompanied with their little stock of valuables on their exodus out of this 
_ world in quest of another. Happily, they had no idea that their treasures would be stolen 
here, and even their own bodies borne off as curiosities, by people of another race, 

A few articles are in copper and bronze, all deeply corroded and swelled beyond their natural 
dimensions by blossoms of green oxide. 

1. The triangular blade of a knife rather more than two inches across the cutting-edge, 
perpendicular to which arose a plain and flat handle. A part only remains, three sixteenths of 
an inch thick. The alloy is similar to that of the knife on Plate VIII. A little forked piece 
(of wood probably, though it is reduced to the color and consistence of caked snuff) has been 
secured by twine over the stump, and gives a smooth termination to the shank. 

2. A fish-hook of bronze about the size of a mackerel hook, half an inch across the bend, the 
short end 1} inches, and the other end longer. The last had been attached to a slip of bone or 
wood: the lashing was remaining round both. On dissolving the oxide by an acid, the metallic 
portion remaining was found to be one eighth of an inch thick at the bend, and to taper thence 
to both ends. If there had been a barb at one and a notch or loop at the other, they had been 
eaten away. This hook is stiff, and as difficult to bend as if it had been made of iron. 

3. A similarly formed but smaller hook. The shank is 1} inches long, and retains the lashing 
that attached it to the fishing-line. The only observable difference in the contour of these 
hooks and of ours is the greater length given to the short ends; possibly to compensate for the 
absence of barbs. 

4. A still smaller hook, half imbedded in a portion of the line that had been buried with it. 
In dimensions it resembles those temporary hooks made by boys of pins. To attempt to remove 
its bright green envelope would probably destroy it. 

5. Another hook (a straight one) a little over two inches long, with a barb neatly tied on. 
Like the others, the finely twisted line has disappeared, except some small portions imbedded 
in the copper rust. \ 

6. A singular looking article, and one whose use it is next to impossible to divine. At the 
first glance upon its arrival, when its general and rough contour only was observable, it had 
some resemblance to the handle of a sword with a portion of the blade projecting from it; but 
then there were two shapeless protuberances that increased the difficulty. After dissolving the 
encrusted covering in an acid, and ‘‘pickling,’’ (to use a brazier’s phrase), so as to bring out 
a clean surface, the relic assumed another appearance, but one as much of an enigma as before. 
A very definite idea of it cannot be communicated without a drawing. 

For the purpose of description, let it be supposed an insignia of office worn on the hand. It 
is an elliptical band, with an opening three and a half inches one way, and an inch the other. 
It might be slipped over the four fingers till one end was between the thumb and forefinger. 
The upper surface passing across the back of the hand is an inch wide, and ornamented with 
sunken scroll or square work. The part in contact with the palm is plain, and not half so 
wide. From one end is an ornamented projecting piece 14 inch long, and nearly as wide as 
the band. It rests on the thumb if the band be slipped on with it in that direction, or extends 
at right angles from the little finger if the band be slipped on reversely. This piece has a 
longitudinal slit, which divides it in two, except at the junction with the band, where the 
casting is very perfect. But the most curious part consists of two figures (apparently of Incas 
from the head-dresses) rising from the middle of the band. They project over an inch, are 
within three quarters of an inch of each other, and both look one way, with their backs to the 
above-named projection. They are in a sitting posture, holding cups, or something else, to 
their mouths; and minute as they are, the arms, legs, and thighs are singularly relieved. As 
a piece of casting, it is a surprising piece of work. None of our founders could produce the 
like from their moulds. 


120 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


In wood are a few things: 

1. A prettily carved snuff or other mill for rubbing down dry leaves to powder. It resembles 
the apparatus of Brazilian Indians for the same purpose, and is not larger than the palm of 
the hand. <A blade of hard wood, with a recess scooped in it two and a half inches one way, a 
little over an inch the other, and ,°; of an inch deep, The handle is the head and part of the 
body of an Indian, well worked out. The value put on this implement is evinced by the 
repairs it has undergone. The blade is cracked in three places, and each crack has been pre- 
vented from spreading by drilling holes on each side, and binding the parts together by twine 
or wire. 

2. A spindle for making thread. It consists of a round and tapered stick, eleven inches long, 
and not exceeding a quarter of an inch at the thickest part. It is reduced to a point at both 
extremities. A little stone weight, to keep up the momentum, is fixed within an inch of one 
end. It is a truncated cone, the larger diameter 14 inch, the smaller 1 inch, and the depth 
$ of an inch. A hole drilled through the centre receives the spindle. Some broken and 
decayed threads remain on the rod. Altogether, the instrument might be taken for an Asiatic 
or European one, so similar is it to such in dimensions and construction, with one exception: 
there is no slit or notch at the upper end to hold the thread by. 

3. A flat and thin piece of hard wood, 32 inches long, 13 inch wide, ;; thick at the centre, 
and reduced thence to the sharp edges. A hole in the centre has received a small rod, like the 
spindle; a portion remains in it. There were dust-marks of thread round the hole, as if the 
rod had been charged with thread, like a spindle. The article was probably used in connexion 
with spinning or weaving. 

4. In a little reed quiver are three red-colored sticks, six inches long, with conical ends, and 
precisely like those figured at No. 12, on Plate X, whose use they serve to explain. They are 
bolts of arrows. A quartz point was lashed to one, and those of the others had dropped off, 
and were found in the quiver. Rudely formed as they are, it is difficult to perceive how they 
were discharged, and for what purpose the conical ends served. Could they have been inserted 
into the ends of rods applied to the bow, and designed to separate when they reached the 
bird or beast shot at? Arrow-shafts composed of two pieces are not uncommon among tribes 
of both North and South America: but they are commonly spliced and united by thread, so as 
to present little or no swelling at the junction; whereas, from the enlarged ends of these, such 
joints were out of the question. However these bolts were used, the custom is most likely still 
kept up by native Indians of Peru. Captain Sitgreaves, in his report of an expedition down 
the Zuni and Colorado rivers in 1853, speaking of the Mohave Indians, observes that their arms 
are the bow and arrow, the spear, and the club. The arrow is formed of two pieces: that to 
which the barb is attached is of hard wood, seven inches long, or one fourth the entire length ; 
the other is of a light reed that grows profusely along the banks of the river, and is feathered, 
as usual, at the extremity. 

5. Another piece of light-colored wood, streaked with a red pigment, and between seven and 
eight inches long. In form it resembles two long, pointed, and shallow spoon-mouths, united 
by a short and thick rod at their wide ends. Very roughly and laboriously cut, it furnishes 
evidence of the imperfection of the tools in vogue for working wood when it was formed. 

6. Another, rather less, but in all other respects the same. 

7. A thin tube of wood, or part of a natural reed, 63 inches long and 2 of an inch bore. 

8. A forked stick, the fork presenting an acute angle, like the letter V. This is manifestly 
the remains of a primitive adze. One branch or stump formed the handle; but it has been 
broken or detached by decay, a few inches only being left. The other is complete, and shows 
how a copper or bronze blade was secured to it; a portion of the wood is cut away, leaving a 
flat surface for the face of the blade, and an abutment for the head. Notches were cut in the 
back to receive the lashings, whose marks remain. A film of green oxide remains attached to 


aa 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. Lait 


that part of the wood to which the metallic blade was bound. This implement, when perfect, 
resembled some recovered from Heyptian tombs. 

9. A neatly made basket-bowl, similar in construction to Figure 9, on Plate X, but only six 
inches across. 

8. A stone-pointed instrument, lashed by animal fibre to one side of a handle nearly two 
feet long. If not a weapon, it was probably an agricultural tool. The extreme point only 
seems to have become smooth by use. 

In pottery the specimens are more numerous than those figured on PlateTX. There are four 
large vases, of which three are painted and one is plain, and in material and outline similar to 
Figure 3 on the plate, but more than double its capacity, being 9 inches deep and 8 across the 
swelled part. It has been used over a fire. The other three are about equal in capacity, though 
not quite so. Two have conical bottoms, and were used over a fire. They have ears, like 
Figure 1 of Plate IX. Below the ears they are plain and rough, because those parts were 
dropped into the perforated tops of their stoves, as mentioned on page 115; but all above the 
ears are painted, on a light-colored ground coat, with black and red designs, somewhat after 
the style of Figure 11 of Plate IX. 

The remaining one of the four is a perfect pitcher, with a flat bottom, loop-handle at one 
side, but without a contracted lip. The ground color is a dark chocolate-red, upon which are 
displayed with considerable effect white lines, stars, and circles, relieved by others in black. 
The rim is ornamented inside and out. Taken altogether, the vase is worthy of a place on 
modern tables. The material is a light reddish clay—same as the other painted ones. 

Two vases shaped like Figure 3, Plate [X—holding, the one a quart, the other not so much. 

T'wo more—one formed like Figure 2, and the other like Figure 1, of Plate [X—might be 
taken for children’s toys, since each could hold no more than an ordinary wine-glass. 

A wide-mouth bowl, with flat bottom, and holds a pint. 

A smaller one, very rudely formed, and very flat. It might have served for a lamp, if lamps 
were used in the family. 

' A very interesting specimen of ancient crockeryware is one that resembles a quart pot or 
tankard. It has nearly straight sides, stands four inches high, and is four in diameter. A 
handle, in the form of an Indian’s head with a high cap or mitre, rises above the rim from 
swelled part of the sides. The outside of this vessel preserves rude attempts at ornament with 
black and brown colors. A very similar one, but slightly larger, with the head and body of 
a monkey for the handle, was found in a grave eleven feet under ground, near Ariquipe, during 
the past year, and presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. Eckel, United States consul 
at Taleahuana, Chile. This vessel is better painted and in better preservation than the 
preceding. 

The conical-bottomed vases having, as intimated, been used as boilers, they are furnished 
with stoppers formed precisely like those on Plate IX. Such as belong to painted vessels are, in 
like manner, ornamented over half their surfaces; a circumstance which shows that they were 
dropped into their places with the perforated ends up—consequently the steam never entered 
them. 

Of clothing, and other woven remains, there is an apron-looking piece in tolerably good 
preservation—half a yard one way, and something less the other; it exhibits a pattern of fancy 
stripes in brown and white. 

A small cap, with loop to pass under the chin. It resembles in texture the one figured on 
Plate X, and appears to have belonged to a child. 

A coarse and open knit bag—eight inches deep and four wide. 

A sling, woven in squares of black and white, in moderate preservation. Portions of the 
lines are missing. A variety of slings was of old in vogue in Peru. With some tribes they 
were the chief, with others the only weapons used in war; and considerable labor and skill 
were laid out on them. They were decorated in the loom, both the straps and strings being 

16 * 


122 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


variegated with colored threads. This specimen is a proof of the correctness of old historians 
on the subject. Wound round the head, they formed the only covering of the Chachapuyas. 

Fragments of round, plaited cord, of brown and white strands—also bits of netting. 

A handsomely wrought bag, closely woven, with fancy stripes in red, brown, and white tints. 

A smaller bag, with more elaborately wrought figures in red, white, black, brown, and green 
colors. A row of ten pendent tassels were attached to the bottom, (most have dropped off,) 
making the article look very like a modern lady’s reticule or work-bag. 

Lastly, a skull-in good preservation; and which, from its long plaited locks, may have 
belonged to the mother of the family. Perhaps within it sat the mind that contrived the use- 
ful and ornamental things just mentioned; and within it turned the eyes that watched their 
progressive development, from the twisting of the thread with the spindle, and imparting the 
_ various colors, to the finishing touches given to the pretty fabrics. 


Besides their historic value, primitive antiquities interest us as representatives of thought, 
and of inventive resource, in the early conditions of our species. They show us how the arts 
began, and how they become modified by climate, by soil and its diverse products, and also by 
location—insular and continental, inland and maritime. Then they indicate, by that remark- 
able uniformity which pervades them (for while others differ, these are everywhere akin), a 
natural equality in men to invent. Let specimens be gathered from every part of the earth, 
and it would seem almost as philosophical to assert that animals or birds of one country were 
originally more ingenious than those of others, as to apply the remark to man. 

Then who does not perceive in them, that to unite the ornamental with the useful is an 
instinct of our nature; one early evolved, and found as active in the lowest as in the highest 
forms of society. Where dwells the savage who adorns not his club, his paddle, and his canoe; 
and where the tribe that adds not colors to carving? None of the inferior beings spend labor 
on what is superfluous; they add nothing that is not essential. Man is by nature the only 
decorating animal; and hence the origin of modelling, sculpture, and painting, should not be 
ascribed to any one people. 

With many these things have no weight, and the same may be said of society at large; still 
it is well to recur to what we have all sprung from, and, while contemplating the disparity 
between the condition of our remote progenitors and our own, to remember that we also are in 
a medium or transition state—one connecting the past to a future surpassing in its achieve- 
ments those of the present. 

But relics of American arts are of peculiar interest, inasmuch as they are connected with the 
solution of one of the greatest problems in human history. Here is one half of the planet 
without a page of written record, without legends or traditions. From its first occupancy, at a 
period whose date no one can tell or even conjecture, down to comparatively recent days, it pre- 
sents to the historian, instead of a chronicle of dynasties, of stirring actions and mighty events, 
a huge and silent blank—not the name of an individual, nor the sound of a foot-fall, preserved. 
Comparatively speaking, it was but yesterday that the continents were discovered, and the fact 
of their being in possession of a peculiar race proclaimed to the rest of the world; and now, as 
then, there is little more information to be obtained from the Indians respecting their predeces- 
sors than from the native quadrupeds. Whatever is to be known, has to be drawn out of the 
ground; out of what the plough turns up; what mounds, graves, and existing earth-works may 
disclose, and what architectural ruins may afford. These are the only archives remaining of 
the deeds and destinies of the old inhabitants of the hemisphere; and hence everything regis- 
tered in them, however trifling under other circumstances it might be considered, has a value 
proportioned to the insight it may give into national or social habits and conditions. 

The American aborigines are melting away, and, apart from the moral view of the subject, 
there is much that is due to them. Poor themselves, they have enriched others. Besides 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 123 


bequeathing to us the noblest of earthly inheritances, their contributions to the great staples 
of modern commerce have never been excelled. To say nothing of the fur-trade, nor of the 
metals, from gold and mercury to copper and lead, in unprecedented profusion, of bread plants 
they gave us the potato, Indian corn, and mandioca; of poultry, the turkey and other fowls, 
of raw materials for manufactures, India-rubber; of timber, mahogany, rose, satin, and at 
least two hundred other varieties of wood used in ship-building, carpentry, and for dying, 
furniture and ornamental wares; in medicine, Peruvian bark, jalap, and ipecacuanha. Then 
there is a list of plants, including tobacco, which have become necessities to such a degree that 
nations would stand aghast if threatened to be deprived of them. 

To a people to whom we owe so much, the least that we can do is to gather up for posterity 
whatever memorials of them may fall in our way. 

A change in terrestrial occupancy on such a scale is an episode unparalleled in the history of 
our globe; and though we who live during its accomplishment are in a manner indifferent to 
its magnitude, and to its bearings on the destinies of the species in coming times, it will be 
discussed and referred to in the distant future as one of ever memorable significance. 

There are, moreover, ethnographical facts of marked interest to students of races and nations. 
For example: it is universally conceded that civilization was first developed in the East, and on 
the northern half of the planet, while it is uncertain whether it began here on the northern or 
southern side of the equator. It arose in the interior of a vast continent in one case, and 
apparently in the other on the shores of two oceans—Yucatan and Peru. The tropics are the 
base-lines of civilization. Between the parallels of 10° and 35° north arose all the historical 
nations of old, and with them its tendency was not so much towards as from the equator, which 
it never reached. It was the same with this Western world: the Mexicans and their predeces- 
sors began and limited their efforts within the latitudes of 10° and 30.° But while no ancient 
centre of civilization sprung up south of the line in the Eastern hemisphere, it was different 
here; for the earliest known southern efforts at human progress are those of the Inca dynasties, 
though it is uncertain whether they preceded or followed the Central American nations, whose 
architectural ruins yet abound. 

The further information respecting ancient American civilization and arts embodied in the 
following pages is, from its ethnological importance, submitted in connexion with the account of 
kindred antiquities brought home by the Astronomical Expedition. 

General Alvares, the last Spanish political chief and commandant of the province of Cuzco, 
made up during his administration a varied and very valuable collection of articles in terra 
cotta, stone, bronze, silver, gold, &c., belonging to the times of the Incas. Arriving at Rio 
de Janeiro (on his way to Spain), he disposed of them there. To the politeness of the pur- 
chaser—Seiior Barboza, a Brazilian gentleman of great learning and of antiquarian tastes—I 
was indebted for opportunities fully to examine and report upon them, during a visit to Brazil 
in 1846. No account of them has been published till now, and it is doubtful if any modern 
volume contains a finer assemblage of antiquities of the kind. 

A copy of the catalogue furnished by General Alvares will serve to introduce a description 
of the articles named in it, 


(Original. ) 
ANTIGUIDADES Dos INcAs DO PERv. 


Esta colleccao de antiguidades dos Incas do Peru pertenceo ao Brigadeiro D, Antonio Maria 
de Alvares, chefe politico superior e commandante geral da provincia de Cuzco: 
Em barro: 
1. Jarro, em que se acha a cabeca do celebre Cacique Ruminhauy, que em classe de busto he a 
unica que se tene conservado desde aquella antiguide. 
2. Jarro, com forma de cabeca de tigre. 
_ 3. Catimplora, com desenhos de cobras, de mii boas cores e verniz. 


124 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


4, Hum jarro de quarta de altura. 


115) 


26. 


wwe 


A. 


Garrafa de verniz roxo, e alguns desenho preto. 

Cantaro com aza, com eleanor bastante apagador. 

Cantaro de assento plano, com aza ou orelha alta n’ella pintadas duas indias, potidls 
geral gachos de flores, e mariposas. 

Cantaro com duas azas paiiae assente conico; no gargato, de realce, a cara de hum indio. 

Cantaro igual ao anterior. 

Cantaro igual ao antecedente. 

Outro quasi semelhante. 


. Panela de cor verde-negro, de acento conico. 


Panelinha menor, de acente plano. 

Cantarinho, com riscas de cores. 

Cantarinho, tambem pequeno, de orelha alta. 

Dous varos iguals de cor esbranquicada. 

Varo igual em cores, hum ponco mais pequeno. 

Pratinhos planos, com desenhos de flores e patos. 

Prato fundo com bico de gar¢a por cabo. 

Prato de cor yoxa, com a cabeca de hum passaro. 

Outro igual. 

Outro quasi igual. 

Outro mais. 

Prato com faxas amarelas, com bico e cabeca, 

Prato com orelha. 

Prato quasi plano interiormente. 

Prato menor parecido com o anterior. 

Prato pequeno, liso, com bico ou cabeca. 

2 Pratinhos de igual bico, com desenhos conservados em sua forma e cores, ‘achados n’huma 
guaca hum povo antigo sobre o de 8. Sebastian, a huma legod de Cuzco, no anno de 
1820. 

2 Pratinhos, hum delles com aza, ambos divididos em dous quarteis brancos, e doas encama- 
dos, e em cada hum pintada huma mosca. 

Roda com pescoco, como tampa de hum vaso. 

Llama de madeira preta, com olhos de ouro. 

Assobio em forma de coracao. 

Assobio em forma de hum cantaro, sem pescoco. 

Dito, com forma de panela. 

Roda, com dentes de roca, ou pusca. 

Pratinho com cabo de bico, disenho, e moscas. 

Chuspa ou saco, tecido de algodao e la de alpacho; no desenho se ve huma imitacao de huma 
fileira d’ indios; servia para levar a coca, que mascayao, e a colocavao pendente do hombro 
direito sobre o lado esquerdo. Foi achado em hum cadaver, no anno de 1810, no valle de 
Changuillo, partido de Yea, provincia de Lima. 

Ouro: 

Figura de huma india, despida com a particularidade de ser oca, de ley muito baixa. 

Outra india, tambem despida, e macico; ley muito baixa. 


. Hum indio despido, macigo, e de ley baixa; com transa na cabeca e dos charmados Oregones ; 


na bochecha esquerda se lhe observa 0 acullico, que he estar mascando a erva coca. 
Prata: 

Huma india, de metal encobrado, e macico, de 10 polegadas a duas linhas de altura, inteiror- 
mente despida, em todo 0 corpo, pernase bracos, a cingem fachas embutidas de ouro baixo, 
prata pura, e champi com mescla de ouro; os olhos e as pontas dos peitos sao déste ultimo 
metal, 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 125 


Champi: 
5. Hum indio, macico, despido, e Oregon; sua altura 10 polegadas e 3 linhas. Esta figura e 
a anterior fordo achadas juntas n’huma escaracao em 1818, nas immediacdes do povo de 
Limatambo, partido de Abancay, provincia de Cuzco. 


Prata: 

6. Hum cacique, com o seu trage e insignia que 0 representa; he macico e com alguns adornos 
de ouro. 

7. Huma llama do Peru, macico. 

8. Duas chapas paralelogramas, mui delgados, n’huma parte tem furos para passar fios, como 
adornos de pessoas mais distinctas. Achardo ve no povo de Ollantay, partido de Uru- 
bamba, provincia do Cuzco, 

Champi: 

9. Hum bastao de largura, tres pes duas polegados, e onze linhas, e seu pezo 7 libras e 4 oncas; 
tem mais abaixo da grossura que figura punho, e sobre huma especie de anel, embutida 
do verdadeiro champi que he arroxado ; insignia dos Curacas ou capitios; foi achado em 
1824, no povo de Orunillo, partido de Asangaro, provincia de Puno. 


Bronze: 

10. Grande barra, que ainda que quadrado se collocéo n’hum de seus estremos: inferior- 
mente huma especie de estrella de raios grossos, sobre esta outra igual, porem em hum 
dos seus raios apresenta a figura de hum machado armado; he insignia de cacique ou 
capitao, e foi achada no povo de Langui, partido de Pinta, provincia de Cuzco. 

11. Outra estrella solta, de seis raios, igual 4 primeiro anterior. 

12. Hum machado, que unido o ajustado a algum cabo, servia tambem de insignia. 

13. Tres circulos planos, com orelha na sua estremidade, que collocavao por adorno sobre 0 peito. 

14. Quatro alfinetes, com que prendiao as roupas sobre o peito ao mulheres, 


Cobre: 
15. Especie de segur ou faca, com cabo do mesmo metal que imita o entransado; e no extremo 
sobre hum plano circular, se acha huma raposa ou gamba, levando hum filho na boca. 


Bronze: 
16. Assobio, em figura de tambor, embutido com champi, e sobre este dous pontos de prata. 


Champi: 
17. Mistura de ouro, indio e india, despidos, pequenos e mocissos. 
18. Indio sentado de cocras. 


Pedra: 

19. De aza de mosca, hum paralelogramo, de altura de 3 polegadas e 53 linhas, comprimento 
11 polegadas 2 linhas, e largura 6 polegadas 11 linhas; interiormente esti dividido em 
duas ordens paralelas de quatro quadriculas, que progressiva e alternativamente se en- 
chem de agoa ou licor; succedendo 0 mesmo nas quatro outras restantes, por conductos 
interiores que tem para o effeito; o seu desague dé huanas e outras, se acham nos seus 
lados oppostos, e debaixo das figuras de indio e india, que estao em relevo, e sentados; a 
seus lados se veem dous tigres ou gatos montezes, e esculpidas cobras que atrayessam os 
extremos. 

20. Preta, huma panela. 

21. Branca, de figura triangular, pequena, que usaram como jogo da Tava. 

22. Duas Llamas pequenas de distincta qualidade. 

23. Duas hum ponco maiores. 

24. Huma maior de trabalho grotesco. 


26 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


25. Outra maior e preta mui pulida. 

26. Huma de maior tamanho, bem trabalhada, que figura o animal chamado 0 alpacho. 

27. Outra maior, jaspeada mindamente de roxo e branco. 

28. Almofariz, cor roxa, com azas. 

29. Mao de almofariz sobre a qual se acha hum gato montez. 

30. Figura de hum urso. 

31. Duas pretas larradas que arrojardo nas fundas. 

32. Duas de metal soroche, para atirar nas fundas. 

33. Especie de colher de pedreiro, em forma de ferro de engomar, de que se servido para reboca 
com barro os seus edificios. 


Prata: 


34. Huma pequena lama mocissa, carregada com duas barras; huma de prata e outra d’ouro 
encobrado. 


Bronze: 


35. Meio corpo de hum indio Oregon, corcovado, com o acullico dentro da boca, despido, e com 
o Ulauto na cabeca. 


Champi: 


36. Hum assobio, formando a cabega de indio; seu acullico, e barrete de forma conica truncada 
com embutido de cobre em formo de grega. 


Bronze: 


37. Hum assobio piramidal de seis faces, embutido de cobre, e em duas d’ellas oppostas, com 
prata figurando cobras, 
38. Hum assobio com a figura do animal conhuido quinquincho. 


Cobre: 


39. Huma pinea, que punhao por adorno no peito. 
40. Hum cascavel, cuja aza difere dos communs; foi achado estramuros de Cuzco, em huma esca- 
vacao no anno de 1821. 


Concha: 


41. Dous pedacos larrados e furados, hum vermelho, e outro esmaralado na sua extensdo, pen- 
duravao, os como adorno, fordo achados em Cuzco n’outra escavacao no anno de 1820. 


Pedra: 


42. Hum almofariz de cor parda, figura oval. 

43. Outro pardo com lineamentos roxos, de quasi igual figura. 
44. Outro, como para saleiro, de figura paralelogramica, cor verde parecida com a malaquito. 
45. Hum alpacho, cor roxa. 

46. Outro de cor preta esverdiada. 

47. Huma Jama com o principio dos pes, ajunas, cor de barro. 
48. Huma esverdiada. 

49. Huma metade preta, e metade de cor parda clara. 

50. Huma parda. 

51. Huma menor amaralada. 

52. Huma branca cristalina e transparente. 

53. Huma menor preta, com manchas verd e escuras. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 127 


(Translation by an English officer in the Brazilian army.) 


ANTIQUITIES OF PERU. 


This collection of Peruvian antiquities belonged to Brigadier General Don Antonio Maria de 


- Alvares, superior political chief and general commandant of the province of Cuzco: 


“Tm Ot P CO DS 


Terra cotta: 


. A pitcher which represents the head of the celebrated cacique, Ruminhauy. Of the class 


of ancient portrait vases it is supposed to be the only one extant. 


. Another in the form of a tiger’s head. 

. A bottle, with snakes painted on it—very vivid colors. 

. A pitcher, of the capacity of a quart. 

. A bottle painted with bright color and varnish, and black paintings or designs. 

. A vase with handles, and ornamental designs nearly obliterated. 

. Ditto, flat bottom, decorated with the figures of two Indian females, stems of flowers, and 


butterflies. 

. Ditto, with two low handles and conical bottom. An Indian’s face is moulded on the upper 
part. 

. Another of a similar character. 

+ Ditto; ditto. 

. Ditto, ditto. 


. A pot of a black-green color and conical bottom. 

. A smaller pot, flat bottomed. 

. A small water-pot, with painted stripes of different colors. 
. Ditto, with high handle. 

. Two ditto of a whitish tint. 

. One ditto, a little smaller. 

. Small dishes or plates, with figures of flowers and ducks. 
. A deep plate, with the handle in the form of a heron. 

. A plate of a violet color, with the head of a bird for the handle. 
. Another, of a similar character. 

. Another, nearly the same. 


. Another, ditto. 

. A plate with yellow wreath, and a bird’s bill and head for a handle. 
. Ditto, ditto. 

. Ditto, nearly flat. 


. Ditto, ditto. 
. Ditto, small, smooth, and flat. 
. Two small plates, with ornamental designs preserved in form and colors. They were found 


in a huaca in an ancient dwelling near Saint Sebastian, one league from Cuzco, in the 
year 1820. 


. Two small plates, one with a bird’s head handle: each divided into two white-painted quar- 


ters, and two red, and in each (quarter) is painted a fly. 


. A disc, with a neck similar to the cover of a pot. 
. A llama of wood, black, with gold eyes. 

. A whistle, in the form of a heart. 

. Ditto, resembling a vase. 

. Ditto, resembling a pipkin. 

. A wheel, with teeth of 
. A small plate, with the handle in the form of a bird’s head. 


» Or pusca. 


128 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


38. A chuspa, or bag: the weft of cotton, and the warp of the wool of the alpacho. The orna- 
mental figures are intended to represent a file of Indians. The bag was used to carry 
the herb coca, and worn suspended from the right shoulder at the left side. It was 
found on the skeleton of an Indian, in the year 1810, in the valley of Changuillo, dis- 
trict of Yca, province of Lima. 

Gold: 

1. A naked female figure, and hollow. 

2. Another, but solid. 

3. A male Indian, naked, solid, with the hair of the head plaited. This is one of those named 
Oregons, or long-eared; in the left cheek is observed the acullico, a ball of the herb 
coca. 

Silver: 

4, An Indian female of gilt metal, solid, 10 inches 2 lines high, naked; body, legs, and arms 
bound with rings of low gold, and pure silver and champi, mixed with gold; the eyes 
and points of the breast are of ‘gold. 


Champi: 


Or 


. A naked Indian, solid, an Oregon, 10 inches 3 lines high. This figure and the preceding 
one were found in an excavation, in the year 1818, in the neighborhood of Limatambo, 
district of Abancay, province of Cuzco. 

Silver: 

6. A cacique with dress and insignia, and solid decorations of gold. 

. A llama, solid. 

. Two plates, very thin; in one part are small orifices to pass threads; supposed to have 
belonged to persons of quality. Found at the village of Ollantay, district of Uru- 
bamba, province of Cuzco. 


CO -T 


Champi: 
9. A staff, 3 feet 2 inches 11 lines wide, weighing 7 Ibs. 40z. It has below the thicker 
part, shaped for the hand, a ring inlaid with pure champi, which is of a velvet color. 
It is an insignia of the Curacas or captains. Found in 1824, in the valley of Ormillo, 
district of Asangaro, province of Puno. 


Bronze: 

10. A metallic battle-axe or mace, with six rays, one of which forms a hatchet. It is an 
insignia of a cacique, and was found in the village of Langui, district of Tinta, pro- 
vince of Cuzco. 

11. A star of same metal, with six rays, similar to the former. 

12. An axe; which, when united to a handle, was a token of dignity. 

13. Three flat circles, with an ear at one edge—an adornment for the breast. 

14. Four pins, used by females for securing their dresses. 

Copper: 
15. A kind of segwr, or knife, with handle of same metal, in imitation of plaiting. Upon the 
handle is a fox or gamba, with a young one in its mouth. 
Bronze: » 
16. A whistle, in the form of a drum, adorned with champi, and two silver points. 
Champi: 
17. Male and female Indians, naked ; a mixture of gold and silver, solid, and small. 
18. An Indian, in sitting posture, with his legs crossed under him, 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 129 


Stone: 

19. A parallelogram of ‘‘aza de mosca’’ (fly’s wing), 3 inches 53 lines high, 11 inches 2 lines 
long, 6 inches 11 lines wide, divided in the interior in two sets of four receptacles each, 
which communicate with each other. Their contents are discharged on opposite sides, 
underneath figures of a male and female Indian, in high relief, and sitting posture, on 
each side of which is a tiger or mountain-cat, and on the end snakes are sculptured. 

20. A black pot. 

21. A white pot, of triangular form, used at the game of Tava. 

22. Two llamas, small distinct species. 

23. Two ditto, rather larger. 

24, One ditto, still larger, grotesque workmanship. 

25. One ditto, ditto, black and polished. 

26. One still larger well-wrought figure of the alpaca. 

27. One ditto, jaspered minutely, violet and white color. 

28. A mortar, violet color, with handles. 

29. A pestle, with the figure of a mountain-cat at the extremity. 

30. A bear. 

31. Two black stones, used in slings. 

32. Two of the metal soroche, to use in slings. 

33. A mason’s trowel, form of a smoothing-iron, to lay on plaster in buildings. 


Silver: 
34, A small llama, solid, laden with two bars—one of gold, the other of silver. 


Bronze: 

35. Half body of an Indian, an Oregon, in a stooping posture, with the acullico in the mouth, 
naked, and with the Wauwtw on the head. 

36. A whistle, formed after the head of an Indian, with the acullico and a cap inlaid with 
copper—Grecian form. 

37. A pyramidal whistle of six faces or sides; inlaid with copper, and on two opposite sides 
with silver snakes. 

38. A whistle, in the form of the animal quinquincho. 


Copper: 
39. An ornament for the breast. 
40. A varvel, found by the walls of Cuzco, in an excavation in 1821. 


Shell: 
41. T'wo pieces of shell, chased and bored—one reddish, the other yellow—used as ornaments. 
They were found in the city of Cuzco, during an excavation in 1820. 


Stone: 

42. A mortar, of a brown color, oval shape. 

43. Another, similar shape, with violet stripes. 

44. Another, form of a salt-cellar, shaped as a parallelogram, green color. 

45. An alpaca, violet color. 

46. Another, black-green color. 

47. A llama, with feet and legs clay color. 

48. Ditto, greenish color. 

49. Ditto, half black, half light-brown color. 

50. Ditto, brown or clay color. 

51. A llama, smaller in size, yellowish color. 
Ga 


130 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


52. Ditto, white and transparent (crystalline). 
53. Ditto, lesser size, black, with dark-green spots. 


Harthenware. 

For the purposes of classification and description, the articles are arranged in groups, accord- 
ing to the principal material in each, while the accompanying illustrations may be viewed as 
so many pattern-cards of pottery, stoneware, hardware, works in silver, gold,‘and champi, 
(said to be an alloy of copper and gold, or of copper and silver). 


Fe, 


SEES 


i 


The first figure, a, is of special interest, from’ its historical associations, and the light it 
reflects upon one of the modes by which Peruvians perpetuated the features and characters of 
prominent men. A drinking-vessel of a reddish clay, it stands nine inches high, has an 
internal depth of six inches, and is two inches across the mouth. It belongs toa class of vessels 
of which, it is supposed, there are not over two or three extant, viz: vase-busts. It represents 
the head of the famous Cacique Ruminhauy. The features are strongly developed, and with 
indisputable traits of an individual’s portrait. A deep wound is shown on the right cheek ; 
the eyes and upper teeth are prominent; a front tooth is left out, and the place for it distinctly 
marked. The hair is dressed in plaited cords. The ears are small, unpierced, and well modelled, 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. LSM 


the upper lobes being level with the under eyelids. The border of the tire or head-dress is 
handsomely notched in front and twisted behind. The round base, as well as the rest, was 
modelled by hand, and by the hand of an expert, too. It will be remembered that in the Old 
World baked clay busts and relievos preceded marble statuary. } 

Instead of carousing, like the savage Scandinavians, and others professing more refinement, 
from the skulls of the conquered, the Peruvians employed these harmless imitations, and anti- 
cipated a branch of art which modern potters might usefully extend much farther than they 
have yet attempted. 

Ruminhauy, or Rumminaui, stands out in horrid relief in the Commentaries of Garcilasso de 
la Vega. After the death of Atahualpa, he schemed to succeed him, With this view he 
invited the brother of the murdered Inca, his sons and daughters, and some chiefs whom he 
could not rely on, to a feast, at which he introduced, besides the ordinary drinks, a spirituous 
liquor named sora. His object was accomplished. His guests indulged in it, became intoxi- 
cated and helpless, and he slew them. He covered a drum with the skin of Atahualpa’s 
brother, leaving the scalp hanging to it. He subsequently buried alive a number of females, 
old and young, under circumstances of unusual barbarity. ‘‘Thus did this barbarous tyrant 
discover more unhumane cruelty and relentless bowels by this murther committed on poor silly 
women, who knew nothing but how to spin and weave, than by his bloody treachery practised 
on stout soldiers and martial men. And what further aggravates his crime was, that he was 
there present to see the execution of his detestable sentence, being more pleased with the objects 
of his cruelty, and his eyes more delighted with the sad and dismal sight of so many perishing 
virgins, than with any other prospect. * * * * * Thus ended these poor virgins, dying 
only for a little feigned laughter, which transported the tyrant beyond his senses. But this 
villany passed not unpunished, for after many other outrages he had committed during the 
time of his rebellion against the Spaniards, and after some skirmishes with Sebastian Belalca- 
car (who was sent to suppress him, as we shall hereafter relate), and after he had found by 
experience that he was neither able to resist the Spaniards, nor yet, by reason of his detestable 
cruelties, to live amongst the Indians, he was forced to retire with his family to the mountains 
of Antis, where he suffered the fate of other tyrannical usurpers, and then most miserably per- 
ished.’’—‘‘ RoyaL Commentartiss,’’ translated by Ricault, Book II, Chapters 3 and 4. 

The second figure, marked 6, has been modelled after the head of the Jaguar. It is of a 
darker red than the preceding, and is ornamented with black lines and spots. The tongue 
protrudes. There are two openings into this vessel—one at the left ear, through which it was 
charged, and a small one at the back, near the bottom, to draw off the contents. The substance 
is encreased round the last, to afford hold of a wooden plug. Capacity of the vase, three pints. 

Figure c is another red vase, and one whose form and ornaments indicate good taste in the 
artist, whoever he was. On the opposite side the remains of a painted panel are visible, and 
within it the figures marked ¢. The handles have been elaborately adorned, also, with a black 
pencil. The diameter of this vessel does not exceed five inches, and its depth is only one and 
three quarters. It appears to have been used over the fire, although painted vessels, it is sup- 
posed, were not generally used as sauce-pans or skillets. They were probably placed over per- 
forations in the stone slabs of old Peruvian stoves. 

Figures d, d', are front and edge views of a flat bottle, eight inches in diameter and a little 
over three inches in thickness. Of a bright red, the upper half is ornamented with black, 
white, greenish, and purple lines (not shown in the figure). Two cobras, or double-headed 
snakes, are on each side, and below a white band. ‘Two crosses are cut into the material. 

The vase e is only four and a half inches deep, and three across the lips. It is ornamented 
all round, but less on the side represented. It has three features characteristic of vessels carried 
about the person: loops to sling it by, a conical bottom, and a stud projecting from the swell 
equidistant from each loop. Whatever was the object of these studs, they seem to have been 
carried next the person, since they are always found on the plain or least decorated sides of 


132 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


vases. Besides the loops, a couple of small holes are made in ears close to the rim, as if to pass 
twine through. 

The vase f is three inches deep, and four and a half in diameter at the widest part; flat 
bottomed and with transverse handles, as in figure ce, instead of vertical loops; it has evidently 
been employed in heating liquids: marks of fire are perceptible. Most of the colored ornaments 
are gone. 

Figure g, a beautifully formed vase. The stud is colored white, and the panel is drawn 
in black on the usual pale red surface. The capacity about three pints. 

Figure h is somewhat smaller, of the same general outlines, but differing in colored orna- 
ments. The stud on its side is round, while on the rest it is square. 

Figure i, a square bottle of the same material as all the preceding. It is seven inches high, 
and four across each side. The top is flat, projects a little all round, and more so at the corners. 
The contents were poured in at the top, and drawn out at the small opening near the bottom. 
Both openings are protected by raised borders. This vase, so like those in modern liquor cases, 
(the second figure b, and probably others), was certainly not designed to hold water, but for 
keeping more precious liquids, and spirituous liquors in all probability. That the Peruvians 
had such is well known. Acosta says of one, that it induced intoxication much quicker than 
wine; and the strength of sora was such as almost instantly to prostrate those that indulged in 
it. Its use was prohibited by several of the Incas, under the penalty of death. 

Figures j, j' are front and end views of a vase in the form of a shield, of very small dimensions, 
possibly a child’s flask. A loop is moulded on one side by which to suspend it. 

Figure k, a minute bottle, rather roughly formed, decorated with lines sunk in the surface. 
Its material inclines to gray rather than red. 

Figure l, a travelling vase. The face is well brought out, and the whole elaborately painted. 
Its capacity does not exceed a pint. 

Figure m, a larger one, holding near two quarts, and elaborately ornamented. 

Figure n. This vessel would hold a pint and a half. It is of a yellowish clay, and has been 
profusely embellished; but except traces of the pencil here and there, all is obliterated. The 
lip has a recess to receive a plug. This bottle is supposed to be the oldest in the collection. 

Figure o, a minute pitcher, but prettily embellished in black and yellow. Having a rounded 
and convex bottom, it was necessarily suspended by the handle when not in use. 

Figure p, another bottle with a flat bottom, nearly five inches in diameter, and of the same 
height, neck included. The front part has been tastefully painted, and the large handle also. 
The weight scarcely exceeds a quarter of a pound. 

Figure q, a long-necked bottle without a handle, and designed for a traveller, as the loops 
and stud declare. The opposite side is decorated—the one shown is left plain. This vase is 
nearly eight inches high, of which the neck makes four inches. At the swell it is four and 
a half inches in diameter. 

Figure r, a drinking-cup not quite four inches high. The diameter at top is rather less, and 
at bottom two inches. A golden cup in the possession of Sefior Barboza, from the tomb of an 
Inca, is of precisely the same figure, but less than half the size, and raised without solder from 
a flat piece of exceedingly thin metal. 

Figures s, t, u, v, w, ©, y, are specimens of thirteen plates or shallow pipkins (or whatever 
their proper designation may be), varying from three to thirteen inches across, and rarely 
exceeding half an inch in depth. Most of them have handles, terminating with the head of a 
bird, &c. All are ornamented within, none without. The colors are black, red, white, and 
yellow—the last looking like unburnished gold. Except such as have recurved or ring-shaped 
handles, all have studs at the rims; and some of these projections have small perforations, 
probably to insert loops of twine to suspend them against the walls, instead of resting them on 
shelves. Those marked s, ¢, were found in 1820, in a huaca near Saint Sebastian, one league 
from Cuzco. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 133 


Figures z and a@ 1 are of stone-like texture, their capacity scarcely exceeding that of thimbles. 
The first is only an inch high; and the second one and a half, and two across the bottom. 
Could they have been lamps ? ; 

Figure a 3, a pot or crucible cover; a fox’s head imitated on the handle. 

To this ancient pottery I have added a modern Peruvian speciu:en, a 2, a small vase in my 
possession. Its material, a red clay, is similar to that of the preceding. Particles of mica are 
seen in both. It is rudely formed, ill burnt, and the ornamental work immeasurably worse 
done than what the old potters turned out. 

There were a few other small matters intended for the preceding group of figures, but which 
have been accidentally omitted. One was a whistle formed in the body of a small bird of baked 
clay. The relic was very old, and the head missing. The tone was shrill and clear, and was 
pleasantly modified by partially or wholly closing with the finger an opening in the breast. 
There were also two whistles of cocoa-wood; one gave a triple sound, and was little larger than 
a thimble. 

On casting a parting glance over this graphic invoice of pottery, and bearing in mind that 
only samples of the plates and saucers are inserted, it may appear surprising to some persons 
that such numbers of fragile articles should have reached us, and without being damaged, after 
passing through dark, turbulent, and indefinite periods of time. But there is something which 
explains that, and is stranger, viz: that our knowledge of those who owned them should be 
derived from their ignorance. By a superstition indigenous to all lands, people without records 
have left their annals in their graves. In the belief that their wants and occupations would be 
the same in the spirit land as they were here,-they had their household and personal effects 
interred with them. Every Inca had his cooking utensils in his cemetery; not only his gold 
and silver ware, but, observes the native historian, ‘“‘the plates and dishes of his kitchen.’’ 
We can scarcely regret the prevalence of a delusion which has been the means of making us 
acquainted with the arts and habits of peoples, of whom we could otherwise have known little, 
and posterity nothing—that is, by our making a proper use in this life of things which they 
foolishly laid up for another. Indeed, those things seem intended by Providence as agents for 
preserving a knowledge of the successive stages of human progress till barbarism is no more. 


Before passing to other matters, the following little group of ancient Peruvian pottery may 
as well be introduced, although not included in the catalogue. It contains specimens only of a 
large collection in the private cabinet of the Emperor of Brazil, which is also rich in Eastern 
antiquities, including objects in bronze from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The whole is open to 
visitors; for, as a lover of science, as well as a gentleman of the purest morals, Pedro II stands 
pre-eminent in the house of Braganza. Most of the vessels were ornamented in colors or relief. 


Ancient Peruvian Pottery. 


The first figure at the left, on the upper row, represents a small water-pot. It is almost a fac- 
simile of one lately taken from an ancient tomb and presented to the Hon. Henry A. Wise. In 


134 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


its two spouts of different sizes—one through which to fill it, and the other to drink from—and 
in its bail or handle, it resembles the popular “‘Monkey’’ or ‘‘ Pitcher of Brazil,’’ an aborigi- 
nal vessel of universal use in that country, and which has been dug up in Chile, Peru, and 
other parts of South America, in diversified forms and dimensions, plain and ornamented. It 
is worth remarking that similar vessels have been found in the catacombs of Rome. 

The next vase, if placed in a collection of Egyptian relics, would be received as a genuine 
canopus, so striking is its resemblance to some Pharaonic vessels. 

The third figure is a long-necked bottle, moulded at opposite sides into protruding fish-heads. 

The fourth is in the form of a spheroid, with the neck united to it by two curved tubes; a 
feature common in old water-flasks of Meridional America. 

The fifth is an ihr, elaborately decorated with colors. 

Of the second row, the first is very like two antique Bolivian bottles, engraved in L’ Homme 
Americain, Paris, 1839. 

Of the two next, one is figured after a bird; the other, after a man ina sitting or bent position. 

The last is a neat bottle, with loops for a cord to suspend it. A lizard has been painted on it 
between two bands—(omitted by the engraver.) 


Utensils in Stone and Wood. > e 


I have here thrown together in outline a number of utensils whose use is not ascertained. 
All, save one, are carved in stone, and, with a single exception, modelled after the Llama and its 
relatives—the Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna, It is difficult to imagine them anything else 
than mortars, or salt-cellars. The cavities are represented by dotted lines. The bottoms of all 
are flat, and hence they were evidently designed to stand alone, and to be used in the positions 
in which they are figured. There were twenty-one in the collection. Those omitted presented 
no peculiar features. 

The first one, marked G, is the largest, being six and a half inches long and four inches deep. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 135 


It is of gray basalt. The cavity is two inches deep, and three-fourths of one inch in diameter 
at the top, but rather wider below. The whole is well polished and the surface mottled. 

Figure B is three inches long, one and a half deep, and as wide across the body; the cavity one 
inch by three quarters. The stone is veined, and of a yellow tint, inclining to green. It is jasper. 

Figure A. Polished schistus; the upper half black, and the under a palish yellow. The 
body two inches long, and not quite so deep. (It is drawn too large.) 

Figures D and K. Both of schist; the former, black—the latter, darkish brown. 

Figure E, of alabaster ; the cavity in it is less than an inch in depth, and not quite half an 
inch in diameter. 

Figure F is schist, or soapstone; surface black, and covered with rings scratched on it with 
dots in their centres. 

Figures G, H, L, O, P, Q, of various stones, two of steatite; and the rest as easily cut, 
except one of granite. Their dimensions vary but slightly from those already given. 

Figure I, a calcareous stone, wrought in imitation of a bear or hippopotamus. The resem- 
blance to the latter is the greatest; but the difficulty is, how ancient Peruvians could obtain a 
knowledge of that animal. 

Figure N is of hard wood, four and a half inches long, and two inches deep. The eyes are 
plugs of gold, of the form and position represented. 

Figure M is one of a couple whose lineaments have become almost entirely destroyed by time. 

The Peruvians used tobacco in the form of snuff. They also prepared the leaves of the coco 
and other plants for medical purposes by grinding ; hence the demand for small mortars, 

An extract from Von Tschudi will add to the interest of these relics: 

“‘Under the dynasty of the Incas, when any useful plant and animal was an object of venera- 
tion, the Pevuvians rendered almost divine worship to the llama ‘and his relatives, which 
exclusively furnished them with wool for clothing, and with flesh for food. The temples were 
adorned with large figures of these animals, made of gold and silver; and their forms were 
represented in domestic utensils of stone and clay. Inthe valuable collection of B. C. Von 
Hiigel, of Vienna, there are four of these vessels, composed of porphyry, basalt, and granite, 
representing the four species, viz: the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna. These antiquities are 
exceedingly scarce, and when I was in PeruI was unable to obtain any of them. How the 
ancient Peruvians, without the aid of iron tools, were able to carve stone so beautifully, is 
inconceivable.”’ 

In the report of the recent exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, under the direction of 
the Secretary of the Navy, by Lieutenants Herndon and Gibbon, Part II, are engravings of three 
of those stone utensils, from private collections in Cuzco. Lieutenant Gibbon observes, that 
the proprietors of antiquities in that city prized them very highly, and can seldom be induced 
to part with one, but, on the contrary, are anxious to receive anything in addition. 

In the following group, (see engraving on next page,) the first figure, A, represents a small 
and neatly cut stone vessel, supposed to have been designed for triturating purposes; but its 
flat bottom and the absence of hardness in the material, point rather to culinary operations. 
I think it was used over the fire, or on the flat covers of the cooking furnaces already alluded to. 
It is only four inches in diameter, one and a half inches in depth without, and one inch within. 

Figure B is a pestle, of hard and finely-grained granite, and black with age. A wild cat, 
or panther, is sculptured on the upper part, and forms a not inconvenient handle. It indicates 
taste in conception and skill in execution. The height of the instrument is five inches; 
diameter of the lower part one and three quarters. 

Ligure C, a round, black and exceedingly hard stone, regularly formed as in a lathe, is nearly 
seven inches in diameter, and three and a half inches deep. It is a mortar; the cavity, indi- 
cated by the dotted lines, is four and a half inches across, and two and a quarter deep. It was 
not found with the pestle B, which appears to have been designed for one much larger. 

Figures D, D’, a view and section of a silversmith’s crucible. E is another. They might be 


136 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


taken for small mortars. One was of clay, the other of a species of soapstone. Neither exceeded 
two inches in depth or diameter. 


Implements and Utensils in Stone. 


I am not aware of any large sized ancient crucibles having been recovered ; yet it is evident 
the old founders had them, since they turned out castings of several hundred pounds weight. 
Examples abound in the early historians. Gomarra mentions basins in a bath belonging to 
Atabalipa, ‘‘one of which weighed eight arrobas of gold, which makes two hundred weight 
English.’’ In a vault at Cuzco ‘‘an entire sepulchre [coffin] of silver was dug up, so thick and 
massive that it was worth fifty thousand pieces of eight.’’ A vessel of gold was accidentally 
found, and it weighed between two and three hundred pounds; ‘‘ for the Indians make greater 
or less of these as occasion requires, using them fo boil drink or liquors in.’’ Now, as they had 
no bellows, it may be asked, how such masses of metal were fused? Garcilasso states that in 
reducing silver from the ore, ‘‘ they melted it down in earthen or clay pots, which they carried 
from place to place ;’’ and that, instead of bellows, they used blow-pipes ‘‘ made of copper and 
about a yard long, the ends of which were narrowed that the breath might pass more forcibly 
by means of the contraction ; and as the fire was to be more or less, so accordingly they used 
ten or twelve of these pipes at once, as the quantity of metal did require. And still they con- 
tinue this way, though the invention of bellows much more easier and forcibly raises the fire.’’ 

The instrument represented at I F’, I naturally enough took for a smoothing-iron, or an old 
American substitute for that indispensable implement of our laundresses, but I was greatly 
mistaken. It is an ancient plasterer’s trowel, cut out of one stone, handle and all. Its 
dimensions are those of the common sad-iron; the face being four inches by three and a half, 
and a little over half an inch thick. It is pretty well scratched by use. 

This is another of those coincidences of thought in inventors, far separated from each other 
by distance or by time. Indeed, every discovery of new lands and strange people has shown 
the uniformity of human efforts at mental and material civilization, a result that has frequently 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 137 


excited surprise, but which ought not, since it is unavoidable, being due not less to the earth 
herself and the laws impressed on her materials, than to man’s organic structure. There are 
no mechanical, chemical, or other principles provided for one part of the globe, or for one race 
of men, to the exclusion of others; and hence, wherever invoked, feebly or with power, their 

manifestations must be more or less alike. To smooth the interior surfaces of the walls of 
dwellings with a coating of plaster or clay was an instinctive suggestion, and coeval with it was 
the idea of the plasterer’ s trowel, in one or more of its forms. From the remains of smooth and 
polished walls in Peru, Central America, and Mexico, it is probable that a finer finishing instru- 
ment than this stone one was aT Fe likely one of copper or silver: modern plasterers 
use trowels of wood, and polish with blades of steel. 

Figure G, a black, hard, and smoothly polished stone, resembling an egg in shape, used for 
working their sheet-metal. H is another ‘‘ hollowing hammer’’ of iron-stone, and one that 
might be employed with advantage by our tin, copper, and-silver smiths. The groove worked 
round the middle was the universal device by which handles were secured to primeval stone 
axes, hammers, and chisels, viz: by bending a hazel or.other pliable rod twice round the 
indentation, ae then twisting or lashing the two ends togethér, to serve as a handle. Black- 
smiths to ee day everywhere thus handle their punches and chisels. They have discovered 
no mode superior to one which was in vogue before edge-tools of metal were known. ‘To have 
inserted the handle into G or H, would have rendered it cxceetthely liable to fracture at the 
opening, whereas its durability is all but unlimited when haftedas H was. 

oe I, a box two inches long, one deep, and seveh-eighths wide, cut out of a soft, 
greenish tinted stone. A Peruvian Indian in Rio, from Cuzco, Says it was a salt-box. 

Figure J, an axe, or hatchet, two inches deep, and two widate the blade, which is brought to 
afineedge. The stone, though well polished, is not hard. It is only two inches deep, and the 
same across the edge. 

K. A box or chest, divided into eight equal compartments. It is two and three quarter 
inches long, two and a half deep, and six and a quarter wide. The material is a stone known 
as ‘‘ Aza de Mosca,’’ Fly’s Wing. At the ends serpents are figured, and at the sides a man and 
woman in high relief in a sitting posture. At their feet the liquid contents were drawn out at 
two orifices, to which plugs or faucets were adapted. On each side a couple of tigers are sculp- 
tured, whose heads and protruded tongues stand out full an inch—their bodies being in low 
relief. For the sake of the head-dresses, the human figures—supposed to represent an Inca and 
his wife—are enlarged and figured separately at LM. 

The object of this vessel is not obvious, except that it was for mixing liquids, but whether for 
innocent or deceptive purposes does not appear. A plan of it is below at K’, showing channels 
of communication between the partitions at the bottom and along the sides. These do not 
exceed one fourth of an inch bore. They have been cut too large in the engraving. Froma 
slight examination it will be perceived that the contents of cells 1, 6, 8, 3, were discharged at 
one orifice, while those of 2, 5, 4, 7, ran out at the other. The material of this vessel is of a 
uniform grayish-black color, and not very hard—almost as easily cut as soapstone. The corner 
and two side channels of communication are formed in plaster or cement, with a species of 
covered-way on those parts of the bottom. 


Works in Bronze. 


_ Next in interest to a personal interview with half a dozen ancient Peruvian founders—could 
they be called up from the dead to hold communion with us—would be a daguerreotype picture 
of them in the midst of their implements and processes ; and next to that are opportunities of 
examining articles produced by them, with more or less of the tools they employed. The inform- 
ation thus obtained is reliable, as far as it goes; and as metallic antiques accumulate, so will 
our knowledge of their authors, until we shall be in possession of details of their fabrication. 

18\* 


138 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


All the articles in the following group have been cast, and some are remarkable specimens of 
casting. 

Figure A 1, a staff of solid bronze, whose length did not agree with that given in the cata- 
logue. It was two feet and a half long, (English measure,) exclusive of the wild-cat on the 
end of the handle. See this end enlarged at R. The part grasped by the hand was six inches 
long and nearly an inch and a half thick. Two crosses were sunk deep in it, one opposite the 
other, and between them two other indentations of the figure of R’. The handle terminates 
below in a handsome bulge or swell, inlaid with net-work of silver or a silver alloy. The rest 
being plain and tapered, requires no notice. The composition, though designated as champi, 
appeared very similar to the bronze instruments figured on Plate VIII. The cord by which 
the staff was slung over the arm or secured to the wrist remained attached: it passed between 
the feet of the animal. The entire instrument was one casting—the wild-cat included. 


i 
U 


‘| 

ei yt 

fh; WMH 

tlc. \ 
Implements in Copper and Bronze. 


Three kinds of official batons or sceptres have been found, viz: in gold, silver, and bronze— 
supposed to have been borne respectively by Incas, Curacas, and Caciques—a classification that 
awards the one described to a chieftain of the latter class. The crosses cast in the handle recall 
those met with by the early discoverers, to account for which the legend of St. Thomas preach- 
ing in America was introduced. As a mythic symbol, the figure is known to be more ancient 
than Christianity, both in the Hast and the West. Whether employed as one by the aborigines 
of the South, Garcilasso was uncertain. He describes a cross of jasper or marble, suspended by 
a golden chain, in the Inca’s apartments at Cuzco, and much esteemed. The Spaniards seized 
it ; and when he left his native city for Europe, (in 1560,) it was hanging by a ribbon in the 
vestry of the cathedral church. It was only a few fingers’ breadth in size, and in form resem- 
bled that figured at R—the transverse bar being equal to and running across the middle of the 
upright one. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 139 


The three circular plates, A, D, H, are respectively three, three and a half, and four inches 
in diameter, and vary from ,; to .%; of an inch in thickness. They are slightly concave on one 
side, and convex on the other. Two are of copper, and one of bronze. The difference is per- 
ceptible in their weight—the alloyed one being, of course, the lightest. One is so covered with 
rust as to resemble iron. I took them for mirrors; but they do not seem to have been polished. 
In the catalogue they are named breastplates. They are cast; and marks, when the flasks or 
two halves of the moulds met, are visible in the holes by which they were suspended. 

F, is one of two plates of silver, two and a half inches by one and a half. They were thin, 
uniform in thickness, and appeared to have been hardened, either with the hammer or an alloy. 
The edges of one were as sharply defined as if they had been cut with shears, which Garcilasso 
and other writers state were wholly unknown until introduced by the Spaniards. 

B, C, E, G, are bronze hair or dress pins. H, the most perfect, is four inches long, with a 
solid head and a rude wire ring soldered to the shank with silwer solder—the first marked 
example of hard soldering I have met with among old American metal wares. The joints of 
the moulds are visible on it, as in others; for the whole were cast, the holes included. 

I, a knife, resembling in its general outlines the one figured on Plate VIII. A cylindrical 
haft three inches long} and not quite half an inch thick, connects the curved blade with a disc 
or button, on which a fox or gamba is mounted, with a prey or young one in its mouth. The 
surface of the haft is dented, to imitate a cord, or something like the plaited covering of a whip 
handle. In this particular, the engraving does not do it justice. The blade is half an inch 
deep, and not quite one-eighth of an inch thick at the back. There is positively no soldering— 
the whole having been cast complete. The alloy is a low one of copper and tin. It approaches, 
though it does not reach, the composition known as gun-metal, whose ingredients for small 
articles are, an ounce and a half of tin to a pound of copper, or about 10 per cent. The edge 
was rather easily cut by a penknife, and yet I think it was harder than gun-metal; but the | 
difference, if any, in this respect, is satisfactorily accounted for by the well-known impurity of 
South American copper and tin. Both have to be refined before being used by European and 
American manufacturers. The former is believed to contain iron. 

This was clearly the common form of the old Peruvian knife, for numbers have been found, 
all bearing the same general outlines. I have lately seen two, recently brought from Peru, 
which approach still nearer to the cutting instrument of saddlers—the hafts being equi-distant 
from the ends of the blades, and the edges curved uniformly. The blade of one is two inches 
long, three-fourths of an inch wide in the middle, and at the back is a little over ;'5 of an inch 
thick; the haft is imperfectly cylindrical, an inch long and 3; thick, with the head of a llama 
at the end, and has a small ring for a thread, to suspend it over the wearer’s neck. 

J, K. Two views of the same thing—a minute bell, three-fourths of an inch in its longest 
diameter, with the triangular shank one inch and three-eighths high; rude in fabrication 
and much corroded, and consequently its sonorous property very weak. A shapeless hole is in 
the upper part, from the metal not having been sufliciently fluid at the time of casting. <A 
loose pebble of copper is within and forms the clapper. This interesting article was disinterred 
near Cuzco in 1821. Hawks’ bells, we know, were among the chief presents by which Colum- 
bus gratified the Indians of the Antilles; but it is not the less true that the brass-founders on 
the Pacific possessed the art of making similar things, and this certainly might have been in- 
ferred from their familiarity in mixing the ingredients. They had but to double the proportion 
of tin used in the compounds of which their edge-tools were made. 

L. An axe or chopper, four inches deep and three wide at the cutting edge, which is well 
formed and sharp. It has been used as a chisel, for the upper surface is partly spread out by 
blows, probably from a wooden mallet. The extension of the head on either side was most 
likely designed to serve as handles when thus employed. Though harder than copper, the 
edge yielded readily to a penknife. 


140 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


N. The bronze head of a war-club, or six-pointed mace; one of three discovered in a grave 
in the province of Cuzco. Two are in fine preservation, but this is somewhat corroded. The 
extreme diameter between two opposite rays is nearly four inches. The hole for the handle is 
of one inch and an eighth bore, and slightly tapers; its depth is one inch and a quarter. A 
collar is cast on the side towards the handle. (See the section N’.) 

M has one of the rays lengthened and formed into a hatchet or war-axe, the blade of which 
equals in hardness I and L. The rays are narrower than those of N. The side-view, on a 
smaller scale, in the middle of the group, represents the same instrument. The third specimen 
I have not thought it necessary to sketch. It resembled N; the rays were a little longer, and 
not so thick. Though less in volume than either N or M, it was heavier and softer, being nearly 
pure copper. It showed marks of hammering over its entire surface. 

It will be remembered that weapons identical with these are mentioned, by old historians, 
among arms stored for public emergencies during the sway of the Incas. ‘‘ Pikes, (says Garci- 
lasso,) clubs, halberts, and pole-axes, made of silver, copper, and some of gold, having sharp 
points,'and some hardened by the fire.’? (Book I, chapter 8.) Carpenters, he observes, had 
axes and hatchets of copper, and the sculptors cut stone with flints and hard pebbles ground 
to an edge. (B. II, c. 16.) . 

Blas Valera, one of the earliest Spanish writers, remarks that the copper which the natives 
called anta, served them in the place of iron. Of it they made knives, carpenters’ tools, pins 
used by women on their heads and dresses, their polished mirrors, ‘‘and all their rakes and 
hammers,’’ so that they worked more in mines of copper than in others, preferring it to gold 
and silver. It is very evident that this anfa was bronze. Persons not practically acquainted 
with it would pronounce it copper, from its resemblance to that metal. The native word was 
probably expressive of its true character, but misunderstood by the invaders. 

O, P, Q, T, differ in form, yet were evidently designed for the same purpose, whatever that 
was. They have been named whistles for want of a better appellation, because sounds resem- 
bling those produced by the tube of a key, or by blowing into any small perforation, may be 
drawn from them. A perpendicular hole is formed on the top of each, and across it a trans- 
verse wire has been cast in a little below the surface. (See the sections O’, P’, Q’, 'T’.) The one 
representing the head of an Indian (O) is the smallest. Solid, like the rest, its weight is less 
than an ounce; and, though corroded, the features are well defined. The truncated conical 
cap is ornamented as figured; and the acullico in the mouth, or quid of coca, is shown by the 
little bulb or swelling. 

P is one inch and a quarter high, and as wide across the widest part. Itis of copper. At 
two of its six sides, a couple of minute serpents of silver are inlaid. 

Q is a short cylinder, nearly an inch in diameter, and five-eighths of an inch thick. An 
anchor-looking figure is sunk in at two opposite parts of the periphery. 

T is not unlike the mummy of a cat. It represents the animal ‘‘quinquincho;”’ is nearly two 
inches long, rather over half an inch high, and weighs about a quarter of a pound. The metal 
is shrunk at the under side, as if it had been poured into an open mould with that part upper- 
most. 

S 8. A pair of spring pincers or tweezers, one inch and a quarter long. The metal is thick- 
est at the bend. They are little better than a piece of sheet copper, bent like them. 

U. A rough ingot of bronze, sixteen inches long, nearly two inches wide at the middle, and 
five-eighths of an inch thick. It was found with the war-clubs. It rings rather sharp, and 
is of an alloy similar to the cutting instruments in the same group. 


? 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 141 


Gold, Silver, Champi, cc. 


Figure 1. A full-length figure of a female, in silver. It is two and a half inches high, but 
does not weigh as much as a quarter of a dollar—being one of those thin specimens mentioned 
by the early historians. I could not detect traces of soldering except at the feet. At the inside 
of the legs the metal laps, and is unsoldered. The head is large beyond all proportion. This 
mode of dressing the hair is the same in all the figures of females. Figure 2 shows the mode 


of securing it behind, 


- 


fesse 


Mata 


Se 
Figure 3. A bust of a hunchback, in bronze, not quite two inches high, and much corroded. 
The bulb in the cheek denotes the quid of coca. The weight of this bust is light in proportion 
to its bulk, showing that tin preponderates in the alloy. It is the best proportioned figure of 
the whole, and apparently the oldest. 
Figures 4 and 5 are solid images, in “champi,’’ one and a half inches high, and smooth and 


142 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


bright, as if just finished. Figure 4 is a male, with the coca quid, and a cap with horizontal 
folds. The hands (imperfectly developed) are placed on the breast, the prevailing attitude. 
Figure 6 shows the disposition of the hair of figure 5. The ears, large and stretched in the 
man, are invisible in the female. The two figures are supposed to represent a man and his wife. 

Figure J is of the same material; an Indian seated on his hams, the hands resting on the 
ground. The cap is similar to that on figure 4; the height is rather less than an inch; the 
features rude and imperfect; the whole much corroded. 

Figures 8 and 9. Two views of one image, in silver; an Inca or Cacique, with the dress and 
badges of his office, and the best finished, if not the best modelled, figure of the whole. The 
head, as usual, is too large, and the arms are withered. The height is two inches, and the whole 
solid. Eight golden spokes radiate from the rim of the conical hat or cap, the front of which 
is ornamented with dotted rays. Two convex plates of gold are worn at the ears. A species 
of cassock passes over the shoulders, and reaches to the knees in the front and rear. An outer 
robe passes over it, but descends only half way. Plaits of hair, or hat-strings, hang down 
upon the breast. A silver baton with a swell on it is in the right hand, and something appears 
to have once occupied the other. 

Figure 10. Solid silver; a llama, size of the sketch. The joints of the moulds in which it 
was cast are indicated. 

Figure 11, A llama or one of its congeners, two inches high, and as long. It has evidently 
been worn as an ornament or jewel. A loop of silver wire is soldered at the junction of the 
neck and trunk, while the tail is bent to form another. Two ingots—one of silver, the other of 
gold—are soldered on the back of the animal, clearly showing the ancient use of the llama in 
transporting blocks of these metals. (The ingots are figured beneath.) At the present time 
llamas are of the greatest utility, as they frequently carry the metals from the mines in places 
where declivities are so steep that neither asses nor mules could keep their footing. 

Figures 12 and 12a, Another image of solid silver, less than two inches high. It is rudely 
formed, with the eyes, nose, and hands preternaturally large. The head is remarkably flat- 
tened, and the lobes of the ears are stretched down to the shoulders. 

Figure 14. A statuette of a man, solid, nine and a half inches high, very heavy, and black 
with age. The nose is large and aquiline; the ears slit and stretched; the cap ribbed hori- 
zontally as in figures 4 and 7. The material of this casting, according to the catalogue, is 
“‘champi,’’ but from examination it appeared to me to be pure copper, coated or plated by some 
means with silver, for when the latter was cut through the copper appeared. Ridges on the 
inside of the thighs and legs show the meeting of the two halves of the mould. 

Figures 15 and 16 are two sketches of one subject. This image is that of a female, and of 
the same material and dimensions as the preceding one. Both were discovered together, and 
are supposed to represent an Inca or Cacique and his wife. A number of gold, silver, and 
bronze bands are let in flush with the surface. Perhaps they were placed in the moulds before 
the metal was run in. By looking at the initial letters placed opposite these bands in figure 
15, it will be seen that two are of gold, five of silver, and three of baser metal. The eyes and 
paps are of gold. The bands vary from three-eighths to three-sixteenths of an inch in width, and 
their ends lap over each other and are imperfectly united. Their thickness appeared in one 
place over an eighth of aninch. The whole figure is black; but if scratched anywhere silver 
appears, and when cut through copper comes to view. The ankle-bones were quite prominent, 
the fingers poorly portrayed, the feet flat above, with sand-holes in several parts; the rather 
rude joints of the flasks observable on the casting, as in figure 14, leaving no room to doubt 
that those essential devices in our foundries were used by old Peruvian smiths. 

Figure 13. A chuspa, or small bag, used for carrying tobacco or coca. The weft is cotton ; 
the warp Alpaca wool. The front is eight inches square, and ornamented with figures wrought 
in the fabric as represented. The strap is a species of knitted work, very similar to what 
modern Indians produce. These bags were suspended at the left side, the straps going over the 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 143 


right shoulder. This antique is in tolerablep reservation, although the owner, from whose body 
it was taken, has long been reduced to dust. 

The magic effects ascribed by old writers to the use of coca—enabling men to pass days 
without food, and under severe labors—are testified to by modern travellers. Von Tschudi 
says it is in the highest degree nutritious ; that with its aid miners and others undergo incred- 
ible fatigue on very spare diet; that those who are in the habit of masticating it require little 
food, &c. Though a powerful stimulant, and its effects on the looks of inveterate chewers 
anything but attractive, its moderate use, he thinks, is not merely innoxious, but conducive to 
health. An Indian employed by him in laborious digging for five days and nights, tasted no 
food during that time. Every three hours he chewed half an ounce of coca-leaves, and kept a 
quid continually in his mouth. Individuals of great age have chewed it from infancy. He 
refers to Indians who have attained 130 years. One living in 1839 was 142 years old, and for 
90 years had never tasted water—not a drop! During that time he had drunk only chicha—a 
filthy and intoxicating liquor. When 11 years of age, he began to chew coca three times a 
day, and continued the practice through the rest of his life. Von Tschudi’s account of the 
plant and its culture is substantially the same as that of old Garcilasso. 


Specimens of carving by modern Peruvians are subjoined. Figures 1 and 2 are spoons, each 
cut out of one piece of wood. Figure 3 is one of their knives. The blade, hammered out of 
hoop-iron, was secured in a slit in the haft by strong cotton twine. It is not unusual for Peru- 
vian Indians to pass over into the southwestern provinces of Brazil with little ventures of carved 
work. The specimens figured were purchased from one of the travelling artists. 


/ 
144. INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. | 


ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS. 

It is hard to concede that people who produced such wards as those figured: on page 130 had 
not realized the potter’s wheel, or some other form of the turning-lathe; and yet no distinct 
trace of it was apparent on any one article. At the same time, to outward appearance, the 
sections. of the vases presented almost perfect circles. To account for\this uniformity, it has 
been suggested that gourds and other vegetable shells were often used as cores or pattern-blocks 
over which to apply the paste, and were burnt out in the process of baking. That the original 
forms of vases are to be found in nature, is undoubtedly true; but whether gourds were ever used 
as moulds in the manner suggested is very questionable. It would be difficult to reconcile it with 
the diversity of shapes, and with the remarkable uniformity observable in the thickness of the 
material in many articles; and then another difficulty would be, the unavoidable cracking of 
the paste in drying, in consequence of the unyielding patterns preventing all shrinkage. More- 
over, in most cases the natural type would be as useful and more durable than a brittle copy in 
terra-cotta, for which it was to be sacrificed. 

There is evidence enough in works of old Mexican and Peruvian artists that they were no 
more guilty of such a useless destruction of models and waste of labor than modern potters are. 
That vegetable forms which relieve themselves, such as the fruit of the cup and saucer tree of 
Equatorial America, a large kind of acorn, may have been employed, is exceedingly probable, 
because one pattern would suffice for an unlimited number of copies. Still, one side only of a 
copy could be thus produced. To complete the device, a mould consisting of two parts, one 
convex, the other concave, between which to press the paste, was required; and it is demon- 
strable that artificially-made moulds of the kind were employed in Mexico and Peru. There 
are numerous flat vases, figured and plain, which have been made in halves, each formed in a 
mould, and the two united while the clay remained plastic. Most of the vessels which were too 
small for the introduction of the hand were thus formed, the junction being seen quite distinct 
in such as have become broken. The flat vessels 7 j’ and d d’ (page 130) were made in halves 
and thus united, and most likely 7 also. I think it doubtful if there are more than two or three 
articles in the group that were not shaped more or less in moulds. We have ancient vases on 
Plate IX, of which the lower and widest parts were fashioned in moulds, and the narrower 
parts of the bodies and necks gathered in by the fingers, whose marks contrast with the smooth 
and uniform moulded surface. 

The testimony of early writers is confirmed in several interesting particulars by the figures 
on page 141. There were three things instituted by Manco Capac, by which his male de- 
scendants were to be distinguished: 1. Shaving the head, and leaving (like the Chinese) a 
single lock or cue. 2. Wearing large ear ornaments; and 3. The Llautu, a head-dress com- 
posed of a long and narrow strip of cloth of divers colors, wound round the head in the manner 
of a turban. 

That the operation of removing the hair was tedious and painful, we learn from one who had 
undergone it. The incident shows how wealthy young pagans valued the same instruments of 
the toilet as our juvenile fashionables. Garcilasso remarks, that the shaving, or shearing, was 
performed with much difficulty by sharp flints; ‘‘ whence it was, that a certain young Inca said 
to one of my school-fellows, with whom he was taught to write and read, that had the Span- 
iards introduced no other inventions than scissors, looking-glasses, and combs, they had deserved 
all the gold and silver which the country produced.’’ We know from other sources that 
nothing like scissors was previously known to the Peruvians, and hence it is no wonder, that 
the easy and rapid manner in which they operated should have elicited general admiration. 
Their metallic mirrors, made with great toil, and constantly losing their polish by the action 
of the air, were gladly superseded by those of glass. The fancy horn and ivory combs of 
Europe were also vastly superior to the native wooden ones, of which many were simply 
thorns inserted into short lengths of cane. 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 145 


As the heads of all the male figures are covered, the particular style of hair-cutting, and the 
disposition of the cue, are not represented ; but the other marks of distinction are fully shown. 
The operation of boring the ear was performed by women with a sharp thorn, and the opening 
gradually enlarged, till, in some instances, the hand could be readily passed through it ; for the 
large auricular ornaments were generally, if not always, embraced by the outstretched lobe— 
not pendant from it. When the native historian speaks of ear rings, it is difficult to under- 
stand him: in most places he means round or elliptical discs. He says ‘‘ the hole (in the lobe) 
was made so wide that it is wonderful to conceive how it is possible for the velvet of the ear to 
be extended so far as to receive an ear-ring as large as the frame (block) of a pulley; for it was 
made in the form of those with which we draw up pitchers from a well.’’ In figures 3, 4, 8, 9, 
and 14, the outstretched lobes appear. In some, the ornamented discs are in their places. 

In process of time, we are told, the people had permission to bore their ears, though not so 
wide as those of the Incas, and that their ornaments were varied according to their nations and 
tribes. To the Mayus and Cancus, Manco Capac assigned rings of plaited straw; to the Po- 
gues, a ball of white wool; to the Munas, Huarucs, and Chiliquis, ornaments of reed; to the 
Rimactampas, rings, or rather discs of wood; to the Urcos, Yucays, Tampus, and other tribes 
on the river Yucay, ornaments larger than others ; ‘‘ but limiting them so that it might not 
equal those of their rulers.’’ To the tribes who had their ears so unnaturally stretched, the 
Spaniards applied the term oregons or orejons—long-eared, or flap-eared.* 

The old Peruvian mode of wearing ear-jewels is still common with many South American 
tribes. The annexed sketch exhibits a modern Brazilian Indian, with discs of Pito wood, (light 
as cork) three inches diameter, and one inch thick, in his ears, and a similar one in his 
under lip. 


The llautu is fully represented in figures 4, 7, 14; and its presence shows that the images 
were intended to represent Incas. 

The wives of the Incas, and females generally, wore no covering on the head, nor do they 
appear with any auricular pendants. 

The rude figure 12 illustrates, and is illustrated by, another passage in the Royal Commenta- 
ries, which informs us that ancient barbarous tribes, subdued by the Incas were in the habit of 
compressing the heads of their offspring between two boards. 

On looking over the groups on pages 134 and 136, a question naturally arises respecting the im- 
plements and process of fabrication, in the acknowledged absence of iron. If articles in various 
metals and hard alloys could be readily manufactured by old artisans, where was the alleged 
difficulty in their dressing stone? Would not the materials of the tools employed in one case 
suffice for those of the other? The answer would seem to be in the affirmative, but it would be 


* Has the Territory of Oregon derived its name from the distorted ears of its early inhabitants ? 


IW) 


146 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


erroneous; for there certainly is something more puzzling in the carvings in granite, porphyry, 
and other hard rocks, by ancient Americans, than in the problems presented in articles and edge- 
tools of metal. In figures I, L, M, M’, page 138, we have cutting instruments. Of their 
relative hardness I have already spoken. Now, were harder and sharper tools required in their 
construction? or, if not, in what manner were they, formed? 

When the tapered and heavy sceptre A1, page 138, was placed in my hands, I at once 
inferred a casting from a wooden pattern, which might retain marks of a turning-tool in 
forming that pattern, and possibly of another in finishing the metal itself on a lathe; but I 
was mistaken—there is not a sign of either. I reasoned from modern methods with which 
ancient practice did not and could not accord, in the absence of an agent which makes all the 
difference between the arts of civilized and those of semi-civilized states. The instrument had 
been but little labored after leaving the loam in which it was cast, and that little had been 
confined to abrasion. In appearance the blade was quite straight; but, on looking along it 
lengthwise, many waving deviations appeared. Grasping a part in one hand, and quickly 
turning ittoand fro with the other, also showed that its section, though seemingly round to the 
eye, was not really so—a criterion, this, known to most artists as a severe one. The pattern 
had not been turned, nor had its metallic fac-simile been finished in a lathe. 

In the articles A, D, H, page 138, and in the openings for handles in M, N, were no marks 
of a file, nor of any cutting implement whatever, nor on any metallic article in the collection. 
The conclusion was irresistible that no other dressing was given to them than what grinding 
and polishing-stones could impart. Files, we know the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians had 
not; and, had we not been expressly told so by early historians, the fact would appear obvious in 
the absence of the only metal of which they could have been made. If formed of copper alloys, 
of what use, since they could have been no harder than edge-tools of the same? For dressing 
metals they would have been worthless, and for reducing wood of little avail. All goods, then, 
of old American smiths, were solely produced by the crucible, hammer, and grindstone, to 
which the blow-pipe in soldering and the process of chasing must be added. 

Let us see if we can reconcile this with the articles before us, by showing that no cutting- 
tool was required in their fabrication. 

There is in the collection only one hollow-wrought specimen—figure 1, page 141—but it rep- 
resents a large class of American antiques. That tribes far less advanced than the old Peru- 
vians spread gold, silver, and other metals into leaves or sheets, by hammers and anvils of 
stone, is too commonly known to need corroboration. Existing examples abound in Africa, 
Madagascar, Sumatra, Borneo, and other islands of the Indian Archipelago, and also in both 
Americas. The small sheet, figure F', page 138, therefore presents no difficulty, if even bronze 
hammers and stakes had been unknown to those who formed it; nor does the embossing of such, 
or raising them into cups, &c.—results of convexity in the faces of hammers and anvils, and 
more or less developed with spreading every leaf of metal. But when the design could not be 
perfected by bulging up of a flat piece, as in figure 1, page 141, then the metal was folded, the 
corresponding edges soldered, and the whole worked on stakes to a rude resemblance of the 
object intended. Next, the interior was filled with a fluid composition of wax and resin. On 
this, when cool and hardened, the metal was wrought, and, where required, sunk into it by 
punchets, until the contour was perfected, and the details of ornament brought out; that is, 
by the universal process of chasing—one common to enlightened and semi-barbarous artisans, 
and which originated with the latter. For this process, punchets and hammers of bronze, 
or even of stone, are all-sufficient. 

When the chasing was completed, the article was heated sufficiently to fuse and discharge 
the resinous compounds, precisely as is the manner of modern jewellers and silversmiths. If 
a base or any addition was required, it was annexed, as were the feet in figure 1, page 141, by 
solder. 

That Peruvian workmen were very expert in soldering is abundantly verified by works extant. 


es 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 147 


In these thin images, it is seldom to be detected without difficulty, and sometimes the joints 
elude close scrutiny. Hollow figures of the kind were anciently, and are still, somewhat com- 
mon with Oriental silver-workers. I have seen Siamese specimens in which the metal is at least 
as thin again asin the Peruvian one described—too thin, in fact, to preserve their forms, if 
divested of the resinous substance on which they were chased, and which, therefore, is left in 
them ; the soldering being necessarily more apparent than in the heavier Peruvian articles. 
Much of the same kind of work was produced by Israelitish artists. They hammered, we are 
told, gold and silver into thin plates, and then wrought them into embossed work. The 
cherubim on the ark were light, hollow figures of the kind. Various are the references to 
“beaten work,’’ and ‘‘thin work,’’ in contra-distinction to that turned out by the founder. 

The spreading of the softer metals into leaves by the hammer, undoubtedly preceded the art 
of casting them into requisite forms. The mound-builders of North America fabricated rude 
trinkets and implements, of native copper, in abundance, by ‘‘ beating ;’’ but, as yet, neither 
hatchet nor ornament produced from the crucible has been discovered among the quantities 
disinterred. 

Every other metallic work figured on page 141 is solid and cast. Those which could be moulded 
in a pair of flasks obviously were so, as the practice is at this day with us. Marks of the meet- 
ing of the two halves are as distinct as in articles in modern founders’ shops, and invariably in 
places where the little superfluous ridges could not be removed by abrasion. Of simple objects 
thus made, little need be said. They are as the crucible left them, save what little polishing 
some may have acquired by means which every artist possesses. No cutting-tool was required 
in their fabrication, unless in making their patterns. Those, if of wood, were, of course, 
wrought into shape by knives and edge-tools of bronze, shell, or stone—a task requiring no small 
amount of patience and skill. But of this anon. 

The difficulty lies in such things as figure A land R, page 138, which has four sunken impres- 
sions round the handle, and a wild cat in full relief on its end, which could no more be cast 
in flasks in the ordinary way than figure I, of the same page, figure 8, page 141, and some 
others. Then there is the inlaid work in the swell that divides the handle from the blade in A 1. 
How were the recesses formed and filled without cutting-tools? The same question arises on 
contemplating the same kind of ornament in other figures of the same plate, and the golden 
spokes in the silver head-piece, figure 8, and the bronze, silver, and golden bands round figure 
15, on page 141. An explication, then, of the fabrication of this article, covers every difficulty 
presented by the rest—it includes them all, and others, if such are extant, still more complex. 

The solution is in one word—Patterns of Wax. These, whether intricate in detail or plain, 
but such as could not economically be produced from other substances, were modelled by hand, 
buried in a mould of plaster or clay, which when dried was heated, the wax run out, and its 
place filled with molten metal. The minutest finish was thus given to every essential part, so 
as to require no subsequent carving—nothing but what the grindstone or polishing process 
could impart. Inlaid material was bedded in the pattern, and consequently left in the mould, 
and, surrounded (except at the surface) by the flowing metal, become inlaid in the latter. The 
unsoldered joints in the band of figure 15, page 141, are thus accounted for. The golden spokes 
and ear ornaments of figure 8 had the ends imbedded in the waxen type, which by that means 
became equally embrac: d by and imbedded in the fused silver. The little transverse wires were 
inserted in the models of figures O, P, Q, T, page 138, and consequently retained the same 
position in the metallic copy. This explanation accords with every ancient piece of work. 
It removes every difficulty, and is the only one I can conceive that does so. 

Patterns wrought out of plastic materials were obviously the best of all possible substitutes 
for those of wood, when proper and effectual tools for working the latter could not be had. 
They were most easily made; cheap, simple, efficient; and such as our founders would unques- 
tionably fall back on, were iron withdrawn from the earth. Expert in modelling we know the 
old Peruvian artists were. They imitated in metal almost every native animal, bird, insect, 


148 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


herb, tree, plant, and fish, as well as human figures. ‘‘Many attended to nothing else but to 
make new inventions and rare works in metals.’’ (Garcilasso, B. 3, cap. 24.) The uniformity 
and universality of the process of their founding necessarily made them proficients in it. 
Whatever forms could be modelled in wax were without difficulty reproduced in metal. Peru- 
vians and Mexicans are still famous for their carving and modelling powers. 

The Peruvians had gold, silver, and copper wire, most likely drawn through die-plates of 
stone, though those of bronze may have been used for the softer materials. Laplanders draw 
tin wire through perforations made in bone or in reindeer’s horns. Garcilasso remarks that 
his ancient countrymen were expert in boring metals, but certainly not with anything like our 
drills. The principle was probably that of abrasion—the same as all savages have developed, 
and in the practice of which most are singularly expert; perforating shells, bones, teeth, stones, 
and even glass, with a rapidity that would puzzle white artists. A revolving stick of wood, or 
copper, whose point is supplied with emery, sand, or other natural cutting-powder, is in their 
hands what a drill is in ours; it is the germ of the lapidary’s wheel—its use the origin of 
his art. 

That iron was employed in remote times in America, may eventually be established. At the 
advent of Manco Capac, the Peruvians are represented in the lowest depths of barbarism, Their 
improvement began with him, and continued under his successors to the arrival of the Spaniards. 
During that period it is conceded that tools of iron were not used, and yet structures of massive 
cut stones, weighing several tons each, itis said, were then erected, and the stones so accurately 
jointed that not the point of a penknife can find entrance. The question naturally arises, with 
what material were they cut? It has been said, with tempered copper. When we ask how 
that metal was made sufficiently hard, and at the same time retain other essential properties 
of a granite-cutting implement, we are told the art has been lost! In thus cutting a knot of 
their own tying, writers have unnecessarily perplexed themselves and their readers, and without 
perceiving the contradiction involved. Applied to Americans because they had no iron, the 
dictum has been offered to account for similar sculptures of the Egyptians who had steel, and 
who had constant intercourse with the oldest city of the earth—or one of the oldest, and memo- 
rable for its fabrication of swords that without injury to their edges could chop iron bolts 
in two. 

It is more reasonable to infer that the old dressed-granite buildings of Central America and 
Peru date from times anterior to those of the Incas—times in which iron was known. The 
comparative freshness of such remains presents no difficulty. The advent of Manco Capac is 
carried back to the twelfth century—only seven hundred years—while architectural and other 
antiquities equally fresh are extant in Europe and the Hast, and are known to be from two to 
three thousand years old. That there was a previous epoch of civilization in Peru has always 
been confirmed by traditions of the natives relating to ancient structures. Ignorant of the 
origin of these, they did exactly what people of the Old World did under similar circumstances— 
ascribed them to a race of beings superior to themselves—to the gods. Garcilasso himself refers 
them to a people who had iron. There is one page of his work bearing on the subject of special 
interest, and the more so since ancient monolithic structures in Peru are no longer a question. 
They are yet extant. 

Mayta Capac, the fourth Inca, subdued the Indians of Tiahuanaco. ‘‘ Amongst the mighty 
works and buildings of that country there is a certain hill or heap of earth thrown up by hand, 
which is so high that it is a subject of great admiration ; and, lest with time it should settle or 
sink lower, it is founded on great stones, cemented together; and to what end this was done 
no man can conjecture, unless it were, like the pyramids in Egypt, to remain for a trophy of 
the greatness of that monarch who erected it. On one side of this mighty heap are the statues 
of two giants, cut in stone, with long robes to the ground, and wreaths or binders about their 
heads, which being much impaired by time, shows the antiquity of them. There is also a 
strange wall to be seen, raised with stones of an extraordinary bigness ; and what is most won- 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 149 


derful to consider is, how or in what manner they were brought thither by force of men who 
had not yet attained to the knowledge of engines fit for such a work; and from what place 
they were brought, there being no rocks or quarries but such as are at a far distance from 
thence. There appear also many great and lofty edifices; and, what is more strange, there 
are in divers places great portals of stone, and many of them whole and perfect, made of one 
single and entire stone, which, being raised on pedestals, are found by those who have measured 
them to be thirty feet in length and fifteen feet in breadth, which pedestals, as well as the 
arches of the portals, were all of one single stone: and then we may consider how great those 
stones were before they were shaped, and what tools of iron were requisite for such a labor. 

“The natives report that these buildings, and others of a like nature not mentioned here, were 
raised before the times of the Incas ; and that the model of the fortress at Cuzco was taken from 
them, as we shall hereafter more particularly describe. Who they were that erected them 
they do not know, only they have heard say by tradition from their ancestors that those pro- 
digious works were the effects of one night’s labor, which seem in reality to have been the begin- 
nings only and foundations for some mighty structure. Thus much Pedro de Cieca, in his 
remarks concerning Peru and its several provinces, relates ; to which I shall further add, what 
was told me by a certain priest, called Diego de Alcobaca, who was my school-fellow, and whom 
I may call my brother, because we were both born in the same house, and his father educated me 
as my tutor and master: this person, I say, amongst the many relations of things which both he 
and others sent me concerning my own country, coming to speak of the buildings of Tiahuanaco, 
hath these words: ‘In Tiahuanaco, which is a province of Callao, amongst many other an- 
tiquities worthy of immortal memory, there is one particularly famous adjoining to the lake, 
which is called by the Spaniards Chucuytu, though its true name be Chuquivitu. This is a 
pile of monstrous buildings, to which is an open court of fifteen yards square every way ; the 
building is two stories high, and on one side of this great yard or square is a large hall, of 
forty-five feet in length and twenty-two feet in breadth; the covering appears to be thatch, like 
those on the temple of the sun, in the city of Cuzco. All this court, or yard, which we men- 
tion, with its walls, floor, hall, roof, portals and jambs of the doors, and back-gate to this build- 
ing, is all of one entire stone, hewn out of a rock; the walls of the court and of the hall are 
three quarters of a yard thick; and such also is the covering or roof, which, though it may 
seem to be thatched with straw, is yet of stone, for the Indians have worked it so artificially, 
and with those natural lines, that the stones appear like straw laid in the most curious manner 
of thatch. The waters of the lake beat against the side of these walls, and both this and all 
the other edifices hereabout were all, as the natives report, dedicated to the Maker of the Uni- 
verse. Moreover, besides these works there are divers others, figures of men and women cut in 
stone so naturally that they seem to be living: some of them are drinking with cups in their 
hands, some are sitting, some standing, some are walking in the stream which glides by the 
walls; other statues there are of women carrying children in their arms and in the folds of 
their garments; others with them on their backs, and in a thousand other manners and pos- 
tures. The Indians of those days report, that for the great sins of that people, in having 
stoned a stranger who passed through their province, God, in his judgment, had converted 
those men and women into stone.’ ”’ 

Engravings from modern sketches of Tiahuanacoan monoliths, and of other remarkable 
ruins of Cuzco, Guanaco el Viejo, Pachacamac, on the islands of Titicaca and Coati, have been 
recently published by Dr. Von Tschudi and others. 

There are points of striking resemblance in the mythology of the Peruvians and that of 
Eastern nations. Manco Capac, like Osiris, and other founders of empires, taught men to cul- 
tivate the ground; and his wife, like Isis and Minerva, educated the women in spinning and weav- 
ing, and domestic duties. Much of it is based on agriculture and irrigation. ‘The maker of 
all things placed in heaven a virgin, a daughter of a king, holding a bucket of water in her 
hand for the refreshment of the earth.’’ One of the early Incas embodied the story in poetry, 


150 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


which Valera translates from the Quippus into Latin. It ran thus: ‘‘Fair nymph, thy 
brother strikes now thine urn, whose blow is thunder and lightning. But thou, nymph, pour- 
ing forth thy water, droppest rain, and again sendeth hail or snow. The maker of the world, 
ViracocHa, hath committed this office unto thee.’’ 

But there are things more durable and reliable than poems. Wells excavated in rock, are 
the most permanent of human impressions on the earth; nothing but natural convulsions can 
erase them: hence at this hour, water is drawn from the same wells at which the patriarchs 
watered their flocks. The renowned cities of Egypt, Canaan, Judea, Arabia, Persia, Assyria, 
Asia Minor, India, and Greece, have been swept away, but round some of their wells women 
now cluster with their vases, as their predecessors did upwards of thirty, and probably upwards 
of forty centuries ago. Among these are wells, the origin of which goes back into the mythic 
ages. It has been much the same on this hemisphere. The Peruvians had traditions, during 
the Inca rule, of giants landing on the coast and settling in the land. From the absence of 
rain, a scarcity of water was felt, upon which ‘‘ they dug extremely deep wells, through the 
hard and living rock.’’ These wells being extant, and yielding sweet water, Garcilasso refers 
to them as corroborating the report of a remote civilization. ‘‘ Their wells and cisterns are 
clear testimonies of the places of their habitation; but as to the parts from whence they came, 
I am not able to render any account.’’ The description of Peruvian Anakims is very similar 
to that of the classical Gigantes. 

It was in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca, whose surface has been estimated at between two and 
three thousand square miles, that Manco Capac and his wife first appeared. Carried by east 
winds, which blow every day, across the lake, according to Indian tradition he travelled thence 
on foot to Cuzco. It is observable, that it is in the region of this inland like that the mono- 
lithic and other supposed ante-Incan antiquities are found ; and further, that their superiority 
over the Inca works is still observable. Lieutenant Gibbon says: ‘‘ Among the scattered stone 
remains of the ancient edifices of Tiahuanaco we observed no resemblance to the stone work of 
Cuzco, and were surprised to find, that although the ruins were in such a dilapidated state as 
not to enable us to make out the character of the structures, we could perceive and were con- 
vinced of the higher order of mechanical art over that displayed in Cuzco. The stones, im- 
mense in size, were hewn square; one of them had an arched way cut in it, large enough to 
drive a mule through. ‘The Cura of the town told us there was no stone of the same kind to be 
found in the neighborhoo1, and that he did not know whence they had been brought. We 
believe Manco Capac had nothing to do with the ancient works of Tiahuanaco. Both the hew- 
ing of the stone and structure of the language of the people are different from his, though his 
first appearance was among this people.”’ 

Then, in the same region, silver, copper, lead, and tin, the essential ingredient of bronze, 
abounded and abound. Tin is now carried thence over the cordilleras, and shipped on the 
Pacific to Europe and the United States. But the ancient inhabitants also had tron ore, a still 
higher element of civilization, and one which, from their works extant, we infer they con- 
verted into tools. That such tools have not been found is no proof against their early use in 
Peru, any more than in | gypt, and other lands. Lead, tin, bronze, and copper, silver and 
gold, have been preserved from one to two thousand years in soils that dissolve iron in a century 
or two. 

At the conquest, the Peruvians, like all people equally advanced and progressing, were grad- 
ually approaching the realization of iron, and would probably have realized it by this time had 
they not been interfered with from without. There are many indications that they were 
awakening to its value by observing the properties of its ores. Speaking of silversmiths and 
other artisans, Garcilasso tells us they had no iron anvils, for want of the knowledge of sepa- 
rating that metal from its ores, ‘‘ of which they had several mines.”’ 


Bleed By DD), Te Mog 


ZOOLOGY, 


MAMMALS - - - - - - 


ee een woe Dye SR ATED 
BIRDS - - - - - - - - - : - Joun Cassin. 
REPTILES - - - - - = - = - - - CHARLES GIRARD. 
FISHES . - - - - - - - - - - CHARLES GIRARD. 
CRUSTACEA - - - - - - - - - - - CHARLES GIRARD. 
SHELLS - - - - - - 


A. A. Govnp. 


- - : ; Qeaua 
> » a =»: PPS -™ ot : ay - 


| Whey my ts sel) a eompeenD toge Pity cote 5 secanato na han ition te [ sarninae-s 

| ee oe ee nee nn 

» whhn ee keie wil ‘my Ahn en vafike 6p dae 3 Sai 7 
ins tty ime aye he eT eee ey ee : : y . 

| he anarncareain veer nmnom: > U8 INS 6) oF ai a 
Ln ate ha Hans A tw me AS Re aaa a, ll eR ae 


»*™= - , 
Te beta Lemos 
Yotwtrmmts aiff osha) 4am ieee, ag | * h a = 
| erro) dimpernt oi) mibsiwe herike Mae wa! ah . eames 0 «ey saeen 
| Ween neem ir a oF te 
yobs mn P(t wm i Bye Wt atep dil niap nara  t g 
we that) Meera ae toile a atte i ae i 


| el ene eo ibaa Nell | ee 
aE Spo ata sanaen media writs * hon 
; MLN ive Kank wile Tale Dane ot cr r steaend 
. Dida. ena dm aginae ee . ve) 
fi eee ee ee ee ee 
; : : ‘herds eyes lane cd site bald qu dads ion @ thy lee 
| eT Ue ee ee 
24) SN oe ee ee eee ee Bee) 
whe" tondd Lin pune hemtaseel pet Ge Beige them Ter srmemre we Ty whanmbain ae 
ald 18 eoqap cay ee ae aye al! Che « Marvel, 
Aisle tone ete ge palates mak!) ote Raat oy aon 


- 
7 4 


MAMMALS. 


BY §. FE. BAIRD. 


Tn the following pages it is proposed to present a few points in reference to the species of 
mammals collected in Chile, by Lieut. Gilliss, and to add a list of all the species which have 
been noticed in that country. This enumeration as to the species will not be materially 
different from that of Gay, from whose work, indeed, a large number of species have been 
derived. Some variations of synonymy and of systematic arrangement are believed to be called 
for by the present state of science. 

Chile has been explored to a greater or less extent by naturalists of many nations, some of 
whom have merely touched at the seaports, while voyaging in connexion with cruises of scien- 
tific expeditions, others again spending a considerable time within its limits. The records of 
nearly all exploring expeditions, therefore, show evidence of such visits, while the transactions 
of many societies, as well as numerous special monographs, have carefully to be searched by 
those who wish to be posted up in the natural productions of this great South American republic. 
Among those whose writings have more or less reference to the natural history of Chile, are 
Molina, Kitthtz, Meyen, Darwin, Dana, Peale, Gould, Tschudi, von Bibra, Bridges, Water- 
house, Hartlaub, Cuming, Philippi, and a number of others. To the enterprise of M. Claude 
Gay, however, we are indebted for the most systematic and complete work on the general natu- 
ral history of Chile, embracing a full record of what was already known, with many additional 
details, published for the first time by him. It was scarcely to be expected, therefore, that 
Lieut. Gilliss would be able to add new species to the natural history of the State, especially in 
view of the fact that his mission was especially an astronomical one, giving but little time for 
attention 1o anything else. The records of the present volume, however, show that he was 
quite successful in obtaining new species of birds, reptiles, fishes, crustacea, and fossils, and of 
adding greatly to our knowledge of the distribution of species. The collections made by him, 
indeed, embrace all branches of natural history, in some of which they are very full. 


FELIS CONCOLOR, L. 


Felis concolor, L. Mantissa, 1871, 522, Pl. ii. 
Gu. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 79, 9. 
Fiscuer, Synopsis Mamm. 1829, 197. 
Waenrr, Suppl. Schreb. II, 1840, 467. 
Scurnz, Syn. Mamm. I, 1844, 428. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 65. 
Avp. & Bacu. N. Am. Quadrupeds, I, 1851, 305, Pl. xevi, xevii. 
Burmerster, Thiere Brasiliens, Mamm. I, 1854, 88. 
Felis discolor, Scares. Saiiet. Tab. 104. 
Gu. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 79. 
Felis puma, Suaw, Gen. Zool. I, 1800,'358, Pl. lxxxix. 
Tratti, in Mem. Wern. Soc. IV, 2. 
20 * 


154 ZOOLOGY. 


Guazuara, AzARA, Essai I, 1801, 133. 
Cuguacuarana, Marcerave, Hist. Nat. Bras. 1648, 235. 
Vue. Panther, or Puma. Cougar. Leon. 

The well-known panther of the United States is one of the few species of mammals belong- 
ing to North America that #e distributed over the southern half of our continent. It is, how- 
ever, as well known in Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile, as in the forests of North America. Its 
extreme southern range is to Patagonia, about latitude 53° or 54° in South America, and to 
about 49° or 54° in North America. Its habits are much the same everywhere, confining itself 
to extensive wooded districts, or the belts of timber along the borders of streams; not often 


seen on the open plains, like the jaguar. The panther is much less dreaded in South America 
than the jaguar. 


CANIS MAGELLANICUS, Gray. 


Canis magellanicus, GRAY, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. IV, 1836, 88. 
Wartrrn. Zool. Beagle, 1838, 10, Pl. v. 
Waaner, Suppl. Schreber, I, 1844, 416. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 89. 
Vulpes magellanica, Gray, Mag. Nat. Hist. I, 1837, 578. 
Culpeu, Molina, Comp. Chile, I, 330, 332. 

This large fox, exceeding in size all the North American species, excepting, perhaps, Vulpes 
macrourus, Baird, was first made known to naturalists by specimens brought from Tierra del 
Fuego by Captain King, It is quite abundant in Chile as far north as Copiapé, and has thus 
a range of at least 1,600 miles. A remarkable peculiarity in respect to this animal is men- 
tioned by Molina, and strongly corroborated by Gay, namely: that when it sees a man it runs 
towards him, and, standing at a distance of only a few yards, gazes attentively at him. This, 
of course, gives an excellent opportunity for killing the fox ; and it is added, that large num- 


bers are annually destroyed in this way, without the acquisition by the race of a wholesome 
distrust of mankind. 


CANIS AZARAE, Max. 


Canis azarae, Max. Beit. Nat. Braziliens, II, 1826, 338. 
In. Abbild. Taf. xxiii. 
Fiscuer, Syn. Mamm. 1829, 191. ec 
Warernousn, Zool. Beagle, Mammalia, 1838, 14, Pl. vii. 
Waaner, Suppl. Schreber, Saiigt. II, 1841, 534, Tab. xcii, A. 
Scutnz, Synopsis Mamm. I, 1844, 418. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia I, 1847, 61. 
Burmutster, Thiere Brasiliens, I, 1854, 96. 
Canis brasiliensis, Lunp, Bras. Dyrv. Taf. xlii, f. 81-3. 
Canis melanostomus, Waan. Wieg. Archiv. 1843, 358.—1846, 147. 
Agourachay, Azara, Hist. Nat. Quad. Parag. I, 1801, 317. 
Voute. Chilla, in Chile; Raposo de Mato, Brazil; Agowrachay, Paraguay. 

This fox is rather smaller than the Vulpes fulvus of North America; much less than C. ma- 
gellanicus. In size and general appearance it bears no inconsiderable resemblance to the Vulpes 
velox, or Kit fox, of the Missouri plains. Gay, however, and others, raise a serious question as 
to there being any essential difference between Canis azarae and magellanicus. ; 

This animal has a very wide range; so extended, indeed, as to excite a strong suspicion that 


MAMMALS. 155 


there are really several species confounded together. This is confirmed by serious discrepancies 
in the descriptions made from specimens of different localities, as from Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, 
Patagonia, and the shores of the strait of Magellan. They burrow in the ground, and do not 
venture from their holes during the day ; and not being very fleet, are without difficulty taken 
by the dogs. 

According to Burmeister, the Canis melampus, of Wagner, Wiegman’s Archiv, 1843, 358, is 
only a very dark-colored variety of this rather remarkable species, from the interior plateaus of 
Brazil. 

The Canis azarae belongs to the section Lycalopex of Burmeister, or jackal foxes, character- 
ized by along tail reaching to the ground, and the absence of an elevated parietal crest to the 


skull. 


GALICTIS VITTATA, Bell. 


Viverra vittata, Scurnper, Saiigt. III, 447, Tab. 124. 
Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 89. 
Gulo vittatus, Desm. Mamm. 175, 268. 
Renecer, Paraguay, 226. 
Fiscupr, Synopsis, 1829, 155. 
Ursus brasiliensis, Tuuns. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. VI, 401, Tab. 13. 
Galictis vittata, Butt, Zool. Jour. I, 551. 
Is. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 39. 
In. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. II, 203, Tab. xxxv. 
Waternouse, Zool. Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 21. 
Waener, Suppl. Schreber, Saiigt. IT, 1841, 215. 
Scurnz, Synopsis Mamm. I, 1844, 331. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 51. 
Burmerster, Thiere Brasiliens, I, 1854, 109. 
Le Grison, Burr. XV, 65, Tab. viii. 
El Huron menor, Azan I, 190. 
Vute. Grison; Huron ; Quiqui, (Chile); Cachorino de Mato, (Brazil.) 

This species of Galictis has a wide extent of distribution, occurring throughout Guiana, Bra- 
zil, Paraguay, Chile, and Patagonia. In Chile it is not rare, and commits great destruction 
among the eggs and poultry, having much the same habits in this respect as the weasels and 
minks of North America. According to Wagner, the Galictis Allamandi of Bell is only a very 
old and dark individual of the present species. 


DIDELPHYS ELEGANS, Waterhouse. 


Didelphys elegans, Warernousn, Zoology of the Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 95, Pl. xxxi. 
Skull. Pl. xxxv, fig. 5. 
Is. Naturalist’s Library, IX, 106. 
Is. Natural History of the Mammalia, I, 1846, 515, Pl. xvi, fig. 1. 
Gay, Historia de Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 84. 
Didelphys hortensis, Rurp, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. V, Jan. 1838, (not described.) 
Thylamys elegans, Gray, List of Mammalia British Museum, 1843, 101. 
Vute. Comadreja, or Llaca. 
To those familiar with the Opossum (Didelphys virginianus) of the United States, with its 
coarse, heavy appearance and comparatively large size, the application of the same name to 


156 ZOOLOGY. 


the elegant little comadreja would appear highly absurd. Its appearance is much more like 
that of a large mouse, although differing in the much more pointed muzzle and very thick tail. 
The fur has all the softness and fullness of the flying-squirrel. 

This species is said to abound in Chile, especially in its maritime portion, occurring from 
Cobija to Curicé, in Colchagua. It climbs trees with facility and feeds upon insects, but is 
readily caught in traps baited with cheese or meat. 


CAVIA AUSTRALIS, Geoff. 


Cavia australis, Is. Grorr. in Mag. de Zool. III, 1833, Pl. xii. 
D’Orztany, Voyage dans |’ Amerique, Pl]. xviii. 
Waaner, Suppl. Schreber, IV, 1844, 60. 
Warernouse, Nat. Hist. Mammalia, II, 1848, 180, Pl. iii, fig. 2. 
Kerodon kingii, Bennet, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. III, Dec. 1835, 190. 
Wareruouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 88. 
Gray, List of Mammalia Br. Mus. 1843, 126. 

Two specimens of this cavy were taken by Lieutenant MacRae not far from Uspallata, in lati- 
tude 33°. The species was first described from Patagonia, and the extreme northern range 
assigned by authors is 39°. By this discovery of Lieutenant MacRae, its range in a northern 
direction has been extended by six degrees, although, according to the usual law, it is proba- 
bly found at a greater height in proceeding towards the equator—the elevation of Uspallata 
being 6,000 feet. . 

This animal, congeneric with the well-known Guinea pig, is very common along the coast of 
Patagonia, from the Rio Negro to the straits of Magellan. It frequents the bottoms of 
hedges and the ruins of old buildings, and is said to dig deep burrows in the ground. Its 
food consists of seeds and green herbage, and it has been observed to ascend trees to feed on 
their fruits. 

The skull of this species differs in many respects from. that of the Cavia aperea, or common 
Guinea pig. Its peculiarities are tolerably well represented in the figure of Waterhouse on 
Plate vi, fig. 13. 

From the general resemblance of this species to a rabbit in its form and color, it generally 
bears this name, and has given rise to the impression that the genus Lepus was to be found in 
Patagonia. It bears the name of Mountain Rabbit at Uspallata. To Lagomys the resem- 
blance is very striking. 

The Cavia australis is not included by authors among the animals of Chile, though it not 
unlikely occurs on the west side of the cordilleras. 


LAGIDIUM CUVIERI, Wagu. 


Lagotis cuvieri, Bunnet, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. I, 1833. 
Is. Trans. Zool. Soc. I, 46, Pl. iv. 
Lagidium cuviert, WaGnrr, Suppl. Schreber, III, 1843, 306. 
Warternouse, Nat. Hist. Mam. II, 1848, 222. 
2Lagidium peruanum, Muyzn, Nova Acta, XVI, 578. 
Tscuupr, Fauna Peruana, 164. 
Callomys aureus, Is. Gzorr. Ann. des Sc. Nat. X XI, 1830, 291. 
Vote. Viscacha. j 
The two specimens of this species, brought home by Lieutenant Gilliss, resemble most 
closely the Lagidiwm cuvieri, as given by Bennet and Waterhouse, although approximating in 


7“ 


MAMMALS. 157 


some respects to L. pallipes. They differ decidedly from the Lagotis (Lagidiwm) criniger, of 
Gay, both in the skin and the skull; but of the affinities of this last-mentioned species with 
L. pallipes, 1 can say nothing. Gay, however, mentions L. pallipes, and considers the two 
sufficiently distinct. 

This species is said to be quite common on the cordilleras of Chile and Peru, living at an 
elevation of from five to fifteen thousand feet. The soft and fine fur is highly prized, and, 
mixed with wool, is woven into warm stuffs of various kinds. The skins are, however, less 
valuable than those of the true Chinchilla. Chinchilla lanigera is, however, also found in the 
cordilleras of Chile and Peru. 

The name of Viscacha is applied in Brazil to the Lagostomus trichodactylus. 


SPALACOPUS POEPPIGII, Wagl. 


Spalacopus poeppigit, WAcuER, Isis, 1832, 1219. 
Warernouse, Nat. Hist. of Mammalia, II, 1848, 269, Pl. ix, fig. 1. 
Poephagomys ater, F, Cuv. Ann. des Sc. Nat. n. ser. I, 1834, 321, Pl. xiii. 
WarerHouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 82. 
Eypoux et Gervais, Voy. de la Favorite, V, Zoologie, 1839, 17, Pl. vii. 
Gay, Historia de Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 103. 
Psammoryctes noctivagus, Poupric, in Wieg. Archiv, I, 1835, 252. 
Waener, Suppl. Schreb. Saiig. III, 1843, 318. 
Psammomys, Porrria, Reise, I, 1835, 166. 
Vute. Cururo, Curucho, Cuyeita. 


The collections of Lieutenant Gilliss included several specimens of this curious species, which 
most probably is the Mus cyanus of Molina. It appears to be quite abundant in many parts 
of Chile, from Copiapé to Cauquenes, and has, to a considerable extent, the habits of the 
gopher, or pouched rat ( Geomys), of North America. It excavates long passages in search of 
various bulbous roots, which form its principal food, consisting chiefly of a species of Dioscorea, 
or ‘‘euanque.’’ The burrows are carried along at a depth of about ten inches, terminating at 
times in expanded chambers, used as storehouses. The cheeks are capable of great extension, 
although the species is destitute of the external cheek pouches, which render our pouched rats 
so conspicuous among rodents. The incisor teeth are very thick and strong. 

These granaries of the Cururo are often robbed by the poorer inhabitants of Chile for the 
sake of the store of edible roots they are found to contain. The animal is seldom seen in the 
day-time, unless in cloudy weather. 


MYOPOTAMUS COYPUS, Geoff. 


Mus coypus, Moura, Saggio, 1782, 287. 
Mus castoroides, Barrow, Linn. Trans. X, 1812, 168. 
Myopotamus coypus, (Commers,) Grorr. Ann. du Mus. VI, 1805, 81. 
Cuv. R. Anim. IJ, 214. 
Wareruouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 78. 
Iz. Nat. Hist. Mammalia II, 1848, 297, Pl. xv, fig. 1. 
Waener, Suppl. Schreber, IV, 1844, 12. 
Gay, Historia de Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 122. 
Hydromys coypus, Guorr. Ann. du Mus. 
Desm. Mamm. 1822, 296. 
Potamys coypou, Dxsm, Dict. des Se. Nat. XLIV, 491, 


158 ZOOLOGY. 


Castor coypus, Fiscumr, Synopsis, 1829, 288. 

Myopotamus bonariensis, RenccER, Saiig. von Paraguay, 1830, 237. 
Mastonotus popelairi, WrsMaEL, Bull. Acad. Roy. de Brux, 1841, 61. 
Guillinomys chilensis, Lusson. Nouv. Tab. du R. A. 1842, 126. 

Vue. Coypu and Nutria. 


From the preceding list of synonymes, which might have been greatly extended, it will be 
seen that the position among rodents of this large species has occupied to a considerable 
degree the attention of systematic zoologists. Until quite recently it has been placed near the 
beaver of North America, to which, by the fineness of its fur and some of its features, it bears 
a considerable resemblance. Its position has, however, been established by Waterhouse among 
the Hystricide, sub-family Hchimyina, where it seems really to belong; the affinities of Castor, 
on the other hand, being essentially with the squirrels. 

This species is the one which furnishes the nutria fur of commerce—an article which, from 
its abundance and excellence, has greatly depreciated the value of skins of the North American 
beaver and muskrat. It is found all through temperate South America; but it is in the river 
district of La Plata and in the Chonos archipelago that the skins are principally collected for 
purposes of commerce. It is strictly aquatic in its habits, much resembling the muskrat of 
North America, and, like it, feeds partly on vegetable substances and partly on shell-fish. The 
flesh is white and well flavored. 

There is a peculiarity in the position of the nipples of the Coypu, found, indeed, in others of 
the Hystricide, but here most strikingly manifested, namely: in their situation on the back, 
or at least above the middle line of the flanks; the foremost is placed behind the shoulders, 
and the last one in front of the thigh. The object of this feature is to permit the young to 
reach the mamme from the back of the parent while she is swimming in the water, in which 
most of their time is passed. 

According to Waterhouse and Darwin, the precise range of this species, on the east side of 
the Andes, is from Peru to the Rio Chupat, in 43° 20’, although it has not been noticed by 
naturalists in eastern Brazil. West of the mountains it extends from about latitude 33°, or 
central Chile, to 48° south, or still further, but not to Tierra del Fuego. 


HESPEROMYS. 


The collection of Lieutenant Gilliss contains two specimens of Hesperomys, which, however, 
I have been unable to identify, owing to their imperfect condition. 


CHLAMYPHORUS TRUNCATUS, Harl. 
Pirate XI. 


Chlamyphorus truncatus, Haru. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. I, Jan. 1825, 235. 

Is. Med. and Phys. Res. 1835. 

Iz. Zool. Journ. IJ, 1825, 163, Pl. vi. 

YarRrRELL, Zool. Jour. II, 1827, 544, Pl. xvi, xvii, (Osteology.) 
Chlamydophorus truncatus, WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber, Mam. IV, 1844, 187. 

Hyrtt, Sitab. K. Ak. Wien. Math. Nat. XII, March 54, 79. 
Vuite. Pichiciego. 

This species, which has for a long time excited the interest of naturalists since its first 
description by Harlan, is still very imperfectly known, and but few specimens have, even at 
this late day, been received into collections of natural history. It was first brought to Phila- 
delphia by Mr. W. Colesberry, who obtained it from Mendoza, and furnished almost the only 
information we yet have of its habits. This specimen was given to Peale’s Museum, where it 


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MAMMALS. 159 


was described at length and figured by Harlan in the Annals of the New York Lyceum. On 
the scattering of the Philadelphia collection, it came into the possession of the Philadelphia 
Academy of Natural Sciences, of whose magnificent museum it now constitutes a highly val- 
uable component. 

The next specimen was received by the Zoological Society of London a few years later, and 
its osteology described in considerable detail by Yarrell. As, however, the skin was prepared 
for the museum, the bones of the feet were left attached, and could not be described with the 
other portions of the skeleton. This animal was preserved in spirits, without the intestines, 
and of course these could not be described. 

The third specimen made known to naturalists was one in possession of Dr. Gemminger, of 
Munich, much more perfect than any of the others, as it was preserved entire, in excellent con- 
dition, m alcohol. This was purchased by Dr. Hyrtl, of Vienna, who has for some time past 
been engaged in preparing an elaborate monograph, to include all the details of its anatomical 
and external structure. From the well-known ability of Dr. Hyrtl, there is no doubt that the 
subject will be exhausted, as far as a single specimen will enable him so todo. The memoir 
will be published in the Denkschriften of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, and may 
possibly have already appeared, although it has not yet reached this country. Dr. Hyrtl also 
obtained a dried skin of the Pichiciego, making, as far as known, three specimens in Europe. 

While Lieutenant Gilliss was in Chile, his attention was called to this subject, and he made 
several fruitless efforts to procure specimens during his stay. About a year after his return, 
however, some friends having procured a fine mounted individual, presented it to him, and it 
is now in his possession, having served as the original of the accompanying plate. Another 
specimen was sent to Lieutenant Phelps, who gave it to the museum of the Cleveland Academy 
of Natural Science. 

It will thus be seen that the six specimens on record are equally divided between Europe 
and America. There may be others in museums, but I have never seen mention made of them. 

Not much is known of the habits of this curious animal, beyond the fact of its existing in 
the vicinity of Mendoza, and, on account of its nocturnal habits, appearing to be rarer than it 
really is. 


AUCHENIA LLAMA, Desm. 


Auchenia llama, Waternovse, Zool. of Beagle, 1838, 26. 
Llama guanaco, Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 153. 


I have cited only the above synonymes of the Guanaco, as, according to Tschudi, there are 
really several species in what has hitherto been considered as one, and I have not now the ma- 
terial for deciding the question. All the specimens brought by Lieutenant Gilliss belong to 
the robust form living wild in the mountains of Chile, and referred to by the authors above 
quoted. This extends from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego to the cordilleras, in Peru. 
Going in herds sometimes containing hundreds of individuals, they are generally shy and 
extremely wary, though sometimes, like the American antelope, their curiosity gets the better 
of their discretion, and they will approach the sportsman, if he lies on the ground and kicks 
up his feet in the air, holds up a handkerchief, or otherwise attracts their attention. 

The Guanaco of Chile has usually been considered to be the Llama of Peru in a wild state. 
As above remarked, however, Tschudi makes them different species. 


Nore sy Lrevr. Gruss.—‘ The Guanaco may be found on the entire Andean chain, in 
Chile, and is certainly the most abundant of the larger quadrupeds. It attains maturity in 
rather less than one year, but continues slowly increasing in size during several years, As 
they feed just below the snow-line, and the young are less fleet than full grown animals, the 


160 ZOOLOGY. 


former are easily captured by the muleteers, who bring down snow, and may frequently be 
purchased in the streets of Santiago during the months of November and December. At that 
time they are from two to three months old; are very gentle; will follow one about the house 
within a day or two, and soon learn to drink milk voraciously. Their bleat is not unlike that 
of the young goat. As they grow older they are .ess docile; are very easily displeased, and 
will strike the offender with all four feet at once, or eject an acrid saliva at him from a dis- 
tance of several feet. At this time they are fond of barley, other small grain, bread, and most 
green food, preferring, however, alfalfa, or the young barley straw. 

“It is difficult to raise them—or at least it is difficult to do so in Santiago—perhaps because 
of the heat on the plain at the time they are brought from a much colder atmosphere, and the 
difficulty of properly regulating their food. Four died, notwithstanding the care and atten- 
tion of our household, aided by the counsels of those who should have been most likely to 
afford good advice ; one, a full-grown female, which had been raised in captivity and subse- 
quently came into my possession, became so violent in the rutting season that it was necessary 
to remove her from the premises of the gentleman who had her in charge. No attacks were 
ever made on him; but whenever his wife came near, the Guanaca would spring at her with 
all four feet drawn together. 

‘“‘Tn a state of nature, one male presides over a herd of females sometimes twenty in num- 
ber. They are occasionally driven nearly to the plain by heavy falls of snow, and then guasos 
hunt them for their skins. The hunters assemble in a body with a troop of dogs and sur- 
round the herd, driving it, if possible, into a ravine with very steep walls, and there, by means 
of lassos or bolas, the animals are quickly taken. Large numbers are often captured in this 
way, their skins being worth about half a dollar each. In Patagonia the Indians destroy great 
numbers of young, whose skins they dress with considerable skill and then sew neatly together, 
forming soft and pretty robes, which find ready purchasers in the markets both at Buenos 
Ayres and Valparaiso. The meat was never offered for sale at Santiago.’’ 


The following interesting account of the habits of the Guanaco, from personal observation, 
has been furnished by Lieutenant Phelps : 

‘* Tt affords me pleasure to comply with your request, and give you such points as I observed 
of the habits of the Guanaco and of their favorite haunts, premising, however, that they will 
be limited, and dependant entirely upon memory of casual observations. 

‘‘T made hunting expeditions of some length into the cordillera in the summer and fall 
months; and as the snow-line varies very much during these, the Guanacos were found at 
quite different elevations, though generally near the snow, and were often seen far above its 
lower limits. In midsummer they are found considerably below this, though I did not find 
them near so low as the upper limit of the growth of small trees and bushes that in places 
cover the slopes of the mountains quite densely. It seemed that they have about the same 
grounds for their principal ranges, descending temporarily from them, according to the quan- 
tity and limits of snow. In the south of Chile, and upon the eastern slope of the Andes, they 
are found low down in valleys, upon the plains, about lakes and streams, &c.; but in the por- 
tion of the mountains visited by me, I did not know or hear of their descending from high 
elevations, except during severe storms, when they go down in great numbers to the plains, 
but retire to their accustomed haunts immediately after it ceases. 

“‘Tt was a matter of surprise how such numbers could thrive where there appeared to be so 
very little vegetation. In the small and watered valleys, or basins, there is a coarse growth of 
sedge-grass, and elsewhere mosses, &c. I saw them frequently feeding upon moss-covered 
knolls cropping out from beds of frozen snow. 

‘*They are found in herds of hundreds, in small numbers, in pairs, and singly—this last but 
rarely. When startled, especially if in numbers, they bleat an alarm very singular, and heard 


* 


MAMMALS. 161 


to a considerable distance. It isa prolonged bleat, and metallic in its tone. iene I heard 
only when they were alarmed. 

‘¢ When I first went into the mountains—in company with a haciendado and ‘a ssh of his 
peons, who were going up to collect and drive down the cattle that range in summér upon very 
elevated plains—the men amused themselves very much at the idea of shooting Guanacos, par- 
ticularly with the little rifle I had with me, because, they said, ‘they were very wild, and 
though they might not see one approaching them, they could smell the hunter a mile off;’ 
but after that Ee sedition T had no difficulty in lands plenty of the same men ready to oito 
me on a hunt; for with their mules they brought down the flesh so quickly dried in those alti- 
tudes, and they frequently met with valuable prizes in the bezoars found in the stomachs of the 
animals, and which the druggists purchase. 

“The sight of the Guanaco is marvellously quick and clear, and their sense of smell won- 
derful. At distances of one, two, and even three miles I have startled droves of them from 
their feeding-grounds, myself only able to see them upon some distant ridge by the projection 
of their forms upon the deep blue of the sky as a back-ground. When so seen, with their 
fronts towards one and head erect, they look like the cactus stalks common upon the nearly 
barren hills below. At such times they frequently started off upon a fleet gallop, which I soon 
learned to regard as a sign that it were folly to pursue them. When startled by sudden ap- 
pearance of danger, the character of which they have discovered by sight or scent, they run at 
great speed, selecting generally the most inaccessible ways—running with ease along the side 
of a mountain ridge or ledge where a person exceedingly expert in such footing would find it 
difficult to walk at all. The earthquakes have caused the spreading out of beds of small and 
angular stones upon the mountain sides to such an extent as ‘to peril the footman’s life; and 
during the tremors of the earth, these rattle down in a way desirable to witness only at a safe 
distance. Over such beds, whether up or down, or along the hill-side, the Guanaco runs with 
ease and speed. When struck by a ball, I observed they invariably sprang over the ledges, or 
down the precipitous banks of gorges—as it was in such places that I found it possible to ap- 
proach them—and sometimes these leaps were frightful to witness. One shot through the 
heart went over a rocky wall of six hundred feet in height, as estimated by the party. Firing 
across a chasm once, my person completely hidden by rocks, I made three shots before the flock 
took to flight, and then one, being struck, plunged down into the deep gorge, the others fol- 
lowing. The report of the rifle appeared to be strange, and to excite the utmost curiosity ; but 
in general I did not see this trait having the effect to overcome timidity, and found, to my 
experience, that their instinct of flight overcame the weakness, and sent them at least to the 
most prominent neighboring height before they stopped to indulge it. In regions rarely visited 
by man, no doubt they are less timid, and display more of the curiosity I heard attributed to 
them. The eye, in their wild state, is exceedingly beautiful—large, black, clear, and soft as 
the Gazelle’s. This particularly excited my attention when a drove approached from wind- 
ward (a strong wind blowing) to within a few feet of me, where they stopped alarmed, and, 
raising their heads to their utmost height, gazed intently at the rocks among which I had 
hidden myself, taking care to find a crack through which I could see the trail that I had anti- 
cipated their taking when disturbed at another point by the men. 

“¢The affectionate solicitude for a wounded member of the troop that is attributed to them I 
never witnessed, except in cases where there were but two or three together; then the com- 
panions several times were quite reckless of danger. Where there were large numbers, they 
all invariably made off, regardless of the wounded. Nor did I observe anything like the abso- 
lute leadership and control of the troop, related as being exercised by a hardy and veteran 
male, and the battles described as taking place among the males. Contests, involving this sole 
control and leadership of a large number of females herded together, I never witnessed, nor 
anything corroborative of it, though it may be entirely true. I have already stated having 

21* 


162 ZOOLOGY. 


found them in numbers from one to hundreds. The guasos did not relate having themselves 
witnessed these contests. 

‘¢ Though the times of my visits to the mountains ranged through several months of the 
year, I cannot determine what is their season of bearing young; for I found them at all times, 
of every size and apparent age, from the recent born to the veteran of the herd, whose woolly 
covering had been bleached to an almost snowy white by the storms and tempests of many 
winters. 

‘The Guanaco does not range indiscriminately over the Chilean Andes, but has favorite 
haunts which it never forsakes; and there are extensive regions where it is never found. 

“¢The common people of the country hunt them by forming rodeos—that is to say, numbers 
go into the mountains, and having formed a large circuit about some place previously selected 
as favorable for the purpose, they gradually drive all the animals within the circuit towards 
this, and closing up, finally have them surrounded at close quarters, more often floundering in 
the deep snow at the bottom of a ravine, the passes from which are blocked up, where they fall 
an easy prey, and are killed by dogs, lassos, &c. These people dry the meat, use the skins, 
and sell the bezoars. I have tried the flesh, and though not partial to it, could live upon it if 
hard pushed.’’ 


LIST OF MAMMALIA FOUND IN CHILE. 


CHEIROPTERA. 


INSECTIVORA. 


STENODERMA, Geoff. 
chilensis, Gay.—Hab. Very rare in Chile. 
Stenoderma, chilensis, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 30, Lam. i. 


DESMODUS, Max. 
d’orbignyi, Waterh.—Hab. Northern provinces of Chile. 
Desmodus @ orbignyi, WatrRnouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 1, Pl. i and 
OO Ge UE 


Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 33. 


DYSOPES, Temm. 
nasutus, Temm.—Hab. South America generally. 
Dysopes nasutus, TEM. Mon. Mamm. 1, 233. 
Waternouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 6. 
Molossus nasutus, Sprx. Sim. et Vespert. Bras. 60. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 35. 


NYCTICEJUS, Raf. 
varius, Schinz.—Hab. Central Chile. 
Nycticejus varius, Scutnz. Syn. Mamm. I, 1844, 199. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 37. 
Vute. Murcielago colorado. 


macrotis, Fisch.—Hab. Santiago to Araucania. 
Nycticejus macrotis, Scurnz, Syn. Mamm. I, 1844, 199. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 38. 


VESPERTILIO, L. 
velatus, Fisch.—Hab. Near Santiago. 
Vespertilis velatus, Fiscner, Synopsis Mamm. 1829, 118. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 40, Lam. i. 
Plecotus velatus, Grorr. Mag. Zool. 1832. 
Vute. Orejudo. 


chiloensis, Waterh.—Hab. Childe. 
Vespertilio chiléensis, Watrru. Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 5, PI. iii. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 42, Lam. i. 


164 


ZOOLOGY. 
RAPACIA. 
Fam. CARNIVORA. 
FELIDA. 


FELIS, L. 


concolor, L.—Hab. South America generally. 
Felis concolor, L. Mantissa, 1771, 522, Pl. 1. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 65. 
Avup. and Bacu. N. Am. Quad. II, 1851, 305, Pl. xevi, xevii. 
- Buruuister, Thiere Brasiliens, I, irae 1854, 88. 
Vote. Panther, ae Puma, Leon. 


pajeros, Desm.—Hab. Chile, Paraguay, and Patagonia. 
Syv. Felis pajeros, Desm. Mamm. 1820-1822, 231. 
Warernouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 18, Pl. ix. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 69, Pl. iv. 
Chat pampa, Azara, Hist. Nat. Par. I, 1801, 179. 
Vuue. Guitia, Pampa Cat. 


guigna, Mol.—Hab. Chile. 
Syn. Felis guigna, Mou. Saggio, 1782, 295. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 70. 
Vue. Guiia. 


colocolo, Mol.—Hab. Chile and Guiana? 
Syn. Felis colocolo, Mou. Saggio, 1782, 295. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 71. 
Vue. Colocolo. 


Fam. CANID A. 


CANIS, L. 


fulvipes, Martin.—Hab. Childe and the Chonos Archipelago. 
Sy. Canis fulvipes, Martin, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 11. 
WaArERHOUSE, in Zool. of Beagle, I, 1838, 12, Pl. vi. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, I, 1847, 58. 
Canis lagopus, Mota. 
Vue. Zorra, Paineguru. 


magellanicus, Gray.—Hab. Chile and Patagonia. 
Syn. Canis magellanicus, Gray, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. IV, 1836, 88. 
WarternHouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 10, Pl. v. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 59. 
Vulpes magellanicus, GRAY, Mag. Nat. Hist. I, 1837, 578. 
Vue. Culpeu. 


azarze, Max.—Hab. Chile, La Plata, and Patagonia. 
Syn. Canis azare, Max. Naturg. Brasiliens, II, 1826, 338. 
Warernouse, Zool. Beagle, Mam. 1838, 14, Pl. vii. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 61. 
Canis (Lycalopex) azare, Burm. Thiere Bras. I, 1854, 96. 
Agouarachay, Mouna, Essais. 317. 
Vuue. Chilla. 


MAMMALIA. 165 


Fam. MUSTELIDA. 


a MARTINZ. 


GALICTIS, Bell. 
vittata, Bell.—Hab. Guiana, Brazil, and Chile, to Patagonia. 
Syn. Viverra vittata, Scuruper, Saiigt. III, 447, Tab. 124. 
Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 89. 
Gulo vittatus, Drsm. Mamm. 175. 
Ursus Brasiliensis, Toonz. Mem. Ac. St. Pet. VI, 401, Tab. xiii. 
Galictus vittata, Butt, Zool. Jour. II, 251. 
Is, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. II, 203, Tab. xxxv. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 51. 
Burmeister, Thiere Brasiliens, I, 1854, 109. 
Le Grison, Burr. XV, 65, Tab. viii. 
Vue. Grison. Huron. Quique, (Chile,) Cachorino de Mato, (Braz.) 


6 MELINA. 


MEPHITIS, Cuv. 
chilensis, ——.—Hab. Northern and Central Chile. 
Syn. Mephitis chilensis, St. Hmarre. 
Licut. Berl. Abh. 1838, 272. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 49. 
Mephitis furcata, Waaner, Suppl. Schreber, II, 1841, 192. 
Vora. Chingue. China. Skunk. 


patagonica, Licht.—Hab. Patagonia and Southern Chile. 
Syn. Mephitis patagonica, Licur. Abh. Berl. 1838, 275. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 50. 
Conepatus humboldtii, Gray, Loudon’s Mag. I, 581. 


? molinge, Licht.—Hab. Chile. 
Syn. Mephitis moline, Licut. Abh. Berl. 1838. 
Viverra chinga, Mourn, Saggio, 240. 
Ozs. This is a very doubtful species. 


c¢ LUTRINZ. 


LUTRA, Ray. 
felina, Gay.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Sup. Mustela felina, Mou. Saggio, 1782, 330. 
LIutra felina, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 45, Lam. ii. 
Lutra chilensis, Benn. Pr. Com. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1832, 1. 
Warernouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1838, 22. 
Voie. Gato del Mar, Nutria. Ohinchimen. Chungungo. Otter. 


huidobria, Gay.—Hab. Colchagua to Valdivia. 
Syn. Castor hwidobria, Mottna, Saggio, 321. 
Lutra hwidobria, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 47. 
Vue. Guillin. Otter. 


166 ZOOLOGY. 


Sub Order PENNIPEDIA. 


Fam. PHOCIDA. 
OTARIA, Per. 
porcina, Desm.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Phoca porcina, Moma, Saggio, 260. 
Otaria porcina, Desm. Nouv. Dict. XXV, 602. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 75. 
Vuua. Lobo del Mar. 


jubata, Desm.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Phoca jubata, Scures. Saiigt. 300. 
Otaria jubata, Desm. Mamm., 248. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 75. 
Vote. Leon Marino. 


flavescens, Desm.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Phoca flavescens, Suaw, Gen. Zool. I, 1800, 260. 
Otaria flavescens, DesM. Mamm. 252. 
Scurnz, Syn. Mamm, I, 1844, 4775. 
Otaria molossina, Lrss. and Garnet, Bull. des Sc. Nat. VIII. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 77. 


ursina, Desm.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Phoca ursina, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12, I. 1766, 55. 
Otaria ursina, Dism. Mamm. 249. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 78. 
Arctocephalus ursinus, F. Cuv. Dict. des Sc. Nat. XX XIX, 554. 
Vuta. Sea Lion. Sea Bear. 


STENORHYNCHUS, F. Cuv. 
leptonyx, F. Cuv.—Hab. Southern Pacific Ocean. 
Syn. Phoca leptonyx, Buatnv. Jour. de Phys. 
Stenorhynchus leptonyx, F. Cuv. Dict. des Sc. Nat. XX XTX, 549. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 79. 
Phoca homei, Lrss. Dict. Class XIII, 417. 


MACRORHINUS, F. Cuyv. 
leoninus. 

Syn. Phoca leonina, L. Syst. Nat. I, 1766. 
Fiscuer, Synopsis Mamm. 1829, 234. 

Phoca proboscidea, Dusm. Mamm. 1820-22, 238, 368. 

Macrorhinus proboscideus, F. Cuv. Dict. des Sc. Nat. XX XIX, 552. 
Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 80. 

Vue. Elefante del mar. Sea Lion. Sea Elephant. 


MARSUPIALIA. 


DIDELPHYS, L. 
elegans, Waterh.—Hab. Central Provinces of Chile. 
Syn. Didelphys elegans, WateRH. Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 95, Pl. xxxi. 
Is. Nat. Hist. Mamm. I, 1846, 515, Pl. xvi, fig. 1. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 84. 


MAMMALIA, 


Didelphys hortensis, Rerp, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. V, 1837, 4. 
Thylamys elegans. Gray, List Mamm. Br. Mus. 1843, 101. 
Vute. Comadreja, Liaca. 


RODENTIA. 
Fam. HYSTRICIDSA. 
CAVIINZ. 


CAVIA, Erx. 


australis, Is. Geoff.—Hab. Andes, from Lat. 33° 8. to Patagonia. 
Syy. Cavia australis, Is. Guorr. Mag. de Zool. III, 1833, Pl. xii. 
Warernovse, Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 180, Pl. iv. 
Kerodon kingii, Benn. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. III, 1835, 190. 


Watrernouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1839, 88. 
Vote. Mountain Rabbit. 


CHINCHILLINZ. 


LAGIDIUM, Meyen. 


cuvieri, Wagn.—Hab. Andes of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. 
Syy. Lagotis cuvieri, Bunn. Pr, Zool. Soc. Lond. May, 1833. 
Is. Trans. Zool, Soc. Lond. I, 46, Pl. iv. 
Lagidium cuvieri, Waaner, Suppl. Schreber, III, 1843, 306. 
Warernovse, Nat, Hist. Mamm. IT, 1848, 222, Pl. vii. 
?Lagidium peruanum, Muyren. Nova Acta Acad. K. L. C. XVI, 578. 


?Callomys aureus, Guorr. D’Orb. Ann. des Sc. Nat. XXI, 1830, 291. 
Vota. Biscacha, or Viscacha. 


criniger, Gay.—Hab. Colchagua. 
Syn. Lagotis criniger, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1848, 92, Lam. v, vi. 
Lepus viscacha, Motta, Saggio, 348. 
Vuie. Biseacha, or Viscacha. 


pallipes, Wagner.—Hab. Andes of Chile and Peru. 

Sry. Lagotis pallipes, Benner, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. III, May, 1835, 67. 
Is. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. I, 331, Pl. xlii. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 95. 

Lagidium pallipes, Wagner, Suppl. Schreber, Saiight, III. 1843, 308. 
Tscuup1, Fauna Peruana, 1845, 165. 
Warernouse, Nat. Hist. Mamm. IT, 1848, 228. 

Vute. Biscacha, or Viscacha. 


CHINCHILLA, Benn. 


lanigera, Benn.—Hab. Northern Chile and Bolivia. 
Syn. Dus laniger, Moura, Saggio, 1789, 267. 
Callomys laniger, Grorr. and D’Ors. Ann. des Sc. Nat. 291. 
Chinchilla lanigera, Bunn. Garden’s Monog. Zool. Soc. Lond. I, 1. 
Is. Trans. Zool. Soc. I, 59. 
WarernHouse, Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 236. 
Chinchilla laniger, Gay, Hist, Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 90. 
Vuta. Chinchilla. 


167 


168 ZOOLOGY. 


OCTODONTINA. 


HABROCOMA, Waterh. 
bennetti, Waterh.—Hab. Central Provinces of Chile. 
Syn. Abrocoma bennetti, Wateru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 31. 
Ts. Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1839, 85, Pl. xxviii. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 97. 
Habrocoma bennetti, Watrru. Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 248, Pl. vii, f. 2. 
Habrocoma helvina, Waener, Wiegm. Archiv. 1842. 


cuvieri, Waterh.—Hab. Near Valparaiso. 
Syn. Abrocoma cuvieri, Watrru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1847, 32. 
Ts. Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 86, Pl. xxix. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 98. 
Habrocoma cuviert, Watrru. Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 251. 


OCTODON, Benn. 
degus, Waterh.—Hab. Central Chile. 
Syn. Saurus degus, Mottna, Saggio, 1782, 303, 342. 
Dendrobius degus, Mnyen. Acta Acad. K. L. C. XVI, 1833, 601, Pl. xliv. 
Octodon degus, WatrerH. Nat. Hist. Mamm. IT, 1848, 253, Pl. xi, fig. 2. 
Octodon cumingti, Benn. Pr. Zool. Soc. I, 1832, 47. 
Is. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. II, 81, Pl. xvi. 
?Tscuupi, Fauna Peruana, 171, Pl. xii. 
Gay. Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 99. 
Vuue. Bori, Degu. 


bridgesii, Waterh.—Hab. Colchagua. 
Syn. Octodon bridgesiit, Watrruousn, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1844, 153. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 101. 
Warernouse, Nat. Hist. Mamm. IT, 1848, 259. 


SCHIZODON, Waterh. 
fuscus, Waterh.—Hab. Andes of Chile. 
Syn. Schizodon fuscus, Watrru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1841, 91. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 102. 
Warernouse, Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 265, Pl. xi, fig. 2. 


SPALACOPUS, Wagler. 
peppigii, Wagler.—Hab. Chile, Copiapé to Cauquenes. 

Syn. Spalacopus peppigit, WaaER, Isis, 1832, 1219. 
Water. Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 269, Pl. ix, f. 1. 

Peephagornys ater, F. Cuv. Ann. des Sc. Nat. 2d ser. I, 1834, 321, Pl. xxi. 
Wareru. Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1839, 82. 
Eypoux and Gury. Favorite, V, Zool. 1839, 17, Pl. vii. 

Psammoryctes noctivagus, Puppia in Wiegm. Archiv. I, 1835, 252. 

? Mus cyanus, Mota, Saggio, 1782, 308. 

Vute. Cururo. Curucho. 


CTENOMYS, Blainy. 
magellanicus, Benn.—Hab. Straits Magellan. Chile?? 
Syy. Ctenomys magellanicus, Bunn. Pr. Zool. Soc, Lond. 1836, 190. 
Is. Trans. Zool. Soc. Il, 84, Pl. xvii. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 106. 
Waternouse, Nat. Hist, Mamm. II, 1848, 283, Pl. ix, f. 2. 


MAMMALIA. 169. 


ECHYMYINZ, 


MYOPOTAMUS, Geoff. 
coypus, Commers.—Hab. Chile, Peru, and Brazil, to Patagonia. 
Syn. Jus coypus, Moutna, Saggio, 1782, 287. 
Myopotamus coypus, (Commers.) Guorr. Ann. du Mus. VI, 1805, 81. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 122. 
Wareru. Nat. Hist. Mamm. II, 1848, 297, Pl. xv, f. 1. 
Voute. Coypu. Nutria. 


MURIDZ. 


MURINA. 
OXYMICTERUS, Waterh. 
scalops, Gay.—Hab. Central Chile. 
Syn. Oxymicterus scalops, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 108, Lam. vi. 


megalonyx, Gay.—Hab. Quintero, Central Chile. 
Syy. Hesperomys megalonyx, Watrern. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1844, 154. 
Oxymicterus megalonyx, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 109. 


HESPEROMYS, Waterh. 
longipilis, Waterh.—Hab. Central and Northern Chile. 
Syn. Mus longipilis, Watern. Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 55, Pl. xvi. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 113. 
Hesperomys longipilis, Waterh. 1. c. 


= renggeri, Waterh.—Hab. Near Valparaiso. 
Syn. Mus olivaceus, Watrru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1838, 16. 
Mus renggeri, Watrru. Zool. of Beagle, 1839, 51, Pl. xv, f. 1. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 114. 
Hesperomys renggeri, Wateru. 1. c. 1839. 


brachyotis, Waterh.—Hab. Chonos Archipelago. 
Syn. Mus brachyotis, Wateru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 17. 
Is. Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1839, 115, Pl. xiv. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 115. 
Hesperomys brachyotis, Wateru. 1. ¢. 


?rupestris, ——.—Hab. Chile. 
Syn. Mus rupestris, Gurvais, Voy. de la Bonite, I, 51. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 115, Lam. vi, vii. 


xanthorhinus, Waterh.—Hab. Straits of Magellan. 
Syn. Mus xanthorhinus, Warern. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 28. 
Is. Zool, of Beagle, 1839, 53, Pl. xvii, f. 1. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zool. I, 1847, 116. 
Hesperomys xanthopygus, WaAtErH. 1. c. (part.) 


darwinii, Waterh.—Hab. Province of Coquimbo. 
Syn. Wus darwinit, Wareru. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1837, 28. 
Is. Zoology of Beagle, Mammal. 1839, 117. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 117. 
Hesperomys darwinti, WatErH. 1. ¢. 
22* 


170 ZOOLOGY. 


lutescens, Gay.—Hab. Central Provinces of Chile. 
Syy. Mus lutescens, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 118, Lam. vi, vii. 


longicaudatus, Waterh.—Hab. Central Chile. 
Syn. Mus longicaudatus, Benn. Pr. Com. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1832, 2. 
Warernovuse, Zool. of Beagle, Mammalia, 1839, 39, Pl. xi. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 119. 
Hesperomys longicaudatus, WATERH. 1. ¢. 


darwinii, Waterh.—Hab. Province of Coquimbo. 
Syv. Mus darwinii, Waternouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1839, 64, Pl. xxiii. 
Hesperomys darwinii, Warrru. 1. c. 


RETITHRODON, Waterh. 
chinchilloides, Waterh.—Hab. Straits of Magellan. 
Syn. Reithrodon chinchilloides, Watrru. Zool. of Beagle, Mamm. 1849, 72, 
iP) xoxvall. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 120. 


EDENTATA. 


Sub Order EFFODIENTIA, 


DASYPUS, L. 
minutus, Desm.—Introduced in Chile from the pampas of Buenos Ayres. 
Syv. Dasypus minutus, Desm. Encyclop. Meth. 371. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 131. 
Vute. Quirquincho; Tato; Covur. 


CHLAMYPHORUS, Harl. 
truncatus, Harl.—Hab. Mendoza, and probably the Chilean Cordilleras. 

Syn. Chlamyphorus truncatus, Hart. Ann. N. Y. Lyceum, 1825. 
Is. Zool. Jour. IT, 1825, 163. 
Is. Med. and Physical Researches. 
Yarrewt, Zool. Jour. II, 1827, 544, Pl. xvi, xvii. 

Chlamydophorus truncatus, WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber, Saiigt. IV, 1844, 187. 
Hyrtt. Sitzb. K. Ak. Wien; Math. Nat. XII, 1854, 79. 

Vuue. Pichiciego nocturno, . 


RUMINANTIA. 
Fam. CAMELID A. 


AUCHENIA, Ill. 
llama, Desm.—Hab. Cordilleras of Chile. 
Syn. Auchenia lama, Warternouse, Zool. of Beagle, Mam. 1838, 26. 
Lama guanaco, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 153. 
Vute. Guanaco. 


MAMMALIA. 1076 
Fam. CHERVIDSA. 


CERVUS, L. 
pudu, Gerv.—Hab. Chile and Chilée. 
Syy. Cervus pudu, Gurv. Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1830. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 158, Lam. ix, x. 
Cervs humilis, Bennet, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1831. 
Vue. Venado, Pudu. 


chilensis, Gay.—Hab. Cordilleras of Chile. 
Syn. Cervus chilensis, Gay and Gurvats, Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1846. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 159, Lam. x, xi. 
Vue. Giiamul, or Hiiemul. 


——- 


CETACEA. 
Fam. DELPHINIDA. 


DELPHINUS, L. 
lunatus, Less.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Delphinus lunatus, Less. Voy. de la Coquille, 182, Pl. ix, f. 4. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 175. 
Vuue. Tunina. 


albimanus, Peale.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Delphinus albimanus, Prats, Mam. U. §. Ex. Ex. 1848. 


Fam. PHYSETERIDS. 


PHYSETER, L. 
macrocephalus, L.—Hab. Coast of Chile.. 
Syn. Physeter macrocephalus, L. Syst. Nat. 1766. 
Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 177. 
Vote. Cachalot: Sperm Whale. 


Fam. BALANIDA. 


BALAINA, L. 
antarctica, Klein.—Hab. Coast of Chile. 
Syn. Balena antarctica, Gay, Hist. Chile, Zoologia, I, 1847, 181. 
Vue. Light Whale. 


Oxss.—I have omitted the synonomy of this species, not being able clearly to refer it to those 
of other authors than Gay, 


|i) Ul ge Be 


BY J. CASSIN. 


Order I. RAPTORES. 


SARCORAMPHUS GRYPHUS, (Lim.) 


Vultur gryphus, Lrxn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 121. 
Vultur magellanicus, SHaw, Mus. Lev. 1792, 1. 
Vultur condor, SHaw, Gen. Zool. VII, 1809, 2. 
Sarcoramphus condor, Less. Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 194. 
Vuue. Condor, Condoro, and Buitre, of the Chileans. 
Fieures.—Bonap. Am. Orn. IV, Pl. xxii. 

i Tema. Pl. col. 133, 408, 464. 

oe Humps. Obs. Zool. Pl. viii. 

ee Voy. Bonite Zool. Pl. i. 

ae Suaw, Mus. Lev. Pl. i. 

Of six specimens in the collection, all those labelled as females bear a close resemblance to 
the males, but are invariably smaller. The colors are the same, though of somewhat duller 
shades, but not brown, as stated by Molina, though the present specimens corroborate his state- 
ment respecting the relative sizes of the sexes of this species. (‘‘ La femmina é inferiore in 
tutte le sue parti al maschio, e di color bruno.’’—Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chili, p. 224, 
second edition, quarto ; Bologna, 1810.) 

This bird, the largest of the family of Vultures, is abundant in nearly all parts of Chile, 
and particularly in the valleys of the Andes. The brown plumage alluded to above is that of 
the young bird. 

Relating to this celebrated bird, we find the following in the notes which have been kindly 
placed at our disposal by Lieutenant Gilliss: ‘‘ Males are distinguishable from females by a 
prominent caruncle, almost as marked as in the domestic cock. When young, the plumage is 
downy and bluish black, and the circlet around the neck at that time is very little different in 
color from the adult. Between the age of one and two years, the down nearly all disappears, 
but the bird remains near the nest, I was informed, until quite two years old. I saw two in San- 
tiago that had been there more than a year, and were still unable to fly. As the birds grow 
older the wing and back feathers gradually become of brown or ashy gray, and the age may be 
known by the extent and brightness of the lighter colored plumage.”’ 


CATHARTES JOTA, (Molina.) 


Vultur jota, Mol. Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chile, 1782. 
Cathartes aura, Iuuie. Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 202. 
Vue. South American Turkey Vulture. Jote. 
Fiaures.—VIEILL, Gal. des Ois. I, Pl. iv? 


BIRDS. 173 


This species, though nearly related to the North American Cathartes aura, constantly pre- 
sents characters very probably sufficient to constitute specific distinction. It is apparently, or 
so far as can be ascertained from prepared specimens, a more slender bird, and longer in all its 
measurements. The last character is particularly applicable to the wings. 

Of several specimens of this Vulture in the collection of the Expedition, those labelled as 
females are invariably the smaller. This character distinctive of the sexes we are disposed to 
regard as prevailing throughout the family of Vultures, as previously mentioned by us, in 
“¢T)lustrations of the Birds of California and Texas,’’ I, p. 113; in this respect differing from 
the family Falconide, in which the female is the larger. 

This Vulture is of common occurrence in Chile, and resorts to the seacoast in large numbers 
for the purpose of feeding on dead fishes and other marine animals, 


CATHARTES ATRATUS, (Bartram) 


Vultur atratus, BartrAM, Travels, 1791, 289. 
Vultur urubu, Viet. Ois. d’ Am. Sept. 1807, 53, Pl. ii. 
Cathartes urubu, (Vimrtu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 200. 
Voie. Black Vulture. Jotecillo. Gallinazo. 
Figures.— Witson, Am. Orn. IX, Pl. lxxv, Fig. 2. 

OG Aup. B. of Am. Pl. cvi; oct. ed. I, Pl. iii. 

A single specimen in mature plumage and excellent condition is exactly identical in size and 
other characters with the common species of the southern parts of North America. It is the 
only specimen presenting this similarity that we have ever seen from South America, and is 
larger and in other respects different from the allied Cathartes brasiliensis, which is an inhab- 
itant also of that division of this continent. 

This species is not abundant in Chile, though represented to be occasionally met with in the 
interior, 


POLYBORUS THARUS, (Molina.) 


Falco tharus, Mota, Sagg, Stor. Nat. del Chile, 1782. 
Falco cheriway, Jacquin, Beytr. Gesch. der Vig. 1784, 17. 
Falco brasiliensis, Gettin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 262. 
Polyborus vulgaris, Visti. Nouv. Dict. V, 1816, 257. 
Caracara vulgaris, (Viettu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 207. 
Vue. Caracara Eagle. Traro. 
Ficures.—J acquin, Vog. Pl. iv. 

3b Viet. Gal. I, Pl. vii. 

« Spex. B. of Birds, I, Pl. i. 

St Aup: Bs of Am, Pl. cla; oct: ed. I, Pl. iv. 

6 Swainson, Zool. Ill. I, Pl. ii. 

Ke Gay’s Chile, Orn. Pl. i. 

Abundant, and for the greater part exhibiting the characters of a Vulture. 

Lieutenant Gilliss observes of this bird: ‘‘Exceedingly numerous throughout central and 
southern Chile. It is constantly found along the roads and wherever there is a chance of ob- 
taining a particle of flesh or offals. At the annual slaughtering of cattle, they congregate by 
hundreds, and remain without the corral awaiting their share of the rejected parts. It is so 
tame from being little molested, that it may be taken with the lasso, but when captured will 
fight desperately. When provoked in captivity it utters a noise not unlike that of the male 
Turkey, though much more sbrill, and ends by throwing the head back, closing the eyes in 
impotent wrath. No amount of kindness or attentive treatment reconciles it to deprivation of 
liberty.”’ 


174 ZOOLOGY. 
MORPHNUS UNICINCTUS, (Temm. 


Falco unicinctus, Tem. P1. col. I, 1827. 
Falco Harristi, Aup. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 30. 
Polyborus teniurus, Tscuupt, Wiegm. Archiv. X, 1844, 263. 
Buteo unicinctus, (Trmu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 216. 
Vuta. Red-winged Hawk. Peuco. 
Ficures.—Temm. Pl. col. 313. 

$6 Aup. B: of Am, Pl. 392: oct: ed. 1, Pl. 5. 

36 Tscuup1, Fauna Peruana, Orn. Pl. 1. 


Of this fine species, which is of common occurrence in Chile, Peru, and other countries of 
western South America, and in Mexico, and of interest to the student of North America from 
the fact that it has been met with also in Texas and Louisiana, numerous specimens of adults 
and young birds are in the collection. The adult plumage is well represented in the plates of 
Temminck and Audubon, as cited above. 

The young bird presents very considerable differences from the adult, though in all the spe- 
cimens that we have seen preserving more or less of the fine rufous of the large patch on the 
shoulder or wing-coverts. The inferior parts of the body, instead of being of a clear and uni- 
form dark brown, are striped longitudinally with dark brown and yellowish white, every feather 
having a central stripe of the former and edged with the latter. In some specimens there are 
transverse stripes of white on the abdomen. The plumage of the upper parts is more or less 
edged with rufous. 

In Mexico and Texas this bird is partial to the neighborhood of rivers, and is dull and slug- 
gish in its general habits. 


MILVAGO CHIMANGO, (Vieill.) 


Polyborus chimango, Viettu. Nouv. Dict. V, 1816, 260. 
Aquila pezopora, Meyvren, Nov. Acta XVI, Supp. 1834, 62. 
Caracara chimango, (Vinmu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 211. 
Vute. Tiuque. 
Ficures.—Gray, Genera of Birds I, Pl. v. 
Fe Nov. Acta Acad. Breslau XVI, Supp. Pl. vi. 
Very abundant in Chile and other countries of western South America. 
Lieutenant Gilliss observes: “‘ Associated with, and has the same general, though much more 
sluggish habits than the Zraro (Polyborus tiarus.) In Chile it may be found on all the plains 
west of the Andes. At times it will scarcely get out of the road for a horseman.”’ 


PONTOATUS MELANOLEUCUS, (Vieill.) 


Spizeetus melanoleucus, Vieru. Nouv. Dict. XXXII, 1818, 57. 
Falco aquia, Temm. Pl. col. I, (not paged.) 
Pontoctus melanoleucus, (GRAY,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 221. 
Vuue. Aguila. 
Fieure.—Temm. Pl. col. I, Pl. cccii. 

Represented as rare, and inhabiting the mountains. 


BIRDS. 175 
BUTEO ERYTHRONOTUS, (King.) 


Halictus erythronotus, Kine, Zool. Jour. TII, 1827, 424. 
Buteo tricolor and unicolor, D’ Ors. et Larrus, Guérin’s Mag. 1837, 6, 7. 
Buteo erythronotus, (Goutp,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 215. 
Vuta. Led-backed Buzzard. Aguilucho. 
Fieures.—D’Ors. Voy. ’ Am. Mer. Birds, Pl. iii, Figs. 1, 2. 
This, in its adult plumage, is one of the handsomest of the Rapacious birds. It extends its 
range over the greater part of South America, but is not common in Chile. 


ELANUS LUCURUS, (Vieill.) 


Milwus lucurus, Viet. Nouv. Dict. XX, 1818, 563. 
Falco dispar, Tremm. Pl. col. I, about 1824. 
Elanus dispar, (TEMM.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 33. 
Vuia. White-tailed Hawk. Bailarin. 
Fieurrs.—Bonap. Am. Orn. II, Pl. xi, Fig. 1. 
= TemM. Pl. col. I, Pl. ccexix. 
ee Aun. B. of Am., Pl. ccclii ; oct. ed. I, Pl. xvi. 
gs Gay’s Chile, Orn. PI. ii. 

Several specimens of this handsome bird are precisely identical with others, to which we have 
referred for comparison, from the southern States of this Union. This species has therefore an 
extensive range of locality, embracing the southern portion of the United States, Mexico, Cen- 
tral America, and the countries of western South America. In Lieut. Gilliss’s notes we find 
the following: “Quite numerous. The nest is composed of small sticks, and the female lays 
from four to six eggs, of a dirty yellowish white, with brownish spots. Its vulgar name is de- 
rived from bailar, to dance or balance, from the easy and graceful manner in which the bird 
seems almost to float upward or sink through the air.”’ 


CIRCUS CINEREUS, Vieill. 


Circus cinereus, Viet. Nouv. Dict. IV, 1816, 454. 
Falco histrionicus, Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Uranie, Zool. 1824, 93. 
Circus cinereus, (Vietu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 239. 
Vuie. Webli. 
Fraures.—Quoy and Garm, Voy. Uranie, Zool. Atlas, Birds, Pl. xv, xvi. 
This handsome Harrier is common in Chile, and preys on small quadrupeds, reptiles, and 
insects. 


CIRCUS MACROPTERUS, Vieill. 


Circus macropterus, Viet. Nouv. Dict. IV, 1816, 458. 

Falco palustris, Dn Winn, Beitr. zur Nat. Bras. III, 1830, 224. 
. Circus superciliosus, Srss. Traité d’Orn. I, 1831, 87. 

Fieure.—Temm. Pl. col. I, Pl. xxii. 


Of rare occurrence in Chile, though represented as abundant in other parts of South America, 


176 ZOOLOGY. 
FALCO NIGRICEPS, Cassin. 
Prater XIV. 


Falco nigriceps, Casstx, Birds of California and Texas I, 1853, 87. 


DescriptioN.—Very similar in general appearance to Falco anatum of North America, and to 
Falco peregrinus of Europe and Asia, but differs from both in size, in the colors of the young, 
and in other characteristics. The bill is disproportionately weaker than in either of those birds. 
Adult. Frontal band of white very narrow; head, and neck above, and cheeks, clear black with 
a tinge of cinereous; other upper parts bluish cinereous, every feather having transverse strips 
of brownish black, lighter on the rump and other coverts of the tail. Throat and breast pale 
reddish white; other parts lighter, with circular spots and transverse bands of black, and with 
a tinge of cinereous on the flanks and abdomen. Tail above pale bluish cinereous, with trans- 
verse bars of brownish black, and narrowly tipped with white. Patch of black on the cheek 
very large, and scarcely separated from the same color of the head above and neck. Younger. 
Entire plumage above, dark brown; many feathers, especially on the rump, tipped and edged 
with rufous. Tail above brown, with a tinge of ashy, and barred with ferruginous on the 
inner webs. Under parts pale reddish ferruginous; paler on the throat; all the feathers with 
broad longitudinal stripes of black, and many of them with irregular transverse stripes of the 
same color, which predominates on the flanks and under coverts of the wings, which latter are 
marked with reddish-white bars and circular spots. Tibiz, with transverse bars of brownish 
black. Total length, female, (of skin,) about 47 inches, wing 12 to 18, tail 6 to 63 inches. 
Male smaller. 

Beautiful specimens of this bird are in the present collection, and we have seen others, which 
appear to be identical, from California and New Mexico. They are uniformly smaller than 
Falco anatum, and with the bill comparatively weak. The young bird of the species now before 
us is of a deeper and different shade of reddish than in that just mentioned, but more resem- 
bles Falco peregrinator of India, and Falco puniceus of Africa. The cheeks in the present 
species are as strongly marked with black as in Falco melanogenys of Australia. It is of unu- 
sual occurrence in Chile, and probably only visits that country in the course of its winter migra- 
tion from the north. 


TINNUNCULUS SPARVERIUS, (Linn.) 


Falco sparverius, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 128. 
Falco dominicensis, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 285. 
Falco gracilis, cinnamominus and cn as eS Sw. Cab. Cy. Birds, Part III, 1838, ‘981. 
Falco sparverius, (Linn.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 227. 
Vote. Sparrow-Hawk. Cernicalo. 
Fieures.—Vinrmu. Ois. d’Am. Sept. I, Pl. xii, xiii. 
ge Wuson Am. Orn. II, Pl. xvi, Fig. 1. 
Be Auvp. B. of Am. Pl. xli, oct. ed. Pl. xxii. 
ut Burron, Pl. Enl. 465. 


In specimens of this bird in the present collection, ‘and in many other specimens from South 
America that have come under our notice, we have failed to find any characters distinguishing 
them from the common bird of the United States. It is of frequent occurrence in Chile, and 
has been observed in Patagonia. In the former country it is a constant resident. 


TISN.Ast Exp Plate XIV. 


FALCO NIGRICEPS. CASSIN. 
Male 


is i 
Par 

a et nny ; rt elle *% ij) it ald Wide 

; . eh Pah silt er, Kee a 

i : i 4 vil nf iy aah } iy 

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eteny?) i th a Teron oe “ath hind pe i 

| in SURE ibe cnoeeidO ne | 

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= Bg i a | 

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. tag ir a7 a ‘ ibe oT 

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a halt ee er ; 
, \ , ih ai Gen ne : 


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; ion ae alias ie ih PRE is att CP ne ry NY ee 
oR, te AN 

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ary Ww) mn Hin’ %) ie, re ia di lety ee 


ee: | Leas ie zation Ae sien nik fn HC aNd in 


tan er i ‘uD 


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< ay Y i i Lyi sl POT ' A : Hs i 
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- ; = i P iy i ot Fk | ih ea ai “we ae } iy F i, i J = 7 t q ' 1 


; i ewe pe 
bie f + A 2 ae 
rh 86 A HE SORT Rei 


- 

- a ; | \ , v a nt ali 
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: ; , ou ti A Wal, ert yA ' i - Af 

7 ' _ 4 iv Vs ue ae! \ mA ae Hag? ep cee ion { 7 J 


; A i devtad 0 ah Aa eA , iu a a 
ee} = ay, ' Ae at igh, l ue. day: hai hast ca ogee ie yeah ey 4 ee ip ; 
j ney (iy Caaweas te ae’ a bape! Ue part Uhh alyp teh, a yy “ae 


ie ; i Kali j ae : Tikes i te a A WeePrLtyn nh) i, a 
i 2 ’ te MAL Oia Eid k wide vi ut : A { 
an f A ; Ny Mo 
' i ey a i yy) 

if } : 7 ‘iA ‘ At | nr a # a iy io in me e m “A. I ‘ rn lt Wels * a sy 7 ; i A AL ¥ WN j 

a. byieyahteghtls. hla: SO falar “Chama Aaetie MAAIRIMRD Melt” GLORY SERS Da 

i ! : bed shay ye ive an i ye ar 

ej 
es 

i ' : ae j Mii 
any wT YR ae 
ie i ; f 
pa ‘ Fs m j Hv) mt | an “ \ 

va ae . b Hi Avi . AR hh ain 


7 MO y NEL rea Oi, dom 


Nery bit i) an yaa 
mt ' 


BIRDS. 177 
HYPOTRIORCHIS FEMORALIS, (Temm.) 


Falco femoralis, Trmm. PI. col. I, livraison 58. 

Harpagus bidentatus, (GRAY,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 230. 
Vue. Alcon or Halcon. 

Fiaures.—Temm. Pl. col. I, Pl. exxi, eeexliii. 


A very handsome South American Hawk, recently added to the fauna of the United States by 
Dr. Hermann, who observed and obtained fine specimens in New Mexico. 

This species is trained for the pursuit of the smaller gallinaceous birds, and is highly esteemed 
by the Chilean falconers. It is stated by Mr. Bridges (Proc. Zool. Soc., London, 1843, p. 109) 
to become docile and to follow its master in so short a period as fifteen days after its capture. 


STRIX PERLATA, Licht. 


Strix perlata, Licut. Verz. 1823, 59. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 257. 
Vute. South American Barn Owl. Lechuza. 


A species peculiar to South America, and much resembling Strix pratincola of North America 
and the European Strix flammea. The most readily observed distinctive character is the longer 
legs, and especially the tarsi of the present bird, (as indicated in the description of Prof. Licht- 
enstein,) in addition to which, it is much smaller than the North American species, and smaller 
also than Strix flammea. 

This Owl is represented as of rather unusual occurrence in Chile, but inhabits sparingly 
decayed buildings in all parts of the country. It appears to be very similar in its habits to the 
common species of this genus. 


BUBO CRASSIROSTRIS, (Vieill.) 


Strix crassirostris, Vrrtuu. Nouv. Dict. VII, 1817, 44. 

Ulula crassirostris, (VimtLu.) GAY, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 254. 
Strix macrorhyncha, Temm. Pl. Col. II, about 1823. 

Vute. South American Horned Owl. Tucuquer. 
Fieurr.—Termm. Pl. Col. II, Pl. Ixii. 


Of this large species excellent specimens of both sexes are in the collection of the Expedition. 
It has occasionally been confounded with the Great American Horned Owl of the United States, 
(Bubo virginianus,) but is clearly distinct, and may always be distinguished from that species 
by its much larger and more powerful bill. 

This is one of the largest Owls of western South America, and is rather an uncommon bird 
near cities in Chile, though occasionally met with in the mountains. 


OTUS BRACHYOTUS, (Forster.) 


Strix brachyotus, Forst. Phil. Trans. London, LXII, 1772, 384. 
Strix Georgica, Lat. Ind. Orn. Supp. I, 1801, 15. 
Ulula otus, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 251. 
Vuue. Short-eared Owl. Nuco. 
Ficures.—Witson, Am. Orn. IV, Pl. xxxiii, Fig. 3. 
ss Auvp. B, of Am. Pl. ccccx ; oct. ed. I, Pl. 38. 
23* 


178 ZOOLOGY. 


Some of the finest specimens that we have ever seen of this kind are in the present collection. 
We regard them, however, as identical with the bird of North America. This species is repre- 
sented to be rare in Chile. 


, ATHENE CUNICULARIA, (Molina.) 


Strix cunicularia, Mou. Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 

Strix californica, Aup. B. of Am. Pl. ccccxii; (name on plate.) 

Athene patagonica, Puan, Zool. Exp. Exp. Vincennes, Birds, 78, first edition 1848. 
Noctua cunicularia, (Linn) Gay, Fauna Chilena Aves, 245. 

Vuta. Burrowing Owl. Pequen. 


This species, very similar to the Burrowing Owl of North America, is abundant on the Pam- 
pas, and, like that species, is found in large communities. It lives in holes in the ground, 
which, in some instances, it excavates for itself, but prefers appropriating those made by various 
small quadrupeds, and is one of the few Owls that habitually venture abroad by daylight. 

This bird is larger than, and quite distinct from, the North American species, (Athene 
hypugea,) though apparently very similar in its habits. 

Lieutenant Gilliss remarks: ‘‘This is the most common of the Owl tribe in Chile, and a pair 
may often be encountered in daylight watching from a cactus or hedge an opportunity to strike 
one of the numerous field-rats, lizards, &c., which have their holes in the vicinity.’ 


GLAUCIDIUM NANUM, (Vigors.) 


Strix nana, Via. Zool. Jour. III, 1827, 427. 
Strix ferox, VixttL. Nouv. Dict. VII, 1817, 22. 
Noctua pumila, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 244. 
Vute. Dwarf Owl. Chuncho. 

Ficurr.—Gray’s Gen. of Birds, I, Pl. xii. 


One of the smallest of the birds of this family, and of frequent occurrence in Chile. 


Order II. INCESSORES. 


Tribe I. CONIROSTRES. 


PSARACOLIUS CURAEUS, (Molin. 
Pirate XY. Adult male, 


Sturnus curaeus, Moria, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 

Sturnus aterrimus, Kirttitz, Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg, II, 1334, 467. 
Leiestes niger, Swatnson, Cab. Cy. Birds, Pt. III, 1838, 304. 

Agelaius curaeus (Mottna,) GAY, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 348. 

Vuuta. Chilean Blackbird. Tordo. 


This bird, allied to the Grakles and Blackbirds of North America, is abundant in Chile and 
other countries of western South America, and, like its relatives of the north, congregates in 
large flocks at seasons when not occupied with the duties of incubation. It habitually frequents 


SN Aste! Exped? Plat 
= b (1a e XV. 


W) Mrasen Del = —— = = 


PSARACOLIUS CURAEUS, |MOLINA. 


Baio ie 
| 


“ 


U.SN.Ast: Exp: 


Plate XVI. 
i a 


14 Co. steam lith: press Phil 


1. AGELAIUS THILIUS. ( MOLINA.) 2. STURNELLA MILITARIS. (LINN.) 
Male. 


Male 


. ui 
[ e 
| 
a 
a 
: 
7] 
: 
ivi 
7 | : 
; \ 
ae L ‘. i] 
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a i ' 
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. a) Va 4, 
1 ‘ . 
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H 5 


i F « 
i 
7 fF 
: 
' s 
‘ 
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er 
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ty) 
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any | 4 i if 
Tine! wry 
‘(alain iia A ee ea ia A 
F ae viey i oly j 


BIRDS. 179 


fields and open plains, running on the ground and attracting attention by its incessant chat- 
tering. Being readily domesticated, it is frequently met with in cages at the houses of the 
inhabitants. 

“<Tn captivity,’ says Lieutenant Gilliss, ‘‘this bird is taught to pronounce words quite dis- 
tinctly. It is one of the farmer’s pests, and many are destroyed; but though the flesh is good, 
it is not esteemed by natives.’’ 


AGELAIUS THILIUS, (Molina.) 
Prats XYI, Fig. 1. 


Turdus thilius, Motrin, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Xanthornus cayennensis, (Gray,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 346. 
Vuua. Yellow-winged Blackbird. Trille. 


Another species related to the northern Blackbirds, especially the Red-wing and others of 
the same group. It is, however, strongly characterized and easily distinguished by its yellow 
shoulders, agreeably contrasting with the deep black of its other plumage. 

This bird inhabits marshes and other localities in the vicinity of water, and is frequently met 
with. ‘This is the bird,’’ observes Lieut. Gilliss, ‘‘from which it has been said came the 
name of the country, the notes it utters greatly resembling Chil-li, Chil-li. It is very abundant 
about ploughed fields in the spring of the year.’’ 


STURNELLA MILITARIS, (Linn.) 


Prate XVI, Fig. 2. Adult male. 


Sturnus malitaris, Linn. Mantiss, 1770, 527. 
Leistes Americanus, Via. Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 350. 
Vuta. Chilian Lark. Loica. 


This handsome bird is intimately related in general form to the meadow lark of the United 
States, (Sturnella ludoviciana,) but in colors is entirely different. Its habits are, too, very 
similar, being found on the plains, and building its nest on the ground. 

Several distinct but closely allied species are now known to have been indiscriminately 
referred to as Sturnella militaris by naturalists and travellers. The present species, however, 
appears to be that really entitled to this designation. It is abundant in Chile. 


PHRYGILUS FRUTICETI, (Kittlitz.) 


Fringilla fruticeti, Krrrirrz ,Kupf. der Vog. 1833, 18. 
Emberiza luctuosa, Eypoux and Grrv. Mag. de Zool. 1836, 24. 
Chlorospiza fruticeti, (Kirtn.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 357. 
Ficures.—Kirriitz, Kupf. Pl. xxiii, Fig. 1. 

He Guérin Mag. de Zool. 1836, Pl. Ixxi. 


This little Finch frequents fields and shrubbery, but is not a common species. It extends its 
range over the whole of western South America, but having been seldom seen by the members 
of the Expedition, may be regarded as rare in Chile. 


180 ZOOLOGY. 
PHRYGILUS UNICOLOR, (D’Orbigny.) 


Emberiza unicolor, D’ Orsiany, Guérin’s Mag. 1837, 79. 
Ficure.—J ARDINE’s Contributions to Ornithology, 1849, Pl. xxii. 


This bird, like the preceging species, was noticed both in the mountains and plains, but not 
in abundance. 


PHRYGILUS DIUGA, (Molina.) 


Fringilla diuca, Mou. Hist. Nat. del Chile; Gay’s Fauna Chilena I, 359. 
Pipilo cinerea, Puatn, Zool. U. 8. Ex. Exp. Birds, 1848, 123. 
Vue. Diuca. 
Ficures.—Kairrn. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. I, Pl. xi. 
se Voy. Favorite Zool. Pl. xvii. 
Oe Guérin’s Mag. 1836, Pl. ix. 


One of the most abundant and long known birds of western South America. Lieutenant 
Gilliss’s notes on this species are as follows: ‘‘This is one of the commonest and most widely- 
spread birds in Chile. At certain seasons it is found in quite large numbers near the thresh- 
ing-fields, or where cattle have stood near a wayside tavern. It is also quite domestic, and 
will be found in any street of all the cities. It builds in bushes, returning year after year to 
the same nest, and is certainly one of the earliest risers, for I have often heard its sprightly 
notes about Santa Lucia before the first streaks of dawn were fairly peering over the Andes.”’ 


PHRYGILUS GAYI, (Eydoux and Gervais.) 


Fringilla Gayi, Hyp. and Gurv. Mag. de Zool. 1834, (not paged.) 
Chlorospiza Gayi, (Hyp. and Gerv.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 355. 
Vue. Gay's Finch. 
Fiaures.—Gueérin’s Mag. de Zool. 1834, Pl. xxiii. 

cc Voy. Favorite, Ois. Pl. xxiii. 


A beautiful little Finch, abundant in the vicinity of the cities and about farm-houses, but 
retiring to the mountains in the season of incubation. It migrates southward to Patagonia, 


ZONOTRICHIA MATUTINA, (Lichtenstein.) 


Fringilla matutina, Licut. Verz. 1823, 25. 
Tanagra ruficollis, Sprx Av. Bras. II, 1825, 39. 
Fringilla Mortonii, Aup. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 312. 
Fringilla matutina, Licut. Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 360. 
Vuue. Collared Sparrow. Chincol. 
Fieures.—Kirrii Kupf. Pl. xxiii, Fig. 3. 

6 Dusors Orn. Gal. Pl. xlii. 

30 Sprx Av. Bras. Pl. hii, Fig. 3. 

“6 Avup. B. of Am. oct. ed. III, Pl. clxl. 


This Sparrow is one of the most abundant of the birds of Chile, and is found diffused also 
over almost the whole of South America. In Chile it inhabits the cultivated districts, and is 
found also in the mountains at an elevation of several thousand feet. 


U.S.W. Astr! Exped™ 


Natural Size 


CHRYSOMITRIS MARGINALIS, |BONAPARTE.| 


male and femaie 


7 Sinclair's Wih, Pult 


U. 8. N. Astr! Exped™ Plate XVUT 
- at 


— - = — — ——— — ——— + -— ———— 
W ireser Del Neat Pt 


|. CALLISTE GYANICOLLIS, [D'DRBIGNY.| 2. CALLISTE LAAVATA, [OU BUS|| 


Adult Male Adult Male 


BIRDS. 181 


This bird, though apparently belonging to this genus, does not strictly accord with the char- 
acters of that group embracing the North American species. It is well figured in all the plates 
cited above, especially in those of Spix and Audubon. ‘The last author erroneously gave it as 
a North American bird, from .the fact that specimens were contained in the collection sent 
home by the late Dr. Townsend, which were, however, obtained in the vicinity of the city of 
Valparaiso. It is found in Peru, Brazil, and Patagonia, and exhibits the harmless and unsus- 
picious habits characteristic of many of the birds of this family. 


CRITHAGRA LUTEIVENTRIS, (Meyen.) 


Fringilla luteiventris, Mayen Nova Acta XVI, 1834, 87. 
Fieurr.—Nova Acta Acad. Breslau XVI, Pl. xii, Fig. 3. 


Several specimens of this bird are labelled as having been obtained in the Andes. 


CHRYSOMITRIS ATRATUS, (D’Orb. and Lafres.) 


Carduelis atratus, D’Ors. and Larr. Guérin’s Mag. 1837, 83. 
Ficgure.—D’Orpieny Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. xlviii, Fig. 2. 
Specimens are labelled as having been obtained in the interior. ‘This little bird is stated to 
appear occasionally in flocks, though it probably visits Chile only in the season of migration. 


CHRYSOMITRIS MARGINALIS, Bonap. 
Prate XVII. Male and female. 


Chrysomitris marginalis, Bonar. Cons. Av. 1850, 517. 


Of this singular new Goldfinch two specimens only are in the collection, which are, however, 
male and female. It bears a great resemblance to the European Chrysomitris spinus, but is 
larger, and the bill is much stronger; in fact, the latter character is sufficient to distinguish it 
from any other species of this genus with which we are acquainted. 

Male, with the head above and large space on the throat, black. Back, yellowish green, 
with obscure longitudinal stripes of brownish; rump and upper tail coverts yellow; quills 
brownish black, at their bases yellow, forming a conspicuous mark on the wing; tail brownish 
black; under parts (except the throat) pale ashy yellow ; bill short, thick. Female very simi- 
lar to the male, but with no black on the head and throat, and with the yellow markings on 
the wings less conspicuous. In all its colors this bird almost precisely resembles the European 
species above mentioned. We have no account of its habits or history. 


CALLISTE CYANICOLLIS, (D’Orbigny.) 
Prate XVIII, Fig. 1. Adult male. 


Aglaia cyanicollis, (D’ ORB.) Guertn’s Mag. de Zool. 1837, 33. 


Aglaia cacruleocephala, Swatxs. Cab. Cy. Birds, Pt. III, 1838, 356. 
Vune. Blue-headed Tanager. 


Of this species, hitherto known as a bird of Peru, one specimen only is in the collection, 
without label. » Though it is not in our power to presént any facts in the history of this beat- 


182 ZOOLOGY. 


tiful species, we have availed ourselves of the opportunity to figure it in the plates accom- 
panying this catalogue. For the convenience of comparison we have figured also— 


Prare XVIII, Fig. 2. Adult male. 


Calliste larvata, Du Bus. Esquisses Ornithogiques, Pt. II, 1846. 
Aglaia Fanny, Larres. Rev. Zool. 1847, 72. 
This bird is a native of Central America and New Grenada. It is closely related to the 
species immediately preceding. 


— 


CALLISTE GYROLOIDES, (Lafresnaye.) 
Puate XIX, Fig. 1. 


Aglaia gyroloides, Farres. Rev. Zool. 1847, 277. 
Calliste cyanoventris, Gray, Genera II, 366. 

Aglaia peruviana, Swarxs. Cab. Cy. Birds, Pt. III, 356. 
Vute. Peruvian Tanager. 

This handsome Tanager has also been known as a bird of Peru. It belongs to a group con- 
taining several very nearly allied species which inhabit different parts of South America. The 
two last names given above have priority of date over the one that we adopt, but both were 
previously used for species which appear to belong to this group. We have inserted in the 
present— 


Prare XIX, Fig. 2. 


Calliste Desmarestii, Gray, Gen. II, 1804, 366. 
Aglaia viridissima, Lares. Rev. Zool. 1847, 277. 

This species inhabits the more southern of the West Indies, and probably the northeastern 
part of South America. Another species nearly related to the present two birds is found in 
Brazil. It is Calliste gyrola., (LinN.,) and is very similar in general coloring to the birds now 
before us, but may readily be distinguished by its having the shoulders (or lesser-wing coverts) 
golden yellow, and its under parts tinged only with blue. 


EUPHONIA RUFIVENTRIS, (Vieill.) 


Puate XX, Fig. 1. Adult male. 


Tanaga rufiventris, Vr. Nouv. Dict. PX XII, 426. 
Euphonia bicolor, (STRICKLAND,) J ARDINE’s Cont. to Orn. 1850, 48. 
Of this handsome little bird, previously known as an inhabitant of Peru, one specimen only 
is in the collection. It is clearly distinct, though nearly related to others of this group. 
In the present we have taken the liberty of inserting, as further illustrating this family 
of birds— 


Pirate XX, Fig. 2. Adult male. 
Chlorophonia occipitalis, (Du Bus.) 
Euphonia occipitalis, Du Bus, Esqu. Orn. Pt. HI, 1847. 


This is one of the most beautiful of the family of Tanagers, and has escaped the notice of 
naturalists until the recent date above given. It is a native of Mexico, and the male has not 
before been figured, though the female is given by Du Bus in the work above cited. (PI. xiv.) 


US N.Astrt Exped™ Plate AYA 
r - =e 


W Dreser, Del "5 


|. CALLISTE GYROLOIDES, [LAFRES] 2. CALLISTE DESMARESTIHI, |GRAY | 
Adult mals Adult male 


U.S. N. Aste: Exped” : a Plate XX 


|. EUPHUNIA RUFIVENTRIS, 'ViEILL] 2. CHLOROPHONIA OCCIPITALIS, ‘DU BUS. 
Adult male Adult male 


BIRDS. 183 
PHYTOTOMA RARA, Molina. 


Phytotoma rara, Morr, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Phytotoma silens, Krrruirz, Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg I, 1831, 175, 
Phytotoma Bloxhami, (CuttpRreNn,) Grirritn’s ed. Cuv. Reg. An. I, 1829, 319. 
Phytotoma rara, (Mox.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 363. 
Vue. Lara. 
Fiaures.—J arp. and Sexe. Ill. Orn. I, Pl. iv. 

a Guerin, Mag. de Zool. 1844, Pl. 5. 

es Kirriirz, Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg, Pl. 1. 


This bird is of frequent occurrence in Chile, and is one of the most remarkable of the birds 
of that country. It is provided with a short, strong bill, with the edges of both mandibles 
serrated, and well adapted to the destruction of tender plants or the buds of fruit trees, on 
which it subsists, and does much injury to orchards and gardens. 

This may be regarded as the only well known species of this singular group of birds, though 
several others have been described by naturalists as inhabiting various parts of South America. 

Excellent specimens are in the collection of the expedition, mostly obtained in the vicinity of 
Santiago, though this bird is found throughout the country from Coquimbo to Childe. 


Tribe II. DENIROSTRES. 
AGRIORNIS LIVIDUS, (Kittlitz.) 


Thamnophilus lividus, Krrrirrz, Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg, II, 1834, 465. 
Tyrannus gutturalis, Eyp. and Grry. Mag. de Zool. 1836, 6. 
Dasycephala livida, (Krrtu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 327. 
Vuta. Mero. 
Fiqures.—Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg, II, Pl. i. 
& Gurrin’s Mag. de Zool. 1836, Pl. 63. 


This species is of frequent occurrence throughout Chile. 


MIMUS THENCA, (Molina.) 


Turdus thenca, Mou, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 333. 
Vuue. Chile Mocking Bird. Thenca, or Trenca. 


A species nearly allied to the Mocking Bird of North America, (Mimus polyglottus,) and, like 
it, possesses remarkable powers of song. It isa common bird of Chile, and a universal favorite, 
frequenting the cultivated parts of the country. 

Of the birds of this group, several other species inhabit South America, all of which are more 
or less intimately related to our famed northern songster, and possessing considerable reputa- 
tion themselves as performers in the same line. The present species is regarded as the best. 


MERULA FALKLANDICA, (Quoy and Gaimard.) 


Turdus falklandicus, Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Uranie Zool. I, 1824, 104. 
Turdus magellanicus, Kine, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 14. 
Turdus falklandicus, (Quoy and Gaim.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 331. 


184 ZOOLOGY. 


This bird is abundant throughout Chile, inhabiting cultivated grounds, and migrating south- 
ward. It bears a strong general similarity in colors to the Robin of North America, (Merula 
migratoria. ) 

Several fine specimens in the collection of the Expedition differ from each other in the shades 
of color, though apparently presenting no other different characteristics. There are, however, 
several closely allied species of this genus known to inhabit various countries of South America. 


MERULA FUSCATER, (D’Orb. et Lafr.) 


Turdus fuscater, D’ Ors. et Larr. Mag. Zool. 1836, 16. 

(D’Ors. and Larr.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 331. 
Vute. Zorzal. 
Fraure.—D’Ors. Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. ix. 

Much resembling the preceding in general character and appearance. 

Of this bird Lieut. Gilliss observes: ‘‘The Zorzal is extremely common, and one of the 
greatest pests of the vineyard when the fruit is » aturing. It is exceedingly sluggish in its 
habits, and will suffer boys to drive it between two gradually inclining hedges, until the space 
is so narrow that it rises with difficulty, if at all, and is knocked on the head, to find its way 
to the tables of the better classes, by whom its flesh is greatly esteemed. It is also occasionally 
captured and retained in cages, but I never heard one sing. Albinoes of this species are not 
uncommon.” 


PTEROPTOCHUS MEGAPODIUS, Kittlitz. 


Pteroptochus megapodius, Krrtir1z Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg I, 1830, 182. 
Megalonyx rufus, Less. Cent. Zool. 1830, 200. 
Vue. Great-footed Ground Thrush. Turco. 
Fiaures.—Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg I, Pl. iv. 
eC Less. Cent. Zool. Pl. Ixvi. 

This is one of the most singular of the birds of Chile. It is about the size of the robin of 
North America, of plain colors—brown above and yellowish white below—with a short tail, 
and the legs and feet so disproportionately large as almost to appear deformed. Frequenting 
the ground, and moving with a gait more of the character of hopping than walking, and with 
its tail habitually carried erect, it attracts attention by its grotesque appearance. ‘‘On first 
seeing it,’’ says an excellent naturalist and very agreeable writer who visited Chile, (Mr. 
Charles Darwin, M. A. F. R. 8.) ‘‘one is tempted to exclaim, ‘a vilely-stuffed specimen has 
escaped from some museum, and has come to life again!’ ”’ 

This species subsists on insects, and is frequently met with throughout the country. 


PTEROPTOCHUS ALBICOLLIS, Kittlitz. 


Pteroptochus albicollis, Krrturtz Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg I, 1830, 180. 
Pteroptochus megapodius, (Kirtn.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 302. 
Megalonyx medius, Lusson Ill. Zool. 1831, (not paged.) 
Vue. White-throated Ground Thrush. Tapaculo. 
Ficures.—Mem. Acad. St. Petersburg I, PI. iii. 

ce D’Orzieny Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. viii, Fig. 2. 

é¢ Less. Il]. Zool. Pl. Ix. 

3 Kirti. Kupf. Pl. xvi, Fig. 2. 


BIRDS. 185 


This bird, though smaller than the preceding, is, like it, remarkable on account of its 
appearance and odd movements. It is an abundant species, and lives in waste lands, always 
frequenting the ground. Both the species now mentioned have loud and very peculiar notes; 
another of this group, related to the present species, has, from its voice, obtained the name of 
“the barking bird.’? The name of the bird now before us as given above, and by which it 
appears to be known in the districts it inhabits, Tapaculo, it would not perhaps befit us to 
translate literally into English on the present occasion. It seems to have been derived, how- 
ever, from its habit of carrying its tail erect, probably to the disadvantage, as the artists say, 
of the posterior view. Lieutenant Gilliss says, however: ‘‘This bird may be heard on all the 
hills of the interior in the central provinces uttering its tap-pa-ciil, tap-pa-ciil, which is most 
probably the origin of its common name.’’ 


LICHENOPS ERYTHROPTERUS, Gould. 


Lichenops erythropterus, Goutp, Voy. Beagle, Birds, 1841, 52. 
Lichenops perspicillatus, (GRay,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 337. 
Motacilla perspicillata, Guuttn, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 969. ? 

Vue. Colegial. 

Fieure.—Voy. Beagle, Birds, Pl. ix. 


A handsome little bird, freq. enting the ground, and usually met with in the vicinity of 
streams of water and other dam p localities. 

This species has been regar ted by late ornithologists as the female or young of Lichenops 
perspicillatus, though it appears to us to present peculiar characters. All the specimens in the 
collection of the Expedition are in the plumage described by Mr. Gould as above. 


TENIOPTERA PYROPE, (Kittlitz.) 


Muscicapa pyrope, Krrrirrz, Mem. Acad. St. Peters. I, 1830, 191. 
Teenioptera pyrope, (Kirrn.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 335. 
Vune. Garnet-eyed Fly-catcher. Diucon. 

Figure.—Mem. Acad. St. Peters. I, Pl. x. 


This plain but interesting Fly-catcher is abundant in Chile and other countries of the western 
coast of South America. It is related, not remotely, to various species of the northern tyrant 
fly-catchers. 

This bird is particularly remarkable on account of its bright red irides, from which has been 
derived its specific name. 


PTYONURA MENTALIS, (Lafresnaye.) 


Muscisaxicola mentalis, LArres. Guérin’s Mag. 1837, 66. 
Fieurr.—D’Orsreny, Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. xli, Fig. 1. 


A little Fly-catcher much resembling in color and general characters the common pewee Fly- 
catcher of North America, (Tyrannula fusca), but, unlike it, lives habitually in the low bushes 
and on the ground. It inhabits the most barren districts in the mountains, and at some seasons 
ranges over the plains in small flocks, It is partial to the vicinity of streams of water and of 


marshy places. 
24* 


186 ZOOLOGY. 
PTYONURA RUFIVERTEX, (Lafresnaye.) 


Muscisaxicola rufivertex, Lar. Guérin’s Mag. 1837, 66. 
Ficgure.—D’ Ors. Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. xl, Fig. 2. 
Of this Fly-catcher fine specimens are in the collection of the Expedition. It inhabits the 
mountains. 


CYANOTIS OMNICOLOR, (Vieill.) 


Regulus omnicolor, Vrnriu. Gal, des Ois, I, 1825, 271; Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 319. 
Sylvia rubigastra, View. Nouv. Dict, XI, 1807, 277. 
Regulus Byronensis, Gray, Giff. Cuv. VII, 1829, 42. 
Vue. Siete-color. 
Fraures.—Gay’s Chile, Birds, Pl. ii. 
i Vieiuy. Gal. I, Pl. clxvi. 

One of the most beautiful of the birds of western South America, though not abundant in 
Chile. It is allied to the crested wrens of North America and Europe, and appears to resemble 
them in habits, living in the forests and subsisting on small insects. 

Lieutenant Gilliss observes of this species: ‘‘This is undoubtedly the most brilliant bird of 
Chile, but is not very abundant. It lives in the vicinity of marshy ground where the typha 
angustifolia grows, on one of the stalks of which its nest is usually constructed. The nest is 
correctly represented in Gay’s Fauna Chilena.”’ 


Tribe III.—FISSIROSTRES. 


STENOPSIS PARVULUS, (Gould.) 


Caprimulgus parvulus, Goutp, Voy. Beagle, Birds, 1841, 37. 
Caprimulgus bifasciatus, (GouLD) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 261. 
Vura. Gallina ciega. 
This little Night-Hawk appears to be frequent in open lands near the foot of the mountains, 
It is a very distinct and well-marked species, and one of the smallest of the Caprimulgide which 
are known to inhabit America. 


Tribe IV.—TENUIROSTRES. 
TROCHILUS GIGAS, Vieill. 


Trochilus gigas, Vint. Gal. I, 1825, 296. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 273. 
Ornismya tristis, Luss. Hist. Nat. des Ois. Mouches, 1829, 12. 
Ornismya gigantea, D’ Ors. and Lrrr. Guérin’s Mag. 1838, 26. 
Vune. Giant Humming-Bird. Picajlor grande. 
Ficures.—Vien, Gal. des Ois. I, Pl. 180. 
se Less. Ois. Mouches, PI. iii. 
This Humming-Bird, the largest yet discovered of its family, is one of the most ri ssn of 
the species of the irda aad in Chile. 


BIRDS. 187 
TROCHILUS GALERITUS, Molina. 


Trochilus galeritus, Mota, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Mellisuga Kingti, Vicors. Zool. Jour. Ill, 1827, 432. 
Orthorhynchus sephanoides, Lesson, Voy. Coquille Ois. I, 1826, 681. 
Trochilus sephanoides, (Luss.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 275. 
Vune. Fire-crowned Humming-Bird. Picajlor. Pinuda. 
Figurrs.—Goutp, Mon. Troch. Pt. III, Pl. i. 
e Voy. Coquille Ois. Pl. xxxi, Fig. 2. 
This beautiful species of Humming-Bird, remarkable for its red crest, is found in abundance 
in Chile, and ranges over a great extent of the other countries of the western coast of South 


America. 


TROCHILUS LEUCOPLEURUS, (Gould.) 


Oreotrochilus leucopleurus, Goutp, Proc. Zool. Soc. Soc., London, 1847, 10. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 277. 
Vute. White-sided Mountain Humming-Bird. 
Fieure.—Gounp. Mon. Troch, Pt. I, Pl. iii. 
Several specimens of this beautiful and curious Humming-Bird are in the collection of the 
Expedition, and were all obtained in the Andes at an elevation of several thousand feet. It 
appears to be exclusively an inhabitant of the higher valleys and approaches to near the line of 


perpetual snow. 


CINCLODES VULGARIS, (D’Orb. and Lafr.) 


Uppucerthia vulgaris, D’Ors. and Larr. Guérin’s Mag. 1838, 22. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 282. 
Vuta. Churrete. 
Figures.—D’Ors. Voy. d’Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. lvii, Fig. 1. 
A species found sparingly in Chile, but more abundant in other parts of South America. It 
is one of a curious group of birds, reminding us of the wrens, though of greatly increased di- 


mensions. 
The present bird is found along streams of water, running on the ground and subsisting on 


insects. 


CINCLODES NIGROFUMOSUS, (D’Orb. and Lafr.) 


Uppucerthia nigrofumosa, D’Ors. and Larr. Guérin’s Mag. 1838, 23. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 283. 

Opetiorhynchus lanceolatus, Goutp, Voy. Beagle, Birds, 1841, 68, 

Vue. Molinero. 

Figurres.—Gounp, Voy. Beagle, Birds, Pl. xx. 

“e D’Ors. Voy. Am. Mer. Pl. lvii, Fig. 2. 
This bird lives almost exclusively on the shores of the sea, though occasionally met with on 

the margins of rivers and the smaller streams of water in the interior. It runs on the ground 
with facility, and is abundant on the coast of Chile. 


188 ZOOLOGY. 
UPPUCERTHIA DUMETORIA, Geoffr. 


_Uppucerthia dumetoria, Gnorrroy, Nouv. Ann. du Mus. I, 1832, 394. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 284. 
Fiaure.—Voy. Beagle, Birds, Pl. xix. 

Another of the birds of the same general habits as the two preceding. This fine species in- 
habits all parts of the country, but is most frequently seen in the plains, and frequently in the 
most barren districts. It is, howeve, occasionally met with in the Andes, as indicated by labels 
attached to specimens in the present collection. It is of common occurrence in Chile, and in 
other countries of western South America. 


ERICORNIS MELANURA, Gray. 


Prats XXI, Fig. 1. Adult male. 
Ericornis melanura, G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds, I, 1847, 133. 


Wings short, fourth quill slightly longest ; tail rather long, rounded; bill very straight, 
slender ; tarsi and toes strong. Head above and back pale brown, tinged with cinereous ; rump 
and upper coverts of the tail bright rufous; quills dark brown, with the basal half of the 
shorter primaries and of the secondaries rufous. Throat and breast silky white ; abdomen ashy; 
ventral region and under coverts of the tail rufous, darker on the latter. Bill dark, under 
mandible white at base; legs dark. Total length (of skin) about 7 inches, wing 34, tail 3. 

Several specimens of this bird are in the collection of the Expedition, all of which agree very 
nearly in markings, and uniformly present the black tail, which distinguishes this speeies from 
EF. phenicura, (Gould.) 

This bird habitually frequents the ground, and subsists on insects. 


SYNALLAXIS DORSO-MACULATA, D’Orb and Laf. 


Synallaxis dorso-maculata, (D’OrB and Lar.) Guerin’s Mag. 1837, 21. 
Sylvia melanops. (Viert.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 293. 
Fieurrs.—D’Ors. Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. Pl. xiv, Figs. 1 and 2. 


This little bird is labelled as having been obtained in the interior. It inhabits the vicinity 
of water-courses, but is not abundant. 


SCYTALOPUS FUSCUS, Gould. 
Prate XXI, Fig. 2. 


Scytalopus fuscus, Goud, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1836, 89. 
Scytalopus obscurus, (GouLp) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 308. 
Vuue. Chircan Negro. 


A single specimen only is in the collection of the Hixpedition. It is labelled as being a male 
bird, and the entire plumage is uniform dark slate color. Sefior Salinas informed Lieut. Gilliss 
that this bird had wholly escaped his attention previously, perhaps because of its frequenting 
marshy ground, as much as from its obscure color. 

It was obtained in the vicinity of Santiago. 


U.S.N. Astr! Exped® Plate XXI 
ate E 
[ | 


Natural Size 


W Dreser Dal 


1. ERIC | ] ooh i 
| ORNIS MELANURA, |GRAY, 2. SCYTALOPUS FUSCUS,|/GOULD. 


‘ Adult nl 
Adult 


Pernt =? 


"NITAWS 


“SMVHdsD0HHIO 


SNOVILISd 


- 


BIRDS. 189 
Tribe V. SCANSORES. 
CONURUS CYANOLYSIOS, (Molina.) 


Psittacus cyanolysios, Mou. Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chil, 1782. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 367. 
Psittacus patagonus, Vrertu. Nouv. Dict. XXV, 1817, 367. 
Vutec. Patagonian Parrot. Loro. 
Ficaures.—Lear’s Parrots, Pl. x. 
a Voy. Coquille Ois. Pl. xxxv. 


Of this interesting species, Lieut. Gilliss remarks: ‘‘ Among the most numerous of all birds 
in the central provinces of Chile, congregating in flocks of hundreds to feed in the wheat fields 
in December, and on the seeds of the cardo (Cynara cardunculus,) when mature, during the 
month of April. Its nest is formed in holes along the river banks, from which flocks issue 
screaming most discordantly. In earthquakes they quit their nests in great terror, flying 
round and round, uttering their shrillest notes. The young birds are considered delicacies, 
and may always be found in the markets during the breeding season.’’ 

Several fine specimens of this bird are in the collection of the Expedition. This species shows 
a remarkable affinity to the Ground Parrots of Australia, 


PSITTACARA LEPTORHYNCHA, King, 


Psittacara leptorhyncha, Krxe, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 14. 
Psittacus rectirostris, Meyen, Nova Acta. XVI, 1834, 95. 
Leptorhynchus ruficaudus, Swainson, Cab. Cy. Birds, I, 1837, 300. 
Enicognathus leptorhynchus (Kixe,) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 370. 
Psittacus cheroyeus, Moun. 
Vuue. Choroy. 
Ficures.—Lear’s Parrots, Pl. xi. 

fe Nova Acta, Breslau, XVI, Pl. xv. 


Two specimens in the collection are labelled as having been obtained in the interior of Chile. 
It is remarkable for its pointed and attenuated upper mandible, and very probably presents 
habits differing from those usually possessed by birds of this family. We much regret that no 
notes relating to this species are in our possession. 


PSITTACARA SMARAGDINA, (Gm.) 


Psittacus smaragdinus, Guerin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 322, 
Ficure.—Burr, Pl. Enl. Ixxxy. 


A single specimen of this species is labelled as having been obtained in Chile. 


PSITTACUS OCHROCEPHALUS, Gmelin. 
Prare XXII. Adult male. 


Psittacus ochrocephalus, Gmunin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 339. 
Vute. Choroy. 


Total length (of skin) about 15 inches, wing 81, tail 54 inches. 
8 ? Do 2) 2 


190 ZOOLOGY. 


One specimen only is in the collection, and is labelled as having been obtained in the interior 
of the country. This appears to be the bird entitled to the name above cited, though it has 
been applied to other species of the same group nearly allied and somewhat difficult to distin- 
guish. 


COLAPTES PITIUS, (Molina.) 


Picus pitius, Mou. Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chile, 1782. 

Picus chilensis, Lesson, Voy. Coquille Ois. 1826, 241. 
Colaptes pitiguus, (Mou.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 373. 
Vuta. Carpintero, Pitigiie. 

Fieurr.—Voy. Coquille Ois. Pl. xxxii. 

This fine species, allied to the northern Golden Shafted Woodpecker, or Flicker, (Colaptes 
auratus,) is common throughout the southern part of Chile, and is met with sparingly in the 
north. It is an inhabitant of the plains, and habitually frequents the ground, subsisting on 
small insects. 


PICUS LIGNARIUS, Molina. 


Picus lignarius, Mota, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Picus melanocephalus, Kine, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 14. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 372. 
Picus puncticeps, D’Orsiany, Voy. Am. Mer. Ois. 1835, 379, Pl. lxiv, Fig. 1. 
Inhabits wooded and mountainous districts, and is extensively diffused throughout western 
South America. 


Order Ill, RASORES. 
COLUMBA ARAUCANA, Lesson. 


Columba araucana, Lusson Voy. Coquille Zool. I, 1826, 706. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 376. 
Columba denisea, Tumm. Pl. col. I, (not paged.) 
Columba Fiteroyi, Kine Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 15. 
Vue. Torcassa. 
Fieurres.—Voy. Coquille, Atlas, Birds, Pl. xl. 
UC Trmm. Pl. col. 502. 


This very handsome bird, one of the largest of the Pigeons of South America, inhabits nearly 
the whole of Chile, rearing its young in the forests and mountainous districts, and at other 
seasons congregating in flocks. It extends its range southwardly to Cape Horn and Tierra 
del Fuego. 

Lieutenant Gilliss observes: ‘‘This is a much finer bird for the table than the pigeon of North 
America, being larger and more juicy. Like it, the species congregates in flocks during the 
latter part of autumn and winter, and large numbers are brought to the market in Santiago 
from the woody hills in the vicinity. At times it is so abundant that four birds may be bought 
for a rial; but during the autumn and winter of 1852 (May to September) there were scarcely 
any seen. It migrates southward.” 


BIRDS. 191 
ZENAIDA AURITA, (Temminck.) 


Columba aurita, Trem. Pig. et Gall. II, 1811, 60. 
Peristera auriculata, GAY, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 1847, 381. 
Vune. Tortola, Tortolita. 
Ficurrs.—Temm. Pig. II, Pl. xxv. 

es Gay, Chile, Aves, Pl. vi. 

Several specimens of this bird are in the collection, and it is represented to be the most 
abundant of the doves of Chile. Although our specimens appear to be the species figured by 
Temminck as above, they bear a strong resemblance to that described and figured as a distinct 
bird by Gay. We suspect that they are identical. 

The present bird is of common occurrence throughout the country, and is killed for the table. 
At some seasons it assembles in large flocks, and in its migrations extends its range south- 
wardly. 


COLUMBINA STREPITANS, (Spix.) 


Columba strepitans, Sprx Av. Bras. II, 1825, 57, Pl. xxv, Fig. 1. 
Vue. Lortolita Cordillerana. 
The specimens of this pretty little species are labelled as having been obtained in the mount- 
ains. It is usually found on the ground, and appears to be partial to the vicinity of streams 
of water. 


THINOCORUS ORBIGNYIANUS, Less. 


Thinocorus Obignyianus, Luss. Cent. Zool. 1830, 137. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 387. 
Vuue. Agachadera. Petaquito. 
Fiaurn.—Lesson Cent. Zool. Pl. xlix, 1. 
This is a bird of a singular group, the species of which appear to be peculiar to the countries 
of western South America. 
The present species inhabits the plains, and is found also in the valleys of the Andes. Our 
specimens bear labels indicating the latter locality. It frequents the ground, on which it runs 
with great swiftness, and occasionally congregates into flocks. 


THINOCORUS RUMICIVORUS, Eschsch. 


Thinocorus rumicivorus, Escuscnoitz, Zool. Atlas, 1829, 2. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 387. 

Thinocorus Eschscholtzii, Luss. Cent. Zool. 1830, 140. 

Ocypetes Torquatus, WAGLER. 

Vuue. Agadachera de la Cordillera. Perdizita. 

Fieurrs.—Escuscu. Zool. Atl. Pl. ii. 

ae Less. Cent. Zool. Pl. 1. 
A larger species than the preceding, and is an inhabitant of the higher mountain valleys, 
but not exclusively, being found also on the plains. 

In addition to the two species here given, and which are well known as birds of Chile, we 


192 ZOOLOGY. 


have seen a third, 7. Swainsoniz, Lesson, also from that country. All these very considerably 
resemble each other in colors and other characters, but differ so materially in size as to leave 
no doubt of their specific distinctness. 7. rumicivorus is the largest, 7. Swainsonii the smallest. 


ATTAGIS GAYII, Less. 


Attagis Gayii, Lesson Cent. Zool. 1830, 135. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 384. 
Vune. Perdiz Cordillerana. 
Fiaures.—Less. Cent. Zool. Pl. xlvii. 
ie Gay’s Fauna Chilena Orn. Pl. (not numbered.) 

Several fine specimens of this remarkable bird were obtained in the Andes, which it inhabits 
at a considerable elevation. It lives entirely on the ground, and is generally met with in small 
parties or coveys. 

This bird appears to us to present affinities to the grouse, though exhibiting singularly well- 
marked generic characters. It is one of the most remarkable of the birds of Chile. 


NOTHURA PERDICARIA, (Kittlitz.) 


Crypturus perdicarius, Kirt. Mem. Acad. St. Peters. I, 1830, 192. 
Vutec. Perdiz. 
Fiaure.—Mem. Acad. St. Peters. I, Pl. xii. 

This bird is frequently met with throughout nearly the whole of Chile. It is usually seen in 
the cultivated districts, but appears also, from specimens now before us, to be an inhabitant of 
the mountains. It lives entirely on the ground, and is shot for the table. 

In the collection of the Expedition several specimens are considerably smaller than others, 
though otherwise so very similar that we can determine no specific differences. The smaller 
specimens are, moreover, labelled as females, which at present we are disposed to regard them. 
Lieutenant Gilliss’s notes on this species are as follows: ‘‘ This bird never congregates in 
flocks or coveys, but is only seen in pairs, and when startled utters a shrill noise until it 
alights, after a few minutes’ flight. The adult bird is one-fourth larger than the partridge of 
the United States, and it attains maturity in one year; its flesh is quite as white, and more 
juicy. It lays twelve to fourteen eggs, of a beautiful and uniform sombre violet color, highly 
polished.”’ 7 


Order IV. GRALLATORES. 


ARDEA COCOI, Linn. 


Ardea cocoi, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 237. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 409. 
Ardea cerulescens, Vrertu. Nouv. Dict. XIV. 1817, 413. 
Ardea maguari, Sprx, Av. Bras. II, 1824, 71. 
Vuute. Patagonian Heron. Cuca. 
Ficure.—Sprrx, Ay. Bras. II, Pl. xe. 
A single specimen only of this large species is in the collection of the Expedition, and is stated 
to have been obtained in the interior of the country. 
Lieut. Gilliss remarks: ‘‘This very rare bird in central Chile was presented by Sefior Salinas, 


BIRDS. 193 


who would not depreciate its merit by assigning a price to it. The only other specimen which 
had been obtained by the same gentleman in three years had also been given away—the latter 
to an eminent clergyman in Santiago.”’ 


EGRETTA GALATEA, (Molina.) 


Ardea galatea, Motina, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782; 2d edition, 1810, 205. 
Ardea egretta, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 629. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 410. 

Egretta leuce, Bonar. Comp. List. 1838, 47. 
Ardea leuce, (InticeR.) Bonar. as above. 
Vue. Greater White Heron. Garza grande. 
Ficures.—Witson, Am. Orn. VII, Pl. Ixi, Fig. 4. 

of Avup. B. of Am. Pl. ecelxxxvi; oct. ed. VI, Pl. ceclxx. 


Several specimens of this fine Heron in the collection of the Expedition are precisely similar 
to the bird of North America; and as the description of Molina, cited above, appears to have 
been intended for this species, we have adopted it. It is abundant at some seasons in Chile, 
frequenting the vicinity of the rivers. 


EGRETTA THULA, (Molina.) 


Ardea thula, Mou. Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782; 2d edition, 1810, 205. 
Ardea candidissima, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 411. 
Vuua. Lesser White Heron. Garza Chica. 


This is a small white species, nearly related to the Snowy Heron of North America, (Zgretta 
candidissima). It is frequently met with in Chile, and appears to be a constant resident, 
inhabiting the vicinity of rivers and marshes, 

Of this and other species of Herons Lieut. Gilliss observes: ‘‘They name three species of 
Garzas in Chile: Garza grande, Garza chica, and Garza, of which the last must be intermediate 
in size between the great and small. These birds are common at all seasons about the banks 
of the fresh-water streams and lakes of the interior, and may frequently be seen in bands of 
fifteen or twenty.’’ 


NYCTICORAX GARDENTI, (Gmelin.) 


Ardea Gardeni, Gu. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 645. 
Ardea cyanocephala, Motina, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, 1782. 
Nucticorax americanus, Bonar. Comp. List. 1838, 49. 
Ardea nycticorax, (Linn.) Witson, Avupuson, and other authors. 
Nycticorax nevius, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 422. 
Vute. American Night Heron, Guairabo. 
Ficures.—Wuson, Am. Orn. VII, Pl. Ixi. 
ie Aup. B. of Am. Pl. 236; oct. ed. VI, Pl. ccclxiii. 


This bird appears to be specifically identical with that of North America, and is common in 
western South America. 
25* 


194 ZOOLOGY. 
BOUTAURUS EXILIS, (Gmelin.) 


Ardea ewilis, Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 645. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 411. 
Vuta. The Least Bittern. Guairabo amarillo. 
Fieaurrs.—Witson, Am. Orn. VIII, Pl. Ixv, Fig. 4. 
at Aup. B. of Am. Pl. ecx ; oct. ed. VI, Pl. ceclxvi. 
Specimens in the collection appear to be identical with others obtained in Pennsylvania, but 
are not in mature plumage. This bird, according to Lieut. Gilliss, whose information is from 
Sefior Salinas, is exceedingly rare in Chile. It was a present from Sefior 8S. 


SCOLOPAX PARAGUAY, Vieill. 


Scolopax paraguaye, Vier. Eney. Meth. III, 1825, 1160. 
Gallinago paraguice, (Vinitt.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 426. 
Vue. Avecasina. 
Like its near relative of the north, Scolopax Wilsonii, this bird inhabits marshes and other 
localities in the neighborhood of streams of water, though not stated to be abundant. 


RHYNCH@A SEMICOLLARIS, (Vieill.) 


Totanus semicollaris, Vier. Nouv. Dict. VI, 1816, 402. 
Tthynchea semicollaris, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 429. 
Rhynchea occidentalis, Kine, Zool. Jour. 1V, 1829, 94. 
Vuta. Painted Snipe. Avecasina pintada. 
Fraurr.—Lesson, Ill. Zool. Pl. xviii. 
This very handsome Snipe is abundant throughout the country. Several specimens in the 
collection are labelled as having been obtained in the vicinity of Santiago. 


NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS, Lath. 


Numenius hudsonicus, Larn. Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 712. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 419. 
Scolopax borealis, Wits., Am. Orn. VII, 1813, 22. 
Vue. Short-billed Curlew. Perdiz del mar. 
Fieaures.—Wus. Am. Orn. VII, Pl. lvi, Fig. 1. 
26 Aun. B. of Am. Pl. ccxxxvii; oct. ed. VI, Pl. ccclvi. 


Several specimens in the collection, 


CALIDRIS ARENARIA, (Linn.) 


Tringa arenaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 251. 
Charadrius calidris, Lixn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 255. 
Calidris tringoides, Virttu. Gal. des Ois. II, 1825, 95. 
Vue. Sanderling. Pollito blanco. 
Ficures.— Vier. Gal. Pl. cexxxiv. 
36 Wus. Am. Orn. VII, Pl. lix, Fig. 4. 
= Avp. B. of Am. Pl. cexxx; oct. ed. V, Pl. ccexxxviii. 


Strictly similar to the bird of North America in the plumage, and usually met with in winter. 


BIRDS. 195 
PELIDNA PECTORALIS, (Say.) 


Tringa pectoralis, Say, Long’s Exp. I, 1823, 171. 
Vute. Pollito negro. 
Fieures.—Bonap. Am. Orn. IV, Pl. xxiii, Fig. 2. 
ge Aup. B. of Am. PI. cexciv; oct. ed. V, Pl. cccxxix. 


Several specimens of both sexes. 


HIATICULA TRIFASCIATA, (Licht.) 


Charadrius trifasciatus, Licut. Verz. 1823, 71. 
Charadrius falklandicus, Lavin. Ind, Orn. II, 1790, 747?. 
Charadrius annuligerus, WacuEr, Syst. Av. 1827?. 
Vuta. Banded Plover. Angelito. 
The best characterized and most mature specimens of this handsome little species that we 
have ever seen are in the present collection, and were obtained in the vicinity of Santiago. 
It is probable that all the above named are synonymes, and that others are to be added in the 
study of this bird in its various ages and stages of plumage. 


HIATICULA AZAR, (Temm.) 


Charadrius Azare, Tem. Pl. col. V, 1823, 31. 

Charadrius collaris, Vierut. Nouv. Dict. XX VII, 1818, 136. 
Vute. Azara’s Plover. 

Ficurn.—Temm. Pl. V, Pl. clxxxxiv. 


The specimens in the collection of the Expedition are in the plumage of young birds. 


VANELLUS CAYANNENSIS, (Gmelin.) 


Parra cayanensis, Gu. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 706. 

Vanellus cayennensis, (GMut.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, 400. 
Charadruis lampronotus, Wactrr Syst. Av. 1827, (not paged.) 
Vune. South American Lapwing. (Queltregue. 

Fieure.—Burr. Pl. Enc. 836. 

This handsome bird extends its range over nearly the whole of the northern part of South 
America. 

Specimens in the collection of the Expedition were obtained in the interior of Chile. Lieu- 
tenant Gilliss observes: ‘‘This bird is usually found in marshy grounds formed by the over- 
flowing of the irrigating canals or on river banks. It is very common from Coquimbo south- 
wardly. When disturbed, it utters a disagreeable cry, not unlike Ail-te-hue, and this may be 
heard at all hours of the day or night in the districts that it frequents. 


RALLUS CASIUS, (Spix.) 


Gallinula Cesia, Sprx Av. Bras. II, 1825, 73. 
fallus bicolor, Cuv. Gay Fauna Chilena, Aves, 434, 


196 ZOOLOGY. 


Vute. Hoary Rail. Pollola. Piden. 
Fraures.—Srrx Ay. Bras. II, Pl. Ixly. 
se Gay’s Chile, Aves, Pl. (not numbered.) 


One specimen only of this species is in the collection, and is labelled as having been obtained 
in the interior of Chile. 


GALLINULA CRASSIROSTRIS, (Gray.) 


Fulica crassirostris, Gray, Griff. Cuv. III, 1829, 542, (plate.) 
Gallinula crassirostris, (GRAY) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 436. 
Vuute. Thick-billed Gallinule. Taquita. 
Fiaure.—Gay’s Chile, Aves, Pl. (not numbered.) 
This handsome Gallinule is of frequent occurrence throughout the country. It inhabits the 
vicinity of the water-courses and marshes in the interior. 


HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS, Vieill. 


Himantopus nigricollis, Vim. Nouv. Dict. X, 1817, 42. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 424. 

Charadrius hymantopus, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1, 1766, 255. 

Vuute. Perrito. The Stilt. 

Fieures.— Wuson Am. Orn. VII, Pl. lviii, Fig. 2. 

eC Aup. B. of Am. Pl. ecexxviii; oct. ed. VI, Pl. cccliv. 
Specimens in the collection are strictly identical with the species of North America. It is 
stated to be frequently met with in Chile. 


FULICA CHILENSIS, Gay. 


Fulica chilensis, GAY Fauna Chilena, (plate only.) 
Vote. Chilian Coot. Tagua. 
Fiaure.—Gay’s Chile, Aves, Pl. (not numbered.) 
Several specimens inthe collection of the Expedition appear to be this species, and are labelled 
as having been obtained in the vicinity of Santiago. 


CICONIA PILLUS, (Molina. ) 


Tantalus pillus, Mou. Sagg. Chile, 1782. 
Ardea maguari, Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 623. 
Ciconia maguaria, GAY, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 415. 
Vuue. American Stork. Pillo. 
Fiaurn.—Srrx Ay. Bras. II, Pl. lxxxix,. 
A fine species of Stork, well known as a bird of South America, and which appears to occur 
throughout nearly the whole of that portion of this continent. It frequents marshes and 


swamps, and feeds on crustacea and other aquatic animals. In Chile it is stated to be rather 
fin unusual bird: 


BIRDS. 197 
IBIS MELANOPIS, (Gmelin.) 


Tantalus melanopis, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 653. 

Ibis melanopis, (GM.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 417. 
Vuua. Black-faced Ibis. Bandurria. 

Ficure.—Bvrr. Pl. Enl. 976. 


This Ibis is frequently met with in the interior. Specimens in the collection are labelled as 
haying been obtained in the mountains. 


IBIS GUARAUNA, (Linn.) 


Scolopax guarauna, Lrxn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 242. 
Tantalus chalcopterus, Tumm. Pl. col. V. p. (liv. 86.) 
Ibis falcinellus, Tem. Gay Fauna Chilena, Aves, 416. 
Vue. Southern Glossy Ibis. Cuervo. 
Ficure.—Temm. Pl. col. 511. 

A species nearly related to, but apparently distinct from, the Zbis Ordit of North America. 
It is of common occurrence in the countries of western South America, and has been met with 
in Mexico, and northwardly within the limits of the United States. 

In Chile the present bird at some seasons congregates in flocks of considerable size, and 
migrates southward. Lieutenant Gilliss observes of this species: ‘‘I will not say that this 
bird keeps company with the garzas, but it is constantly seen in the same localities, apparently 
on the most friendly terms.”’ 


PLATALEA AJAJA, Linn. 


Platalea ajaja, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 231. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 414. 
Vuta. Roseate Spoonbill. Planeta. Cuchareta. Espatula. 
Fiaures.—Burr. Pl. Enl. 165. 
ce Wison Am. Orn. VII, Pl. xiii. 
BC Aun. B. of Am. PI. cccxxi; oct. ed. VI, Pl. ccclxii. 
The Spoonbill extends its range of locality over a vast extent of the continent of America, 
embracing the southern portion of the United States, and nearly the whole of South America. 
Several specimens in the present collection were obtained in the interior. According to Lieut. 


Gilliss, this fine bird remains in the vicinity of some of the lakes of Chile during the breeding 
season. 


HHAMATOPUS PALLIATUS, Temm. 


Hematopus palliatus, Tamm. Man II, 1820, 532. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 406. 
““ Hematopus ostralegus, Lixn.’’ Witson Am. Orn. VIII, 15. 
Vue. Oyster-catcher. Tira-tira. 
Fieures.—Wrtson Am. Orn. VIII, Pl. lxiv, Fig. 2. 
is Avp. B. of Am. Pl. cexxiii; oct. ed. V, Pl. cccxxiv. 
Jarp. and Sex, Ill. Pl. vii. 


Specimens in the collection do not differ from the bird of North America. 


ce 


198 ZOOLOGY. 
HEMATOPUS ATER, Vieill. 


Hematopus ater, Vrettu. Gal. II, 1825, 88, Pl. ecxxx. 
Hematopus niger, Cuy. Reg. An. I, 1829, 504. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 406. 
Hematopus Townsendii, Aup. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 247. 
Vute. Black Oyster-catcher. Perpilen. 
Figures.—Quoy and Garn. Voy. Uranie, Birds, Pl. xxxiv. 
ee Avup. B. of Am. Pl. cecexxvii; oct. ed. V, Pl. eccxxvi. 

This bird inhabits very nearly the entire western coast of the continent of America, speci- 
mens from Oregon being in the collection made by Dr. Townsend in that country, and from 
Tierra del Fuego in that of the United States Exploring Expedition of the Vincennes and Pea- 
cock. It occurs sparingly in Chile. 


PHENICOPTERUS IGNIPALLIATUS, Is. Geoffr. 


Phenicopterus ignipalliatus, Is. Grorr. et D’Ors. Mag. de Zool. 1832, Ois. Pl. ii, 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 441. 

Phenicopterus Chilensis, Moura. ? 

Vute. Flamenco. Cheuque. 

Fiaurr.—Gray Gen. of Birds III, Pl. elxiii. 


Of this beautiful species numerous specimens are in the collection of the Expedition. 

This bird is thus noticed by Lieutenant Gillis: ‘These birds are quite abundant on the inte- 
rior fresh-water lakes, and I found a large flock of them on the shores of the river Maule. They 
are rarely molested, except to add to the collections of ornithologists. 

“The plumage of the young bird differs in color materially from that of the adult, as may 
be seen in some of our specimens.”’ 


PHUG@NICOPTERUS ANDINUS, Philippi. 


Phenicopterus andinus, Purtrert, Descr. en An. de la Univ. de Chile. 
Vuie. Parrina. 
In the ‘‘ Anales de la Universidad de Chile’’ for August, 1854, a Phenicopterus found by Dr. 
R. A. Philippi in the desert of Atacama is thus described by him: * 
<¢When I undertook the journey to the desert of Atacama, I was far from suspecting that in 
these arid regions I should find a new species of aquatic bird. Nevertheless, the first objects 
that presented themselves to my sight, on descending from the gloomy heights of Pingo-pingo, 
and reaching the great salt-marsh extending for twenty-five leagues to the hamlet of Ata- 
cama, were a dozen flamingos which sought food in the muddy ditches there. It is well known 
to the people of the vicinity that the species differs from the common flamingo, they calling it 
Parrina. According to the information I have been able to collect, these birds live exclusively 
in the cordilleras, maintaining themselves in the lakes and swamps that are found in the des_ 
ert. Ihave not been able to verify whether they exist much to the north of Atacama, but it 
appears that the cordilleras of Copiapé is the southern limit frequented by them, They lay 
their eggs on the shores of the most elevated lakes of the cordilleras in the month of December, 
and at that epoch the Indians who inhabit the vicinity take them in abundance to the market at, 
Atacama. We killed one specimen on arriving and two when returning, and which served to 
vary somewhat our frugal and monotonous repast; a cazuela being made of the birds, which 


* On referrring this interesting description to Mr. Cassin, he cvincided with me, that it merited insertion here.—J. M. G. 


BIRDS. 199 


was not bad. Nevertheless, at first I could not eat of it without some repugnance, because the 
fat of the Parrina has the uncommon color of cinnabar. On returning, I examined the Parrina 
carefully, and recognised immediately that it was of a species very different from the four fla- 
mingos known; and, notwithstanding that there were no books on the subject accessible, I did 
not hesitate to say, that the bird had hitherto remained entirely unknown to naturalists. 

“The genus Flamingo, distinguished so eminently from all other birds, that it is impossible 
to confound them, embraces only four species, as I have just said. The first is the Phenicopte- 
rus ruber, which inhabits the south of Europe and opposite coast of Africa; the second is the 
P. bahamensis of Catesby, found in the Antilles and vicinal portions of the continent of Amer- 
ica; the third is the P. ignipalliatus of Isidro Geoffroy St. Hilaire, the common flamingo of 
Chile, equally found in Buenos Ayres and generally in the southern part of America; and the 
fourth is the P. minor of Geoffroy St. Hilaire, which is found in southern Africa as far as Sen- 
egal. I must observe that Don Juan Ignacio Molina describes a fifth species under the name 
of Pheenicopterns chilensis, (see his Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chile, Bologna, 1782, 
p. 212,) assigning it white wing-quills. But this estimable writer was not a naturalist, and, 
from all evidences, described nearly every animal and plant of Chile from memory ; necessarily 
committing many errors, and causing the enumeration of several genera and species in works 
on natural history which have no actual existence. The Phenicopterus chilensis of Molina is 
one of these. The author was wrong in giving it white wing-quills, whilst they were black, 
as on all the other flamingos; and he was not less in error when he states, in the page referred 
to, ‘it is said that these birds when young are of a gray color, but I have seen both young and 
full-grown, and have found them uniformly of the same color’—that is to say, red. The young 
flamingos of Chile are gray, like those of Europe. 

“The flamingo of the desert cannot be mistaken either for the P. ruber of Europe or the 
P. bahamensis of the Antilles, because these species have characteristics sufficiently different. 
Moreover, it is essentially distinct from the P. ignipalliatus of South America. At the first 
glance it is seen to be smaller and of a different color. The neck and breast have a color 
approaching carmine, or somewhat resembling the lees of wine. The red color of the wing 
coverts is much darker; not only the primary and secondary wing-quills being of that color, 
but also the tertiary. The feet also are of a very different color—that is to say, they are of a 
pale yellow—and the mandibles have a red-colored portion between the black extremity and 
their yellow base. To this it may be added that the tail is longer than the extremities of the 
wings. 

“But the Parrina offers differences much more essential. The bill has a very diverse conform- 
ation, being much wider; the upper mandible (quijada) is greatly more depressed, and the 
inferior much narrower than the upper, whilst there is no such inequality in the common fla- 
mingo. In the Parrina the feathers extend to the angle where the two branches of the lower 
jaw unite, and even beyond it; in the flamingo, on the contrary, they do not come so far, but 
leave the skin there bare for more than half an inch. The feet also differ essentially, want- 
ing the hind toe which is very manifest in the flamingo, ‘The differences of the bill and feet 
are sufficient to establish a sub-genus, and perhaps a new genus, but I leave this to the taste 
of those who think that the merits of a naturalist consist in fabricating the greatest possible 
number of new genera. 

“¢ According to the brief notices of it obtainable from the books within my reach, the Pheni- 
copterus minor appears to have a bill formed nearly as that of the Parrina; but that bird is said 
to have alternate bands of red and black colors in the superior wing coverts, and red feet, so 
that it cannot be confounded with the latter. 

“As the Parrina does not leave the elevations of the cordilleras, it appears proper to call it 
Phenicopterus andinus; and I give the following diagnosis of it: Ph. roseo-albus; parte infe- 
riore colli pectoreque fere puniceis ; alis coccineis, apice toto nigris; cauda alis longiore, acuminata 


200 ZOOLOGY. 


rostro dilatato, turgido, basi flavo, medio rubro, apice nigro ; mandibula superiore multo angustiore 
quam inferior; pedibus tridactylis, flavis. 
‘‘Mean dimensions of three individuals* 


Length fron base Grwll tolapexrot tallic.cs...sscteaeue-aeemepearssereanteennedaceetytnceasenss 354 inches. 
Length of the bill alone the upper mandible. cir... aereedetas.sdearenet onee's»oacecGeneeseee-c 45“ 
Tierigthinet ie Ost DIGs .seeaecnausqanetiedtinereos sasdeer ms teckeeanetey: Sebi teameeee ie san emae tae U) eae 
Tengthrot the: forse ois, oeceak stern « eee ge seb sateen a atte Meme En rakeiqe dace teaen nahn setae oe 9 ie 
lienethrof the middle'toes..corusuacscreeiencnaneas sar eeaden meet ties st oteetadeaanmavenn ste eeaeer uy 


‘‘T may add that the total length varies between 34 and 363 inches, and that of the os tibie 
between 83 and 10%; which is very remarkable. The three individuals were males. 

«<P, §.—After having written this notice, there fell in my hands an account of the province 
of Tarapaci, by Mr. William Bollaert, read at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society of 
London. In this paper the author states that he found on lakes of the cordilleras of that pro- 
vince ‘flamingos with red breasts,’ and on the map accompanying the memoir there is a lake 
called Las Parrinas, in latitude 19° south. I immediately conjectured that this flamingo of 
the cordillera of Tarapaca with the red breast was my Phwenicopterus andinus, and having had 
the pleasure to see Mr. Bollaert in Santiago, and show him my mounted specimen in the mu- 
seum, this gentleman confirmed me that it is the same species; so that we may assign for its 
habitation the whole cordilleras from latitude 19° south to 27° south.”’ 


Order V. NATATORES. 
- CYGNUS NIGRICOLLIS, (Gmelin.) 


Anas nigricollis, Gh. Syst. II, 1788, 502. 
Cygnus nigricollis, (Gm.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 445. 
Vune. Black-necked Swan. Cisne. 
Fiaure.—Gay, Historia Fisica y Politica de Chile, Atlas, Orn. Pl. (not numbered.) 
This fine Swan, remarkable for its black head and neck, which strongly contrast with the 
snowy whiteness of the plumage of the other parts of its body, is frequently met with in the 
rivers and lakes. It appears to be restricted to the countries of western South America. 
Numerous specimens of this bird are in the collection of the Expedition. The female scarcely 
differs from the male, except in somewhat smaller size, and in having the protuberance at the 
base of the upper mandible less strongly developed. Lieutenant Gilliss observes: ‘‘ This bird 
abounds most in the small mountain lakes, on the shores of which it builds its nest. I have 
never seen it on the seacoast. It isshorter necked and shorter legged than the North American 
swan, and but for the agreeable contrast of its colors, would have nothing to redeem its awk- 
ward movements and ungraceful figure on land. It is easily tamed, my friend, Mr. Salinas, 
near Santiago, having several in an artificial lake in his garden, It lays six to eight eggs of a 
dirty bluish white color.” 


BERNICLA ANTARCTICA, (Gmelin.) 


Prate XXIII. Male and female. 


Anas antarctica, Gu. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 505. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 442. 

Anas ganta, Forst. Desc. An. 1844, 336, 

Vuue. Antarctic Goose. 


U.S.N, Ast Exp ; Plate XXII 


PS.Duval & Cot Steam lith. Press, 


BERNICLA ANTARCTICA. (G.m) 


——s I = 


‘apRura | pure aye 
(U9) “‘WOINVITAZ9OWVW VWIODINHAE 


ald 28944 aM uve 


49) 8 peanrsd 


AIXX VU 


BIRDS. 201 


The coast of Chile appears to be the most northern locality visited by the beautiful species of 
goose now before us. 

The difference in the colors of the sexes on this species is very remarkable, and quite unusual 
in birds of this group. The male in mature plumage is perfectly white, while the female pre- 
sents the varied colors represented in our plate. It is one of the most handsome of the birds of 
this family, and appears to be of rather common occurrence on the southerly coast of South 
America. 


BERNICLA MAGELLANICA, (Gmelin.) 


Puate XXIV. Male and female. 


Anas magellanica, GM. Syst. Nat. II, 1788, 505. 
Bernicla magellanica, (GM.) GAy, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 443. 
Vue. Magellanic Goose. — Gancillo. 

Frequently met with in Chile, though apparently only during its migrations. Specimens in 
the collection are labelled as having been obtained in the interior. 

The females in all the specimens before us are uniformly different in colors from the males. 
Both sexes are represented in our plate. One specimen in the collection which we regard as a 
young male, has the breast and sides striped transversely with brownish black, similar to the 
markings of the upper parts of the body. 


BERNICLA MELANOPTERA, (Eyton.) 


Anser melanopterus, Eyton, Monog. Anat. 1838, 93. 

Bernicla melanoptera, (Gray) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 443. 
Fiaurr.—Voy. Beagle, Birds, Pl. 1. 

Vuue. Black-winged Goose. Piuquen. 

This species, like that immediately preceding, appears to be an inhabitant of the interior of 
the country. It seems to be a constant resident in Chile, frequenting the plains, and, as indi- 
cated by labels on specimens in the present collection, the lower valleys of the Andes. 

According to Lieutenant Gilliss, this goose, and the two preceding species, are found in the 
lakes of the higher Andes, ‘‘ perhaps 7,000 feet above the ocean.’’ Of the present bird he ob- 
serves, ‘‘The Piuguen frequents a small body of water near the Portillo pass in such numbers 
that it gives name to it, ‘ Valle de los Piuquenes.’ ”’ 


MARECA CHILOENSIS, (King.) 


Anas chiloensis, Kine, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 15. 
Mareca chiloensis, (Hyton) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 447. 
“Vuta. Chile Widgeon. Pato real. 

Fieure.—Eyton, Monograph, Pl. xxi. 

This beautiful species, which in Chile bears the popular name of Pato real, or Royal Duck, 
apparently in no very unjust allusion to its handsome plumage and graceful form, appears to 
be of frequent occurrence in the rivers and lakes of that country. It is one of the several species 
that we especially wish to see ranked as birds of the United States, 


26* 


202 ZOOLOGY. 
ANAS OXY,URA, Meyen. 


Anas oxyura, Muyrn, Nov. Act. XVI, 1834, 122. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 449. 
Apparently a frequent species, several fine specimens being in the present collection. 


ANAS SPECULARIS, King. 


Anas specularis, Kine, Zool. Jour. IV, 1828, 98. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 450. 
Anas specularoides, Kine, Zool. Jour. IV, 98. 
Anas chalcoptera, Kirturrz, Mem. Acad. St. Peters. II, 1834, 471. 
Vute. Pato anteojillo. 
Ficures.—J arp. and Sex. Il. Orn. n. s. Pl. xl. 
ae Kirti. Mem. Acad. St. Peters. II, Pl. v. 
A single specimen in the present collection is labelled as having been obtained in the interior. 
“Though common,”’ observes Lieut. Gilliss, ‘‘it is found only about streams; not in the lakes. 
Its name comes from the white spots just over the eyes.”’ 


ANAS MELANOCEPHALA, Vieill. 
Pratre XXV. Adult. 


Anas melanocephala, Vrertt. Nouv. Dict. V, 1816, 163. 
Vute. Pato rinconero. 

Form short, stout; bill rather long; nail very distinct; wings moderate, second quill 
longest ; tail short. Entire head brownish black. Upper parts of the body brown, finely 
mottled with pale fulvous, the latter (fulvous) predominating on the neck, and forming a wide 
ring around it. Wings dark brown, sprinkled with minute points of silvery white; secondaries 
and greater wing coverts tipped with white ; tail dark brown. Under parts of the body silvery 
white ; sides and flanks finely mottled with light fulvous; under coverts of the tail rufous. 
Edges of the wings and under wing coverts white. Bill dark, with a large spot of orange at 
base ; legs and feet lighter. 

One specimen only of this species is in the collection, and is labelled as having been obtained 
in the interior. We have no doubt that this is the bird meant by Vieillot in the description 
above cited, though the species appears to have been lost sight of by late ornithologists. 


QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA, (Vieill.) 


Anas cyanoptera, Vreruu. Nouy. Dict. V, 1816, 104. 
Anas Rafflesti, Kina, Zool. Jour. TV, 1528, 97. 
Pterocyanea ceruleata, (Licut.) Gray, Gen. IT, 1845, 617. 
Querquedula ceruleata, (Licut.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 452. 
Vute. Red Teal. Pato colorado. 
Ficures.—Cassty, B. of California and Texas, I, Pl. xv. 
ge Jarp. and Sex, Ill. Orn. n. s. Pl. xxiii. 
This beantiful little Teal ranges over a vast extent of the western part of the continent of 
America, having been observed so far north as the Great Salt lake by Capt. Stansbury, and 


USN. Ast E 


PSDuval& Co's Steam lith Press, Phil? 


ANAS MELANOCEPHALA VIEILLOT. 


es, 
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iy ied ay 


ih 


is a wie ke 


aay 


ha M b Wie 


XXVI 


Plate 


U.S.N. Ast. Exp 


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(King.) 


CRECCOIDES. 


QUERQUEDULA 


— 


BIRDS. 203 


well known as a bird of California, and in the course of its winter migration visits the shores 
and lakes of Chile. 

Specimens in the collection are in very nearly the same plumage as others from western North 
America obtained in spring, and those labelled as females differ in colors entirely from the 
males, being as represented in the plate of our work above cited. 

This bird inhabits fresh waters ; generally observed in the smaller streams. 


QUERQUEDULA VERSICOLOR, (Vieill.) 


Anas versicolor, Vrnttu. Nouv. Dict. V, 1816, 109. 

Anas fretensis, Kine, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1830, 15. 

Anas maculirostris, Licut. Verz. 1823, 84. 

Querquedula maculirostris, (Licut.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 453. 
Vute. Pato Capuchino. 

Figure.—J arp. and Serpy, I]. Orn. new series, I, Pl. xxix. 


This handsome Teal, though of frequent occurrence in some of the countries of South America, 
is more rare in Chile. Specimens in the present collection are from the vicinity of Santiago. 


QUERQUEDULA CRECCOIDES, (King.) 


Puate XXVI. 


Anas crecciodes, Krna, Zool. Jour. IV, 1828, 99. 

Anas oxyptera, Muyrn, Nova. Acta. XVI, 1832, 121. 
Querquedula creccoides, (Hyton) GAy, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 453. 
Vuta. South American Teal. Pato gergon chico. 


Notwithstanding the fact that specimens in the collection of this Expedition are labelled as 
males and females, all the specimens of this bird that we have ever seen have the appearance to 
us of being immature. Nor is any other plumage described by naturalists. In fact we regard 
this bird as a species the adult of which is probably unknown, though perhaps migrating in the 
summer to the western countries of North America. 

All the species of the group to which this bird belongs are characterized by sae aa of 
unusual beauty of colors when mature. The discovery, therefore, of the adult of this species is 
a point of much interest, especially if added to the ornithological fauna of the United States. 

Inhabits fresh water, and is at times abundant in Chile. 


DAFILA BAHAMENSIS, (Lin.) 


Anas bahamensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 199. 
Dafila bahamensis, (GRAY) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 448. 
Anas urophasianus, Vie. Zool. Jour. IV, 1829, 357. 
Vutec. Pato jergon grande. 
Fieures.—Catespy’s Carolina, I, Pl. xciii. 
es Eyton’s Mory. Pl. xx. 
gs Voy. Blossom, Birds, Pl. xiv. 

This fine Duck, a near relative of the common Pintail (Dajila acuta) of the United States, is 
one of the southern species which are known to visit the coast of California, and probably 
breeds in the northern regions of western North America, It is a common species in Chile at 
some seasons. 


204 ZOOLOGY. 
FULIGULA METOPIAS, (Peppig.) 


Prare XXVII. Male and female. 


Fuligula metopias, (Parp.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 456. 
Anas metopias, (Papr.) Frorimp’s Notzen, 1829, No. 529. 
Vuie. Pato sin cresta. 

Of this apparently little known species several fine specimens are in the present collection, 
and it is represented as not of rare occurrence. The male is remarkable for a conspicuous pro- 
tuberance in front at the base of the upper mandible. In the female this part is elevated only. 
Adult birds of both sexes are figured in our plate. 


ERISMATURA FERRUGINEA, Eyton. 


Erismatura ferruginea, Eyton, Mon. Anat. 1838, 170. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 458. 


Vue. Pato Pimpillo. ° 
Ficure.—Gray, Genera III, Pl clxix. 


Several specimens are in the present collection, though apparently this species is not of com- 
mon occurrence in Chile. 


MERGANETTA ARMATA, Gould. 


Merganetta armata, Goutp, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1841, 95. 
Raphipterus chilensis, Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 459. 
Vute. Pato de la Cordillera. 
Figures.—Des Mors, Icon. Orn. Pl. vi, xviii. 
ae Gray’s Genera III, Pl. clxx. 
Be Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, Pl. 
Female specimens correspond precisely with the description of Mr. Gould and the figure of 
Des Murs, (Pl. xlviii) as cited above. Gay, in Fauna Chilena, Aves, p. 459, describes the 
young male as the female. Of the young male, specimens are in the collection of the Phila- 


delphia Academy. 
This remarkable bird frequents exclusively the rivers of the Andes, preferring apparently 


the rapids, and swimming and diving with great facility. 


LARUS GLAUCODES, Meyen. 


Larus glaucodes, Mnyvun, Nov. Act. XVI, 1834, 115, Pl. xxiv. 
Larus cirrocephalus, (Vreuu.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 482. 
Vuue. Caguil. 

Stated to be common on the coast, and occasionally ascending the rivers. 


LARUS DOMINICANUS, Licht. 


Larus dominicanus, (Licut.) Verz. 1823, 82. 

Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 480. 
Vute. Gaviota grande. 
Figurr.—Gray’s Genera III, Pl. clxxx. 


USN Ast. Exp. Chil Plate XXVI. 


| 


B.S Duval a C° steam lith press Phil 


FULIGULA METOPIAS. (POEPPIG). 
Male and Female. 


oS. Astr! Exped® we : oe ; bs ; Plate XXVIII 


f ~ ——————— 


a =a 


PHALACROCORAX BRASILIANUS, |GM.. 


BIRDS. 205 


This fine species appears to be of frequent occurrence throughout the western coasts of South 
America. 


LARUS BRIDGESII, Fraser. 


Larus Bridgesii, FRasmr, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1845, 16. 
Larus modestus, Tscuupr, Faun. Peru. Aves, 1846, 306, Pl. xxxv. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 483. 

Of this handsome little Gull, specimens of both sexes are in the collection of the Expedition. 
Though undoubtedly the species described and figured by Tschudi as above cited, the present 
specimens are in apparently more mature plumage than those obtained by him on the coast of 
Peru. Instead of the entire plumage being dark cinereous (or, more properly, plumbeous,) the 
head in the male specimen now before us is nearly pure white, gradually shading into the dark 
cinereous, which prevails throughout the entire other plumage. In the female the white of the 
head is not so clear nor extended, but is still nearly pure in front and on the throat. 

Quills black; secondaries tipped with white, forming a conspicuous oblique bar on the closed 
wing. Rump, upper and under tail coverts cinereous, lighter on the last; inferior coverts of 
the wing dark plumbeous. ‘Tail, in the male, dark cinereous, with a wide subterminal band 
of black and tipped with white. In the female the tail is a shade lighter, and the black band 
is not so wide, and is more irregular and imperfect on the central feathers. Bill and feet black.* 


PODICEPS LEUCOPTERUS, King. 


Podiceps leucopterus, Kina, Zool. Jour. IV, 1828, 101. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 463. 
Vuta. White-winged Grebe. Guala. 
Fiaure.—J arp. and Seu. Dl. Orn. III, Pl. evii. 
Appears to be frequently met with on the coast of Chile. Specimens in the collection are 
essentially as described and figured above. 


PODILYMBUS BREVIROSTRIS, Gray. 


Podilymbus brevirostris, Gray, Gen. of Birds III, 1846, 633, Pl. clxxii. 
Vuue. Picurio. 
Several specimens, in plumage as represented in the plate above cited, are in the present col- 
lection. 


PHALACROCORAX BRASILIANUS, (Gmelin.) 


Pirate XXVIII. Adult male. 


Procellaria braziliana, Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 564. 
Phalacrocorax niger, Kine, Zool. Jour. TV, 1828, 101. 


* Of Larus hematorhynchus, (Vigors,) another species of western South America, though not in the present collection, it may 
not be inappropriate to say that specimens apparently mature differ essentially from both Mr. Vigors’s description and the figure 
in Jard. & Selb. Til. Orn. I, Pl. evi. The head above, back, and wings are dark plumbeous, neck behind throat and entire 
under parts tinged with cinereous. Rump, upper tail coverts, and tail white; the first tinged with cinereous. Bill and feet 
bright red; the former large, as described and very correctly represented in the plate just cited. The deseriptions and figure 
referred to relate either to the young bird or to the winter plumage of the species, but are sufficient for its easy recognition. 


206 ZOOLOGY. 


Graculus brasilianus, (GM.) Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 490. 
Vuue. Brazilian Cormorant. Yeco. 
This bird appears to be common on the entire western coast of South American. A mature 
male, from a specimen in the collection of the Expedition, is represented in our plate. 


PHALACROCORAX GAIMARDI, (Garnot.) 


Pelecanus Gaimardi, Garnot, Voy. Coquille, Zool. I, 1826, 601. 
Graculus Gaimardi, (GaRrNn.) GAy, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 489. 
Vue. Gaimard’s Cormorant. Lale. 

Fieure.—Voy. Coquille, Zool. Pl. xlviii. 

This handsome species, the light cinereous of the plumage of which is an agreeable variation 
from the sombre colors that prevail in this group, is apparently of frequent occurrence on the 
Pacific coast of South America and its islands. Specimens of both sexes are in the collection 
of the Expedition, of which that labelled the female is slightly the larger. In color and other 
characters they are similar. 


PELECANUS THAGUS, Molina. 


Pelecanus thagus, Moura, Sagg. Stor. Nat Chili, 1782, quarto ed, 1810, 199. 
Gay, Fauna Chilena, Aves, 494. 

Pelecanus Moline, Gray. Gen. III, 1845, 668. 

Vuue. Alcatraz. 

This interesting species is represented in the present collection by a single specimen only, 
which is unfortunately not in adult plumage. It is, however, readily to be recognised by the 
description in the quarto edition of Molina above cited. 

It is probable that this bird will be found inhabiting the shores of the Pacific, as far north 
as the possessions of the United States; other known species being rather remarkable for their 


extensive dissemination over wide extents of territory. We know nothing of the habits of this 
bird, 


— 


Riker Pd ts 


BY CHARLES GIRARD. 


BATRACHIA. 
FAMILY OF RANIDE. 
Genus CYSTIGNATHUS, Wagler. 


Gen. cHAR. Vomerine teeth disposed upon a transverse or oblique row more or less inter- 
rupted in the middle, and situated either between the inner nares or behind them; tongue cir- 
cular, subcircular, or subcordiform, posteriorly entire, and either attached by its whole surface 
or very slightly free behind; tympanum distinct; toes either bordered by a membranous fold or 
slightly webbed at their base. 


Syn. Cystignathus, Wacu. Nat. Syst. Amph. 1830, 202. 
Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1853, 420. 


Oxs. The genus Cystignathus is here admitted within the limits we have recently assigned to 
it on the occasion of the study which we have made of the species of exotic batrachians brought 
home by the United States Exploring Expedition, to which we would refer herpetologists. 


CYSTIGNATHUS TAENIATUS, Girard. 
Puate XXXIV, Figs. 8—11. 


Spec. cHAR. Vomerine teeth, situated a little behind the inner nares, well separated upon the 
middle of the palate; tongue subelliptical, free posteriorly, and slightly notched upon the 
same margin. Greenish yellow, with two dorsal blackish stripes; limbs barred above. A 
dark vitta upon the sides of the head, extending from the nostril, across the eye, to the shoulder. 


Syy. Cystignathus taeniatus, Grp. Proc. Acad, Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 226. 


Descr. The general appearance of this species is rather short, the head forming about the 
third of the entire length—the posterior limbs, of course, excepted. The head is longer than 
broad. The snout is subacute and rounded; slightly declive from the eyes forwards and side- 
ways. The canthus rostralis is depressed ; the nostrils, very small, are situated nearer to the 
tip of the snout than to the anterior rim of the orbit. The eye is well developed and subcircu- 
lar, its longitudinal diameter being equal to the interocular space above; the upper eyelid is 
minutely granular. The tympanum is quite small, though conspicuous. The tongue is well 
developed, in the shape of a subelliptical disk, broadest behind, slightly notched posteriorly, 
and free upon nearly the posterior third of its length. The inner nares are subelliptical, ob- 
lique, and conspicuous. The vomerine teeth are exceedingly minute, and disposed upon two 
very small and subelliptical distant eminences, situated between and a little behind the inner 


208 ZOOLOGY. 


nares. ‘I'he openings for the tubes of eustachii are smaller and less conspicuous than the inner 
nares. The subgular air-bladders are very much developed. The anterior limbs, when 
stretched backwards alongside with the body, bring the tip of the inner finger close to the 
groin, beyond which, consequently, the other fingers extend. The fingers are slender, and 
their tips slightly swollen. The innermost is stoutish, and shorter than the second, which is 
shorter than the fourth—the third being the longest. The palm of the hand is provided with 
quite large tubercles ; that at the base of the inner finger is the largest of all. The first pha- 
langes are marked beneath by similar tubercles, though more regularly conical in their shape. 
The tubercles under the second phalanx of the third and fourth fingers are quite reduced. The 
posterior limbs are long and slender, measuring nearly two inches from their origin to the tip 
of the longest toe. The foot is narrow, and likewise slender, as well as the toes, which are 
free, there being but a rudimentary webbing to be observed between the three middle ones. 
The sole of the foot is smooth ; the inner metatarsal tubercle is rather small and conical, and 
the outermost still smaller and inconspicuous. Small tubercles exist under the articulation of 
the first and second phalanges, except under the inner toe. The second toe is shorter than the 
fifth, whilst the third is longer than the latter. The fourth is much the longest. The inferior 
surface of the thighs alone is granular or warty; the skin elsewhere is perfectly smooth, save 
minute pores which may be observed about the tympanum and on the sides of the back, where 
they constitute a narrow band, extending from the occiput to near the groins. The ground 
color is olivaceous or greenish yellow. The region between and behind the eyes exhibit traces 
of black markings which cannot be defined upon the specimen before us. There is a black, 
narrow vitta along the line of the canthus rostralis, terminating anteriorly by an expansion 
over the nostrils posteriorly ; the vitta when reaching the eye sends off a tapering branch along 
the inferior rim of the orbit, behind which the vitta reappears considerably broader, and pass- 
ing over the tympanum terminates above the insertion of the anterior limbs. From the upper 
and posterior part of the orbit, above the tympanum, originates a blackish stripe, which extends 
to the posterior extremity of the body, covering entirely the series of dorsal pores above alluded 
to. The bands from either side converge in their extension. The limbs above are barred with 
greyish black. The inferior surface of head, body, and limbs is of a uniform dull yellow hue. 
This species was obtained in the vicinity of Santiago, Chile. 
Plate XXXIV, fig. 8 represents the profile of Cystignathus taeniatus, of the size of life. 
fig. 9 is a view from below. 
fig. 10, inferior surface of the hand. 
fig. 11, inferior surface of the foot. 
Figs. 10 and 11 are slightly magnified. 


FAMILY OF HYLIDZ. 
Genus PHYLLOBATES, Dum. & B. 


Gen. cHAR. Snout protruding over the lower jaw; tongue free posteriorly upon a considera- 
ble portion of its length ; no teeth on the palate; tympanum visible ; tubes of eustachii small; 
fingers and toes slightly depressed, entirely free, dilated upon their extremity into a disk 
slightly convex below and above, the latter surface being provided upon its middle with a 
small groove. Protrusion of the first cuneiform bone very little developed ; transverse apo- 


physis of the sacral vertebra not dilated. 
Syv. Phyllobates, Dum. & B. Erp. Gén. VIII, 1841, 637. 


Oss. The shape of the snout reminds us of Hlosia, but the latter is provided with palatine teeth. 


© an _ 


' 
ToaP ry 


ae 


- 


U.S.N. Astr! Exped” 


hie, ah ee dle aoe 
angers 


Dougal Sc. 


J.A.Richard . fs 


Figs. 1-3. TRICHOMYCTERUS MACULATUS, Cuv.& Val. Migs. 4-7. CHEIRODON PISCICULUS, Grad. 
Figs. 8-11. CYSTIGNATHUS ‘TAENIATUS, Grd. Fiés. 12-15. PHYLLOBATES AURATUS , Grd. 


REPTILES. 209 


PHYLLOBATES AURATUS, Girard. 
Prate XXXIV, Figs. 12—15. 


Sprc. cHar. Tongue narrow and elongated, free for about the half or two-thirds of its length; 
anterior limbs, when stretched backwards, reaching the vent with the tip of longest finger ; 
inferior surface of thighs granular ; color uniform bluish brown. 


Syn. Phyllobates auratus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VIT, 1854, 226. 


Descr. The body is elongated and depressed, as well as the head, which constitutes a little 
less than the third of the whole length ; seen from above, the head is subtriangular, subtrun- 
cated anteriorly, and sloping inwardly. The nostrils are small, situated on the sides and tow- 
ards the tip of the snout, and not to be seen from above; the sides of the head are declivous. 
The eyes are well developed, subelliptical in form, their horizontal diameter being equal to the 
distance between the anterior rim of the orbit and the tip of the snout, and comprised a little 
over twice upon the distance between the external margins of the upper eyelids. The tym- 
panum is well developed, oblong in shape, and vertically situated close to the orbit. The 
angle of the mouth extends as far back as the posterior rim of the orbit. The tongue is nar- 
row and elongated, posteriorly obtuse, and free for about the half or two-thirds of its length. 
The inner nares are very large and subcircular, situated far apart on the sides of the roof of 
the mouth, which is concave and perfectly smooth, there being no teeth on either the vomer or 
palatine bones. The openings for the tubes of eustachii are small, and not conspicuous. The 
anterior limbs are slender, the fingers stretching beyond the groin. The fingers are free, slen- 
der, depressed, and dilated upon their tips; upper surface of the dilation divided by a medial 
groove or furrow. There is a large metacarpal tubercle ; smaller tubercles are observed under 
the first phalanx, and under the second of the two external fingers. The palm of the hand is 
smooth. The first finger is longer than the second; the fourth is the shortest, and the most 
slender of all. The hind limbs are stoutish, one-fourth longer than the body and head 
together—the tibia being more developed than the femur. The toes are free, slender, de- 
pressed and dilated upon their extremities, and grooved above in the same manner as the 
fingers. The sole of the foot is smooth, and the inferior surface of all the phalanges provided 
with very small tubercles. The internal metatarsal tubercle is elongated, the external one 
rounded ; both of moderate development. ‘The inferior surface of the thighs is granular; the 
skin is otherwise perfectly smooth; its surface, under the magnifying glass, exhibits very 
minute pores, scarcely more developed under the belly than on the back. The color above is 
metallic golden, whilst beneath a uniform bluish brown predominates. 

Collected by the late Professor C. B. Adams, on the island of Taboga, in the bay of Panama, 


Plate XXXIV, fig. 12, represents Phyllobates auratus in a profile view, size of life. 
fig. 13, is a view from beneath. 
fig. 15, a hand, seen from below. 
fig. 15, a foot, also from below. 

Figs. 14 and 15 are slightly magnified. 


nd 


OPHIDIA. 


FAMILY OF VIPERIDE. 
Genus ELAPS, Schn. 


Gun. cHAR. Body slender and cylindrical; tail short and conical; head somewhat depressed— 


in most cases continuous with the body, subelliptical when viewed from above, tapering for- 
ai 


210 ZOOLOGY. 


wards, and covered above with plates, generally nine in number; no pit between the eye and 
nostril ; loral plate present; mouth moderately cleft, not dilatable; upper jaw furnished on 
either side and quite posteriorly with a poisonous fang; scales smooth ; preanal scutella bifid ; 
subcaudal scutelle divided. 


Syn. Hlaps, Scun. Hist. Amph. Nat. and Lit. 1801, 289. 
Firz. N. Class. Rept. 1826, 33. 
B. & G. Cat. Rept. N. Amer. I, 1853, 21. 


Oss. The characteristic of the genus H/aps, as given above, we wish it to be understood, is 
merely provisional, not having had at our command a sufficient number of the species described 
by the different authors. We reserve it for another occasion to revise its diagnosis in a manner 
satisfactory both to our mind and to the actual state of herpetology. 


ELAPS NIGROCINCTUS, Girard. 
Pirate XXXV, Figs. 1—6. 


Spec. cHAR. Head subelliptical, broader than the body, which is long and cylindrical ; tail 
conical, abruptly tapering from its base ; scales smooth, disposed upon fifteen rows; color red- 
dish, annulated with jet black; tip of scales blackish; anterior portion of head black; an 
occipito-temporal yellowish ring ; tip of tail black. 


Syy. laps nigrocinctus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 226. 


Descr. The head is slightly detached from the body by a somewhat contracted neck. The 
eyes are very small, situated near the upper surface of the head, their diameter being equal to 
the width of the suroculary plate. The snout is obtusely rounded. The vertical plate is mod- 
erately elongated and subpentagonal, pointed posteriorly ; its anterior margin is sometimes 
perfectly straight, at others subconvex, so as to assume a subhexagonal shape. The occipitals 
are large, broad, and elongated, subrounded exteriorly, truncated anteriorly, permitting the 
posterior angle of the vertical to engage between them. The suroculary is short, a little 
longer than broad, and irregular in its outline, which is five-sided; the side limiting the 
orbit above being slightly concave, the others nearly straight. The postfrontals are well 
developed, broader than long, and irregularly six-sided, sending an angular projection towards 
the sides of the head, where it engages between the ante-orbital and postnasal plates, without, 
however, reaching the labials. The prefrontals are subquadrangular, broader than long, their 
external margin reaching the upper edge of the nostrils. The rostral is broadly developed, 
rather short, subpyramidal in form, and concave beneath. The nasals are well developed, the 
posterior one being nearly as long as the anterior is high. The nostrils are small and circular, 
intermediate between the two nasal plates. The anteorbital is irregularly triangular, rather 
elongated, and similar in shape to the postnasal, the anterior angle of which meets its own 
posterior angle a little in advance of the commissure between the second and third labials. The 
postorbitals, two in number, are nearly equal in size, and subpentagonal in shape. There are 
three temporal shields well developed, the posterior one being the largest. We observe seven 
upper labials, increasing in size from the first or anterior to the sixth inclusive; the seventh is 
a little smaller than the sixth ; the third and fourth forming part of the orbit. There are six 
lower labials, of which the fourth is the largest, and much expanded beneath; the fifth is nearly 
equal to the third ; the sixth is a little smaller than the latter; the second is the smallest. 
The symphyseal plate is triangular. The mental shields constitute three pairs; the anterior 
two being parallel to one another; the third is obliquely situated along the margin of the 


J.H.Pichard 


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DRYOPHIS VITTATUS, Grd 


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REPTILES. « Pal 


fourth, fifth, and sixth lower labials. The body is subcylindrical, a little more slender anteri- 
orly than posteriorly. The tail is short, subconical, and tapering to a point; it forms but the 
two-twenty-first part of the whole length. The scales are perfectly smooth, constituting fifteen 
longitudinal rows, larger in the outermost row, and smallest upon the dorsal line or middle 
row. The scales themselves are acuminated posteriorly. On the tail they are shorter, and 
truncated posteriorly, constituting seven rows upon its origin, and three only towards its tip. 
The abdominal scutellz are two hundred and eighteen in number: the preanal is bifid. The 
subcaudal scutelle are all bifid, and constitute thirty-six pairs. The tip of the tail is conical 
in the adult state, and somewhat acute in young specimens. 


Abd. sc. 217+ 1. Sube. sc. 18. Dors. rows 15. Total length 29 inches; tail 2,4. 


The body is reddish, annulated with jet black. The anterior part of the head from behind 
the eye is black, then follows a yellow ring, embracing in its width almost the whole length of 
the occipital plate, and just behind it the first black ring, embracing the posterior part of the 
head and neck, covering about six scales. There are fifteen more black rings hence to the 
tail, each covering about three scales. The intermediate red spaces embrace anteriorly four- 
teen scales, ten upon the middle region of the body, and eight towards the tail. There is an 
obsolete indication of a yellow margin to the anterior two black rings. The scales in the red 
spaces are tipped with black on the tail; the black rings are much wider than the red ones, 
there being three of each kind; the tip is black. The inferior surface is reddish-yellow sparsely 
spread over with small and irregular black spots. 

Specimens of this species were collected at Taboga, on the bay of Panama, Central America. 

Plate XXXYV, fig. 1, represents Llaps nigrocinctus, of the size of life. 

fig. 2, a view of the head, seen from above. 

fig. 3, a side view of the head. 

fig. 4, the head, seen from below. 

fig. 5, shows the vent and the bifid preanal scutella. 


fig. 6, is a portion of the left side of the body, showing the shape and number 
of rows of scales. 
Figs. 2—5 are slightly magnified. 


FAMILY OF OXYCEPHALIDZ. 
Genus DRYOPHIS, Fitz. 


Gen. cHAR. Body and tail long and slender. Cephalic plates normal. Eyes large. One 
anteorbital plate; several postorbitals. No loral. One nasal, with nostril in its middle. Ros- 
tral situated under the snout, which protrudes over the lower jaw. Several labials constituting 
the inferior rim of orbit. Dorsal scales smooth. The last two abdominal scutallee bifid; sub- 
caudals all bifid. 


Syn. Dryophis, Frrz, N. Class. Rept. 1826, 29 and 60. 


DRYOPHIS VITTATUS, Girard. 
Pirate XXXVI, Figs. 1—6. 


Spec. cHaR. Three postorbital plates, two of which constituting the posterior rim of the orbit; 
the third being placed behindthem, Fifth, sixth, and seventh, or fourth, fifth, and sixth labials 


Wily ZOOLOGY. 


constructing the inferior rim of the orbit. A black vitta along the upper margin of upper max- 
illary plates extending posteriorly along a portion of the neck. 


Syn. Dryophis vittatus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 226. 


Descr. The entire length of the specimen figured is forty-seven inches, of which eleven belong 
to the tail. The head measures about one inch and an eighth. Its upper surface is flattened ; 
the inferior one subconvex, and the sides perpendicular. The eye is large and circular, and its 
diameter is comprised about six times in the length of the head. The snout is tapering, the 
upper jaw protruding considerably over the lower. ‘The rostral plate is rather small, subcres- 
centic, convex anteriorly, and depressed upon its middle surface. It is obliquely situated at the 
inferior surface of the snout, showing but a very narrow edge in a view from above (fig. 2). The 
prefrontals are twice as long as broad upon the middle of their length; they belong exclusively 
to the upper surface of the head. The postfrontals are much larger than the latter, one-third 
longer upon their upper surface, and extend upon the sides of the head until they reach the 
upper labials. The vertical is elongated and slender, subtruncated anteriorly, and subacute 
posteriorly, engagimg between the inner margins of the occipitals. The latter are as long as 
the vertical, but broader anteriorly ; their external margin being defined by an undulating line. 
The superciliaries are a little longer than the postfrontals, subtriangular in shape; the summit 
of the triangle directed forwards. There is a long and narrow nasal, in which, and rather in 
advance of the middle of its length, the nostril opens subangular in shape. There is no loral; 
but the lateral expansion of the postfrontals fills up the “space between the nasal plate and a 
large anteorbital, much broader upwards than downwards, slightly visible in a view from 
above (fig. 2). Its anterior angle fits a notch in the posterior margin of the postfrontals, upon 
the line of demarcation between the sides and upper part of the head. The postorbitals are 
rather small, and three in number; two upon an anterior line, the lowermost being much the 
smallest of the two. A third, very small, is situated immediately behind the latter. Three 
large and subequal temporals terminate the series of cephalic plates and shields. The upper 
labials are nine in number; the posterior one being the longest and largest of all, and the 
anterior one the most slender. The fifth, sixth, and seventh constitute on the right side the 
inferior rim of the orbit, though the fifth and seventh only in part. On the left (fig. 3) there 
is one labial less. The lower labials are likewise nine in number ; the fifth and sixth, situated 
beneath the eye, are the largest; the others diminishing gradually in size towards the anterior 
and posterior regions. The symphyseal or anterior odd lower labial is small, and rounded ex- 
teriorly. There are three pairs of elongated mental shields, the anterior pair reaching the 
margin of the jaw between the symphyseal and the first lower labial. The subgular scales are 
well developed and elongated. 

The body is subcylindrical, much thinner anteriorly than posteriorly, the neck having about 
the thickness of the tail upon its anterior third. The scales are smooth, elongated, and acute 
posteriorly, constituting seventeen longitudinal rows upon the middle of the body, and twelve 
towards its posterior extremity. ‘The external row, nearest to the abdominal scutelle, is com- 
posed of the largest scales. The abdominal scutelle, one hundred and ninety-five in number, 
are rather wide, convex upon their posterior margin; the posterior two are bifid. The tail is 
very slender, and tapering to a point; there are six rows of scales upon its anterior portion, 
near its origin; they are, moreover, broader and shorter than those on the body. The subcaudal 
scutellee constitute a double row to nearly the tip of the tail, where scutelle and scales assume 
a uniform aspect. One hundred and sixty-five pairs of the latter may distinctly be enumerated. 
Beyond that number verticiles of scales surround the remaining portion of the tail. 


Abd. sc. 193+ 2. Sube. sc. 165. Dors. rows 17 and 12. Total length, 47 inches; tail, 18 inches. 


The coloration must be much altered by the action of the alcoholic liquor in which the specimen 


Ja >. 
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REPTILES. 213 


is preserved. The upper surface and sides of heads are olivaceous brown, and the body and 
tail above purplish grey. Beneath and anteriorly the hue is of a soiled white, whilst pos- 
teriorly itis greyish yellow. The upper labials have the same hue as the lower surface of 
head. A black line may be traced along the upper margin of the upper labials, from the snout 
to about an inch and a half along the sides of the neck. Along the back and sides of the ante- 
rior part of the body there are oblique series of jet black elongated spots. The lower and inner 
margin of the scales is whitish, and apparent only when the skin is extended and the whole 
surface of the scales exposed. The posterior portion of the body is sparsely dotted with black; 
the tail is unicolor. 
This species figured was collected on the island of Taboga, bay of Panama, 
Plate XXXVI, fig. 1, represents Dryophis vittatus, of the size of life. 
fig. 2, view of the head, seen from above. 
fig. 3, side view of the head. 
fig. 4, under view of the head. 
fig. 5, vent and post-abdominal scutella. 
fig. 6, a portion of the left side of the body, showing the form and number 
of longitudinal rows of scales. 


FAMILY OF COLUBRIDA. 
Genus TACHYMENIS, Wiegm. 


Gen. cHar. Body subcylindrical, of moderate length; tail short, subconical, tapering. 
Head colubrine slightly detached from the body. Cephalic plates normal. Eyes of medium 
size. One or two anteorbitals and two postorbitals. One loral. Two nasals, with nostril be- 
tween them, Jaws subequal. Dorsal scales smooth. Preanal seutella bifid. Subcaudal 
scutelle all divided. 


Syn. Zachymenis, Winem. in Nov. Act. Phys. Med. Acad, Nat. Cur. XVII. 1. 1835, 251. 


Oss. The genus Zachymenis is, so far, composed of two species, one from Peru figured and 
described by Wiegmann in the work cited above, and another from Chile, described below. 


TACHYMENIS CHILENSIS, Girard. 
Pratt XXXVI, Figs. 1—6. 


Spxc. cHAR. Two anteorbitals. Third and fourth labials constituting the inferior rim of the 
orbit. Dorsal scales in nineteen rows. Olivaceous brown above, with crossing lines of black. 
Beneath yellowish, with anterior margin of scutellz black. Two postocular black vitte. 


Syn. Coronella chilensis, Scout, Ess. Phys. Serp. Part. deser. 1800, 30. 
Guicu. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 79. Erpet. Plate iv, fig. 1, a, b,c, d. 
Dipsas chilensis, Dum. Mém. Acad. des Sc. XXIII, 1853, 112. 
Dum. & B. Erp. gén. VII. 1, 1854, 608. 
Tachymenis chilensis, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 226. 


Grn. rEM. Of the three specimens that were collected, the one which is figured is the largest, 
and yet not fully grown. Though immature, we propose to describe them carefully, since the 
figure in the Historia de Chile is not as accurate as might be desired. We have seen upon 
specimens of others species, the zoological characters entirely developed when they bore the 
same relations towards their adult as those now before us. 


214 ZOOLOGY. 


Duscr. The head is subovoid, being depressed upon its upper surface; the snout is rounded, 
and the eye, subcircular in shape, is of moderate development, its diameter being equal to the 
width of the vertical plate upon the middle of its length. The vertical plate is large and sub- 
pentagonal, either slightly concave upon its sides or linear; its posterior extremity being 
moderately angular. ‘The occipitals are a little shorter than the vertical, but anteriorly nearly 
as broad. The postfrontals are broader than long, extending but little to the sides of the head, 
being posteriorly rounded. The prefrontals are subtriangular, irregularly rounded off, and do 
not reach the nostrils. The rostral is subconical, concave beneath. The nostrils are small 
and subelliptical, situated between two plates the sutures of which are sometimes obliterated 
either above or below these apertures. The loral is quadrangular and larger than either the 
post or prenasals, which have the same general shape. There are two anteorbitals; the upper- 
most is longer than high, and a little longer than the lower one, which is rather narrow and 
elongated ; also two postorbitals nearly equal in size and similar in shape. The temporal 
shields, seven or eight in number, are so small and so much like the scales, that there are only 
two that may readily be distinguished from. the latter by their shape. The upper labials are 
seven in number: the fifth being the largest, the sixth is the next in size, then the fourth, the 
third, and the second ; the seventh is a little larger than the first, which is the smallest of all. 
The third and fourth constitute the inferior rim of the orbit ; their suture being situated beneath 
the pupil. The symphyseal is triangular; the lower labials, being nine in number, diminish in 
size both forwards and backwards from the fifth, which is the largest of all ; the seventh, eighth, 
and ninth are rather narrow and elongated, whilst the four anterior are higher than long. 
The first one in particular is nearly twice the height of the second, and separates entirely the 
symphyseal from the anterior mental shields, of which it assumes'the general feature. There 
are two pairs of mental shields of about the same length, but the posterior pair is more slender 
and posteriorly subacute. 

The body is subcylindrical, thickest upon its middle, tapering both posteriorly and anteriorly 
where a somewhat contracted neck separates it from the head. The tail is subconical, pointed 
posteriorly, rather short, constituting about the sixth part of the entire length. The scales 
are smooth, disposed upon nineteen longitudinal series; they are subacute posteriorly, and 
largest upon the external series, gradually diminishing hence to the central or dorsal series. 
On the nape and under the head they are the smallest. The abdominal region is rather nar- 
row. There are one hundred and fifty-five abdominal scutelle, the posterior one being bifid, 
and forty-three subcaudal scutellee, all of which bifid. 


Abd. sc. 154+ 1. Subc. sce. 43. Dors. rows 19. Total length 15 inches and ;%; tail 24 inches. 


The ground-color appears now olivaceous brown above, yellowish beneath. The anterior 
margin of the abdominal scutelle being jet black with a subtriangular blotch upon their middle 
region, and occasionally also upon their extremities, the lower surface of the body may assume 
quite a maculated appearance. The anterior margin of all the scales is black, but when in 
their normal and imbricated state, the black is not seen externally except upon the fourth and 
eight series on either side, thus constituting two pair of obsolete vitte. The middle dorsal 
series exhibits likewise the black margin of its scales, though in a less conspicuous manner as 
the specimens grow to a larger size. In the very immature condition almost every scale shows 
its black edge, constituting irregular zigzag lines. The dorsal vittae sometimes assume the ap- 
pearance of a series of double crescents contiguous upon their convexity: this is owing to the 
fact of the black extending along the sides of the scales. The lateral vitte, from the neck 
ascend to the occipital region of the head, the sides of which are marked by two narrow black 
stripes, the upper one slightly arched, extending from the posterior rim of the orbit to the angle 
of the mouth ; the other runs obliquely from the lower rim of the orbit, across the fourth and 
fiifth labials to the edge of the mouth. 

This species was collected in the vicinity of Santiago, Chile. 


REPTILES. 215 


Plate XXXVI, fig. 1, represents Tachymenis chilensis, size of life. 
fig. 2, the head viewed from above. 
fig. 3, a side view of same. 
fig. 4, a view of its inferior surface. 
fig. 5, exhibits the vent and post-abdominal scutella. 
fig. 6, is a portion of the left side showing the form of the scales and the 
number of their series. 
Figs. 2—5 are slightly magnified. 


Genus TAENIOPHIS, Girard. 


Gen. coar. Head depressed and detached from the body, which is slender and subcylindrical. 
Tail tapering to a point, and comparatively short. Cephalic plates normal. One anteorbital, 
and two postorbitals. An elongated, quadrangular loral. Two nasals, nostril between them. 
Eyes above the medium size, situated above the fourth and fifth labials; pupil circular. 
Mouth deeply cleft. Scales smooth, disposed upon nineteen longitudinal series. Post-abdo- 
minal scutella bifid; subcaudal scutelle all divided. Colors disposed upon uniform longi- 
tudinal bands. 


Syn. Zaeniophis, Gro. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VIT, 1854, 226. 


Oss. This genus is closely related to Diadophis, and may be distinguished from it by the 
presence of one anteorbital plate only, a larger number of longitudinal rows of scales, and the 
distribution of its colors. 

It includes, so far, two species, both of which are new to science. One, an inhabitant of 
Chile, is described below; the other (7. imperialis, B. & G.) is Mexican: a specimen in the 
Smithsonian museum having been found at Matamoras. 


TAENIOPHIS TANTILLUS, Girard. 
Pirate XXXYVII, Figs. 7—12. 


Sprc. cHAR. Body and tail very slender. Head elongated, and very distinct from the body. 
Eyes proportionally large. A deep chestnut-brown band along the dorsal region; light brown 
on the sides. Beneath greenish or yellowish grey. Upper labials yellowish-white. A super- 
ciliary yellowish filet. 


Syn. Taeniophis tantillus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 227. 


Duscr. The body is small, slender, and elongated; the tail conical and tapering, forming 
about the two sevenths of the total length, The head is small, well detached from the body by 
a contracted neck, depressed above, and declive upon the region anterior to the eye. The snout 
is obtuse. The eye is very large, and subcircular; its horizontal diameter being comprised 
once and a half across the ocular region of the head, embracing the vertical and superciliary 
plates ; the pupil is circular. The nostrils are quite small, subcircular in shape, and situated 
between two nasal plates, though encroaching more upon the prenasal than upon the postnasal, 
which is slightly the largest of the two. The vertical plate is large, broadest anteriorly, 
rounded or subconvex upon its margin, subconcave upon the sides, and triangularly acute pos- 
teriorly. The occipital plates are larger than the vertical, and are externally rounded. The 
postfrontals are irregularly five-sided, and extend slightly to the sides of the head. The pre- 
frontals are subtriangular, externally rounded. The rostral is broad but rather low, convex 


216 ZOOLOGY. 


upon its upper margin, and very concave below. The postnasal is slightly larger than the pre- 
nasal. The loral is elongated and subtrapezoid. There is but one anteorbital, very narrow 
upon its lower portion, quite broad across the superciliary line, and extending to the upper 
surface of the head under the shape of a small triangle, the summit of which being contiguous 
to the lateral anterior edge of the vertical, thus preventing a contact between the postfrontals 
and the superciliaries. The latter are well developed, narrowest anteriorly. ‘There are two 
postorbitals, the uppermost being twice the size of-the lower. Two temporal shields only can 
be distinguished by their form from the occipital scales. The upper labials are eight in number, 
the fourth and fifth forming the inferior rim of the orbit; the fifth, sixth, and seventh are the 
largest; the fourth is a little larger than the eighth, the anterior three being the smallest. 
There are ten inferior labials, and a symphyseal, quite small and triangular. The first extends 
to the anterior pair of mental shields; the second and third are the smallest of the three; the 
fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth are nearly equal; the sixth is the largest, and the 
fifth somewhat smaller than the sixth. The posterior pair of mental shields is more slender 
than the anterior pair, but nearly of the same length. The abdominal scutelle are a hundred 
and ninety-five in number; the posterior is bifid. There are about a hundreg and ten subcandal 
scutelle, all of which are subdivided. The scales are elongated and posteriorly subacute, 
smooth and disposed upon nineteen longitudinal series, the two outermost of which being the 
largest; the others diminishing slightly towards the dorsal region. 


Abd. se. 1941. Sube. se. 110. Dors. rows 19. Total length, 12 inches; tail, 3 inches and 53,. 


The ground-color of the sides of the body is light brown, minutely dotted with black. On 
the back there is a band of deep chestnut-brown margined with black, covering three longitu- 
dinal rows of scales. The two adjoining rows are partly (internally) brown and partly (exter- 
nally) black. Along the neck and anterior fourth of the body each scale of the external series, 
covered by the dark dorsal band, has a white spot upon its middle, thus interrupting the black 
border. ‘Towards the posterior part of the body the dorsal brown band covers but three series 
of scales, the internal margin of the adjoining series being black. Along the tail, where that 
band may be traced tapering towards its top, the black margin has immerged into the brown. 
The inferior surface of the body is uniform greenish or yellowish grey. ‘The upper surface of 
the head is dark brown. A yellowish white filet or stripe extends from the rostral plate, along 
the superciliary ridge, to the posterior extremity of the superciliary plates. A subelliptical spot 
of the same hue, but margined with black, may be seen on the upper part of the upper post- 
orbital plate, interrupting the vitta just alluded to, and which can be traced along the external 
edge of the occipital plate, more conspicuous, and margined with black. The vitta extends 
along the neck, and eventually immerges into the dorsal band. The sides of the head are brown, 
and of a deeper hue than the sides of the body ; the upper labial plates being also yellowish- 
white. A vitta of that same hue may be traced from near the top of the jaw along the neck. 
The inferior labials, the mental shields, and the subgular scales, exhibit each a central light 
spot margined with black. Two light vittee may be followed, one on the two external rows of 
scales, another along the edge of the abdominal scutellee, from beneath the throat to a consid- 
erable length backwards. The hue of the sides of the head likewise tapers along the sides of 
the neck for about the same distance. 

Specimens of this species were obtained from the vicinity of Santiago, Chile. 

Plate XXXVII, fig. 7, represents Taeniophis tantillus, size of life. 

o. 8, is the head, seen from above. 
, a side view of the head. 
. 10, the head, seen from below. 
. 11, exhibits the vent and post-abdominal scutella. 
. 12, a portion of the left side of the body, showing the shape of the 
scales, their relative size, and disposition in series, 


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Figs 1-4. PROCTOTRETUS TENUIS, . Dum & Bibr. Fids 5-12. PROCTOTRETUS FEMORATUS, Grd. 
Fios 18-20. PROCTOTRETUS STANTONI, Grd. 


REPTILES. PAY) 
SAURIA. 


FAMILY OF STELLIONIDZA. 
Genus PROCTOTRETUS, Dum. & B. 


Gen. cHar. Body rounded or slightly depressed,«overed with imbricated scales ; the upper 
ones carinated, the inferior ones generally smooth; neither a dorsal nor a caudal crest; head 
subpyramido-quadrangular, more or less depressed; cephalic plates moderate, polygonal ; oc- 
cipital generally not very conspicuous ; teeth on the palate; sides of neck either folded or smooth; 
no subgular fold; an ear opening; membrane of tympanum but little depressed; fingers simple; 
tail either long or conical, or moderate and slightly depressed; no femoral pores; anal pores in 
the males. 


Syn. Proctotretus, Dum. & B. Erp. gén. IV, 1837, 266. 
Guicn. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 23. 


PROCTOTRETUS TENUIS, Dum. and B. 
Prate XL, Figs. 1—4. 


Spc. cHAR. Cephalic plates usually smooth, occasionally covered with very minute granules. 
Auricular aperture large; its anterior margin subtubercular. One series of supralabials. Tem- 
poral plates irregularly rounded, subimbricated, subtuberculous, and of moderate development. 
Sides of neck folded and granular. Dorsal scales small, carinated, and posteriorly obtuse ; 
lateral scales smaller, not imbricated, provided with a rudimentary carina; abdominal scutelle 
smooth and mostly entire. Posterior surface of thighs minutely granular. Tail long and 
slender. Brownish-black, with transverse subcrescentic black bands. 


Syn. Proctotretus tenwis, Dum. & B. Erp. gén. IV, 1837, 279. 
Bett, Zool. of the Beagle, V, Rept. 1843, 7, Plate iii, fig. 2. 
Guron. in Gay, Hist. Chile, II, 1848, 32, Erp. Plate i, fig. 1. 
Homer. and Jaca. Voy. au Pole Sud et dans 1’Océanie, Plate ii, fig. 2. 


Derscr. The form, although slender in its general aspect, is less a characteristic of this species 
than it really is for several others of its congenere. The body is depressed; swollen upon its 
middle region; the limbs being of moderate development. The anterior, when stretched along- 
side the body, are far from attaining the groins; and the tip of the longest toe of the posterior, 
when the latter are brought forwards, reaches the middle region of the neck. The tail is elon- 
gated, conical, tapering to a point, and nearly twice as long as the body and head together. 

The tongue is large and fleshy ; elongated in shape and depressed, sublanceolated, occupy- 
ing the entire space between the two branches of the lower jaw. The teeth are of moderate 
development, smallest anteriorly, and subcylindrical ; whilst posteriorly these are somewhat 
flattened, or else stouter upon their base. 

The head is depressed, subtriangular in a view from above, and rounded upon the snout. 
The plates which cover its surface are generally smooth, but exhibit sometimes a very minute 
granulation, apparent only through a magnifying glass. The cephalic plates vary as regards 
both their size and number, being smallest when most numerous. In the specimen figured, 
there are three pairs of frontals: one pair of post-occipitals, an odd occipital, a vertical, and 
an odd frontal, which are somewhat larger than the rest, and nearly equal among themselves. 
An inner series of surocularies may be noticed as the next in size; they are separated from 

28 * 


218 ZOOLOGY. 


the vertical or interocular, and the occipitals, by a concentric series of small plates. There is 
but one and a rather small nasal, in the midst of which the nostril opens, leaving but a nar- 
row rim. The loral region is occupied by several small plates. The anterior suborbitals are 
more developed than the posterior, all of which being provided with a keel along their inner 
margin. The surciliary ridge is composed of about six elongated, narrow, and obliquely 
superposed plates. The lids are covered with very small plates, the marginal series being 
somewhat more developed than the rest, e&&cept on the periphery of these organs, and yet may 
still be distinguished from the latter by their regular shape and disposition. The rostral is 
transversally elongated and very low. The upper labials are very elongated*and very narrow, 
six or seven in number, increasing in length from the first to the fourth inclusive, then dimin- 
ish considerably backwards. The supralabials have the same general appearance as the labials 
themselves, save in being a little smaller. Occasionally two or more minute plates may be 
observed upon the loral region between the loral plates proper and the supralabials. The tem- 
poral plates are of moderate development, and of nearly equal size with the post-occipitals. 
They are irregularly rounded, slightly imbricated, and provided either with a rudimentary 
tubercle or an obsolete carina. The symphyseal is larger than the rostral, and especially 
broader upon its middle region. The inferior labials (five or six in number) are broader than 
the upper, more conspicuous therefore, and diminishing gradually backwards. There are four 
or five pairs of mental shield:,: the anterior pair being the largest and contiguous upon their 
inner margin, whilst the ot’ cr pairs diverge, and gradually diminish in size backwards. Be- 
tween the mental shields 2 d lower labial plates there exists a complete series, and part of a 
second, of small infralab’ Is. The inferior surface of the head, the throat, the belly, the pre- 
anal region, thighs, and legs, are covered with smooth, posteriorly obtuse, and generally entire 
scales or scutellaze of moderate development, a little smaller under the head and larger under 
the hind limbs ; some few on the sides of the belly exhibiting a small notch posteriorly. The 
sides of the neck, the insertion of the limbs, the inferior surface of the forearm, and the poste- 
rior surface of the thighs, are granular. On the sides of the abdomen the scales are irregu- 
larly rounded, subtuberculous, or subcarinated, and smaller than those on the dorsal region, 
which are distinctly, though moderately, carinated, and posteriorly obtuse. The upper surface 
of the limbs and the inferior surface of the arm are covered with scales similar in shape and 
structure to those on the back; on the palm of the hands and the sole of the feet they are 
much smaller, acute posteriorly, and distinctly carinated ; around the fingers and toes they 
constitute irregular verticiles—the superior ones being more irregular in size than the inferior, 
and less distinctly carinated. The inner or first finger is the smallest ; the outermost is the 
next in length; then the second; then the third, which is nearly as long as the fourth, which 
is the longest. The nails are rather short, compressed, acerated upon their extremity, and 
gently curved. The first toe is the smallest; the second is the next in length; then the fifth; 
then the third; the fourth is the longest. Their nails do not differ materially from those of 
the fingers. The scales which cover the tail are the most conspicuous of all; they constitute 
oblique series upon the base of that organ, and annular rows further backwards. The oblique 
series have the same shape as those of the back. Those constituting the annular rows are su- 
periorly subquadrangular and elongated, with their carina oblique; whilst beneath, they be- 
come much narrower, posteriorly acute, with a straight carina along their middle region. 

The ground-color is blackish brown in the male, and greenish brown in the female ; in either 
sex there are two parallel series of transverse black bands, convex anteriorly, margined with 
a whitish, or else a lighter tint along their concavity. These bands, however, are more con- 
spicuous in the female than in the male. They may be traced from the head, on each side of 
the dorsal region, to the posterior extremity of the body, where the series, from either side, 
combine more or less into one, which extends along the upper surface of the tail. The limbs, 
as well as the tail, are transversally barred with black. In the female, the dorsal region and 
the flanks are either dotted with black or spotted with whitish ; whilst in the male, these spots 


REPTILES. 219 


are either bluish, reddish, or else of a metallic green, especially on the neck. The upper sur- 
face and sides of the head are spotted with different shades of black, or dotted with yellow and 
black. The occipital region and the back, in the male, occasionally exhibit sinuating black 
lines upon a brownish ground, which itself bears bluish, greenish, or slate-colored spots. Be- 
neath, the ground-color is whitish, vermiculated, maculated or clouded with greyish lines, 
spots, or dots. That region sometimes is unicolor in the female. 
This species appears to be quite abundant in the vicinity of Santiago, Chile, whence numer- 
ous specimens were obtained and preserved. 
Plate XX XVIII, fig. 1, represents a profile view of the female sex of Proctotretus tenuis, 
size of life. 
fig. 2, is an under view, showing the structure of that region. 
fig. 3, is an upper view of the head. 
fig. 4, a side view of the head. 
Figs. 2, 3, and 4, are slightly magniffed. 


PROCTOTRETUS FEMORATUS, Girard. 
Puate XL, Figs. 5—12. 


Spec. cHAR. Cephalic plates rugose. Auricular aperture moderate, provided with an arched 
plate upon its supero-anterior margin, and one or two conical scales beneath and upon the 
same anterior margin. One series of supralabials. Temporal shields well developed, imbri- 
cated and carinated. Sides of neck with but one inconspicuous fold, and covered with small 
carinated scales. Dorsal scales large, carinated, posteriorly acute, and diminishing in size 
towards the sides. Abdominal scutellee smooth and entire. Posterior surface of thighs granu- 
lar. Tail elongated and slender. Brownish, with two parallel light vitte on either side, and 
two series of black spots. Abdomen whitish, unicolor; inferior surface of head with greyish, 
irregularly broken lines. 


Syn. Proctotretus femoratus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 227. 


Desor. This species has the same slender aspect as P. tenwis, the limbs and tail being devel- 
oped nearly in the same proportions. The body, mayhap, is a little shorter, and more slender 
still. The tongue and teeth present the same general shape and structure. The head is 
depressed, and quite declive from the frontal region towards the snout. Viewed from above, it 
is subtriangular, subtruncated anteriorly. The cephalic plates are of moderate development ; 
exhibiting upon their surface sinuating, subtubercular ridges, which give to that region a 
rugose appearance. The vertical, a pair of post-occipitals, and two pairs of postfrontals may 
be distinguished, amid their number, as the largest. Three postinternal surocularies hold the 
same relations towards their analogues as the former; a concentric chain being observed upon 
the inner margin of the surface of the upper lid. The perforation of the nostrils takes place 
through one single plate more towards its posterior or inferior edge than the anterior. The 
loral region being considerably reduced by the declivity of the frontal region, there are but 
one or two loral plates. The suborbital chain is composed of three narrow and elongated 
plates, provided internally with a conspicuous and sharp ridge or crest; the longest occupying 
the inferior rim of the orbit and the other two its anterior rim; whilst the posterior rim is 
formed by the anterior temporal plates. The surciliary ridge is composed of five or six obliquely 
superposed plates, smallest posteriorly. The surface of the lids is granular; their margins 
being provided with a series of very small plates. The rostral is transversally elongated and 


220 ZOOLOGY. 


very low. The upper labials are elongated and narrow, six in number, increasing in size from 
the first to the fourth, which is the longest, then diminishing again posteriorly. The supra- 
labial series is composed of about an equal number of similar plates but narrower still. The 
symphyseal is larger than the rostral, and especially broader upon its middle region. The 
inferior labials, six or seven in number, are broader than the upper, diminishing gradually 
backwards. There are four pairs of mental shields; the anterior pair is the largest, con- 
tiguous upon the inner margins, whilst the other pairs diverge in diminishing in size pos- 
teriorly. A series of infra-labials may be traced from the angle of the mouth to between a 
portion of the first inferior labial plate and anterior mental shield. The temporal plates are 
well developed, particularly towards the upper region; they are posteriorly obtuse, imbricated, 
and distinctly carinated. The side of the neck, which exhibits a very obsolete fold, is covered 
with small, acute, and carinated scales. The posterior margin of the auricular aperture and. 
region of the shoulder are minutely granular. The dorsal scales are rather large upon the 
back, diminishing in size towards the middle of the flank, being carinated and acute posteriorly. 
The inferior half of the flanks are covered with scales or scutellze similar to those which exist 
upon the belly, being only a little smaller and obsoletely carinated upwards. The abdominal 
scutellz or scales are smooth, obtuse posteriorly, and rather smaller than the dorsal scales. 
Under the head and throat they do not differ materially from those on the abdomen, but are a 
little larger under the head than under the throat: their posterior margin is entire. If an 
obsolete notch is to be observed at all, it is in those occupying the flanks, but that notch may 
be owing to the fact that the carinze do not always extend to the posterior margin. The upper 
surface of the anterior limbs is covered with scales similar to, but smaller than those on the 
back, obtuse and smooth upon the anterior region and the carpus. Under the forearm they are 
very small and smooth, increasing in size under the arm, and again diminishing towards the 
palm of the hand, which is entirely covered with them, and not only carinated and posteriorly 
acerated, but provided also with a lateral acute processus, particularly developed upon the meta- 
carpal region. The fingers above are plated and smooth; beneath they are provided with small 
scales, carinated, acerated posteriorly and disposed upon regular transverse rows. The fingers 
have the same relative length, and the nails the same form as in P. tenuis. The hind limbs 
and the tarsi are covered above with scales similar, but smaller than those on the back, and 
larger than on the fore limbs, carinated even on the tarsi. The anterior tibio-metatarsal region 
is distinguished by very small scales, almost passing to the granular aspect. The posterior 
surface of the thighs is granular; whilst their inferior surface is covered anteriorly with scutel- 
le similar to those of the abdomen, and posteriorly with three or four series of scales, some- 
what acute and projecting beyond the surface of that organ, the external series being the most 
developed. On the inferior surface of the femoral region the scutellz or scales are subcarinated 
and well developed, the external series projecting a little beyond the surface of the organ. On 
the sole of the feet the scales are quite small, acute, and more distinctly carinated. The toes 
are surrounded with small subverticillated scales, more uniform and more distinctly carinated 
beneath than above. The proportional length of the toes and the form of the nails is the same 
as in P. tenwis. The caudal scales have likewise the same general structure; there being, 
however, no contrast in size between them and those of the back, though a little larger on the 
base of that organ. The ground-color is brown, olivaceous, or blackish. The upper surface of 
the head is either unicolor or dotted with blackish; its sides generally exhibit two or three 
oblique and black lines extending from beneath the orbit towards either the margin or the 
angle of the mouth. The suborbital ridge may be black also. There are two parallel light 
vitte on the sides of the body, the uppermost extending from the surciliary ridge to a portion 
of the tail; the lower one extends from the temporal region across the upper edge of the auricu- 
lar aperture, and above the insertion of fore limbs to the groin. The dorsal region sometimes 
is lighter than the sides, and appears like another broad vitta. There are two series of 
black, transversally elongated spots, with a light or bluish margin; the intermediate space 


REPTILES. 221 


being dark brown. The first series stretches immediately along the inner margin of the upper 
vitta; the second is enclosed between the two vitte. The lower half of the flanks, beneath 
the inferior vitta, is covered with irregularly vertical or rounded black spots. The inferior sur- 
face of the body is unicolor whitish or greyish; numerous interrupted series of linear spots are 
observed under the head and inferior portion of its sides. The vitta upon the latter regions 
are margined with black. There is an irregular black spot at the shoulder close to the inser- 
tion of the fore limbs. The series of dorsal spots extends along the upper surface and sides of 
the tail; the latter is maculated with greyish below. The limbs above are transversally barred, 
and beneath they are of the same hue as the abdomen. 

In some, probably male specimens, the vitte and spots are less distinct, and immerge into 
the ground-color. The sides of the abdomen are of a reddish metallic hue, with black and 
bluish small spots. 

Specimens of this species were collected in the vicinity of Santiago, Chile. 

Plate XX XVIII, fig. 5, represents the profile of Proctotretus femoratus, size of life. 

fig. 6, is the head, seen from above. 

fig. 7, a side view of the head. 

fig. 8, the head, from below. 

fig. 9, shows the inferior surface of the anterior limb. 

fig. 10, the inferior surface of the posterior limb and the vent also. 
fig. 11, some dorsal scales. 

fig. 12, some abdominal scutelle. 

Figs. 6—12 are slightly magnified, in order to show readily the structures they are intended 
to represent. 


PROCTOTRETUS STANTONI, Girard. 
Puate XL, Figs, 13—20. 


SPEC. CHAR. rCephelic plates rugose. Auricular aperture moderate, margined anteriorly 
with very small scales, one of which is larger than the rest. One series of supralabials. Tem- 
poral shields well developed, subrounded, imbricated, and carinated. Sides of neck with one 
indistinct fold, and covered with acute and carinated scales, a little smaller than those of the 
back, which are large, posteriorly subacute, and strongly carinated. Abdominal scutelle 
rounded posteriorly and slightly carinated. Posterior surface of thighs granular. Tail elon- 
gated and slender. Ground-color deep brown, with a reddish tint posteriorly ; two parallel 


vittz on the sides. Abdomen unicolor, with metallic reflections, 
Syn. Proctotretus stantoni, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 227. 


Drsor. The specimen figured—the only one in our possession—is of a rather small size, and, 
in all likelihood, not fully grown. It resembles, in general appearance, P. gracilis, particu- 
larly in, its system of coloration, differing, however, in too many peculiarities of structure to 
dwell at all upon that external resemblance, 

The head is very depressed and sloping upon the frontal distance. Seen from above, its 
shape is subovoid, rather narrow anteriorly. The cephalic plates, the surface of which is 
slightly rugose, are well developed, and the frontals symmetrically arranged; thus we find 
two pairs of small prefrontals and three pairs of considerably larger postfrontals, separated by 
a transverse series of three plates, the middle one of which is much larger than the adjoining 
two, though itself equal to the smallest postfrontals. There is a vertical of medium size, a 


222, ZOOLOGY. 


small, odd occipital, on each side of which, and immediately in advance of a large pair of post- 
occipitals, is seen a pair of small plates. Two more pairs, equal in size to the last, may be 
observed on either side of the large post-occipitals, and finally, behind the latter a series or two 
of quite small plates, limiting the occipital region. The nostrils open in one single plate ; 
there are three lorals, one forming the continuation of the surciliary ridge, above which and the 
nasal, between these and the frontals, there are four minute, elongated plates irregularly dis- 
posed. The surciliary ridge is composed of six obliquely superposed lamine. The surocul- 
aries are nearly as large as the prefrontals, and surrounded by a series of small plates. The 
suborbital series consists of two plates only, a very long one beneath the orbit, and another 
rather small anteriorly, their inner crest or ridge being well marked. The posterior rim of the 
orbit is margined by small plates alike the temporal group. The surface of the Jids is minutely 
granular; their margin is provided with a double series of very narrow, elongated, and very 
small plates. The rostral is transversally elongated, but quite low, or else narrow. The upper 
labials, five in number, are very narrow and elongated, increasing in length from the first to 
the fourth inclusive; the fifth is equal to the first. The supralabials are very exiguous ; the 
middle ones being the longest. The symphyseal is larger than the rostral. The inferior labials, 
four in number, gradually lose their width posteriorly; the third is the longest; the fourth is 
the smallest of all. There are five pairs of mental shields, diminishing in size posteriorly ; the 
shields of the anterior pair being contiguous upon their inner margin. Between the inferior 
labials and the mentals a triple series of elongated scutellz or shields may be observed, one 
series only extending to the posterior half of the anterior inferior labial and anterior mental 
shield. The temporal shields are well developed, slightly imbricated, rounded posteriorly, and 
carinated. The neck exhibits but a slight loose elevation of the skin, and is protected by acute 
and carinated scales, somewhat smaller than those of the back and sides. A small space imme- 
diately behind the ear is granular, though not as minutely as about the axille. 

The dorsal scales are large, subrhomboid, subacute posteriorly, and strongly carinated; they 
are smaller upon the neck, and diminish gradually in size towards the sides of the body and 
along the tail, where they constitute longitudinal series, instead of being arranged in verticiles 
or else concentrically. Upon the origin of tail their posterior margin is rounded and subacute; 
farther behind they gradually elongate, and the carina, instead of occupying the*middle line of 
the scale, becomes oblique. Along the inferior surface of that organ they are more uniform 
and more slender. 

The limbs are very slender, and, when stretched alongside with the body, the anterior do not 
reach the setting on of the thighs, and the posterior the ear opening, in which respects, as in 
many others, this species may be distinguished from P. gracilis. The upper surface of these 
organs, from their origin to the tip of the fingers, is covered with carinated scales, similar in 
shape, though a little smaller than those of the sides of the back. They are plate-like on the 
upper surface of the fingers, and obsoletely carinated. On the palm of the hands and sole of 
the feet they are the smallest of all, except on the inferior surface of the arm and the anterior 
tibio-metatarsal region, where they approximate the granular aspect of the posterior surface of 
the thighs. 

The inferior surface of the head, neck, and abdomen, is covered with uniform scutella, some- 
what smaller under the neck, and likewise diminishing in size towards the sides of the abdomen. 
The average size of these scutell is smaller than the dorsal scales. Their posterior margin is 
rounded, and their surface slightly carinated from the chin to the preanal region, on the margin 
of which there are very small plates. The postanal region is granulated like the posterior sur- 
face of the thighs. 

The ground-color is uniform deep brown, with a reddish tint from the posterior third of the 
body to half the length of the tail. The sides bear two parallel light vitte, the uppermost 
extending from the occiput to the base of the tail, the other from the auditive aperture to the 
setting on of the hind Jegs. The inferior surface is unicolor, whitish or yellowish, with a me- 


REPTILES. 223 


tallic tint of purplish under the head, greenish under the chest, and coppery under the belly 
and tail. 

Collected near Santiago, Chile, where the species must be scarce, judging of it by the fact that 
only one specimen was found amongst the numerous of the other species. 


Plate XXXVIII, fig. 13, represents Proctotretus stantoni, in profile and of the size of life. 
fig. 14, the head seen from above. 
fig. 15, side view of the head. 
fig. 16, under view of the head. 
fig. 17, anterior limb from beneath. 
fig. 18, posterior limb from beneath. 
fig. 19, dorsal scales. 
fig. 20, abdominal scuttelle. 
Figs. 14—20 are slightly magnified. 


We would not have concluded the history of the new members thus added to the ‘‘ Fauna of 
Chile,’’ by the exertions of the United States Naval Astronomical Expedition, without in- 
scribing the name of one who was its father and its promoter, Hon. Fred. P. Stanton, of Ten- 
nessee. Science owes a debt of gratitude to all the enlightened men, who, by the position they 
hold in the councils of nations, declare themselves the patrons of scientific researches. 


FAMILY OF LACERTIDZ. 
Genus APOROMERA, Dum. & B. 


Grn. cHAR. Base of tongue not sheathed, bifurcated upon its extremity, covered with sub- 
rhomboid and subimbricated papille. Teeth on the palate. Intermaxillary teeth conical and 
simple. Maxillary teeth compressed, apart, acute, and curved ; the anterior ones simple, the 
following notched at the summit of their anterior margin. Perforation of nostrils from behind 
forwards, situated on the sides of the snout, near its extremity and between three or four plates. 
Eyelids present. A tympanic membrane stretched inside the auditive orifice. Transverse 
and simple folds under the neck. Ventral scutellz small, quadrilateral, smooth, and disposed 
alternatively. No femoral pores. Hands terminated each by five, a little compressed, fingers, 
not carinated beneath. Five toes, with internal edge tubercular. ‘Tail cyclo-tetragonal. 


Syn. Aporomera, Dum. & B., Erp. gén. V. 1839, 69. 
Guicu. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 58. 


Oss. This genus embraces, as yet, but two species, both South American, 


APOROMERA ORNATA, Dum. &B. 
Prare XXXIX, Figs. 1—4. 
Spec. car. Cephalic plates subconvex and smooth. Auricular orifice subcrescentic, convex 


posteriorly and folded upon the latter margin. A double series of supralabial plates. Tempo- 
ral shields small, polygonal, and rugose. Sides of neck folded and covered -with small 


224 ZOOLOGY. 


subcircular scales. Dorsal scales subangular and moderate in size. Abdominal scutelli 
quadrangularly elongated, disposed upon transverse series, and smooth. Tail longer than the 
body and head together. Above olivaceous, with four rows of black spots margined with 
white. Beneath yellowish white, spotted with black. 


Syn. Aporomera ornata, Dum. & B. Erp. gén. V, 1839, 76. 
Gurcu. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 58, Plate iii, fig. 1. 
Ameiva oculata, D’OrB. Voy. Amér. mérid. Rept. Plate v, figs. 6—9. 


Oxs. Finding that the iconography of this species might be considerably improved, under the 
circumstances, we have thought that such an opportunity ought not be allowed to pass without 
avail. The figures detailing its external structures are such as will throw a considerable hight 
upon what is already known of that animal by those given in Gay’s Historia de Chile, which, 
yehen compared to ours, cannot but attract the attention of herpetologists, as exhibiting some 
dissimilarities in the plates which protect the head. 

Descr. The latter is subquadrangular or rather subconical, flattened upon its upper surface, 
and more or less swollen upon the temporal regions. The vertical plate is irregularly six- 
sided and broadest anteriorly. The occipitals are very numerous, most of them small and 
polygonal, irregularly disposed, save eight of them, occupying the middle of said region imme- 
diately behind the vertical. The foremost is very small and odd, situated in a notch of the 
posterior margin of the vertical. On its sides but a little behind, and obliquely disposed, are 
two larger plates as one pair. Immediately behind these first three, the largest of the occipitals 
may be observed, elongated, irregular, varying in shape, almost as large as the vertical, and 
having on either side a smaller plate as a second pair, exteriorly and behind which is a third 
pair still smaller. On some speciméns two or three other pairs are observed, scarce larger than 
those covering the rest of the occipital region, and constituting two parallel series posteriorly to 
the third pair above mentioned. On the frontal region the plates are small and numerous, 
varying in absolute number as well as in form, and disposed without any marked regularity, 
save a somewhat concentric arrangement amongst the external ones; but this may not be con- 
stant in all the specimens. The rostral is broad and low, six-sided, the three upper sides 
concave or subconcave, the uppermost sometimes so small as to give to that plate a conico-pen- 
tagonal shape. There are three or four—one or two anterior, and two posterior—nasals. 
Between the nasals and the rostral is situated a conspicuous phrenic plate, exhibiting a large 
portion of its surface in an upper view of the head. The posterior prenasal (or prenasals) forms 
an oblique arch from the first upper labial to the upper portion of the nostril. The postnasals 
are the smallest, subquadrangular in shape, placed one above the other so as to limit equally 
the posterior edge of the nostrils, which is large and approximates the labials. The loral 
region is occupied by three rather large plates, much higher than broad, and increasing in 
size from forwards backwards. The inferior orbitals, nine or ten in number, form a continuous 
chain from the postero-inferior part of the eye to the surciliaries, increasing in size from back- 
wards forwards, and provided with a carina from about beneath the pupil anteriorly. Thirteen 
or fourteen surciliaries constitute the upper edge of the orbit; these plates are small, subequal in 
size, a little larger anteriorly than posteriorly, and transversely elongated upon the middle ot 
the chain. The upper and lower lids are densely covered with a pavement of irregular and 
small plates, disposed in series next to the inferior orbitals, where they are somewhat larger as 
well as anteriorly. Upon the edge of the lids they are likewise disposed in series, but not 
otherwise different from those on the middle region of these organs. Upon the upper lid they 
assume a granular aspect owing to their much reduced size. There are from five to seven 
suroculary plates transversely elongated, the middle one being the largest, and surrounded 
with small plates constituting one single series upon the region adjoining the vertex, and a 
double series exteriorly where these plates are the smallest of the group. The upper labials, 


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REPTILES. 225 


eleven or twelve in number, are of medium development, decreasing gradually in size posteri- 
orly. The inferior labials, with nearly the same size, form, structure, and number as the 
upper, extend posteriorly to the same distance, which corresponds to a vertical line which 
would fall back of the eye. There is one row of small supralabials, largest anteriorly, extending 
from behind the first labial and beneath the nostril, to beneath the posterior half of the orbit. 
A second row may be traced from the second loral to the third or fourth suborbitals ; and above 
there are a few more, as an indication, mayhap, of a third row, at all events very obsolete. 
The symphyseal is transversely elongated and obtusely angular upon the line of its contact with 
the labials and mental shields. There are four pairs of mental shields and an odd anterior one. 
The posterior pair is the smallest ; the next to it or fhird pair is the largest in some specimens, 
whilst in others it is the second which has the pre-eminence in that respect. The odd plate is 
generally equal in size to those of the largest pair. The first, second, and anterior portion of 
the third pair come into close contact upon their inner margin, leaving no space for smaller 
plates to intervene. On the lower half of the temporal region, the plate or scales, whatever 
called, are quite small, and very minute on the upper half. On the sides of the neck which is 
folded, behind the ear opening and beneath it, they assume a granular aspect; they increase 
somewhat in size below, being uniform under the throat and subgular folds, which are con- 
siderably developed. They are large upon an area back of the mental shields, between which 
and the inferior labials a series of them intervene; also sensibly larger upon the middle and 
posterior part of the hoyid region. 

The dorsal scales are uniform, moderate in size, and subcircular, disposed upon transverse 
irregular series from the head to the origin of tail, diminishing in size and uniformity towards 
the lower portion of the flanks. About the insertion of the limbs, and upon the thoracic region 
behind the arm, their appearance is granular. 

The limbs are stoutish and well proportioned; the fore might be termed rather short, 
inasmuch as they do not extend much beyond the middle region of the body when stretched 
along its sides. But the apparent shortness of these limbs in that respect is owing to the fact 
that the body in this genus is proportionally much more elongated than in Proctotretus. The 
scales on the upper surface of the forearm and arm are larger than on the body ; on the arm 
and carpus they assume the shape of scutellee or plates, one row of which, transversely elon- 
gated, may be traced to the tips of the fingers. On the lower surface and palm of the hand 
they are again granular. There is a row of plates at the base of the metacarpus. The three 
external fingers are provided beneath with a double row of tuberculous plates, the two others 
with but one row, and all of them laterally with a series of small plates. The inner finger is 
the shortest, the external is the next in size, then the second; the third and fourth are equal in 
length. The nails are strong, of moderate development, compressed, acerated anteriorly, and 
eurved: the plate, the upper and the lower, situated at their base, is the most developed of the 
digital series. On the upper surface of the hind legs and external half of the foot, the scales 
are nearly of the size of those on the back; the posterior surface is granular, as well as the sole 
of the foot, whilst the inferior surface and inner half of the foot are covered with scutelle, 
larger under the tibial than under the femoral region; smallest on the foot. The toes are 
protected above with a series of transversally elongated and irregular scutelle, and beneath 
with a series of tubercular plates. Their inner sides are granular, whilst on the outer sides 
the scutelle of their upper surface meet the plates of the lower. The abdominal scutella 
are well developed, elongated, irregularly subquadrangular, and disposed upon transverse 
series. On the anterior portion of the chest these scutelle are quite small, and irregularly dis- 
posed in advance of the arms. ‘hey diminish, likewise, in size towards the posterior region of 
the abdomen, preserving, however, their disposition upon transverse series. The’ preanal 
scutella are very irregular in their form, of moderate development, the central being the 
largest. The anal folds are granular. The tail is very long, sub or cyclo-tetragonal, tapering 


to a point, and covered with circular rows of elongated scales, increasing in size from the base 
20% 


226 ZOOLOGY. 


of that organ to the last fifth of its length. They are smooth upon the anterior fifth, hence 
to the tip conspicuously carinated, particularly upon the middle region; at the base of the tail 
the scales are but slightly larger than on the posterior portion of the body ; they are smooth 
everywhere else except, as mentioned, upon the tail. The carination is gradually appearing 
under the shape of a blunt and small protuberance which may be seen upon the posterior ex- 
tremity of the scales. Every other or every third row subdivides as it ascends from the sides 
of the tail towards its upper surface, from the base to about the third of the length, the sub- 
division gradually diminishing in extent until reduced to a few scales upon the middle of the 
upper region ; hence backwards they constitute regular annular rows. The ground-color is 
olivaceous, varying in shade. From the occipital region to the base of the tail there are four 
longitudinal series of rather large black patches. The latter are subcircular or subquadrangu- 
lar, transversally elongated, and provided laterally with a white line or spots, exteriorly again 
margined with a black filet; sometimes the black and central part of the blotch is wanting, in 
which case we have two independent white subrounded spots, margined with black. The 
occipital region is maculated with black. The inferior region of the flanks is vermiculated or 
spotted with brownish black, upon a whitish ground. The upper surface of the anterior limbs 
exhibits confluent lines or spots—some brownish, others whitish ; the posterior limbs are macu- 
Jated or else vermiculated with blackish. The upper surface of the tail presents intermingled 
black, brown, and olivaceous spots of various shades. The inferior regions are white; the 
throat, the belly, the thighs, and base of the tail are spotted with blackish brown. 

Collected in the neighborhood of Santiago, Chile. 

It is worthy of remark that Ameiva oculata, mentioned by d’Orbigny in his Travels to South 
America, was erroneously introduced in that work. The specimen from which his figure is 
made, is one of those collected by Claude Gay, in Chile, supposed for a time by the naturalists 
of the Garden of Plants in Paris to have been brought home by Alcide d’Orbigny, whose collec- 
tions were deposited in that establishment, where Claude Gay had likewise sent his. 

The shapes of the dorsal black spots, as described above, agree in the two specimens brought 
home by Lieut. Gilliss. They are at variance with those described and figured by Claude Gay. 

Plate XX XIX, fig. 1, represents Aporomera ornata, in profile and sige of life. 

fig. 2, is an under view of the same specimen. 
fig. 3, the head seen from above. 
fig. 4, a side view of the head. 


Genus CNEMIDOPHORUS, Wagl. 


Gen. cnar. Base of tongue not sheathed, moderately long, divided upon its anterior ex- 
tremity into two smooth filets, covered with scaly, rhomboid, and subimbricated papillw. Palate 
toothed. Intermaxillary teeth conical and simple; maxillary teeth compressed; the anterior 
simple ; the posterior tricuspid. External opening of nostrils situated either exclusively in a 
single naso-rostral plate, or between several nasals. Eyelids present. Tympanic membrane dis- 
tinct, stretched inside the rim of the auditive aperture; a double transversal fold under the neck, 
Ventral scutella quadrilateral, flat, smooth, not, or little imbricated, disposed in alternate rows. 
Large scutella-like plates under the legs. Femoral pores present. Five fingers a little com- 
pressed, not carinated beneath. Five toes similar in structure to the fingers. Tail cyclo- 
tetragonal. 


Syn. Onemidophorus, Waau. Nat. Syst. Amph. 1830, 154. 
Dum. & Briar, Erp. Gén. V, 1839, 123. 


aw i. 
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Soli sail SSINOTS avadd sfllaOHaOCdlNaNo = 


‘oc pednod pPleLPty At 


- TIAXXX “Td | * ; = “pedxa Wisy NSO 


REPTILES. 227 


Ops. The species of this genus may be arranged into two groups, according to the number 
of longitudinal series of abdominal scutelle, some having eight, the others ten of such series: 
the species described below belonging to the latter group. 


CNEMIDOPHORUS PRASIGNIS, B. &G. 
Pirate XXXYVIII, Figs. 1—5. 


Spec. cuar. Abdominal seutella disposed upon ten longitudinal rows; dorsal scales very mi- 
nute. Postsubgular fold provided with small plates upon its edge. Ground-color greenish, 
blotched with black, and exhibiting laterally two narrow, light vitta. 


Syx. Cnemidophorus presignis, B. & G. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1852, 129. 


Derscr. The head, which is contained twice and three-fourths of a time in the combined length 
of the neck and body, is subpyramidal in shape, slightly arched upon the occiput. The plates 
which cover its upper surface are well developed. The vertical is hexagonal, broadest ante- 
riorly; it is preceded by a pair of postfrontals, narrowest upon the line of their junction, dilated 
exteriorly and rounded upon the latter margin. A large and unique prefrontal occupies nearly 
the whole width of the snout, being irregularly octagonal in its outline, touching posteriorly the 

‘postfrontals, exteriorly the loral and postnasal, and anteriorly the prenasals. The rostral oe- 
cupies the entire width of the snout, advancing in a conical form towards the prefrontal, which, 
however, it does not reach. The prenasal is elongated and subquadrangular, being slightly 
curved backwards owing to its oblique situation on the sides of the snout, extending from the 
margins of the labials to the upper surface of the snout, where it meets its fellow from the op- 
posite side, separating entirely the rostral from the prefrontal. The postnasal is not quite as 
high, though a little broader than the prenasal. It is anteriorly subconvex, and posteriorly 
concave, exhibiting a portion of its surface in an upper view of the head. The nostrils are 
large, situated at the inferior margin of the nasal plates, close to the labials, encroaching more 
upon the prenasal than upon the postnasal. The loral is very large, its convex anterior margin 
fitting the concave one of the postnasal. It is broadest anteriorly, and three-sided, offering 
points of contact to a surciliary and two anteorbitals, the lowermost being the largest, angu- 
lar, and five-sided, whilst the upper one is elongated and narrow. There are two suborbitals, 
the anterior being twice as large as the posterior one. The postorbitals are numerous, small, 
and polygonal. Four surocularies and six surciliaries constitute the upper roof of the eye, the 
surciliaries forming a prominent ridge, between which and the surocularies a series of small 
scales may be observed, extending from the anterior margin of the second suroculary and pos- 
terior margin of the second surciliary backwards, enclosing the posterior outline of the surocu- 
laries half way between the third of the latter group and the anterior occipitals. The anterior 
three surciliaries are much longer than the posterior three. The eyelids, upper and lower, are 
densely covered with small scales, the largest of which constituting a row along the inner mar- 
gin of the orbitals. On the edge of the lids is another series more conspicuous than upon the 
intervening space. The middle surface of the lower eyelid is provided with a horizontal series 
of five or six quadrangular plates; the latter being higher than long. The occipitals are seven 
in number, the anterior two being somewhat larger than the others, broadest upon their poste- 
rior half, and in contact anteriorly with the vertical. The posterior five are disposed upon a 
sublinear and transverse row, the central one being placed immediately behind the middle line 
of the anterior two; the adjoining two, the largest of the five, are in contact anteriorly with 
the first pair of occipitals; the exterior two occupy a somewhat retreated situation along the 
external margin of the internal pair. An area of small plates surrounds posteriorly and exteri- 
orly the postoccipitals. From the posterior extremity of the surciliary ridge to the upper mar- 


228 ZOOLOGY. 


gin of the auditive aperture may be seen a series of small polygonal plates, a continuation 
of the postorbitals. There are six upper labials; the two middle ones are much the largest, 
and longer than high. The anterior two are subquadrangular; the posterior two elongated, 
narrow, subtriangular; the last of the series is very small, with its acutest angle directed for- 
wards, the reverse of the fifth. The inferior labials are seven in number, the posterior ones be- 
ing very small and narrow; the third and fourth are very large; the second is nearly equal in 
size with the fourth upper labial, and the first nearly equal to the fifth of its own series. The 
symphiseal is semi-elliptical, and well developed. The submaxillaries or mental shields are very 
large; the anterior odd one is broadest; the second, on either side, are in contact for almost their 
whole length; the third and fourth diverge. Six or seven smaller plates, disposed upon a 
double row, terminate the submaxillary series at the angle of the mouth, and close to the an 
terior and lower rim of the auditive aperture. The latter is large and sub-circular, margined 
anteriorly with scales somewhat larger than those covering the middle of the temporal region. 
The extreme margin of the angle of the mouth is provided with small scales or else minute 
plates. The mental region, enclosed by the submaxillary plates, is covered with irregular and 
small scales, a narrow area of which may be seen extending to the lower edge of the auditive 
aperture. The anterior portion of the throat is provided with small polygonal plates, whilst 
the posterior portion of that region is covered laterally with minute, and upon its middle with 
rather small plates. The plates on the middle region of the posterior subgular fold are nearly 
equal in size to those of the anterior portion of the throat. On the margin of that fold they 
are again very small, 

The anterior and upper surface of the forearm is provided with a series of five large polygonal 
and transversely elongated plates, surrounded with smaller ones, and beneath, posteriorly, to- 
wards the elbow, may be seen an area covered with about a dozen plates of a much smaller size, 
and rather subcircular than polygonal in their outline. The anterior and upper surface of the 
arm exhibits a series of transversely elongated plates, still larger and more numerous than on 
the forearm, surrounded likewise by smaller ones. The remaining portion of the surface of that 
limb is densely covered with small scales, assuming a plate-like aspect upon the middle region 
beneath and towards the elbow. The palm of the hand is covered with minute scales, and the 
metacarpus, opposite the external finger, is marked by a few small plates. The hand above is 
plated; the plates being a little smaller on the metacarpus than on the carpus. The fingers 
are protected above and below by a series of transversely elongated and uniform plates, extend- 
ing to the very base of the nails. There is a lateral series of small scales separating the upper 
from the lower digital plates. The internal and external fingers are shorter than the others, 
and nearly equal in length. The middle one is a little longer than the adjoining two. The 
nails are well developed, compressed posteriorly, conical, acerated, and curved anteriorly. 
The anterior surface of the thigh is covered with plates of medium size, diminishing very 
much in size towards the inferior surface. The femoral pores, seventeen in number, limit the 
plated surface of that organ. They issue forth between an anterior subcrescentic small plate and 
two minute posterior ones. The inferior surface of the leg is covered with four longitudinal 
series of plates, very large upon the anterior series, and diminishing gradually in size upon the 
remaining series. The inferior surface of the metatarsus is protected by rather conspicuous and 
imbricated plates, whilst on the upper surface there exist minute scales. The tarsus exhibits 
four series of well-developed plates, which may be traced along the upper surface of the toes 
narrower upon the articulation of the phalanges than upon their middle region. The inferior 
surface of the toes is provided externally with a conspicuous series of small plates, and internally 
with two much smaller and irregular series placed along the thumb, the first (longest) and 
second toes, whilst these latter series are replaced by scales upon the fourth and fifth toes. 
The posterior surface of the tarsus is covered with minute scales, somewhat larger on the sole 
of the foot, between the thumb and the first (longest) and second finger. The plates on the 
upper surface of the tarsus and those on the inferior surface of the leg are contiguous upon the 


REPTILES. 229 


external edge of the metatarsus behind the small toe, The nails are less developed than upon 
the anterior extremities, compressed at their base, acerated upon their extremity, and but 
slightly curved. 

The dorsal and lateral regions of the body and upper surface of the hind legs are covered 
with very small and irregular scales. The inferior surface of the body is plated all over with 
quadrangular scutelle, disposed upon ten longitudinal rows, the outermost of which is but 
imperfectly developed, upon the middle region of the abdomen. The second row, proceeding 
from the sides inwardly, is composed of scutelle, nearly quadrangular, whilst on the three 
remaining rows the scutellz are transversally longer, in the shape of an elongated quadrangle. 
Upon the anterior portion of the chest the series are interrupted and composed of smaller and 
irregularly-shaped scutella. The preanal region exhibits three rather large polygonal scutellee 
surrounded by small plates, diminishing in size as they recede from the central group, ‘The 
postanal region is densely covered with small plates or scales. The tail is long, subcylindrical, 
and tapering to a point. The scales which cover its surface are elongated and narrow, keeled 
upon their middle line, and disposed in verticiles or circular rows.* On the upper part and 
sides of that organ the scales maintain the same width throughout their length, whilst inferi- 
orly some of them may be seen slightly tapering posteriorly. The ground-color is greenish, the 
head, the locomotory members, and the tail, marmorated with black. Two lighter stripes may 
be seen running along the sides, the uppermost starting from the surciliary ridge, the lower 
one from behind the eye across the auditive aperture, and parallel towards the posterior extremity 
of the body. Hence, along the sides of the tail toa considerable distance, the uppermost unin- 
terruptedly above the hind limbs, the lower one with a break near the origin of the thighs. 
The area enclosed by these two vitte or stripes is black, provided upon its middle region with 
a series of greenish subrounded spots. The region of the flanks beneath the lower vitta is 
either entirely black, with two or three irregular series of greenish spots, or else the green and 
the black mingle, and assume a meandric aspect. The external three series of abdominal 
scutelle are provided with a black spot upon their middle. The dorsal region enclosed between 
the uppermost vitta presents a medial, light-greenish band, edged with transverse blotches of 
black, enclosing a quadrangular space of deeper green, occasionally mottled with black. Upon 
the occiput and neck most of the space is greenish. It is not improbable that the young will 
be found to possess a more defined dorsal vitta, mayhap, similar altogether to those now to 
be observed on the sides. The inferior surface of the head, the chest, the middle region of the 
abdomen, and the preanal region, are uniformly yellowish-green. The inferior surface of the 
fore-limbs is yellowish, the inferior surface of the hind limbs and tail whitish, obsoletely 
blotched with blackish. 

Specimens of this species were collected at Chagres, isthmus of Panama, by the late Prof. 
C. B. Adams, of Amherst College, Massachusetts. 


Plate XX XVIII, fig. 1, represents the profile of Cnemidophorus presignis, size of life. 
fig. 2, is an under view of the same specimen, showing the varied structure 
of the plates, scales, and scutelle, referred to in the above description; a 
is an enlarged view of one from a femoral pore, 
. 3, exhibits the head from above. 
. 4, an enlarged toe. 
. 5, an enlarged finger. 


=r) 
og gg 03 


FISHES. 


BY CHARLES GIRARD. 


FAMILY OF PERCIDZE. 


Genus PERCICHTHYS, Girard. 

Gey. car. Body oblong or elongated, compressed, covered with scales of medium develop- 
ment, finely ciliated upon their posterior margin. Snout rather thick and blunt, overlapping 
slightly the lower jaw. ‘Two dorsal fins contiguous at their base. Insertion of ventral fins 
immediately beneath the base of pectorals, Anal fin provided with three spiny rays. Tongue 
smooth. Upper surface of head, suborbitals and posterior dilatation of maxillary, covered with 
scales, as well as the cheeks and opercular apparatus. Suborbital and preopercle serrated. 
Opercle provided with a spine. Branchiostegals six or seven in number. Card-like teeth on 
the jaws; velvet-like teeth disposed upon a transverse band in front of the vomer and upon a nar- 
row band along the palatines, sometimes only towards the anterior extremity of the latter bones. 


Syn. Percichthys, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 197. 


Oss. This genus, closely allied to Perca, is to be distinguished from it by the shape of the 
snout and the structure of the mouth; the presence of small scales on the top of the head, on 
the suborbital bones and (upper) maxillary; the position of the ventral fins, and by the pres- 
ence of three spiny rays, instead of two, at the anterior margin of the anal fin. Moreover, the 
head, as a whole, has something of a scizenoid touch about it. 

Perca trucha, of Cuv. and Val.* which, according to M. d’Orbigny, is an inhabitant of 
the Rio Negro of Patagonia, is a species of this genus. 

I am led to consider Perca ciliata, K. and V. H., from the island of Java, Perca marginata, 
Cuy. and Val., brought to France from the austral hemisphere by the navigator Péron, and 
Perca trutta, Cuy. and Val., from Cook’s straight (New Zealand), as properly referable to the 
genus Percichthys. 

Should this be true, the hitherto cosmopolite genus Perca would thus be restricted to the 
boreal hemisphere; the analogous species of the austral hemisphere constituting an allied genus 
or several allied genera, since one of the species of this group has led us to the establishment of 
another genus equally distinct from both Perca and Percichthys. 

Perca levis, Jen.,{ an inhabitant of the Rio Santa Crux, Patagonia, belongs also to the 
genus Percichthys, being closely allied to P. trucha, if at all distinct from it. 

The following is the formula of its fins and branchiostegals: 


Br. 7; D.9—1/11; A. 3/9; C. 17; P. 155-V. 1/5. 
Again, Perca trucha of Cuv. and Val. is not identical with the Perca trucha of the ‘‘ Historia 


de Chile.’’ The latter we propose to call Percichthys chilensis. The distinctive marks between 


* Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Tome IX, 1833, 429. 
t Zool. of Beagle, LV. Fish. 1842, I, Pl. i. 


‘Oy Issrlil VYITiodad 6s 


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FISHES. 231 


the two are to be found in the structure of the anal, dorsal, and pectoral fins, the shape of the 
caudal, the size of the scales, and the course of the lateral line, In Perca trucha the anal is 
said to be short, the caudal slightly rounded, the scales small, and the lateral line nearly 
straight. Now, in Percichthys chilensis the anal is long and deep, the caudal is emarginated, 
the scales are rather above than below the middle size, and the lateral line forms quite a con- 
spicuous curve along the dorsal region of the body, being straight only along the peduncle of 
the tail. The formula of the fins of Percha trucha, given by Cuvier and Valenciennes, is as 
follows : 


po 1/13; A. 3/10; ©. 17; P. 14; V. 1/5. 
which, according to our method, will read thus: 
DX ter ane, 10 3-C OFT.8. FEO; V 1.6; P14. 


and compares better with the formula of Percichthys chilensis given further on. The rudimentary 
rays of the upper and lower lobe of the caudal are not enumerated by the French ichthyolo- 
gists. Itis to be regretted that their formula passed into the ‘‘ Historia de Chile’’ without 
verification upon the specimens collected by Mr, Gay, on the ground merely that Cuvier pro- 
nounced both species identical, It is true, they are called ¢rucha both in Patagonia and Chile; 
but this is one instance in many of vernacular names similarly applied to more than one zoologi- 
cal species. 

None of the specimens which came under my observation did exhibit roundish black spots 
as figured in the ‘‘ Historia de Chile,’’ which may after all become another distinguishing 
feature between the trucha of Patagonia and the trucha of Chile. To this, however, I attach 
no greater importance than it is worth, 


PERCICHTHYS CHILENSIS, Girard. 


Pirate XXIX, Figs. 1—4. 


Spxc. car. Snout subconical, obtuse anteriorly, and slightly overlapping the lower jaw. 
Mouth well developed. Posterior extremity of upper maxillary fetching the vertical of centre 
of pupil. Limb of preopercle conspicuously serrated; exterior margin of sub and interopercle 
inconspicuously so. Soft portion of anal deeper than the height of second dorsal. Caudal 
moderately emarginated posteriorly. Branchiostegals seven. Ground-color yellowish; upper 
regions covered with brownish or blackish diffused spots. 


Syn. Percha trucha, Guicr, in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 146; Ictiol. Lam. I bis. 
fig. 1. 
Percichthys chilensis, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1854, 197. 
Trucha, vernacular. 


Descr. The body is subfusiform, compressed, and more elongated than in the common perch of 
the United States. The greatest depth, which corresponds to the origin of the first dorsal fin, 
is contained four times and a half in the total length; whilst the least depth, taken on the 
peduncle of the tail, enters in the same length nearly ten times. The back is uniformly 
arched from the nape to the termination of the second dorsal. The peduncle of the tail con- 
stitutes almost the fifth of the whole length. The abdominal outline is convex from the throat 
to the end of the anal fins. The greatest thickness is a little more than half of the depth; 
the thickness of the peduncle of the tail is exactly the half of its depth. The head, which is 
subconical, is continuous with both the dorsal and abdominal outlines, if we except a very 
slight depression upon the vertex. It forms about the fourth of the entire length. The 


232 ZOOLOGY. 


snout, which is rounded and obtuse; slightly overlaps the lower jaw, which is thus entirely 
concealed when the fish is viewed from above. The mouth is of medium size; its angles do 
not reach the anterior margin of the orbit. The posterior extremity of the upper maxillary 
extends to a vertical line, which would intersect the pupil. The teeth on both of the jaws, as 
well as those on the front of the vomer and on the palatines, are small and more card than vel- 
vet-like. They cover an elongated and narrow area along the palatines. The posterior nostril 
is the largest, subtriangular in shape, and situated close to the anterior rim of the orbit ; the 
anterior nostril is circular, and opens a little in advance of the latter. The eye is subcircular, 
approximating the upper outline of the profile; its horizontal diameter enters five times in the 
length of the side of the head. The inferior edge of the suborbitals is minutely serrated; these 
bones overlap considerably the upper maxillary when the mouth is shut. The limb of the 
preopercle exhibits small and closely set serratures upon its ascending branch, whilst the 
inferivr and horizontal branch is provided with fewer spines directed downwards and slightly 
forwards. Minute serratures may be observed upon the exterior edge of both the inter and 
subopercles. The opercle is trapezoid, and obliquely traversed by a flattened spine in close 
union with that bone, allowing its extremity only to project beyond its margin just above the 
upper extremity of the subopercle. The interopercle is a well developed piece of the apparatus 
of which it constitutes a part. The thoracic belt is robust; the serratures of the suprascapular 
are conspicuous, and the coracoid sends off quite a broad expansion above the base of the pec- 
toral fins, the margin of which expansion is provided with minute spines. The branchial 
aperture is wide; there being no isthmus under the throat. The branchiostegals, seven in num- 
ber, are slender and flattened upon the posterior half. 

The distance between the origin of the first dorsal fin and the tip of the snout is equal to 
the combined base of both dorsals. There are eleven spiny rays, eight of which constituting 
what may properly be considered as the first dorsal fin; the ninth and tenth seem rather to fill 
up the space between the two fins, and the eleventh occupies the anterior margin of the second 
dorsal. The first ray is short and equal in height to the eighth, but more slender; the second 
is a little higher than the sixth; the seventh being intermediate between the sixth and eighth; 
the third is the highest of all, and thrice as high as the first; the fourth is slightly shorter 
than the third, and the fifth intermediate between the fourth and sixth. The upper outline of 
that fin is consequently very convex. The membrane between the rays is deeply indentated. 
There is no vacant area between the first and second dorsals; as already observed, there are 
two slender spines, shorter than the eighth, which connect these two fins; their direction or 
inclination seems more alike the rays of the second dorsal than those of the first. The eleventh 
spine, that which forms the anterior margin of the soft dorsal, is about the same height as the 
eighth. The second dorsal is higher than its base is long, though not quite as high as the 
highest spine of the anterior dorsal. Its upper margin is slightly convex; its soft rays are 
twice bifurcated, except the anterior one, which is simple; the anterior branch of the second 
ray remains also simple. The last ray being double, its posterior branch divides but once ; 
whilst its anterior portion divides once upon its posterior division, and twice upon its anterior, 
alike the other rays. The anal is preceded by three spines; the anterior one being the shortest, 
is immediately opposite the anterior margin of second dorsal; the second spine is nearly twice 
as long as the first, whilst the third is a little shorter than the second; the membrane which 
unites them is deeply indentated. The soft portion of the anal is deeper than the second dorsal 
is high, and deeper than its own base, equal, however, in depth to the base of the whole fin, 
its spiny rays included. The tips of its soft rays project a little further posteriorly than those 
of the second dorsal. The bifurcation of the soft rays is similar to what is observed in the 
second dorsal. The caudal is broad and moderately long, being contained about six times and 
a half in the total length. Its posterior margin is subcrescentic or else moderately emargin- 
ated, the lobes being rather obtuse. The central rays bifurcate thrice upon their length. The 
insertion of the ventrals corresponds to the base of the pectorals. The spine which occupies 


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bet erg | a apedxy isy “NSN 


FISHES. 233 


their exterior margin is long and acute, though shorter than any of their soft rays, which 
bifurcate thrice, save the posterior one, which divides but twice, and the anterior only once. 
Their external margin is broad and rounded. The pectorals are a little longer than the ven- 
trals, broad exteriorly when expanded, and composed of soft and slender rays, which bifurcate 
but twice upon their length. 


Br. VII; D XI. 10+1; AIIL. 10; C4.1.8.%7.1.3; VI.5; P16. 


The scales are well developed, minutely serrated upon their posterior margin, which is con- 
vex or rounded. Their anterior margin is subtruncated, whilst their upper and lower margins 
are almost rectilinear. Hight distinct rows may be counted between the anterior margin of the 
first dorsal and the lateral line, and from twenty-two to twenty-five beneath it and the ventral 
line. They diminish considerably in size upon the sides and belly, becoming very minute 
under the throat. The upper surface of the head and the cheeks, the suborbitals and maxillary 
are covered with them, smaller, however, on the cephalic region proper than on the cheeks, and 
quite minute on the maxillary. Those covering the opercular apparatus are again large and 
conspicuous, being nearly as large as those of the trunk. The lateral line is very conspicuous; 
there are in it from sixty-eight to seventy scales. From the upper part of the opercular appa- 
ratus it constitutes a gradually raised curve to nearly opposite the posterior portion of spiny 
dorsal; hence the curve is continued, gradually descending to nearly opposite the posterior 
margin of the soft dorsal by a series of undulations; then runs almost straightway to the base 
of caudal, along the middle of the peduncle of the tail. 

The coloration is of a golden yellow; the upper part of the flanks and dorsal region being 
brownish or blackish owing to the presence of diffused spots and macule. The fins are uni- 
color, greyish yellow. The inferior surface of the head is whitish. 

This fish is said to inhabit most of the rivers of the republic of Chile. The specimen figured, 
together with several others, was caught in a tributary of the Rio de Maypu, near Santiago. 

Plate X XIX, fig. 1, represents, size of life, Percichthys chilensis, seen in profile. 

fig. 2, is a scale of the dorsal region. 
fig. 3, a scale from the lateral line. 
fig. 4, a scale of the abdominal region. 


Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are magnified. 


PERCICHTHYS MELANOPS, Girard. 
Pruate XXX, Figs. 1—5. 


Spuc. cHAR. Mouth of moderate size, posterior extremity of upper maxillary reaching the ver- 
tical of the anterior rim of orbit. Palatine teeth occupying but a small area towards the an- 
terior extremity of these bones. Opercular spine not very conspicuous. Branchiostegals, six. 
Ground-color whitish, minutely and densely dotted with black; dots crowding upon the middle 
of the scales under the shape of a central blotch, giving to the whole fish quite a dark hue. 


Syn. Percichthys melanops, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 197. 


Descr. This species does not apparently attain a very large size, judging of it from the fact 
that the specimen figured is the largest of the lot collected. It bears a general resemblance to 
P. chilensis above described, having the same general shape of the head and body; but the 
peduncle of the tail being less developed, its aspect is rather more contracted. The greatest 
depth of the body, which corresponds to the anterior margin of the first dorsal fin, is equal to 
the length of head, and is contained about three times and three-fourths in the total length; 


whilst the least depth, taken on the middle of the peduncle of the tail, enters in that same 
30 * 


———————— = 


234 ZOOLOGY. 


length about nine times, or a little over. The greatest thickness stands, in regard to the 
length, as one to six or two to thirteen. The dorsal outline is more convex than in Percichthys 
chilensis, and mayhap also the belly, which contributes not in a small degree to give to this fish 
that more contracted appearance already alluded to above. The head is sub-conical, and par- 
ticipates in the short aspect of the body. Its upper surface continues, towards the tip of the 
snout, the declivity of the nape with scarcely any inflexion upon either the occiput or the ocular 
region. The snout itself is blunt and rounded, slightly overlapping the lower jaw when the 
mouth is shut. The upper arcade of the mouth is but little protractile, and, when in the latter 
state, causes the maxillaries to move more downwards than forwards. There are minute card- 
like teeth on both the upper and lower jaws, and closely set together. Velvet-like teeth may be 
observed on the front of the vomer, disposed upon a small triangle. The palatines exhibit a 
few rudimentary teeth upon their anterior extremity in contact with the vomer. The palate is 
otherwise smooth. The pharyngobranchials are large, elongated, and convex, and closely set 
with prickly teeth; the inferior pharyngobranchials are smaller, subtriangular, and slightly 
concave, likewise set with similar teeth. The tongue is smooth, flattened, tapering anteriorly. 
The mouth is moderate, the posterior extremity of the upper maxillary reaching a vertical 
which would pass in advance of the orbit only. The eye is subcircular, and well developed ; its 
horizontal diameter being contained a little over four times in the length of the side of the head. 
The anterior suborbital is broadly developed, overlapping considerably the upper jaw. Its ex- 
ternal edge is minutely crenated. The serratures of the ascending branch of the preopercle 
are rather more developed than in P. chilensis, though the spines on the lower branch are pro- 
portionally of the same size. The opercular apparatus, as a whole, is constructed upon the 
same pattern in both P. chilensis and P. melanops. The inferior margin of the sub and inter- 
opercle are similarly crenated, and a flattened spine may be seen across the middle of the oper- 
cle, extending its point beyond the edge of that bone, mayhap a little more acute and more 
conspicuous in P. melanops than in P. chilensis. The suprascapular is likewise crenated, and 
the coracoid expansion above the base of pectoral fins, wanting, however, the minute spines ob- 
served in P. chilensis. The branchiostegals, six in number, are flattened and curved. The 
gill openings communicate together under the throat, being shaped exactly as in P. chilensis. 

The distance between the tip of the snout and the origin of the first dorsal is a little greater 
than the base of both dorsals. The general structure of these fins is the same as in P. chilensis, 
with the exception that the-third spine is the longest instead of the fourth. The membrane 
between the spines is deeply emarginated. Hight rays constitute, properly speaking, the ante- 
rior fin; two are intermediate between the eighth and the eleventh, which is situated at the 
anterior margin of the second or posterior fin, The central rays of the latter bifurcate also 
twice, and their tips extend evenly with those of the anal. The anal is preceded by three spines, 
and its soft rays are bifurcated in the same manner as those of the second dorsal. The poste- 
rior margin of the caudal is subemarginated with its central rays thrice bifurcated ; it consti- 
tutes a little less than the sixth of the entire length of the fish. The origin of the ventrals cor- 
responds to a vertical line which would pass immediately behind the base of the pectorals. They 
are broad and rounded exteriorly; their central rays being bifurcated three times, with the an- 
terior spine longer than in P. chilensis. The pectorals are rather short, and broad when ex- 
panded ; their tips do not extend as far backwards as those of the ventrals; the rays are slender 
and bifureate twice. 


Br. VI; D XI. 10; ATI. 9; 06.1.8. 7.1.5; VIL.5; P15. 


The scales are of medium development, and very minutely, if at all, crenated upon their pos- 
terior margin, which is irregularly rounded, Their anterior margin is straight, and the upper 
and lower edges linear and parallel, the scales being much longer than broad. There are ten 
distinct rows between the lateral line and the anterior margin of the first dorsal, besides some 
few irregularly disposed near the hase of that fin; twenty rows and more may be counted 


FISHES. 235 


between the lateral line and the medial region of the belly. The scales decrease in size towards 
the occiput and the middle of the back, as well as towards the belly and throat. They are 
quite small on the cheeks, and so are those that are observed on the upper surface of the skull, 
on the suborbitals and maxillary. On the opercular pieces they are nearly as large as those on 
the flanks. The lateral line, in which fifty-eight to sixty scales may be counted, forms an arch 
from the upper part of the opercular apparatus to nearly opposite the anterior margin of 
the second dorsal, where it reaches the middle of the flanks, hence straight to the base of 
the caudal. 

A dark blackish hue seems to pervade all the body and head, and yet the ground-color 
is whitish, mayhap sometimes yellowish. Innumerable black dots thickly spread over all the 
regions contribute to give to this fish its dark appearance. These dots being more particu- 
larly crowded upon the posterior third of the scales, it seems as if each scale bore a small spot 
or blotch. The upper surface of the head is uniformly dark brown or blackish. The sides of 
the head and opercular apparatus appear obsolately maculated. The inferior surface of the 
head, the throat, and the belly, exhibit more of the ground-color. The fins are all more or less 
yellowish, intensely dotted with blackish, so as to assume the general dark hue of the body 
itself, particularly the dorsals and caudal. 

This species inhabits the hydrographic basin of the Rio de Maypu. Specimens were procured 
from the neighborhood of Santiago. 

Plate XXX, fig. 1, represents Percichthys melanops, size of life. 

fig. 2 is an outline, viewed from above. 

fig. 3, a scale from the dorsal region. 

fig. 4, a scale from the lateral line. 

fig. 5, a scale from the abdominal region. 
Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are magnified. 


Genus PERCILIA, Girard. 


Gun. cHAR. General physiognomy percoid; body compressed. ‘'T'wo dorsal fins, contiguous at 
their base, broadly separated in their outline. Mouth rather small, or else of medium size; 
jaws subequal. Small conical teeth upon the maxillaries, and a few card-like ones on the front 
of vomer; none on the palatines. Tongue smooth. A few minute spines along the limb of 
preopercle. Opercle without any spines. External edge of suborbitals, sub and interopercle 
not crenated. Branchial aperture of either side continuous under the throat. Branchiostegals 
5 to 6 in number. Scales quite large and posteriorly ciliated. Cheeks and opercular apparatus 
scaly; top of head nearly smooth and nacked. Suborbitals and maxillary scaleless. Insertion 
of ventrals behind the base of pectorals. Caudal posteriorly subcrescentic. 


Syn. Percilia, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 197. 


Ozs. The genus Percilia is a diminutive percoid, essentially characterized by a small mouth, 
the absence of palatine teeth, and an opercular apparatus nearly smooth, there being but a few 
minute needle-like spines along the limb of the preopercle. The maxillary teeth differ widely 
from those of Perca and Percichthys. The anal has three spiny rays, as in Percichthys, but the 
position of the ventrals takes place as in Perca. Its general physiognomy resembles more that 
of Percichthys melanops than any other member of the family. The shape of the head and 
structure of the mouth denote an affinity with Percichthys, whilst the absence of scales on the 
upper surface of the head, the suborbitals, and the (upper) maxillary, remind us of similar traits 
in true Perca. 


236 ZOOLOGY. 


PERCILIA GILLISSII, Girard. 


Prats XXIX, Figs. 5—9. 


Sprc, cHAR. Snout short and rounded ; mouth small; posterior extremity of upper maxillary 
corresponding to the vertical of the anterior rim of the eye. A few minute spines upon the 
angle of preopercle. Scales large, conspicuously ciliated posteriorly. Ground-color light red- 
dish, or reddish brown, maculated with black. 


Syn. Percilia @illissii, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 197. 


Deuscr. This is a comparatively small species, and in all probability the specimens before us 
are full-grown ones. The largest we have seen measure about three inches and a half in total 
length, of which the head constitutes the fourth part. The dorsal and abdominal outlines are 
convex, giving to the whole profile a fusiform aspect. The peduncle of the tail is moderately 
developed, and rather narrow. The greatest depth, measured in advance of the first dorsal, is 
contained three times in the length, the caudal fin excluded; the least depth, taken on the 
peduncle of the tail, enters seven times in the same dimension. The greatest thickness equals 
half the greatest depth. The body, therefore, is much compressed. The occipital region is 
slightly depressed. The snout is short and rounded, and the upper jaw, which is slightly pro- 
tractile, overlaps a little the lower one. The mouth is quite small, the posterior extremity of 
the upper maxillary extending to a vertical line, which would pass immediately in advance of 
the anterior rim of the orbit. The maxillary teeth are small, subcylindrical, slightly tapering 
towards their point, and disposed upon several rows. The front of the vomer is provided with 
a subtransverse narrow band of card-like teeth, and not very conspicuous. The palatine bones 
are smooth. The pharyngobranchials are well developed, and densely covered with minute 
prickles. The tongue is smooth, small, semi-elliptical in shape, and very much flattened, 
mayhap more swollen in a living state. The eye is of medium size, and subcircular ; its hori- 
zontal diameter being contained nearly four times and a half in the length of the side of the 
head. The preopercle exhibits but a few minute spines upon its limb; the opercle has no 
spine at all; and the inferior edge of both the sub and interopercle is entire, or else not cre- 
nated. The gill openings are continuous under the throat, but there is a membranous expan- 
sion between the adjoining branchiostegals, thus filling up a space which is open in the species 
of Percichthys, above described. The branchiostegals are five or six in number, flattened, and 
recurved. The suprascapular is not visible externally ; the coracoid expands much less above 
the base of pectorals than in Percichthys ; and, moreover, these bones are neither provided 
with spines nor crenated upon their edges. 

The dorsal fins are similar in general appearance to those of the foregoing percoids ; the 
membrane which unites the spines is deeply emarginated ; but the two intermediate spines be- 
tween these two fins do not exist in this species. There are, consequently, nine dorsal spiny 
rays. The ninth, which is closely connected with the posterior fin, is the smallest of all; the 
eighth comes next, and is but very little higher than the latter ; the others increase in height, 
as follows: first, seventh, sixth, second, fifth, third, and fourth. There are instances where 
the third is slightly higher than the fourth, as is also the case in Percichthys chilensis. The 
second dorsal is not quite as high as the first, though a little higher than its own base ; on the 
other hand, the base of the first dorsal is longer than its height. The middle rays bifurcate 
twice upon their length, and their tips extend a little further backwards than those of the anal. 
The latter is preceded by three spines similar to those in Percichthys chilensis and allied species. 
A few of the central soft rays exhibit traces of a bifurcation of the third order; the others 
are as in the second dorsal, the external margin of which fin is rounded or subconvex, as is 
the case in the anal. The caudal is broad and subcrescentic upon its posterior edge, the cen- 
tral rays bifurcating three times. The insertion of ventrals is situated behind the base of the 


FISHES. 237 


pectorals, and their tips extend further backwards. Their spiny ray is well developed, and 
the central soft ones bifurcate three times upon their length. The pectorals are short, and 
rounded when expanded, composed of slender rays which bifurcate only twice. 


Pee ovi PEX TE A ee a eee es. Oo: P14, 


The scales are large, provided posteriorly with slender and filiform serratures. They are 
higher than long, anteriorly subtruncated, and rounded upon the other sides of their outline. 
Four longitudinal rows are observed between the anterior dorsal and the lateral line, and about 
twelve rows beneath, between the latter and the middle line of the belly. They diminish in 
size towards the occiput and nape, as well as towards the inferior surface of the body. The 
largest may be seen upon the middle of the flanks. The upper surface of the head is nacked 
and perfectly smooth. Small scales exist on the cheeks, and somewhat larger ones on the 
opercular apparatus. The suborbitals and the maxillary are scaleless. The lateral line, in 
which there are about thirty-five scales, from the upper part of the opercle to opposite the mid- 
dle region of the second dorsal fin, constitutes a depressed and occasionally somewhat undula- 
ting arch ; then runs nearly straight towards the base of the caudal fin. 

The ground-color assumes either a light reddish or reddish brown hue. The head, dorsal 
region, and sides of body and tail, are irregularly blotched with blackish or deep brown—the 
blotches being the result of an accumulation of minute dots. The lower surface of the head 
and throat are sown over with similar dots sometimes disposed in irregular streaks. The 
ground-color of the fins is light yellowish, the rays made blackish by crowded dots ; the pecto- 
rals and ventrals less so than the dorsals, caudal, and anal. 

Inhabits the Rio de Maypu; specimens were obtained from an affluent of that river, in the 
vicinity of Santiago. 

Plate XXIX, fig. 5, represents the profile of Percilia gillissii, size of life. 

fig. 6 is an outline, viewed from above. 

fig. 7, a scale of the dorsal region. 

fig. 8, a scale of the lateral line. 

fig. 9, a scale of the abdominal region. 
Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are magnified. 


FAMILY OF ATHERINIDZ. 


The study of this family, heretofore composed of the single genus Atherina, has led us to 
establish several new genera in which the rather numerous species are grouped according to 
several structural peculiarities which, though apparently inappreciable on account of their 
moderate development, are not to be altogether overlooked. 

The genus ATHERINOPSIS is to receive such species in which there are no palatine teeth, with 
both jaws equal, and the snout more or less rounded. 

Aitherina menidia, Linn., and Atherina notata, Mrrcn., will find a place in this genus along- 
side with Atherinopsis californiensis, GRD. 

The genus Bastiicutuys will be characterized by the protrusion of the upper jaw beyond the 
lower one. There are no teeth on the palate. 

To this must be referred : 

1’. Atherina microlepidota, Jun., from the fresh waters of Chile, described further on. 

2°. Atherina laticlavia, Cuv. and Vau.,* from the coast of Chile, and easily distinguished by 
its large scales and its broad silvery lateral band. 

3°. Atherina argentinensis, Cuv. and Vau., observed at the mouth of the Rio La Plata and 
Bay of Maldonado, and commonly known as Pescadilla del rey. 


* Hist. Nat. des Poiss. X, 1835, 473. 


288 ZOOLOGY. 


4°, Atherina macrophthalma Aaass.,* A. brasilensis, Cuv. and Vau.; from the bay of Rio 
de Janeiro. 

5°. Atherina bonariensis, Cuv. and Vau., from Buenos Ayres. 

6°. Atherina lichtensteinii, Cuv. and Vau., from Montevideo. 

And, in all probability: Atherina regia, Hums.,{ from Peru, and Atherina lessonii, Cuv. 
and Vat., from Brazil. 

The genus HererogNnatuus is based upon the elongation of the lower jaw, which projects 
considerably beyond the upper one. No teeth on the palate, or else in a rudimentary state only. 

Atherina humboldtiana and A. vomeriana, Cuy. and VAu., both from Mexico: whether from the 
fresh or salt waters, it is not stated. 

In all Atherinopsis, Basilichthys, and Heterognathus, the intermaxillaries constitute the upper 
arcade of the mouth at the exclusion of the maxillaries, which are situated behind the latter. 
This character will distinguish them at once from Atherina proper. 


Genus BASILICHTHYS, Girard. 


Gen. cHAR. Intermaxillaries constituting the upper part of the mouth, the maxillaries 
being placed behind. Head and snout subconical; upper jaw protruding beyond the lower. 
Small teeth on both jaws; none on either the vomer or palatines. Upper surface of the head 
scaly. 


Syy. Basilichthys, Grp., Pro. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VIT, 1854, 198. 


Oxs. Like Atherinopsis, the present genus includes species of its family which are unprovided 
with teeth of any kind on the upper roof of the mouth. The mouth itself has the same general 
structure as regards the disposition of the intermaxillaries and maxillaries, but the conical 
shape of the head, and the protrusion of the upper jaw beyond the lower, will constitute the 
generic feature of Basilichthys. 


BASILICHTHYS MICROLEPIDOTUS, Girard. 
Pirate XXX, Figs. 6—9. 


Spec. coar. Upper surface of head depressed and subconvex. Cheeks and upper portion of 
opercle covered with conspicuous scales. Origin of anal considerably in advance of anterior 
margin of second dorsal. First dorsal opposite the middle of space between anals and ventrals. 
Caudal forked. Ground-color yellowish brown, dotted with blackish; a silvery grey band along 
the middle of the flanks. 


Syn. Atherina microlepidota, Jun. Zool. of Beagle, IV, Fish. 1842, 78, Pl. xvi, fig. 1, la, 1b. 
GuicH. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. IL, 1848, 253. 
Basilichthys microlepidotus, Gro. Acad Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 198. 
Peje rey, vernacular. 


Descr. The general form is elongated, subfusiform, and slender; the back being rounded, 
whilst the flanks diminish considerably in thickness from the silvery band towards the medial 
line of the belly. The greatest depth of the body, measured above the insertion of the ventral 


* Pisc. Brazil, 1827, Pl. xlvii, Fig. 1. 
t Rec. d’Obs. de Zool. et d’Anat. Comp. I, 1833. 


FISHES. 239 


fins, is contained between five and six times in the total length; and the least depth, taken on 
the peduncle of the tail, near the base of the caudal fin, is about the third of the greatest depth. 
The greatest thickness is considerably more than half the greatest depth. From the origin of 
the ventral the body tapers slightly anteriorly, and quite rapidly posteriorly from the anterior 
margin of both the anal and second dorsal fins. 

The head above is depressed, subconvex, and rather small. In length it constitutes about 
the two-elevenths of the whole. It is a little deeper than broad at its base. The mouth is well 
developed, the lower jaw being a little shorter than the upper, which is protractile. Several rows 
of very small and subconical teeth may be observed on the maxillaries and on the dentaries. 
The palate is perfectly smooth, or without teeth. The pharyngobranchials, upper and lower, 
are densely covered with card-like teeth. The tongue is smooth and narrow, and of but me- 
dium development. The posterior extremity of the upper maxillary does not quite extend to a 
vertical line which would pass through the anterior rim of the orbit. The nostrils are very 
small, the anterior one being the smallest, and both of them are nearer to the anterior rim of 
the orbit than to the lip of the upper jaw when the latter is in its retracted position. The eye, 
though well developed, is small when compared to other species, circular in shape, and its 
diameter contained nearly five times in the length of the side of the head. Its upper margin 
approximates the line of the profile. The opercular apparatus is rounded, and convex upon its 
margin. Conspicuous scales cover its upper margin as well as the cheeks. On the remaining 
portion of the opercle, and the sub and interopercles, scales are apparently wanting, owing to 
the transparency of the argentine membrane which passes over them. The branchial apertures 
are broadly open and continuous under the hyoidal apparatus. The branchiostegals, six in 
number, are mostly concealed under the subopercle; the innermost are flattened; the two outer- 
most, small and filiform. 

The first dorsal is quite small, and composed of slender rays. The posterior margin of that 
fin is nearly equidistant between the upper lobe of caudal fin and the extremity of the snout. 
The second dorsal is of moderate development, with one anterior rudimentary ray, undivided, 
like the second. The central rays bifurcate twice, with a slight indication of a subdivision of 
the third degree upon the fourth, fifth, and sixth rays. That fin is a little higher anteriorly 
than long, with its upper edge concave, and its posterior margin about half the height of the 
anterior. Itis situated immediately opposite the posterior portion of the anal. The base of 
the anal is much longer than that of the second dorsal, and longer also than the depth of its 
anterior margin. Its external edge is likewise concave, and its posterior margin about two-fifths 
the height of the anterior. The first ray is rudimentary; the second is simple; the central 
ones bifurcate only twice. The caudal is deeply forked with sub-acute lobes. It constitutes the 
sixth of the entire length. Its central rays bifurcate three times, with partial indications of a 
subdivision of the fourth degree. The ventrals are altogether situated in advance of the first 
dorsal; these fins are short and broad exteriorly, when expanded. The anterior ray is the 
smallest, and remains undivided; the others subdivide three times. The pectorals are of mod- 
erate development and acute posteriorly; their ray subdividing but twice, the uppermost re- 
maining simple. They are obliquely inserted below the middle line of the body. 


13ies WALLED) Wl Tab Wak GSE TE COPS IG teria 1 PIB Yee le" alae 


The scales are rather small, and subquadrangular in general form; sometimes a little longer 
than high, at others a little higher than long. They are posteriorly rounded, and subtruncated 
anteriorly. They constitute more than twenty longitudinal rows upon the line of the greatest 
depth of the body, and about fifteen rows on the peduncle of the tail. Small and irregular 
scales may be observed upon the base of the caudal fin. The scales on the cheeks are equal in 
development to those on the nape. On the opercular pieces they are little larger than on the 
cheeks. The ground-color is yellowish brown, minutely dotted with blackish. The dorsal 
region between the silvery bands has a darker hue than the inferior part of the flank, owing to 


240 ZOOLOGY. 


a great accumulation of dots over the whole surface of the scales, whilst beneath it there is but 
one series of these dots along the very margin of the scales. The caudal, dorsal, and pectoral 
fins are greyish yellow; the ventrals and anal are yellowish. The upper surface of head and 
snout being dark brown. 

This species, which is said to inhabit the fresh waters of Chile, was caught by Mr. Darwin in 
the vicinity of Valparaiso. The specimens before us were collected by Lieut. Gilliss in the 
Mapocho, an affluent of the Rio de Maypu. : 

Plate XXX, fig. 6, represents Basilichthys microlepidotus in a profile view, and of the size of 

life. 
fig. 7 is an outline, viewed from above. 
fig. 8, a scale of the dorsal region. 
fig. 9, a scale of the abdominal region. 
Figs. 8 and 9 are magnified. 


FAMILY OF SILURIDZ. 
Genus NEMATOGENYS, Girard. 


Gen. cuar. Head very much depressed and large. Body posteriorly compressed; posterior 
margin of caudal fin rounded. Anal opposite space between the dorsal and caudal. Ventrals 
under the dorsal. Mouth broad, but not deeply cleft; its angle provided with a long barbel. 
A second pair of subhyoidal barbels shorter than the buccal ones. A still shorter and prenasal 
barbels constitute a third pair of these appendages. Intermaxillaries and dentaries provided 
with a patch of card-like teeth. Pharyngobranchials covered with similar asperities. Eyes 
rather small, situated on the upper surface of head. Opercular apparatus without any spines. 
Branchial openings continuous under the throat. A spine at the anterior margin of the pec- 
toral fins. Skin scaleless. 


Syn. Nematogenys, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 198. 


Oxzs. The most prominent characters by which this genus may be distinguished from Thricho- 
mycterus, consist in the presence of one pair of barbels only at the angle of the mouth, another 
pair under the head, which is wanting in the latter, and by the absence of prickly or small 
spines on the opercular apparatus. The absence of an isthmus under the throat may become 
another not less important point of discrimination between the two genera. 


NEMATOGENYS INERMIS, Girard. 


Prate XXXII, Figs. 1—3. 


Sprc. cHarR. Head large and wedge-shaped: snout anteriorly broad and rounded. Origin of 
ventrals opposite the anterior margin of dorsal. Spiny ray of pectorals prickly beneath. Tip 
of buccal barbel extending beyond the base of pectorals. Skin beset with minute pustules. 
Ground-color yellowish brown maculated with white. 


Syn. Trichomycterus inermis, GuicH. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 312. Ictiol. 
Lam. ix, fig. 2. 
Nematogenys inermis, Gro. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 198. 
Bagre or Vagre. Vernacular. 


FISHES. 241 


Drsc. The body is elongated, subquadrangular or subrounded upon its anterior half, very 
much compressed posteriorly, and thinning off towards the base of the caudal fin. The greatest 
depth, measured in advance of the dorsal fin, is about the eighth of the entire length, whilst 
the least depth, immediately behind the anal, enters nine times and a half in the same dimen- 
sion. The greatest thickness, at the origin of the trunk, is equal to the least depth, and the 
thickness above the anal fin is contained nearly three times and a half in the depth upon that 
same region. The head constitutes about the fifth of the total length. It is very much 
depressed, and broader than the body anteriorly. Its depth upon the occipital region is a little 
less than the half of its length, hence tapering off to the extremity of the snout, being also 
declive towards the sides. The mouth is broad, though not deeply cleft; the posterior extremity 
of the upper maxillary reaching a vertical line which would pass a little nearer to the anterior 
rim of the eye than to the posterior nostril. The jaws are nearly equal, and surrounded with 
well developed membranous lips, expanding considerably towards the angle of the mouth, where 
a subcylindrical barbel is observed, which extends posteriorly beyond the base of the pectoral 
fins. A pair of flattened barbels may be observed under the head, attached to the anterior part 
of the hyoidal apparatus, each widely separated from one another. When stretched backwards 
in a straight line from their insertion, their tip reaches the edge of the branchiostegal mem- 
brane. The nostrils, right and left, are wide apart; the anterior is much the largest, situated 
close to the jaw, and provided at its upper and posterior rim with a flattened and tapering 
barbel about seven twentieths of an inch long, immediately behind which may be seen the pos- 
terior opening, subcircular in shape, and provided upon its upper and posterior rim with a 
membranous expansion sufficiently large to cover that aperture when let down upon it. The 
eyes, situated towards the upper surface of the head, are small, inconspicuous, and elongated ; 
their longitudinal diameter measuring but a quarter of an inch; their posterior rim being nearly 
equidistant between the margin of the upper jaw and the posterior edge of the opercular appa- 
ratus. An oblong and rather large patch of card-like teeth exists upon the intermaxillaries ; 
the upper maxillaries being toothless. A broad band, posteriorly tapering, of similar but 
smaller teeth, may likewise be seen upon the dentary or lower jaw. The roof of the mouth is 
smooth; but at the entrance of the esophagus the pharyngobranchials, upper and lower, are 
possessed with teeth of the same description, but smaller still than those of the dentaries, 
becoming almost velvet-like. The upper pharyngobranchials are subelliptical in shape and 
convex, whilst the inferior pair of these bones are subtriangularly elongated and subconcave. 
A double row of conical processi are observed, one upon each side of the branchial arches; the 
anterior row more developed than the posterior one. The tongue is short, and provided on each 
side with a fleshy expansion. The opercular apparatus is concealed under the skin, without 
either spines or serratures of any kind. The branchial apertures are broadly open, and split 
to the hyoidal apparatus, without any intermediate membrane connecting the right and left 
flaps. The branchiostegals are numerous and slender; those next to the opercular apparatus 
are flattened, the others circular—all more or less curved. ‘The membrane which unites them 
extends beyond their tips. 

The anterior margin of the dorsal fin is nearly equidistant between the extremity of the snout 
and the base of caudal. That fin is higher than long, superiorly convex; its central rays are 
subdivided three times. The anal resembles the dorsal in general appearance, being deeper 
than long, but more acuminated posteriorly. Its central rays bifurcate, likewise, thrice, and 
their tips reach the rudimentary rays of the caudal, between the base of which and the origin of 
ventral its anterior margin corresponds. The caudal, which constitutes a little less than the 
sixth of the entire length, is broad and rounded posteriorly; its central rays bifurcate three 
times upon their length; there are numerous rudimentary rays above and below. The insertion 
of the ventrals is nearly opposite to the anterior margin of the dorsal. These fins are of medium 
size, exteriorly rounded when expanded, and their rays three times bifurcated. The pectorals 
are longer and narrower than the ventrals, and inserted near the inferior surface of the body ; 

ol * 


242 ZOOLOGY. 


dd 


their anterior edge being placed a little in advance of the posterior expansion of the opercle. 
The spine which occupies this region is well developed, provided with minute prickles beneath, 
and with a series of small, subtriangular serratures posteriorly. Its tip is continued to the 
margin of the fin under the form of a membranous ray. The soft and articulated rays are bifur- 
cated three times. The external margin of these fins is rounded when expanded. 


Br. Sis 0s sell. CoG selena ten ar Ve Ome en Te 


The anterior ray of both the dorsal and anal fins is small and slender, and the second shorter 
than the third, which is a little longer than the last of all. 

The skin is densely studded with minute pustules, smooth to the touch, and extending to all 
the regions, except the lower surface of the head, throat, and belly. The lateral line, from 
the opercular apparatus, runs almost straight along the middle of the flanks to the base of cau- 
dal fin, undergoing but a very slight inflexion downwards upon the thoracic region. It is much 
more conspicuous anterior to the dorsal fin than farther back, where it exists under the shape 
of small pores. 

The ground-color is reddish, or yellowish brown. The upper surface of head is nearly black ; 
numerous blackish and rounded spots or blotches are spread all over the body and sides of the 
head, with a tendency towards longitudinal series along the flanks and tail ; the blotches often 
being confluent, and inconspicuously defined. On the fins, these spots assume a transverse 
arrangement, and give to the latter an irregularly banded or barred appearance. The inferior 
surface of the head and belly are whitish, the former regions sometimes maculated. The buccal 
and prenasal barbels are black ; the subhyoidal ones whitish, or semi-blackish. The ventrals 
and pectorals are lighter beneath than above. 

Specimens of this species were collected in an aftluent of the Rio de Maypu, in the vicinity of 
Santiago. According to Mr. Gay, it is to be found in the fresh waters throughout the republic 
of Chile. 

Plate XXXII, fig. 1, represents Nematogenys inermis in a profile view, and nearly the size of life. 

fig. 2, is an outline of the fish seen from above, to show the disposition of 
the eyes, nostrils, and prenasal barbels. 

fig. 3, is a view of the inferior surface of the head, exhibiting the insertion 
of the subhyoidal barbels, the continuity of the branchial aperture with the 
hyoidal apparatus, and the branchiostegal rays. 


Genus THRICHOMYCTERUS, (Humb.) Valenc. 


GEN. cHAR. Head depressed and rather small. Body anteriorly rounded ; posteriorly com- 
pressed. Caudal fin emarginated or subemarginated. Anal under the posterior part of dorsal, 
and ventrals in advance of the latter. Mouth small, or of medium size, inferior, and provided 
with a double pair of barbels at its angle. No barbels under the head. One pair of prenasal 
barbels. Velvet-like teeth upon the intermaxillaries and lower jaw. Palate smooth. Eyes 
very small, situated on the upper surface of the head. Opercular apparatus prickly. Branchial 
openings not continuous under the throat. Fins without any spiny rays. Skin scaleless and 


smooth. 


Syn. Thrichomycterus (Humb.), Vatenc. in Hwmb. Rec. d’Obs. de Zool. et d’ Anat. comp. IT, 
1833, 347. 
Cuy. et Vau. Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVIII, 1846, 485. 
Guicu. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 309. 
GrraRD, In Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1854, 198. 


FISHES. 243 


Ons. The name of Thrichomycterus was first framed by Humboldt,* under the following circum- 
stances: Having obtained a fish from the Rio Bogota, in New Grenada, he published a memoir 
thereon, in which he says: ‘‘ Je l’ai nommé érémophile, A cause de la solitude dans laquelle il 
vit a de si grandes hauteurs, et dans des eaux qui ne sont presque habitées par aucun étre vivant. 
Les naturalistes qui craignent que de nouvelles espéces de ce méme genre ne viennent a ¢tre 
découvertes dans des situations trés-différentes, pourraient changer le nom d’érémophile en celui 
de thrichomycterus, tiré des barbillons attachés au nez de ce poisson.” 

Thrichomycterus, therefore, in the estimation of Humboldt, was exactly the synonym of 
Eremophilus. 

Now, in the second volume of the same work, Valenciennes, after giving us a more complete 
description of Eremophilus mutisii, mentions that another fish, generically distinct from the 
above, had been obtained from Brazil, and for which he would propose the name of T’hricho- 
mycterus, imagined by Humboldt. 

No reference to the history of this generic name being made in the Histoire Naturelle des 
Poissons, we have considered ourselves fully justified in relating it here. The transfer of a 
name to a thing for which it was not originally intended, if not explained, is liable to throw 
a great deal of confusion upon the subject it refers to, and is likewise an infraction to sound 
rules of nomenclature. 

Many species having been described under the name of Thrichomycterus, we would advise 
that it should be retained, rather than to frame another one. The species of Thrichomycterus 
are closely allied to Hremophilus, from which they chiefly differ by the presence of ventral fins. 


THRICHOMYCTERUS MACULATUS, Cuv. et Val. 


Prate XXXIV, Figs. 1—3. 


Spec. cHAR. Head small and very depressed, declive towards the snout, which is anteriorly 
rounded, Mouth small. Maxillary teeth inconspicuous. Upper buccal barbel longer than the 
lower, neither of which reaching the base of pectorals. Prenasal barbel as long as the upper 
buccal. Opercle and suboperele prickly. Isthmus quite small. Branchiostegals, six. Caudal 
subemarginated posteriorly. Skin perfectly smooth. Ground-color yellowish or brownish, 
maculated with black. Fins greyish yellow. 


Syn. Thrichomycterus maculatus, Cuv. et Vau. Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVIII, 1846, 493. 
Gurcn. in Gay, Hist, de Chile, Zool. II, 1848, 311. 
Grrarp, in Proc, Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1854, 199. 
Bagre, or Vagre. Vernacular. 


Dusc. The species is one of small size. The body is slender and elongated, anteriorly rounded, 
and slightly compressed; posteriorly more so. The greatest depth, measured immediately 
behind the tip of pectoral fins, is contained nearly nine times in the total length, and the least 
depth, taken on the peduncle of the tail, enters in that same length thirteen times. The great- 
est thickness, at the anterior portion of the body, is about equal to the depth. The head is 
contained six times and a half in the total length. It is much depressed, wedge-shaped, and 
equally declive towards the sides. The snout is anteriorly rounded. The upper jaw overlaps 
the lower, thus giving the mouth an inferior situation. The latter is small, and surrounded 
with thick and fleshy lips, but little extensible upon the wpper jaw. A membranous expansion 
is to be observed at the angle of the mouth, immediately below the barbels. The latter are 


* Recueil d’Observations de Zoologie et d’Anatomie Cumparée, &c , Vol. I, 1811, 18. 


244 ZOOLOGY. 


tlattened, thick at their base, and filiform towards their extremity. The upper one is a little 
longer than the lower, its tip extending to the posterior edge of the opercular apparatus, when 
stretched stwaightway backwards. The velvet-like teeth constitute an elongated and transverse 
patch upon the intermaxillaries. A similar area of similar teeth exists upon the symphysis of 
the dentaries, or lower jaw. The palate is perfectly smooth. The pharyngobranchials, upper 
and lower, are either smooth or provided with very inconspicuous prickles: as far as we could 
ascertain, they appeared to be smooth. The anterior nostril approximates the upper jaw, and 
is provided at its external edge with a flattened (at base) and filiform (at tip) barbel, and about 
as long as the upper buccal. The posterior nostril, situated a little behind the anterior, is a 
little larger than the latter, and provided anteriorly with a very low and thin membrane. The 
eyes, which are situated towards the upper surface of the head, and far apart, are very small 
and somewhat elongated, nearly equidistant between the margin of the upper jaw and the pos- 
terior edge of the opercular apparatus. The cheeks are smooth, like the upper surface of the 
head, and the opercular apparatus concealed under the skin exhibits only a small group of 
prickles, situated at the upper angle of the opercle. The subopercle is largely developed, and 
its surface is covered with very conspicuous club-shaped prickles. The branchiostegal rays are 
entirely concealed under the subopercle. They are six in number; the four innermost flat- 
tened—all being enclosed in a tough membrane which projects beyond their tips. The 
branchial apertures are continuous, but not split under the hyoidal apparatus. The dorsal fin 
is situated far back; its anterior margin being much nearer to the posterior extremity of the 
caudal than to the tip of the snout. It is nearly as high anteriorly as its base is long; the 
height of its posterior margin is less than the half of the anterior margin. Its upper margin is 
subconvex. The origin of the anal is situated opposite the posterior third of dorsal. It is 
nearly twice as deep as the extend of its base, and exteriorly convex. The tips of its central 
rays consequently extend farther backwards than those of the dorsal, without, however, reaching 
the base of the caudal. The latter constitutes about the eighth of the entire length. It is 
posteriorly subemarginated, with its lobes rounded. There are numerous rudimentary rays 
which contribute to give to the extremity of the peduncle of the tail a dilated appearance. The 
ventrals are situated in advance of the dorsal; their posterior extremity reaching a vertical line 
which would pass immediately in advance of the anterior margin of the last mentioned fin. 
The ventrals themselves are small and convex exteriorly, their tips not reaching the vent, 
which is situated somewhat in advance of the anterior margin of the anal fin. The pectorals 
are likewise short, broad, and rounded exteriorly, their insertion being almost horizontal, and 
below the middle line of the body. 


Br Vil-Dal3 Ans: ClO. ARe6, (pele 95) Vebree 98 


The anterior three rays of both the dorsal and anal fins are simple and shorter than the 
fourth, the first being quite rudimentary. The anterior ray of the ventrals and pectorals is 
simple also, and enclosed in a thick membrane. The central rays of all the fins are bifurcated 
three times upon their length. The lateral line is very inconspicuous, and visible only upon 
the anterior third of the body, where distant pores may be followed from the upper part of the 
opercle towards the middle of the flanks, after a slight convexity upwards at its origin. The 
skin is otherwise perfectly smooth. It is needless to add that a thick layer of mucosity covers 
the whole body, the head, and the fins. 

The ground-color is either yellowish or brownish, with small purplish macule spread all 
over the head, where they assume a cloudy aspect; also over the body, along the sides of which 
obsolete longitudinal stripes are to be seen. Two other stripes, more indistinct still, along the 
dorsal line, from nape to origin of dorsal; and three along the sides, the middle one of which 
running along the middle region of the body and tail. The inferior surface of the head and 
the belly are of a soiled yellow hue. The barbels and the fins are greyish yellow. 

Specimens were caught in the Rio Mapocho, near Santiago. 


FISHES. 245 


Plate XXXIV, fig. 1, represents T’hrichomycterus maculatus, size of life, and in profile. 
fig. 2 is an outline of the same, seen from above. 
fig. 3, the head, seen from below. 


THRICHOMYCTERUS MACRAI, Girard. 


Sprc. cuAR. General aspect elongated, subfusiform; peduncle of tail long and slender. Dor- 
sal fin elongated, and quite low posteriorly. Anal fin narrow. Ventrals and pectorals rather 
small. Caudal posteriorly emarginated. Ground-color greenish brown, with small, pavement- 
like blackish spots extending all over the body. 


Descr. The general form resembles that of 7. maculatus; the peduncle of the tail is still more 
slender, and the posterior edge of the caudal subcrescentic, with the inferior lobe larger than the 
upper lobe. The head is contained nearly six times and a half in the total length, which meas- 
ures four inches and a half. The base of the dorsal fin is contained three times in the distance 
between its anterior margin and the extremity of the snout, and once between its posterior mar- 
gin and the base of the caudal; the latter fin being one fourth shorter. The anterior third 
of said dorsal fin is higher than the remaining portion, which is comparatively very low. The 
origin of the anal takes place opposite the middle of the length of the dorsal ; it is deeper than 
long, and rounded upon its external margin, which extends backwards almost evenly with the 
posterior margin of the dorsal. The ventrals and pectorals are short and rounded exteriorly. 

The buccal and nasal tentacles are shorter than in 7. maculatus. The prickles about the oper- 
cular apparatus are but little conspicuous. The head is broad and depressed ; the mouth is 
moderately developed. 

The ground-color is greenish or yellowish brown ; the upper regions are covered with numer- 
ous small blackish spots, assuming a tessellated or else a pavement-like aspect. Beneath, the 
color is uniform yellowish or greyish. The fins present the same tint, with a blackish hue 
towards their margin. 

Three specimens of this species were collected by Liéutenant MacRae near Uspullata, east side 
of the cordilleras, at an elevation of about 7,000 feet. 


FAMILY OF CLUPEIDZ. 
Genus ALOSA, Cuy. 


Gen. cHAR. No teeth upon any of the bones constituting the apparatus of the mouth. 


Syn. Alosa, Cuv. Régn. Anim. (2d ed.) II, 1829. 
Cuv. et Vat. Hist. Nat. des Poiss. XX, 1847, 389. 


Ops. The total absence of teeth in this genus will readily distinguish it from any other of the 
same family. It is here admitted as characterized in the ‘‘ Histoire Naturelle des Poissons.”’ 
The species resemble the herrings in their general appearance; the stomach being rather 
large and acute, and the pylorus provided with numerous ceca. The intestine likewise folds 
twice upon itself. The air-bladder is large, attenuated at both extremities, swollen upon its 
middle region, and communicating with the stomach; its anterior extremity not extending 
beyond the third vertebra. 


246 ZOOLOGY. 
ALOSA MUSICA, Girard. 


Prate XXXI, Figs. 1—4. 


Spsc. cHAR. Body subfusiform, elongated, compressed, and tapering posteriorly. Origin of 
ventrals opposite the middle region of dorsal. Posterior extremity of upper maxillary reaching 
the vertical of anterior rim of pupil. Lower jaw longest. Back bluish; sides silvery. A 
series from nine to eleven roundish spots along the sides. 


Syn. Alosa musica, Gro. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 199. 


Descr. The body is elongated, subfusiform in its profile, tapering considerably on the 
peduncle of the tail. The greatest depth, measured immediately in advance of the anterior 
margin of the dorsal fin, is a little less than the fifth of the entire length, whilst the least depth, 
near the base of the caudal, is about the third of the former. The greatest thickness, on the 
thoracic region, is equal to half the greatest depth. The dorsal and abdominal outlines are 
very regular and but moderately convex. The head, which forms about the fourth of the total 
length, continues uniformly towards the outlines just mentioned, in the shape of an acute 
triangle, rounded upon its summit, where the mouth opens, with a lower jaw somewhat longer 
than the upper ; the latter is but slightly notched. Its upper surface is flattened. The upper 
maxillary is broadly dilated, and rounded posteriorly, where it reaches a vertical line which 
would intersect the anterior rim of the pupil. The nostrils are small, and nearer to the tip of 
upper jaw than to the anterior rim of the eye. The anterior one is rounded, whilst the poste- 
rior one is subcrescentic and convex posteriorly. The eye is large and circular, and approxi- 
mates the upper profile of the head ; its diameter being contained about four times and a half 
in the length of the side of the head. The opercular apparatus is posteriorly subtruncated and 
undulated ; the upper part of the opercle exhibits small, radiating grooves, whilst oblique and 
rectilinear strize are observed along the anterior half of its lower part. The other opercular 
pieces are smooth. The branchiostegals, six in number, are very thin and flattened; the inner- 
most is particularly expanded and notched upon its posterior and external margin, correspond- 
ing to a similar emargination of the inferior edge of the opercular apparatus at the junction of 
the sub and interopercles. 

The anterior margin of the dorsal fin is nearer to the tip of snout than to the base of caudal 
fin. It is higher anteriorly than long, with its first three rays rudimentary and simple, like 
the fourth, which is the highest; the posterior margin of that fin is comparatively low, having 
but the third of the height of the anterior margin. Its upper margin is concave. The central 
rays are bifurcated twice, the first subdivision taking place upon the posterior third of their 
length. The anal is situated far back, is very low, and subconcave exteriorly ; its base is a 
little longer than that of the dorsal, and its anterior margin less deep than half the height of 
the anterior margin of the dorsal. The second, third, and fourth rays are the longest, and 
remain simple, as well as the first. The central rays subdivide but once. The caudal fin is 
deeply forked, and its lobes are acute, constituting about the sixth of the total length, its cen- 
tral rays bifurcating three times upon their length. The origin of the ventrals is situated 
opposite the middle of length of dorsal. These fins are of moderate development, and poste- 
riorly subtruncated, their tips projecting slightly beyond the longest rays of the dorsal. The 
pectorals are well developed, of a rather slender appearance when contracted, and very broad 
exteriorly when expanded. They are inserted immediately beneath the subopercle; their 
external margin is twice and a half as long as the internal, their posterior edge being rounded 
and subconcave. The central rays bifurcate three times, as do also those of the ventral fins. 


Br. VI: D19+1; Al6+1; C5.1. 9.8.1.4; V8; P17. 


The anterior ray of both ventral and pectoral fins is simple, but articulated. 


=:  Srrt—<isS 


U.S.N. Astr! Exped™ Ph). SEK, 


oo 


J.H.Richard . Dougal Sc. 


7 


FISHES. 247 


The scales are large, and nearly as long as deep, irregularly subtruncated anteriorly, rounded 
and convex upon their anterior margin, which is minutely serrated. They are nowhere sufti- 
ciently preserved upon the specimens before us to allow an enumeration of the longitudinal 
rows. 

The upper part of the head and dorsal region are of a uniform bluish slate hue. The sides 
of the head and body are silvery, with a bluish reflexion. Nine to eleven bluish black and 
subcireular or subelliptical spots are observed, forming a series from the upper part of the tho- 
racic belt to half-way between the posterior extremity of the caudal and the origin of the anal. 
These spots are mostly situated upon the upper margin of the silvery portion of the sides of 
the body, a circumstance which gives to them a very conspicuous appearance. The fins are 
yellowish ; the dorsal and caudal, mayhap also the anal, being transversally strigated with 
greyish. 

From Caldera bay; caught in the winter months. This is the fish, referred to in the 
narrative, (page 270-271,) which, in the opinion of the inhabitants of that locality, emits melo- 
dious sounds as they enter the harbor. Without giving any more credit to that popular belief 
than it really deserves, we have designated this species under the above appellation. 


Plate XX XI, fig. 1, represents Alosa musica in a profile view, size of life. 
fig. 2, is an outline, viewed from above. 
fig. 3, a scale from the dorsal region. 
fig. 4, a scale from the abdominal region. 

Figs. 3 and 4 are magnified. 


Genus ENGRAULIS, Cuv. 


GEN. cHAR. Body rounded or compressed. Mouth large; snout protruded beyond the lower 
jaw. Intermaxillaries very small, and hidden under the snout. Maxillaries slender, stretch- 
ing over the cheeks. A few teeth on front of vomer. Palatine and pterygoidian teeth, some- 
times reduced to mere asperities. Gill openings very large and continuous under the throat. 
Branchiostegal membrane narrow and hidden under the jaw; its rays being short and variable 
in number. Caudal fin forked. Dorsal fin rather small. Insertion of pectorals near the gill 
openings. Ventrals very small. 


Syn. Hngraulis, Cuv. Régn. Anim. II, 1817. 
Cuv. and Vat. Hist. Nat. Poiss. XXI, 1848, 2. 


Oss. The peculiar structure of the snout, as well as the shape of the mouth, will strike 
every one as the most characteristic feature of the small Clupeoid which constitutes this genus. 
The head, which is very elongated in some species, is short in others. 


ENGRAULIS PULCHELLUS, Girard. 
Puate XXXI, Figs. 5—9. 


Spec. car. Body subfusiform, slender, and compressed. Origin of ventrals situated in ad- 
vance of anterior margin of dorsal. Vent immediately opposite the hind margin of same fin. 
Scales higher than long. Dorsal region purplish. Sides of head and body silvery. 


Syn. Engraulis pulchellus, Grp. Proc, Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad, VII, 1854, 199. 


248 ZOOLOGY. 


Descr. The head constitutes about one fourth of the entire length, and is in direct continuity 
with the trunk, being slightly declive from the occipital region towards the tip of the snout, 
which has the shape of a flattened cone. The anterior margin of the anterior nostril opening 
is nearly equidistant between the tip of snout and the anterior rim of the orbit ; the posterior 
nostril opening is situated immediately behind the former; both being rather small and of the 
same development. The eye is large and subcircular, its upper rim approximating the line of 
the profile of the head. Its horizontal diameter is contained a little over four times in the 
length of the side of the head, and once between the tip of the snout and the anterior rim of 
the pupil. The extremity of the lower jaw does not extend beyond a vertical line, which would 
pass immediately in advance of the anterior nostril. The posterior extremity of the upper 
maxillary reaches the extremity of the preopercular carina: not the posterior limb of that bone. 
The intermaxillaries, the maxillaries upon the whole extent of their margin, and the dentaries, 
are minutely crenated, not to say serrated, or toothed. The middle lingual carina is quite 
conspicuous, and obsoletely crenated also. The posterior edge of the opercular apparatus is 
convex, and subelliptically rounded. Its component pieces are smooth, except the upper por- 
tion of the opercle, which exhibits a few minute carine. The preopercle sends off a thin ex- 
pansion of its limb over the junction of the opercle, subopercle, and interopercle. The gill 
openings are broadly open under the head, extending forwards almost opposite to the anterior 
rim of the pupil. 

The body is slender, subfusiform, and compressed ; deepest anteriorly, and gradually tapering 
posteriorly in depth and width. The greatest depth, taken across the base of the pectoral fins, 
is contained over six times and a half in the total length; whilst the least depth, near the base 
of the caudal fin, is scarcely half the latter. The greatest thickness, upon the thoracic region, 
is a little more considerable than the least depth. The peduncle of the tail is flattened, and 
wedge-shaped towards the base of the caudal fin. The back is uniformly rounded or convex, 
and the ventral region narrow. The anterior margin of the dorsal fin is equi-distant between 
the tip of the snout and the base of the caudal; its anterior margin is equal in height to its 
base, and its posterior margin is about one fourth of the anterior margin. Its upper margin is 
slightly subeoncave. The origin of the anal is opposite the tips of the posterior rays of the 
dorsal. Its base is one fourth longer than that of the dorsal, and its anterior margin about the 
three fourths of its base. It is concave upon its external margin, and rapidly decréasing in 
depth beyond the anterior third of its length. The rays of the dorsal and anal subdivide but 
once upon the posterior third of their length. The caudal is slender and deeply forked, con- 
stituting a little less than one seventh of the total length; its central rays are subdivided three 
times with obsolete indications upon their tip of a subdivision of the fourth degree. The ven- 
trals are rather short, broad exteriorly when expanded, and rounded or convex upon their 
margin; their central rays subdividing twice. Their origin is situated in advance of the ante- 
rior margin of dorsal, and their tips extend slightly beyond the middle of the base of the same 
fin. The pectorals are rather slender, and attached to the inferior part of the thoracic region ; 
their external margin is much longer than the internal, and moderately broad when. expanded. 
Their central rays bifurcate twice upon their length; the anterior one being simple, as well as 
that of the ventrals. 


Br. [X35 Dil6; ot Vie. 34k oyewieseaver ; “Pale: 


The anterior two rays of the dorsal and anal fins are simple, the first being but little de- 
veloped. 

The scales are very large, much deeper than long, irregularly rounded, convex posteriorly, 
and undulated anteriorly. Five longitudinal rows may be counted immediately above the pos- 
terior extremity of the anal fin, and perhaps six or seven rows upon the line of greatest depth 
of the body. 

The lateral line is not discernible. 


L 


USIN: sAsitrl tapedit 


saunewbiismaes 


Lene ee 
ramet Paatires 


= 


JH.Richard . 


Dougal 


Se 


on 


an 
> 
: 
; 


FISHES. 249 


The dorsal region is yellowish, covered with numerous purplish dots, so crowded on the mid- 
dle line of the back, and along the argentine surface of the flanks, as to appear upon these 
regions like purplish vitte. The flanks are uniformly silvery; the upper limits of the argen- 
tine surface running straight from the upper part of opercle to near the origin of the upper 
part of the base of the caudal fin. The opercular apparatus and sides of head are silvery like 
the flanks. he fins are yellowish, the rays of the dorsal and caudal fins alternately spotted 
greyish or blackish. 

Specimens of this species were caught in Caldera bay, in the month of July. 

Plate XXXI, fig. 5, represents Hngraulis pulchellus in profile, and size of life. 

fig. 6, is an outline, viewed from above. 

fig. 7, the head enlarged. 

fig. 8, a scale from the dorsal region. 

fig. 9, a scale from the abdominal region. 
Figs. 8 and 9 are magnified. 


FAMILY OF CHARACINI. 
Genus CHEIRODON, Girard. 


Gen. cHAR. Body compressed; abdomen not serrated. Adipose fin present. Teeth upon the 
maxillary, the intermaxillary, and the dentary disposed upon a single series along both jaws, 
and dilated towards their edge, which exhibits generally five acute points. Nocanine. Palate 
without teeth. Scales large. Guill openings large. Branchiostegal rays, three in number. 
Pharyngeal teeth velvet-like, very minute. Dorsal fin situated between the ventrals and the 
anal. 


Syn. Cheirodon, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 199. 


Ops. The form of the teeth bears a general resemblance to those of Astyanax, but it will be 
remembered that in the last genus they are disposed in a double row on both the upper and 
lower jaws. The dorsal fin in Chetrodon is placed opposite the space between the ventrals and 
anal, whilst in Astyanaz it is situated above the ventrals. 


CHEIRODON PISCICULUS, Girard. 
Pruate XXXIV, Figs. 4—7. 


Spec. car. Snout short and rounded; eye rather large. Maxillary teeth very small and few. 
Dorsal fin higher than long. Caudal forked. Anal nearly as deep as long. Ventrals and 
pectorals slender. Scales proportionally very large, higher than long. A silvery band along 
the middle of the flanks, margined above with black. Fins unicolor, olivaceous. 


Sry. Cheirodon pisciculus, Grp. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 199. 


Descr. A small fish of a rather short appearance, in spite of the slenderness of the peduncle 
of the tail. The dorsal and ventral lines are equally arched, forming two opposite curves, 
embracing the head in a uniform outline. Thus the general profile has more of a subelliptical 
than subfusiform aspect. The body is very much compressed. The greatest depth, measured 
just above the insertion of the ventrals, is contained from three to four times in the total length; 

32 * a 


250 ZOOLOGY. 


whilst the least depth, on the peduncle of the tail, is but two-fifths of the greatest. The greatest 
thickness is about one half of the greatest depth. The head is short, compressed like the body, 
and rounded upon its anterior outline. It constitutes about one fifth of the entire length. The 
nostrils are very much developed, placed towards the upper surface of the head, and nearer to 
the anterior rim of the eye than to the extremity of the upper jaw. The anterior opening is 
subcircular; the posterior one, subcrescentic. The eye is large and circular; its diameter is 
contained about three times in the length of the side of the head, and less than once in advance 
of its anterior rim. The mouth is small and slightly oblique; the posterior extremity of the 
upper maxillary extending to a vertical line which would pass immediately in advance of the 
anterior rim of the eye when the mouth is closed. There is one row of teeth upon each jaw; 
on the dentary the teeth are much larger than on the intermaxillaries. Their form is flattened, 
dilated towards their upper edges, which are provided generally with five subconical points, the 
middle one being the longest, giving them the appearance of a digit. The palate is perfectly 
smooth, and unprovided with teeth. The opercular apparatus is very much developed, and 
subconvex upon its outer edge. The sub and interopercles are quite large, and occupy a prom- 
inent place. The opercle is narrow above, expanded below, and slightly convex posteriorly. 
The subopercle is curved, and in an oblique situation, with reference to the orientation of the 
head. The gill openings are continuous under the hyoidal apparatus; the branchiostegals, 
three in number, are well developed, curved and flattened, the outermost being but a little 
smaller and more slender than the innermost, or next to the opercular apparatus. 

The anterior margin of the dorsal fin is nearer to the extremity of the snout than to the tip 
of the caudal fin; it is much higher than long; its upper edge is rounded or subconvex. The 
rays bifurcate but once, and this for more than the half of their length. The anterior ray is 
rudimentary, the second undivided. The adipose is slender, nearer to the base of the caudal 
than to the posterior edge of the dorsal, and consequently situated behind the anal. The anal 
is longer than the dorsal, and nearly as long as it is deep; its exterior edge, convex anteriorly, 
is subconvex posteriorly. Its anterior margin is situated backwards of the posterior edge of 
the dorsal. There are very slight indications of a bifurcation of the second degree upon the 
tip of its central rays; the first being rudimentary, and the second simple or undivided, as is 
the case in the dorsal. The caudal fin, which constitutes about one fifth of the total length, is 
deeply forked posteriorly; its lobes are rather rounded, and acute only upon their extremity. 
The central rays, towards their extremity, exhibit a subdivision of the third degree. The 
insertion of the ventrals takes place upon the middle of the abdomen, somewhat in advance of 
the anterior margin of the dorsal. These fins are rather slender, with their tips acute, and 
reaching the vent. Their central rays bifurcate twice. The origin of the pectorals is situated 
near the inferior region of the thoracic belt. These fins are longer and more slender than the 
ventrals; their tip almost reaching the origin of the latter fins. Their anterior ray is simple; 
the central ones are but once bifurcated, and only towards the last third of their length. 


Br. TW; 10. 0% AW: C3. Oo ee OTP ia 


The scales are of moderate development, higher than long, subelliptical in shape, sometimes 
very irregularly so. Ten or eleven longitudinal rows may be counted upon the line of the 
greatest depth, and six or seven rows upon the peduncle of the tail. The lateral line is not to 
be seen. 

The ground-color is olivaceous brown, with a silver band along the middle of the flanks, 
extending from the upper angle of the opercular apparatus to the base of the caudal fin. The 
cheeks, the opercles, and branchiostegal apparatus are silvery. A blackish stripe may be traced 
all along the upper edge of the silvery band of the sides. The dorsal region is minutely dotted 
with biackish, the dots being more particularly crowded upon the outline of the scales, These 
dots extend to the upper surface of the head, and sparingly to the upper region of the thoracic 
and abdominal regions; also to the inferior half of the peduncle of the tail. The dorsal, cau- 


FISHES. 251 


dal, and anal fins are almost greyish, through the accumulation of the above mentioned dots. 
The ventrals are unicolor; the pectorals greyish upon their external margin. The abdominal 
region sometimes exhibits an argentine reflection. 

Inhabits the lagoons in the vicinity of Santiago, Chile. 


Plate XXXIV, fig. 4, represents the profile of Oheirodon pisciculus, size of life. 
fig. 5, is a scale from the dorsal region. 
fig. 6, a scale from the lateral line. 
fig. 7, a scale from the abdominal region. 

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are magnified. 


FAMILY OF MYXINOIDEA. 
Genus BDELLOSTOMA, Miill. 


GuN. cHAR. Bodyeel-shaped. Anterior portion of head provided with four pairs of tentacles. 
Eyes small. One hook-like tooth on the middle of the palate; a double and arched series of 
teeth upon the tongue. External branchial apertures from six to fourteen, corresponding to 
as many gills, which are situated far behind the head. 


Syn. Bdellostoma, Min. Abhand. Akad. Wis. Berl. (1834) 1836, 79, and (1838) 1839, 173. 
Heptatrema, Dum. Zool, Anal. 1806. 


Oss. We refer naturalists to the memoir on the ‘‘ Comparative Anatomy of the Myxinoids,’’ 
published in the Transactions of the Academy of Berlin for the years 1834 and 1838, for 
information upon the internal structure of the fishes constituting the present genus. The 
species which is described below might have furnished some interesting anatomical facts had 
the specimen been in a better state of keeping. There are fourteen pairs of gills, seven more 
than in either of the species previously known. 

The description of a Chilean species under a new specific name may well raise the question 
as to whether we had not before us the Gastrobranchus dombeyi of Lacépéde (Bdellostoma dom- 
- beyi, Miill.), of which very little is known up to the present time. Lacépéde’s description was 
drawn from a dried specimen, no mention being made as to the number of respiratory aper- 
tures. The anterior row of hyoidian teeth is composed of eleven teeth on each side, and the 
posterior row of seven only, whilst in the one here described there are twelve teeth, on either 
side, in both rows. Moreover, as the eyes are said to be wanting in the species referred to by 
the French ichthyologist, we did not feel justified in attempting, for the present, its identifica- 
tion, since the absence of the organs of vision would even remove it from the genus Bdel- 
lostoma. 

It is to be regretted that Duméril’s appellation of Heptatrema, by referring to a point of 
organic structure subjected to variations, could not be retained to designate these fishes gener- 
ically. If that name be restricted to the species provided with seven respiratory apertures, 
then each species would constitute a genus by itself; that with six of these apertures ought 
accordingly be called Hexatrema; then Heterotrema when six are observed on one side and 
seven on the other; Heptatrema when seven; and finally Polytrema for the species described 
farther on. 

Considering, however, the structure of the mouth, both internally and externally, we would 


not hesitate in uniting them all under the well appropriated name of Bdellostoma, suggested 
by Prof. Miiller. 


262 ZOOLOGY. 
- BDELLOSTOMA POLYTREMA, Girard. 


Puate XXXII, Figs. 1—5. 


Spuc. car. Fourteen respiratory apertures and gills on either side. Twelve teeth on either 
side in the posterior as well as in the anterior row. Eyes present. Color not preserved in the 


specimen described. 


Syn. Bdellostoma polytrema, Gro. Proc, Acad. Nat. Se. Philad, VIT, 1854, 199. 


Ozs. In the second part of his memoir on the ‘‘Comparative Anatomy of the Myxinoids,”’ 
Prof. Miiller is inclined to believe that all the species enumerated in the first part, and which 
came to his knowledge, are but simple varieties of Bdellostoma forsteri (Petromyzon cirrhatus of 
Forster), an inhabitant of Queen Charlotte’s bay, New-Zealand. This would give a remark- 
able geographic range to that species, as it is well known that Bd. hexatrema and Bd. hetero- 
trema, both, inhabit the Cape of Good Hope; Bd. dombeyi the coast of Chile, and Bd. heptatrema 
the southern seas. The latter is more closely allied to Bd. forsteri than any other, and its 
locality in the southern seas may after all prove not to be far from New-Zealand. 

Since Bd. polytrema has come to light, bearing in itself the remarkable fact of having fourteen 
pairs of gills, instead of six and seven, which are the usual number in the species previously 
known, we deem it advisable to retain them all as provisionally distinct. Moreover, the genus 
would not be limited to the austral hemisphere, for we find mentioned, in the ‘‘ Fauna Japon- 
ica,’ p. 310, a species under the name of Heptatrema cirrhatum, which is another Bdellostoma 
(Bd. burgeri), judging of it by the figure given on Plate cxtim, which exhibits a similar 
aspect of the head, the same shape of the mouth and cephalic tentacles. The eyes appear to be 
very small. A singular circumstance is mentioned by Mr. Birger, by whom it was collected, 
and who states that during the summer months these fishes, generally a foot and some inches 
long, are caught in great numbers on muddy bottoms in the Bay of Simabara, at some dis- 
tance from Nagasaki, and that the Japanese usually eat them raw. This latter species is more 
slender than the one of which we give a figure and a description. 

Descr. Bdellostoma polytrema is about fifteen and a half inches long. The body is subcylin- 
drical anteriorly and compressed posteriorly, particularly upon the tail, which constitutes a 
little less than one sixth of the entire length. The head is slightly tapering towards the snout. 
The nasal opening (a) which terminates its anterior extremity, is transversally elliptical and 
very large, provided on each side with two tentacles; the uppermost (6) is the smallest and 
directed upwards; the other, (c), a little longer, stretches laterally outwards. Underneath the 
head we find the mouth (d), longitudinally suboyoid, beset with minute cirrhi around its 
external margin. A broad and flattened tentacle (/), directed inwardly, may be seen extending 
over the buccal aperture across the middle of its longitudinal diameter. Another slender and 
second pair of buccal tentacles (e) is inserted near the base and external margin of the latter 
flattened pair, stretching outwardly backwards. 

The tongue (fig. 5) is subcordiform, bearing two arched series of subconical teeth obliquely 
directed backwards. The posterior series is composed of considerably smaller teeth than the 
anterior one. In both there are twelve teeth on either side. A tooth from each series is rep- 
resented isolated (a) on the right side of figure 5. To the left (b) may be seen the hook-like 
palatine tooth, subconical in shape, and likewise directed backwards. 

The eyes are not very conspicuous, and are situated at about eight tenths of an inch from the 
extremity of the snout. A series of mucous pores may be seen extending below the middle of 
the sides, from near the anterior part of the body to near the extremity of the tail. The six 
or seven anterior holes are much larger than the remaining ones, which diminish backwards, 
becoming almost minute along the caudal region. ‘The respiratory apertures are situated im- 
mediately above the series just allud:d to, and may easily be distinguished by their larger size. 


———————— Oe 


Dae a ae 6 ee een ee VOM et tol ot 


“ag [Bono “preys ye 


r———— 


“TUX XX Td 


FISHES. 253 


There is no dorsal fin. The caudal fin surrounds the extremity of the tail, extending a little 
farther forwards above than below, and tapering gradually towards, or else rising grad- 
ually from, the outlines of the caudal region. The anal fin is long, but very low. The vent 
is situated about six tenths of an inch from the posterior margin of the latter fin. 

The precarious state of keeping the unique specimen which was obtained at Valparaiso, 
leaves us in doubt as to whether the bluish slate color of its epidermis was a true approxima- 
tion towards its natural hue. 


Plate XX XIII, fig. 1, represents Bdellostoma polytrema, size of life. 

fig. 2, is an outline of the head, seen from above, exhibiting the cephalic 
distance between the eyes, the position and direction of three pairs of ten- 
tacles. 

fig. 3, being a front view of the head, exhibits the nasal opening (a), and 
the same tentacles as in fig. 2. \ 

fig. 4, which is the head, seen from below, shows the four pairs of tentacles, 
(0, ¢, e, f,) as well as the mouth (d), and nasal aperture (a). 

fig. 5, is the tongue, with its double and arched series of conical teeth—a 
being two detached teeth, and 6 the palatine tooth. 


DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN CRUSTACEA, BROUGHT HOME BY THE 
U.S. N. ASTRONOMICAL EXPEDITION. 


BY CHARLES GIRARD. 


The Crustacea collected are but few, and of the Decapod division: some Brachyura, an Ano- 
moura, and a Macroura, constitute the entire list. 

The latter two, Aglea and Rhynchocinetes, constitute, each in itself, a natural group; both 
their structural peculiarities, and the deep interest which their history consequently involves, 
have suggested the following detailed descriptions of these two types. 


DECAPODA ANOMOURA. 


CENOBITIDA AGLEIDZ, 
Genus ASGLEA, Leach. 


Gen. cHar. Carapax depressed, longer than broad, anteriorly tapering, dilated upon the 
branchial region, diminishing in width posteriorly, and biarticulated. Frontal region armed 
with an acute rostrum. External antenne about the length of the carapax. External maxil- 
laries pediform. Posterior segment of the thorax movable. Legs of moderate size. Abdom- 
inal region shorter than the thoracic; broad, reflexed inferiorly and anteriorly, composed of 
six or seven segments, five of them bearing oviferic legs. 


Syn. Aiglea, Leacu. Dict. Sc. Nat. XVIII, 1850, 29. 


Oss. At the time this genus was instituted, there was but one species known, A. levis, an 
inhabitant of the coast of Chile. Recent investigations have brought to light a second, from 
the same litoral, and to-day we add a third to the list, inhabiting the fresh waters of the 
mountainous regions of the Chilean republic, not knowing, however, whether it is altogether 
peculiar to that geographic range. 

A great deal remains to be done in order to ascertain whether these species are really distinct 
from one another. In the want of authentic specimens of both A. levis and A. denticulata, I 
was not prepared to remove all the doubts I had entertained in regard to their zodlogical simi- 
larities and dissemblances. With upwards of twenty-five specimens, including both sexes, of 
A, intermedia, before me, I have been compelled to avail myself, for their determination, of the 
writings of my predecessors in the field ; and this has been done with the most earnest desire 
to arrive at the truth on this subject. I candidly confess that had I had but one specimen and 
but one sex, I would have hesitated describing it as a new species. But since my materials 
were ample, and the specific characters hence drawn were found not to vary throughout the 
whole range of the specimens examined, I felt much less justified in calling them either A. levis 
or A. denticulata, than ascribing to them a new name. 

The description given below, it may be trusted, will enable my followers in the field, with 
the assistance of similar materials from the coast of Chile, to determine the true zodlogical 


CRUSTACEA. - 265 


relations which may exist between the marine and fresh water representatives of this inter- 
esting genus. 

To facilitate their researches, I subjoin the references I have gathered touching the history of 
the two species described by different authors. 


4GLEA LAVIS, Leach. 


Syn. Galathea levis, Larr. Encycl. Méth. Crust. Pl. cceviii, fig. 2. 

Aiglea levis, Leacn, Dict. Sc. Nat. XVIII, 1820, 49. 
Desm. Consid. Gén. Crust. 1825, 186, Pl. xxxiii, fig. 2. 
Latr. in Cuv. Régn. Anim. IV, (2d edit.) 1829, 84. 
Gru. Cuv. Anim. Kingd. XIII, 1833, 184, Pl. vii, fig. 2. 
Minn. Epw. Hist. Nat. Cr. I, 1857, 258; Atlas du Régn. Anim. de Cuvier, Pl. 

xlvul, fig. 3. 

Epw. et Luc. in D’ Orb. Voy. Amér. Mérid. VI, I. Crust. 1848, 34. 
Nic. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. IIT, 1849, 199. 
Dana, U.S. Expl. Exped. Crust. XIII, I, 1852, 476, Pl. xxx, fig. 6. 


4 GLEA DENTICULATA, Nice. 


Syn. Aglea denticulata, Nic. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. III, 1849, 200, Lam. ii, fig 1. 


AGLEA INTERMEDIA, Girard. 


Sprc. car. Carapax finely punctate; rostrum moderate, acute, depressed (incurved) upon its 
middle, with its point slightly turned upwards. Edges of carapax subdenticulated; denticula- 
tions more conspicuous on the stomacal region than on the branchial region. Anterior legs 
larger in the male than in the female; in both sexes the arm has a prismatic shape, and is 
denticulated upon its upper and its lower and inner edges; the external lower edge being nearly 
smooth. Carpus provided with two rows of subconical tubercles (teeth) upon its upper and 
inner portion. Hand exhibiting internally a flattened processus, often denticulated. Inner 
edge of claws tuberculous or subtuberculous. Abdominal segments divided into three lobes, by 
an undulating line forming a subaneate triangle upon each segment. 

Desc. The body is very much depressed, longer than broad; anteriorly about half the width 
of the posterior margin. The depth upon the middle region is about equal to the width of the 
anterior region immediately behind the orbits. The margin of the carapax is sharp and slightly 
indentated; the outline is slightly incurvated upon the suture which separates the thoracic from 
the cephalic region. The latter, convex upon its middle, is terminated anteriorly by a subtri- 
angular, acerated, and carinated rostrum, slightly raised upwards upon its tip. On each side 
of the rostrum a semi-elliptical notch, at the external angle of which a small spine exists, con- 
stitutes the orbit. The suture, between the cephalic and thoracic regions, is very convex pos- 
teriorly upon the middle region, then slightly concave laterally and anteriorly, then again 
oblique towards the edge of the carapax. 

The thoracic region is divided by two longitudinally shallow and smooth furrows into three 
regions—a medial or cardial, and two lateral or branchial regions. Again, it divides trans- 
versally into three regions also—an anterior, a medial, and a posterior; the last embracing a 
very narrow space upon the posterior extremity of the carapax, and extending but very slightly 
upon the branchial regions. The central portion of the cardial region is slightly convex, and 
limited by a sinuating depression or groove. The last segment of the thoracic region is move- 


256 ZOOLOGY. 


able, very small, posteriorly rounded and convex, laterally acute, giving points of attachment 
to two inferior, transverse, and very slender pieces, situated close to the posterior margin of the 
sternal shield, to which system the anterior piece undoubtedly belongs. The fifth pair of legs 
is likewise articulated upon that segment. Upon the extremity of the posterior transverse piece 
just alluded to, is articulated a rudimentary caudal appendage, or so called oviferic leg. 

The sternal shield is subtriangular; its summit, which is directed forwards, being truncated. 
It is composed of four transverse pieces, soldered together, and corresponding to the anterior 
four pairs of legs. It is a little longer than the cardial region above. 

The eyes, semiglobular in shape, are inserted upon a very short peduncle immediately beneath 
the base of the rostrum, and directed forwards. 

The inner antennee have a peduncle composed of three articles. The basal is globular, inserted 
immediately beneath the peduncle of the eye. The second article is the longest, very slender, 
subcompressed, slightly curved, implanted upon the inner edge of the first or basal, and pro- 
vided upon its inner margin with a row of sete. The third article is shaped like the second, 
more-slender, and one third shorter: the antenna proper is about the length of the second 
article of the peduncle, compressed, tapering, consisting of eleven narrow articles, the inferior 
edge being provided with a double series of very short set. A filiform, eight-jointed append- 
age, may be observed inserted at the upper and anterior margin of the third article of the 
peduncle, and shorter than the anterior proper. 

The external antenne, inserted upon the same transverse line as the inner, are slender, elon- 
gated, cylindrical, and tapering to a point, composed of narrow and somewhat irregular articles, 
upon a length of nearly one inch and a quarter. Their peduncle, about a quarter of an inch 
long, is composed of four articles, two of which might almost be considered as forming but an 
irregular odd basal, at the upper and anterior margin of which a rudimentary processus may 
be observed. The two remaining articles are subcylindrical: the fourth is the longest. 

The inferior labia, or else anterior abdominal segment, on the sides of which the external 
jaw-legs articulate, is very small and bidentate. 

The external jaw-legs are pediform, provided internally with sete, and composed of six arti- 
cles besides the basal. Upon this, and exteriorly, is inserted the palpa, the first article of 
which is exceedingly small; the second slender, subcompressed, and elongated ; the third, small 
and cylindrical, is followed by a lanceolated, thin blade surrounded with sete. When stretched 
out, the tip of the palpa extends to the base of the terminal article of the jaw-leg properly so 
called. The first article of the jaw-leg proper is the smallest of the six composing it; the 
second and third, subprismatic in shape, are the largest; the fourth, fifth, and sixth, are sub- 
depressed, the latter conical, and the three together equal in length to the second and third 
combined. 

The second pair of jaw-legs consists of the same number of parts as the first or external pair, 
viz: of a palpa and a mandible; both being composed of the same number of articles; its differ- 
ences consisting in a smaller and more slender form, and in the palpa being more elongated than 
the mandible, with its first article almost as long as the second. Seta occupy the same edges 
and surfaces. 

The first mandible, or third pair of jaws, is composed of a triple foliaceous cochloid piece, sub- 
crenated upon its margin, each expansion being provided upon its base with a rudimentary 
palpa, and the external having in addition an elongated membranous expansion which extends 
towards the gills. 

Finally, the second or inner mandible (fourth pair of jaws) is an elongated and rigid piece, 
composed of three articles intimately soldered together; the third article being the most de- 
veloped of the three, and terminated by a subcircular and interiorly concave head, giving to the 
whole the form of a small dipper, at the upper and anterior part of which a small rudimentary 
palpa may be seen, inclined inwardly. 


CRUSTACEA. 257 


The anterior or upper labia is small and tuberculiform, situated in a concavity of the episto- 
ma concealed by a slight ridge. 

The anterior—pincers or claws-bearing—pair of legs is the stoutest and longest of the am- 
bulatory appendages. The second, third, and fourth pairs are flattened; the second a little 
longer than the third, and the third a little longer than the fourth. The fifth pair is very ex- 
iguous, folded inwardly, and not used at all as an ambulatory organ. 

The first (basal) article in the anterior four pairs of legs is similar in shape and structure in 
all; preserving, however, their due proportions. 

In the first pair of legs the second article is subprismatic, short and stout, larger than the 
first article, angular anteriorly and inwardly, provided with a few rudimentary spines along its 
inner edge. The third article (arm) is prismatic, tapering, posteriorly provided with a row of 
small spines upon its edges, and subtubercular upon its anterior margin. The fourth article 
(carpus) is short, subtriangular and stout, provided upon its inner edge with a double series of 
tubercular spines. The fifth article (hand) is subelliptically rounded exteriorly, flattened in- 
wardly, and provided upon its inner margin with a flattened processus, subcrenated upon its 
edge. The inferior claw, slightly curved inwardly, is concave upon its middle, and margined 
with a series of transversally elongated and depressed tubercles disposed upon a double row 
towards its base. The upper claw is elongated, subcylindrical, tapering, curved downwards, 
thus forming an arch above the inferior one; being similarly provided upon its margin with a 
series of flattened, transversally-elongated tubercles, largest posteriorly. 

The second, third, and fourth pairs of legs are composed of six articles, including the basal, 
already alluded to. The second article is the second also in size; then the fourth (carpal), which 
is slightly bent downwards; then the fifth; the third is the longest of all; the sixth (tarsal), 
about equal to the fifth in length, is very slender, cylindrical, tapering, and terminated by a 
minute spine. 

The fifth and exiguous pair of legs, inserted, as stated above, upon the post-thoracic and 
moveable segment, is composed first of a very small subglobose article, followed by four others 
more elongated and slender, subequal, slightly diminishing in length from the base towards the 
tip, which consists in a rudimentary claw concealed under a tuft of sete and moveable upon the 
fifth article. 

The caudal region is shorter than the carapax ; bent upon its middle, and brought forward 
beneath in close contact with the inferior surface of the body, the extreme margins of the caudal 
paddle covering the posterior half of the sternal shield. It is composed of five segments, divided 
into three lobes by a lateral undulating groove. The posterior four segments are angular, and 
acute externally, while the anterior one is rounded; all being margined with a series of sete. 
Inwardly and laterally they are provided in the female with rudimentary three-jointed, egg- 
bearing legs. A subpentagonal thin piece, as sixth segment, terminates that region, having 
on either side caudal paddles composed of a basal subtriangular piece inserted partly upon the 
fifth segment, and directed forwards ; whilst on the latter are inserted, towards its external ex- 
tremity, two subelliptical plates, margined with seta as well as the central piece, and directed 
backwards and inwards. 

The main surface is minutely punctured; the second, third, and fourth pairs of legs are pro- 
vided with short and scattered setae, more thickly set, and more developed upon the tarsal article. 

The body and tail are bluish yellow above, yellowish beneath. The legs are reddish and 
bluish, and the antenne reddish. 

Specimens were collected in the upper affluents of the Rio de Maypu, 2,000 feet above the 
level of the sea, near Santiago. 

33 * 


258 ZOOLOGY. 


DECAPODA MACROURA. 


PALZMONIDZ ALPHEINA, 
Genus RHYNCHOCINETES, Edw. 


Gen. cuar. Body moderately compressed ; carapax exhibiting a spinous processus towards 
the middle of the region of the stomach. Fronto-interocular margin provided with three 
spines ; two more spines may be observed laterally upon the same anterior margin. Rostrum 
very large, sword-shaped (ensiform) attached to the front by a gynglymie articulation in a ver- 
tical plane, allowing a free motion downwards between the antenne, and upwards to a vertical 
position of its axis. Its length equals, or exceeds a little, that of the carapax. It is toothed, 
or else denticulated upon its edges. Eyes conspicuous, and, when brought forward, find a rest- 
ing place in an excavation of the peduncle of the superior antenne, the basal article of which 
is large, and armed exteriorly with a spiniform blade. The terminal threads of these append- 
ages are two in number, and constructed as in Hippolytus. “External jaw-legs pediform and 
elongated ; their terminal article is slender, cylindrical, and spiny upon its apex. A rudimen- 
tary palpiform appendage may be seen exteriorly at the base of each leg. Tarsus of second 
pair of legs not multiarticulated. First pair of legs larger than the others, and stretching be- 
yond the peduncle of external antenns ; pincers short and spoon-shaped ; finger moveable and 
toothed. Second pair of legs very slender, terminated by a small chela, and shorter than the 
third; the tarsus of the latter and the following pairs being short and toothed as in Hippoly- 
tus. Abdomen not different from the latter-mentioned genus. Several pairs of small spines 
upon the median blade between the caudal paddles. Gills, nine on either side of the thorax, 


disposed upon a double row. 


Syn. Rhynchochinetes, Epw. Ann. Sc. Nat. Deux Sér. Zool. VII, 1837, 165.—Hist. Nat. 
Crust. II, 1837, 383. 
Epw. et Luc. in D’ Orb. Voy. Amér. Mérid. VI, I, Crust. 1843, 35. 
Nic. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. III, 1849, 215. 


Oss. There is one point in the history of this genus which cannot be looked upon with indif- 
ference by naturalists—the fact that the only species on record, when first described, was given 
for fatherland the Indian ocean. Specimens thus labelled had been deposited in the museum 
of the Garden of Plants in Paris, and these became the originals from which Milne Edwards’s 
first description was drawn. As such it was produced in the Histoire naturelle des Crustacés. 

Subsequently, Alcide d’Orbigny brought to the same establishment specimens collected at 
Valparaiso, which, on being submitted to Milne Edwards, were pronounced identical with those 
previously described, and Valparaiso given as locality for the species, without any further 
remark upon the subject. Nicolet, in Claude Gay’s Historia de Chile, follows Milne Edwards’s 
determination; adding, however, that the sole species hitherto known of this genus was indige- 
nous both to the Indian ocean and to Chile. Dana, in his Report on the Crustacea of the United 
States Exploring Expedition, adopts the views of his predecessors in regard to the identity of 
the species, ascribing to it, in his tables of geographic distribution, a still wider range, since 
it is stated to occur in the northern zone of the western coast of the Pacific ocean. 

The question now occurs as to whether the specimens labelled ‘‘Indian ocean,”’ in the Paris 
Museum, do really belong to that district, or else got a wrong label; no mention being made 
by any one as to the channel through which they have been obtained. The figure published 


CRUSTACEA, 259 


at the time in the Annales des Sciences naturelles is a female, answering altogether to the specific 
features in the specimens of the same sex now before us. 

There can be also no doubt as to the specific identity of both d’Orbigny’s and Gay’s figures, 
the originals of which were procured at Valparaiso. They both represent the female. 

Specimens of both sexes were brought home by Lieutenant Gilliss. In the female the 
external maxillipes are equal in length to the distance between the apex of the rostrum and 
the articulation of the caudal region upon the thorax. The first pair of legs extends to nearly 
the serrated portion of the rostrum; the apex of their chela, therefore, does not reach as far as 
the extremity of the latter organ. The tip of the second pair of legs is even with that of the 
first pair, though inserted behind it. The third pair of legs is the longest, projecting beyond 
the second and first pairs, and extending to nearly the apex of the rostrum. The tip of the 
fourth pair is nearly even with the second and the first. Finally, the extremity of the fifth 
pair reaches the base of the last article of the third pair; its tip, therefore, remaining behind 
that of all the others. The rostrum is equal in length to the middle line of the cephalo-tho- 
racic region. Now there can be no doubt as to the identity of these specimens with those 
figured by d’Orbigny and Gay. 

In the male the external maxillipes are nearly as long as the absolute length of the animal , 
since they equal the distance between the apex of the rostrum and the middle of the length of 
the caudal paddles. The first pair of legs is stouter, the hand more elongated, and extending 
beyond the apex of the rostrum for the whole length of the finger. The second pair is very 
slender, hardly reaching with its extremity the middle of the hand, and not quite as far as the 
denticulated portion of the upper edge of the rostrum. The third pair extends to the base of 
the moveable finger or upper portion of the big claw, and consequently a little beyond the apex 
of the rostrum. ‘The tip of the fourth pair is nearly even with, mayhap slightly longer than 
the second. Finally, the fifth pair slightly projects beyond the base of the last article of the 
third pair. The rostrum is somewhat longer than the middle line of the cephalo-thoracic 
region. The antenne are longer than in the preceding instance. In every other particular 
both sets of specimens appear to agree perfectly. Those from which our description is drawn 
belong to the latter group. 


RHYNCHOCINETES TYPUS, Edw. 


Spec. cHAr. Dull greenish, variegated with yellowish red. Locomotory appendages and jaws 
transversally barred or annulated with pinkish. Patches of the latter hue are also observed 
upon the convexity of the caudal region. 


Syn. Rhynchocinetes typus, Epw. Ann. Se. Nat. 2de Série VII, Zool. 1837, 165, Pl. iv, C.— 
Hist. Nat. Crust. II, 1837, 383. 
Epw. et Lucas, in D’Orb. Voy. Amér. Mérid. VI, 1; Crust. 1843, 36, Pl. xvii, 
ities Ite 
Nic. in Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zool. III, 1849, 216; Crust. Lam. 1, fig. 7. 
Rhynchocinetes typicus, Dana, U. 8. Expl. Exped. Crust. XIII, I, 1852, 568, Pl. xxxvi, 


reel (e 


Descr. The following description is based upon the male: The entire length, from the tip of 
the rostrum to the extremity of the caudal paddles, is four inches and a quarter; the rostrum 
measures one inch and an eighth ; the middle line of the cephalothorax one inch and a six- 
teenth. 

The cephalothoracic region is rounded above, compressed, deeper than broad, smooth, with 
the exception of the anterior extremity, which is provided with eight acerated points ; two of 
which being situated upon the middle line, and one immediately above the base of the rostrum : 


260u- * ZOOLOGY. 


the other is behind it, at a distance of about an eighth of an inch. One pair of spines may be 
seen—one on each side of the postrostral—immediately above the orbit. Another pair occu- 
pies the externo-inferior angle of the orbit. Finally, a third and very small pair may be ob- 
served at the inferior and anterior angle of the carapax. 

There are nine gills on each side, disposed in a double series, in the following manner: 
The external series, composed of five of these appendages, are much the smallest ; the anterior 
one rests upon the base of the external jaw-leg ; the four remaining ones are situated immedi- 
ately above the insertion of the anterior four pairs of ambulatory legs. The gills of the inner 
series, four in number, are disposed obliquely opposite the insertion of the ambulatory legs ; 
they increase gradually in size from forwards backwards. 

The jaw-leg (external or sixth pair of mandibles) is three inches and a quarter long, stretch- 
ing beyond the apex of the rostrum for about the half of their length, and composed of five arti- 
cles. The basal is a circular ring, bearing a very small palpiform appendage, placed trans- 
versally, and directed backwards. The second article is subtriangular, very small, developed 
only upon the outer or inferior aspect of that organ, and upon its inner edge is a slender, palpi- 
form, subarticulated appendage, nearly two thirds the length of the third article, tapering, 
flattened, and provided upon its inferior edge with a series of closely-set hairs or seta. The 
third article itself is three quarters of an inch long, anteriorly subcylindrical, posteriorly con- 
cave immediately beneath the mandibles, for whose benefit this concavity exists; its antero- 
superior edge is provided with two small spines. The fourth article is small, about a quarter 
of an inch long, subcylindrical, and spineless. The fifth article measures two inches and three 
sixteenths ; it is slender, cylindrical, and tapering towards its extremity, which is provided 
with five or six minute spines. 

The mandibles of the fifth pair (proceeding from the innermost or first) are composed of five 
articles, the fifth and largest of which is flattened and bent downwards upon the fourth, which 
is the smallest. Exteriorly to the first or basal article arises a processus, bearing a membran- 
ous palpa and a subcircular flap, above which, and from the external edge of the second article, 
may be seen, stretching forwards, a palpiform appendage about half an inch long, and exhibit- 
ing distinct traces of transverse articulations, most numerous towards its extremity. The third 
article is of moderate development. 

The fourth pair of mandibles consist of but one article each, thin, foliaceous, subtriangular, 
cochloid, provided upon the posterior portion of its base with a double, subelliptical, membranous 
expansion, and directed forwards ; a crustaceous expansion, terminating in two small, filiform 
pseudopalpz, one larger than the other. 

The third mandible is composed of a few very thin, foliaceous, and rounded pieces, broadest 
towards the mouth, and provided upon their external margins with a crustaceous expansion, 
directed forwards, besides a tapering and hairy one extending backwards across the gills. 

The second mandible consists of three small plates, two inferior, subcrustaceous, and flexible, 
whilst the third is rigid, cochloid, and provided upon its margin with a double and close series 
of very small, conical, and slender black spines. At the base and upper portion of this pair of 
mandibles may be observed a rudimentary palpa. 

The first or innermost mandible consists of one piece only, subcylindrical upon its base, termi- 
nating anteriorly in processi, the inner of which is stout and blunt upon its apex, whilst the 
other is cochloid, and margined with a series of small, conical, black spines. 

The upper labia is short and stoutish, flattened and rounded upon its margin. 

The external antenne are more than five inches in total length. The first article is short and 
stout; provided upon its anterior margin with a small spine, and upon its inner edge is inserted 
an elongated, sword-shaped, subtriangular appendage, anteriorly tapering to a point, and ap- 
parently composed of two elongated pieces soldered together, judging of this by the presence of 
a groove upon its external or upper surface. It is provided upon its inferior and crenated edge 
with a series of closely-set hairs or bristles. Beneath, and towards the inferior surface of the 


CRUSTACEA. 261 


first article, arise the antenne proper: three articles (second, third, and fourth of the series) 
follow one another within a distance of about half an inch, the first two being small and irreg- 
ular, the next is subtriangular or rather compressed ; to the latter is appended the remaining 
portion of these organs, composed of narrow and circular articles, increasing in length up to 
the middle of their extent, hence diminishing again gradually towards their filiform apex. 

The superior antennce, two inches and three quarters in total length, are composed of a basal, 
rather large and subtriangular piece, anteriorly tapering into several points, followed by two 
small articles, upon the latter of which, the smallest of the series, are inserted: first, a filiform, 
transversally and minutely articulated antenna; and, second, a flattened, much shorter an- 
tenna (about half an inch long), provided inferiorly or interiorly with a series of closely-set 
hairs or sete. ‘ 

The eyes, inserted upon a short peduncle immediately above the superior antenne, are large 
and conspicuous, and when inflexed they are lodged in a concavity of the basal article or seg- 
ment of the organs just alluded to. 

The rostrum, one inch and an eighth in total length, is very much compressed, and thin, 
tapering off towards its extremity, which is slightly curved downwards, and provided upon said 
curvature with ten acerated spines, directed forwards, the anterior one being the largest, and 
constituting the very extremity of that piece. ‘Two more spines, similarly directed forwards, 
exist upon the upper margin, one near the base, the other a quarter of an inch anteriorly. The 
inferior edge is provided upon its whole extent with eighteen spines, similar to the anterior 
upper ones, but much larger and broader posteriorly. On the posterior edge of each of the 
latter spines exists a series of minute and closely-set hairs. 

The anterior—pincers-bearing leg—is the stoutest and longest of the five pairs; the second 
pair is the most slender and the shortest ; the third, fourth, and fifth pairs are equal as far as 
stoutness is concerned, but the third pair is a little longer than the fourth, and the fourth a 
little longer than the fifth pair, which is somewhat longer than the second. 

The first (basal) and second articles in the five pairs of legs are similar and proportional in 
their development ; the first is an annular ring, bearing a rudimentary palpiform appendage, 
similar to that observed upon the basal article of the jaw-leg ; tlie second is subtriangular and 
acute exteriorly. 

In the first pair of legs the third article is a little larger and more acute exteriorly than the 
second. The fourth article is long, compressed towards its base, and subcylindrical anteriorly, 
where it is provided with a small spine. The fifth article is short, subprismatic, bearing a 
large spine upon its anterior margin, and several small ones beneath and exteriorly. The sixth, 
which forms the claw, is the stoutest and longest, bearing upon its extremity three small, black 
spines ; the upper piece of the claw is slightly arched, bearing upon its convexity a well-devel- 
oped tuft of hairs ; its anterior extremity is provided with a series of about a dozen small, black 
spines, largest near the apex. 

In the second pair of legs the third article is nearly as long as the fourth, and similar to the 
latter in shape, in a reverse position. The fifth article is the longest, and subcylindrical. The 
sixth article, which bears a small claw, is likewise subcylindrical, or slightly compressed and 
elongated. The moveable upper piece is provided anteriorly with four small, black spines, 
whilst there are but two below. 

In the third, fourth, and fifth pairs of legs the third article is a little larger than the second, 
and also more acute. The fourth article, the longest of all, is compressed, and provided along 
its external edge with three or four small spines. The fifth article, one-third shorter than the 
sixth, is likewise compressed, and provided externally with a few minute spines. The sixth 
is slender, a little shorter than the fourth, provided with exceedingly minute spines beneath, 
and terminated by a subconical and slightly-curved spine, moveable upon the latter, representing 
a seventh article. 

The caudal region, composed of six segments, is rather stout, compressed, higher than broad 


262 ZOOLOGY. 


upon the extend of the first segment, the third being considerably developed upon its upper 
region, which is prominently convex. The remaining portion of the tail is very much reduced, 
tapering posteriorly, bent downwards and forwards under the body. The lateral and free 
expansions of the anterior three caudal segments are rounded off; that of the second seement 
is the largest, subcircular in shape, external, and covering partly the expansions of the first 
and the third segments. In the fourth and fifth segments that expansion is subtriangular, 
posteriorly acute. The sixth ring has no such lamellar expansions, but is provided upon its 
posterior and inferior angle with a slight ridge, at the inner margin of which a row of sete is 
observed similar to that which exists upon the external margin of the lamelle of the other 
segments. The central caudal appendage, subconical in shape, elongated and tapering, is con- 
vex above, concave beneath, and terminated by three pairs of spines; a very minute external 
pair, and two median, the upper one very slender, and two thirds the length of the lower pair, 
which is the most conspicuous. Along the upper and convex surface there are three pairs of 
rather short, stoutish, though small spines. On each side of this central appendage, and 
inserted in a concavity of the lateral and posterior edge of the sixth segment, with one spiny pro- 
cessus above and below, is another appendage composed of a short basal piece, upon which are 
inserted two moveable very thin lanceolated Jamelle, provided upon their edges with well devel- 
oped setze disposed upon one close series. The inner lamella is made of a solitary piece; the 
external one is composed of two pieces, the undulated and transversal articulation of which 
may be seen across the posterior third of said lamella, exteriorly marked by two small spines 
belonging to the largest piece. . 

The caudal or oviferic legs, five in number (one pair for each anterior five caudal segments), 
are of moderate development, the second and third pair being the largest. The posterior four 
pairs are similarly constructed. They consist of a flattened article, terminated by two narrow, 
elongated, thin blades, margined with sete. The anterior pair is distinguished from the others 
in the structure of the terminal pieces, the inner of which is short and rather broad, and de- 
prived of setze upon its edge, whilst the outer one is similar to those of the other legs, being, 
however, considerably smaller. 

The surface of the carapax is almost entirely smooth; a minute, prickly granulation becomes 
visible under a magnifying glass and to the touch also. This granulation is more apparent 
upon the locomotory and other appendages than elsewhere. The upper margin of the large claw 
is provided with an elongated tuft of setee extending from the anterior portion of the hand 
(so called) along the convexity of the finger to near its apex. An elongated cushion of short 
setee may also be observed along the convexity of the finger to near its apex. An elongated 
cushion of short setee may also be observed along the inner surface of the third, fourth, and the 
base of the fifth article of the jaw-legs. Scattered bristles or sete exist along the inner surface 
of most of the articles constituting the legs, and principally upon the mandibles. 

The ground-color is yellowish; the sides of the cephalothorax and tail are variegated with 
irregularly meandric, fuliginous red macule. The appendages are annulated with purplish 
red. The third caudal ring is purplish upon its convexity, exhibiting two parallel light vitte 
along the upper surface of the anterior three rings, uniting at an acute angle upon the poste- 
rior portion of the third ring. The caudal legs are spotted with fuliginous red, 

The specimens were caught in Caldera bay. 


LIST OF SHELLS BROUGHT HOME BY THE U. 8. N. ASTRONOM- 
ICAL EXPEDITION. 


BY AUG. A. GOULD. 


Curron acungatus. Lin. Coquimbo. Mytitus. Undetermined. 


<¢  sPIRRIFERUS. Frembly. Pranorsis. Undetermined. 
<< maeniricus. Desh. DompBeya (CHILINA) FLUCTUOSA. 
«¢ ottvaceus. Fremb. CaRDIUM UNEDO, 
‘¢  prruvraANus. Lamk. <¢  -FRAGUM. 
CoNnUs EBUMEUS. 


RIcIMULA HORRIDA. 


‘¢  g@Ranasus. Fremb. 
‘<< ouminelt. Sowerb. 


Ourva Peruvrana. Lamk. Coquimbo. sé ALBILABRIS. 


ce OC MOoNocEROS CRASSILABRUM. Lamk. 


var. Senegalensis. 
OLIVA GULTATA. 


¢¢ | JASPIDEA. 


TuRBO NIGER. Gray. 
Trocuus ATER. Lesson. 

oe ARAUCANUS. D’Orb. ‘¢ ELEGANS. 
MuREX CRASSILABRUM. ‘¢ - FLAMMULATA 2? 
‘¢ orRIDUS. Sowerb. STROMBUS GIBBERULUS. 
¢¢ porvintr. Kien. CERITHIUM LINEATUM. 
CYPREA MONETA. 


‘¢ ANNULUS. 


FIssURELLA LATIMARGINATA. Sowerb. 
CALYPTRMA PILEUS. 

¢¢  CICERCULA. 
‘¢ _ EBUMEA. 


ee PERUVIANA. 
LirrorRINA PERUVIANA. Gray. 


2 ARAUCANA. D’Orb. 
BuLrmus ERYTHROSTOMA. Sowerb. 
ACM@A VIRIDULA. 

‘¢ var. ACHATES. 
‘ sourum. D’Orb. and Eschh. 
‘¢ scurRA. Less. 
TRITON SCABER. King. 
‘¢ nupis. Sowerb. 
Nassa RUBRICATA. Gould. 
MerapesMa ponacta. Lamk. 


CyTHEREA PANNOSA? D’Orb. Two or three 
shells are confounded under this name. 


¢¢  FIMBRIATA. 


VENUS PANNOSA. Sowerb. 


TEREBRA CINEREA. 

ee STRIATA. 
NERITA ALBICILLA. 

‘¢ LE GRILLOUANA. 


NERITINA CANALES. Sowerb. 


SIPHONARIA LESSONI. Blainy. 


NATICA UBER. 


Metampus. Undetermined. 


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®PPENDIX»G: 


BOTANY. 


LIST OF THE DRIED PLANTS BROUGHT FROM CHILE BY THE 
U. 8. N. ASTRONOMICAL EXPEDITION. 


BY ASA GRAY. 


LIST OF LIVING PLANTS AND SEEDS. 


BY WM. D. BRACKENRIDGE. 


34* 


¥ “ 
; ——— 
i 


Pracrec( eae 


‘y 


YUATOR: 


AUT Ya SITHD MONE THOUON- STAI: GIG, SPOS te 
AOWIGHTED LAOIMOMORTAA HB 


*YARO AVA EE ® ae 

ne = * $0. 

ACNBA CVA ETUATT OUIVER TO: TEM a 
. aa? eae 

' nee, © 8 


STOGIMMS MOAR Ow EM 


== ee ee —— a =a 
: ; 


HE a) 


LIST OF DRIED PLANTS BROUGHT HOME BY THE U.S. N. ASTRO- 
NOMICAL EXPEDITION. 


BY ASA GRAY. 


FROM CHILE. 
Smene aattica. Linn. Introduced from Europe. 
Mepicaco macunaTa. Willd. do. - - - VULG. 
AsrrriscuM CHILENSE. Cham. and Schlecht. - - 
ScypHANTHUS ELEGANS. Don (Grammatocarpus volu- 
bilis, Presl.) 
BuppiLerA G@Loposa. Lamk. - - - - - - 
Lippra cANEScCENS. Kunth. 
AMBRINA AMBROsIOIDES. Spach. - - - - - 
Tura sauictrotta. Don. DC. 
‘¢ ponypHyitA. Don. var. latifolia. 
Prosopis stuquastruM. DC.? - - - - - 
LoRANTHUS TETRANDRUS. R. and P. - - - - 
GERANIUM ROTUNDIFOLIUM. L. - - - - - 
Custrum pARqui. L’ Her. - - - - - - 


Leonoris tEonuRus. R. and Pay. Introduced. 


Menta PreeritA. Linn. do. - = = 
CtcHortum mtyeus. Linn. do. - - - 
FuMARIA AgRaRrIA. Lag. do. - - - 


CuscuTa cHiLensis. Choi. - - = = = = 
TREVOA TRINERVIA. Hook. - - - - = = 
EccrREMOCARPUS SCABER. R. and Pav. 

CENTRANTHUS RUBER. DC. 

AGATI GRANDIEFLORA. Dew. 

CAsstA TOMENTOSA. Lam. 

HorrMANSEGGIA FALCARIA. R. and Pay. - - = 
Meprcago sativa. L. Introduced. - = = = 
Gentsta cumrneit. Hook. and Arn. 

LATHYRUS SEssttrFoLius. Hook. and Arn. ? 

Vrvranta RoseA. Hook. - - - - = = 
ANEMONE DECAPETALA. Linn. - - = = - 
ScHIZOPETALON WALKERI. Hook. 

MALESHERBIA LINEARIFOLIA. R. and P.? 

EPrLopriuM DENTICULATUM. R. and P. 

Loasa FLortpunpA. H. and Arn. 

Loasa puacet. Lindl.? - - - - = = 
BowLkEstA MULTRADIATA. Colla, 

SanrcuLA MAcRORHIZA. Colla. 


Hualputa. 
Muchu and Anisillo. 
Mongita. 


Panil. 


Paico. 


Algarrobo. 
Quintral. 
Corre-corre. 
Parqui. 


Yerba buena. 
Achicoria. 
Fumaria. 
Cabello de Anjel. 
Trevu. 


Porrotillos. 
Alfalfa. 


Oreganillo. 
Centello. 


Ortiga macho. 


268 BOTANY. 


SreELLARTA cuspripaTaA. Willd. 
Marrurpna tncANA. R. and Br. - - - 
Oxatis Gemrnata. Hook. and Arn. - - - 
‘¢  ARENARIA. Bertero.? 
GoDETIA CAVANILLESIT. Spach. 
«¢  penurFotta. Spach. 
CRUCKSHANKSIA HYMENODON. Hook. and Arn. 
ScHIzANTHUs PINNATUS. Ruiz. and Pav. - - 
4% HOOKERI. Gillies in Bot. (Benth. in DC.) 
CALCEOLARIA PoLrFoLIA. Hook. 
“ie NUDICAULIS. Benth. 
Ge PARALIA. Cav. 
ce INDETERMINABLE. 'T'wo species. 
ALONSOA INCISHFOLIA. R. and P. - - = = 
Mimutus Luteus. (Var. guttatus.) 
3 PARVIELORUs. Lindl. 
Gita LAcINIATA. R. and P. 
Gaium ERtocarpuM. Bartl. 
‘¢  RELBUN. Endl. ? = - - - = 
TEUCRIUM BICOLOR. Smith. 
SPHACELE suBHASTATA. Benth. 
GARDOQUIA GILLIESH. Graham. - - - - 
Erirricutum Frutyum. DC. 
ee FULVUM. ? 
Hextorropium FLoripuM. Hook and Arn. 
PHACELIA CIRCINATA. Jacq. 
CoNVOLVULUS DIssEcTUS. Cav. - - - - - 
HAGENEKIA OBLONGA. R. and Pay. - 
FABIANA IMBRICATA. R. and Pav. - - - = 
VERBENA ERINOIDES. Hook. and Arn. - - 2 
<¢ se niprroria. Walp. 
Nicorrana ANGUsTIFoLIA. R. and Pay. - = - 
ScyraLaNntuus Acutus. Walp. (Neriandra. DC.) 
WItHERINGIA TOMATILLO. Gay. Solanum Dunal. 
ge crispA. Gay.? Solanum Dunal. - 
Evcenta oBLonciFoLtrA. DC. - - - - - 
BawIA AMBRosIoipES. Lag. — - - - - - 
CENTAURIA MELITENSIS. L. Introduced. 
GALINSOGA PARVIFLORA. Cavan. - - - - 
Bmwens cHiLensis. DC. 
CENTAUREA CHILENSIS. H. and Arn. - - - 
SENECIO SERENENSIS. Remy. in Gay. (Doubtless some 
older species also.) 
Eupatorium sALtyia. Colla. - - - - - 
ee GLECHONOPHYLLUM. Less. = - - - 
BaAccHARIS PINILLORTANA, Remy. (or B. pingrea.) 
$e concava. DC. - - = = = 
prner@A. Less. Remy. Mas. 
TYLLOMA GLABRATUM. DC. 
Cu@PANTHERA MULTICAULIS. DC. 


% 


74 


Vurc. 


Aleli. 
Ojos de agua. 


Pajarito. 


Flor del Soldado. 


Relbun. 


Oreganillo. 


Correjuela. 

Guayo Colorado, Huayu 6 Bollen. 

Pichi. 

Yerba del incordio and Sandia la- 
huen. 

Tobaco cimaron. 

Cuernecilla. 

Tomatilla. 

Natri é Yerba del Chevalongo. 

Coronilla de Fraile. 

Manzanilla cimarona. 

Zizana. 

Paico. Jullo, &c. 


Escabiosa, Yerba del Minero. 


Salvia Macho. 
Barba del Viejo. 


Gaultro, Guanchu. 


DRIED PLANTS. 


LEUCERIA HIERACIO{DES. Cess. 
36 ACANTHOIDES. Don. 
CHABR&A ROSEA. DC. 
MoscHARIA PINNATIFIDA. R. and Pay. 
ATRIPLEX PERUVIANA. Mogq. in DC. 
STILLINGIA LIGUSTRINA. ? 
ARISTOLOCHIA CHILENSIS. Bridges.? — - - - 


MUHLENBECKIA INJUCcUNDA. (Polygonum injucundum, 


Bot. Reg.) - - 
DroscorEa OBLURIFOLIA. Hook. and Arn. ? 
CHLORHA MULTIFLORA. Lindl. 


SIsYRINCHIUM ANDIcOLUM. H. and Arn.; and two or 


three other species. 
AMARYLLIS CHILENSIS. Spreng. - - - - 
Manica striata. Bot. Mag. ? 
PASITHEA CHRULEA. Don. ? - - - - 
TRICHOPETALUM STELLATUM. Lindl. 
L&vcocoRYNE ALLIACEA. Lindl. - - - - 
ORNITHOGALUM GRAMINEUM. Bot. Mag. ? 
AVENA FATUA. Linn. 


- Vute. Oreja de Zorra, &c. 


Ajfienuca. 
Pajarito. 


Guillis. 
Flor de la cuenta, 


FROM THE ANDES AND BUENOS AYRES. 


PORTULACA HIRSUTISSIMA. Camb. 

CoLOGANTA HILEROPHYLLA. Gillies. 

ACHNA MACROsTEMON. Hook. f. ? 

BERBERIS EMPETRIFOLIA. Lam. 

Puaca ELATA. H. and Arn. 

LARREA DIVARICATA. Cay. ? = = - = 
Hipiscus BIFURCATUS. Cay. ? 

CLEOME HEPTAPHYLLA. Linn. ? 

CERCOSTYLOS BRASILIENSIS. Less. 


Jarrilla. 


269 


Quilo, in Coquimbo, Mollaca. 


LIST OF LIVING PLANTS AND SEEDS SENT FROM CHILE TO THE 
GOVERNMENT GREEN HOUSE. 


BY WM. D. BRACKENRIDGE. 


ACACIA CAVENIA. Benth. Vote. Espino. 


ACACIA LOPHANTHA. 


Autium roseuM. Linn. - - - - - Lagrima de la Virgen. 
ALSTR@MERTA—? Linn. - - - - - - Peregrina. 
AMAROLA GLANDULOSA. 
AMARYLLIS BELLADONA. - - - - - - Azucena. 
ANEMONE HEPATICEFOLIA. Hook. - - - - Flor de la Estrella. 
ANONA cHERTMOLIA. Mill. - - - - - - Cherimoya. 
APURITIA VULGARIS. - - - - - - - Tuna. 
ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA. Pay. in Mem. Acad. Madrid. - Pifion. 
ARISTOTELIA MAQUI. L’ Her. - - - - - Maqui. 
Botpoa FRAGRANS. Pav. (syst. fl. per. 260.) - - Boldo. 
BROMELIA SPHACELATA. Ruiz and Payon. - - - Chupon. 
CALANDRINIA LONGISCAPA and discolor. Schrad. - - Renilla. 

i GRANDIFLORA. Lind. 
CALCEOLARIA INTEGRIFOLIA. Linn. - 
CatceotaRia. Lin. - - = - - - - Arguenita. : 
CassIA FRONDOSA. Ait. : 
CEREUS QUISCO. - - - - - - - - Quisco. 


Parqui. 
Azucena del campo. 


i] 
! 
' 
! 
1 
1 


Crstrum paraui. L’Herit. 
CHLOREA SPECIOSA. Pcepp. 


! 
t 
1 
1 
1! 
1 


ConvotyuLus. Dub. in DC. - - - - - Correjuela, 
CucuRBITA MAXIMA. Duch. - - - - - - Zapallo. 
DavurA ARBOREA. Lin, (Ruiz and Pav.) - - - Floripondio. 
DonicHos RUBER. - - - - - - - Enredadera. 
DuBANA DEPENDENS. DC. - - - - - - Huingan. 
Eroprum crcutartum. Leman: in DC. - - - Alfilerillo. 
FRAGARIA cHILENsIs. Ehrh. - - - - - Frutilla. 
FRAGARIA VEScA. Linn. - - - - - - Fresa. 
FuMARIA MEDIA. Lois. - - - - - - Fumaria. 
GUEVINA AVELLANA. Mol. - - - - - - Avellano. 
GUNNERA CHILENSIS. Lam. - - - - - - Panque. 
Hasrantavs. Herbert. - = - - - - Amancay. 

Se CHILENSIS. Herb. - - - - - Afienuca. 
Jupma specrapimus. H. B. and Kunth. - - - Lilla and Cancan. 
LAPAGERIA ROSEA. Ruiz and Pay. - - - - Copigue. 
LAURUS PEUMO. - - - - - - - - Peumo. 


LevcocoryNe oporATa. Lindl. 
af ALLIACEA. Lindl. - - - - - Guillis. 


LIVING PLANTS. Pati) 


LirREA VENENOSA. Miers. - - - = = 


Vote. Litre. 


LorANTHUS TETRANDRUS. Ruiz and Pav. - - - Quintral. 
Lucuma oporata. Dehumb. - - - - - Lucuma. 

Se VALRARADISEA. Mol. = - - - - - Lucumilla. 
Luprnus microcareus. Linn. - - - - ~ Alberjilla. 
Maytenvs cartensis. DC. - - - - - - Mayten. 
Meprcago sativa. Linn. - - - - - - Alfalfa. 

MyYRtTUs coQUIMBENEIS. - - - - - - Arrayan. 
CHNOTHERA BERTERTANA. Spach, - - - - - Don Diego de la noche. 
ORNITHOGALUM GRAMINEUM. - - - - - Flor de la cuenta. 
OXALIS LOBATA. Sims. - - - - . - Flor de la Perdiz. 
PARKINSONIA ACULEATA. Linn. 
Pornerana. Tourn. 

$f Gituiesi. Hook. - ~ - - - Barbon. 
PHASEOLUS CARACALLA. Linn, - - - - - Caracol. 
Puysauis pubescens. Linn. - = = - - Capuli. 
Pouya coarctata. Ruiz and Pav. - - - - Chaiiar. 
QUILLATA SAPONARTA. Molina. - - - - - Quillay. 
RETANILLA EPHEDRA. (Colletia ephedra, Vent. Choix, 

t. 16.) - - - - Frutilla del campo. 

SALPIGLOSSIS SINUATA. Ruiz and Pav. - - - - Panza de Burro.. 
ScInLA CHLOROLEUCA. Kunth. - - - - - Cebolleta. 
TRICUSPIDARIA DEPENDENS. Ruiz and Pavon. - : Patagua. 
Triticum vuteaRE. Vill. - - - - - . Trigo. 
Tropmonum Magus. Linn. - - - - - - Capuchina, and 

ae TRICOLORUM. Sweet. - - - - - Pajarito. 


Most of these have been propagated; and there are more than 200 plants of the Araucaria 
imbricata, large numbers of the Jubsea spectabilis, sixty to eighty bulbs apparently belonging 
to the families of Amaryllidex, Asphodelew, and Hemerocallidex, besides many singular Til- 
leaccous bulbs from the desert of Atacama. 


Telficcrwesis, - a s ot 
. PA enti A a ek 
avd y 5 BE - - — 


on tae MN TS AW RS Se 
a Boke PERN MENT mee nee 


ates wf ab walt 


sites T al 9h yi! 7. “he Tha ck eerie ee 


po sa 


a 0 : reaches > eth Vr. Wain. 
., Ky egg (get eds oat Pry ria i a F 
_ eee Jk UP Fill 2d Pee 


1 emer! (ihe } : 

7 . gear Se Tether!’ > _ ~ - 

-) Oana) ar. 2 .* 4 tala 

(rors wr rerewite, Jie-8 wine as 

: age “os egemess Indy ellos 7 9 [ 

z oor er cet he eet ~ a ; p: 
_— * Adaeucs deity tetebiobth: tien. ft. ee we a 
¢ Seterich i wa! sent ids: <)eeeeenee 
| apeasiintaee Be °F ory =u 

q ete Ti ls 2 a . : aay : 
: Bipes marys 3 sag Oe «Odindal ut th Sige 


7 wrace oye endl, Bema Seal mad wos add ta ball a 
; ahr Fa a yeaa — aap rb Sere 
. Sam yeoinbedget, ,cmolitt 

.” . quad. bo wetionad ce 


- Seats . escape seeaute wilt nevi 


Cea Oran leaks | rs Sat) Le 
Cx So, ae - . dene ee Tal Rare. 
(eh : r “<j ic i. , tO 3 ee 
te <0 —o meres. Sieh; - F) ioe yal 
fA) - ¥ iar « Pe: : Peso, 
mY Ligine 7 : — et) oe : 
qa — { ~ ia’ J De/Oo) fi 
c ae ae La ie Ay i : > LOGAN 4 mS a : 
ee Pi afin 5 ee 
cs > yw uf ——- : 
mts Prana ‘= 
Oe & well iar 
7 ‘¢ ) Cae ~<PG) ae: ; 
“uii- ; © they ST 7 
: Leet - a Se at 
ie : in ia 1a! ee te = _ 


= x iP ; a 
Epcos 


Gav few 


ATER ND XE. 


PALEONTOLOGY. 


DESCRIPTION OF A PORTION OF THE LOWER JAW AND A TOOTH OF 
THE MASTODON ANDIUM; ALSO, OF A TOOTH AND FRAGMENT 
OF THE FEMUR OF A MASTODON FROM CHILE. 


BY JEFFRIES WYMAN. 


SOME REMARKS ON THE ORGANIC REMAINS FROM CHILE, WITH DE- 
SCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES. 


BY T. A. CONRAD. 


35* 


meni 
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ae 
ik ovine itv 
a “a HROOT h GU Wat TIVOST. LATA KOT % AG ica 
= TUMMO ATE UMA TOOT 4» WO el; MUMIA COTE on 
ie AAT MORE MOCOTEAM 4 10 OO 
ee : 
— wamin Quinta ae ® ~ 

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(ay Gar cue, MAELD MGs ZUR ORLAnO ee rebut 
£ LOMA AY AO BeOVN 
- 


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_J Wallis. 


Cuvier 


1 


Dougal 


FOSSIL MAMMALS. 


BY JEFFRIES WYMAN, M. D. 


Description of a portion of the lower jaw of Mastovoy Anvrum of Cuvier, also of a tooth and 
Sragment of the femur of a Mastodon, brought from Chile by Lieut. J. M. Giutiss, U. 8. N. 


From the various recorded discoveries of the remains of Mastodons in South America, it 
appears that they once had a geographical range over nearly the whole of that continent, since 
they were found by Humboldt as far north as Santa Fé de Bogota, especially at the Camp des 
Géans, where they were collected in great numbers; and have also been discovered as far south 
as Buenos Ayres, on the Atlantic, by Admiral Dupotet, at Concepcion de Chile* on the Pacific, 
and at various intermediate points in Peru, Chile, La Plata, Brazil, and Columbia, by Dom- 
bey,t Gay,{ Alcide d’Orbigny, Darwin,|| and others. Thus their remains extend from 5° 
north to about 37° south, and on both sides of the great chain of the cordilleras, from ocean to 
ocean. What is still more remarkable, the bones of Mastodons have been discovered at unu- 
sually great elevations, according to d’Orbigny, even up to the borders of perpetual snow.§ 
One of the molars, described by Cuvier, was obtained by Humboldt on the volcano of Ibam- 
bura, at an elevation of seven thousand and two hundred feet above the level of the sea. 

The specimens submitted to me for examination by Lieut. Gilliss, and which are here 
described, were exhumed in an attempt to drain the lake of Tagua-Tagua, in the province of 
Colchagua, about one hundred and five miles south of Santiago, about sixty from the Pacific, 
and at an elevation of about fourteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. The lake, in 
latitude 34° 18’ south, lies in a basin at the foot of the central range of the cordilleras, and is 
completely closed in except at its outlet, which is through a narrow channel towards the south- 
east and through a narrow gorge to the west, which last, however, was above the level of the 
lake. In this gorge a drain was cut, and, as the waters flowed off, was gradually extended 
into the lake until it reached nearly two hundred yards from the margin, where, at a depth of 
twenty feet below the bed, the bones of a large animal were discovered, and eight or ten yards 
from these some others. They attracted but little attention at the time, and, in consequence, 
many of them were either destroyed or dispersed. The larger portion of those now known to 
exist are in the museum at Santiago. Those here described were presented to Lieut. Gilliss by 
Mr. Richard Price, an English gentleman, long resident in Chile. They consist of a broken 
lower jaw, a molar tooth, and the fragment of a thigh-bone. 


Prate XII, Figs. 1 and 2. 


I. Fragment of a lower jaw.—This comprises the horizontal portion of the right side, extend- 
ing from the symphysis, which is entire, to the base of the coronoid process, which is broken off, 
the fractured surface sloping obliquely backwards to the commencement of the ‘‘angle;’’ this 


* Cuvier states that Humboldt gave him a tooth which he had brought from Concepcion de Chile. (Oss. Foss, 4me edition, 
T. I, p. 370.) Lieut. Gilliss has called my attention to the fact, that Humboldt did not personally visit that locality. A proba- 
ble explanation of the statement is, perhaps, to be found in the circumstance that the tooth may have been presented to Hum- 
boldt by some one who brought it from Concepcion de Chile; and still more probably, as Lieut. Gilliss suggests, it may have 
been obtained from a town of the same name near the equator, which Humboldt actually did visit. 

+t Cuvier, Oss. Foss., Tome IIT. 

t Gay, Hist. Nat. de Chile. 

| Geological Observations in South America, by Charles Darwin, F, R. 8. &c.; London, 1251, p. 103. 

§ Darwin, Op. Cit., p. 105. 


276 PALEONTOLOGY. 


last, in so far as can be predicated from what remains, must have been very regularly rounded. 
The left branch is quite short, being broken just in front of the first molar tooth. The dimen- 
sions of the fragment are as follows : 


Inches. 
Length of specimen - - - - - - - . - 14.50 
Length from symphysis to base of coronoid process - - - 12.50 
From symphysis to base of first molar - - - - - _ 65.00 
Space between right and left branches of jaw - - - - 2.15 
Symphysis from before backwards — - - - - - - 4,75 
Length of alveolar portion - - - = - - - 6.00 
Width of gutter at extremity of symphysis -  - = =. 0.75 
Transverse thickness of jaw at base of coronoid - - - 4.75 
Height of jaw in front of coronoid - - - - - - 4,25 
Height of jaw in front of first molar - - - - - 5.00 
Transverse thickness of jaw at coronoid - - - - - 4,15 
Transverse thickness of jaw at base of first molar - - - 2.50 


The inner face of the jaw is nearly vertical, and is almost exactly parallel to the median line, 
except posteriorly, where it diverges from it and becomes convex. The lower edge of the jaw 
is horizontal, but the upper or alveolar portion ascends rapidly from behind forwards till it 
reaches the anterior extremity of the first molar, where it becomes continuous with a sharp 
ridge having a slightly serpentine outline, and converging as it descends forwards towards a 
similar one from the opposite side; and the two include between them a gutter or channel, 
which is met with under various modifications in both Mastodons and Elephants. This channel 
is continued, gradually diminishing, to the most prominent part of the chin, where it termi- 
nates in a rounded depression ; but a small, narrow groove extends from this last about three 
inches along the under side of the symphysis. When seen in profile, the symphysis forms a 
slightly depressed beak, with a regularly rounded extremity. This part in other Mastodons is 
usually quite pointed, the symphysis having the appearance of having been obliquely trun- 
cated. The greater elevation of the front part of the alveolar portion is doubtless to be attrib-_ 
uted to the worn condition of the tooth ; the former being generally built up as the latter wears 
away, and thus keeping the grinding surface constantly on the same level. The canal for the 
mandibular branch of the fifth pair of nerves is about one half of an inch in diameter at its 
posterior portion, lies quite near to the inner face of the bone near its lower border, and run- 
ning parallel to it till it reaches a point near the first molar, where it passes obliquely forwards 
to the outer surface, on which it opens by a single foramen just in front of the tooth, and mid- 
way between the upper and lower edge. 

The teeth consist of two molars in place, and of a fragment of a third which is imperfectly 
developed, and the points of which had not yet risen above the edges of the alveoli. 

The anterior tooth, (Pl. xii, Figs. 1 and 2, IV,) which, from the existence of an anterior and 
posterior supplementary ridge or talon, may be regarded as the fourth in the complete dental 
series, has the crown worn down quite near to the base of the ridges, traces of all of which— 


viz: the three principal and the two supplementary ones—still remain. The dimensions of 
this tooth are as follows: 


Inches. 
Length - - - - - - - - : - Seo 
Breadth in front, at anterfor ridge - - - - - =i) ir50 
Breadth posteriorly, at third ridge - - - - - - 1.75 


The inner side of the crown is less worn than the outer, so that nearly all the traces of the 
transverse ridges have disappeared externally ; but on the inner side they are represented in 
transverse sections, which have the characteristic trefoil-shaped appearance. At the bottom of 
the interval, between two adjoining ridges, are converging grooves of enamel which unite in a 
common channel, 


FOSSIL MAMMALS. Pall 


The second molar, the fifth of the dental series, (Figs. 1 and 2, V,) is much larger than the 
preceding; has its three principal ridges arranged rather more obliquely to the axis of the 
tooth; has a small talon in front, and another much more largely developed behind. The 
dimensions are as follows: 


Inches. 
Length - - - - - - - - - - - 3.80 
Breadth across first ridge at base - - - - - - 2.00 
Breadth across third ridge at base - - - - - - 2.40 
Height of ridges, about - - - - - - - - 1.00 - 


The anterior talon, though below the level of the other ridges, is much worn; it occupies the 
outer half of the front of the tooth only, and its section gives the half of a trefoil, the folded 
side being directed backwards. The first ridge is a little worn, and, like the others, is deeply 
cleft in the centre, the two sides of the cleft being in close contact. The third ridge is fractured ; 
the inner half being broken away, the cleft is exposed to the depth of three fourths of an inch, 
The external half of each of the three ridges is folded in such a manner as to form a salient pro- 
jection or buttress on its anterior and posterior face, and each meets a corresponding projection 
from the ridge in front and behind. The foldings of the inner half of each ridge are not so 
well defined. The posterior talon is cleft in the middle, and each lateral half is composed of a 
large, stout tubercle slightly bifid at the apex. There is no basal ridge in this tooth; but 
there exists between the first and second and the second and third ridges a lobed projection on 
the inside, and on the outside, between the first and second ridges, a tubercle. A thin layer of 
cement exists in the interstices of the ridges at some points; and though generally detached or 
worn off from the summits, yet in one instance it was found as high as the apex. 

The fragment of a third molar, the sixth of the dental series, (Figs. 1 and 2, VI,) is that of 
an immature one, still lodged in the socket, the points just reaching to the level of the edge of 
the alveolus. One ridge, with a small anterior talon, is preserved; also, the broken base of a 
portion of the second ridge. The anterior one is about one inch and three fourths high, is 
deeply cleft in the middle, and each half again partially subdivided so as to form two tubercles 
upon its summit: the external ones are the largest and highest; the internal tubercles are con- 
tinuous posteriorly with a salient ridge, that of the outer half of the tooth being the largest. 
Behind the ridge just described, the tooth becomes suddenly broader, measuring three inches 
and an eighth in width, the enlargement being made mainly on the outer half. The fangs of 
the tooth had but just begun to be developed, the crown still consisting of a hollow shell; no 
cement was deposited as yet upon the enamel. 

The great increase in size of this tooth anteriorly, when compared with that which precedes it, 
as well as its actual measurements, indicate that it is the sixth or ultimate member of the entire 
molar series. By a comparison of the series of lower molar teeth of M. Humboldtii, given by 
Falconer & Cautley, (Pl. 40, Figs. 10, 13, 14, and 15,) which comprises the whole series of 
molars, from the second to the sixth inclusive, it will be seen that while the anterior extremity 
of each successive tooth up to the fifth is but little broader than that which preceded it, the sixth 
becomes at once much broader and longer than its predecessor; its greatest breadth being in 
front, and gradually diminishing in size to the posterior extremity.* 

*The following measurements, from Falconer & Cautley, (Pl. xl, Figs. 13, 14, and 15,) will serve to give the proportional 
sizes of a series of lower teeth, except only of the first: 


Molar II. Fig. 13 - - - - - - - - - - - = 243 inches. 
CO TOU 2D pas IB ais eo - at Bey Se eS = . 2S She Gs 
SPORE His ts =" oF - - - - - - - = she Se at 
ss Veewipe to = - - WES aaah : = : - - 5}2 « 
CernVilsybiogids «2 =) mo =n. ot Fe os. ee mere cones, ace 
The fifth and sixth molars of the jaw from Chile, figured by Blainville, have the following proportions: 
Mol area oen =) ie <i = k= = oP RS fee = Grinchea: 


“ VI. = > « = = ‘J za = = as = > = = 9 “ 


278 PALEONTOLOGY. 


i GENERAL REMARKS. 


In the fourth edition of the Ossemens Fossiles, Cuvier, in describing the Mastodontes a dents 
étroites, speaks of the similarity between the teeth brought from Peru by Dombey and Hum- 
boldt, also between those brought by the latter from the Camp des Géans, near Santa Fé de 
Bogota, and the Mastodon angustidens of Europe. He even goes further, and asserts the spe- 
cific identity between one of the teeth brought from Peru, and another brought from Simmore, 
in Europe ;* and consequently regards JM. angustidens as a South American as well as a Euro- 
pean species. He also established, or rather suggested, two additional species peculiar to 
South America, which he deneminated I. Andium and M. Humboldtii, which are more espe- 
cially distinguished by their difference in size. 

De Blainville, always an antagonist to the opinions of Cuvier, after reviewing the whole 
subject in all its details, expresses the conviction that but one species exists in South America— 
viz: W. Humboldtii—in which are included the MW, Andiwm and M. Humboldtii, as well as the 
remains described by Cuvier as identical with J. angustidens of EKurope;{ and Dr. Falconer§ 
appears to adopt the views of De Blainville, but they have been strenuously opposed by Lau- 
rillard, the friend and coadjutor of Cuvier. 

De Blainville was undoubtedly correct in differing with Cuvier as to the identity of JZ. angus- 
tidens with any South American species. Cuvier’s opinion is not only opposed by anatomical 
facts, but by what appears to be the rule with regard to the geographical distribution of ani- 
mals, and which in his time was but imperfectly understood. From what is now known in 
relation to the geographical range of species, we should not expect any Mammal, and the least 
of all a gigantic Pachyderm, to be an inhabitant of two continents so widely separated as 
Europe, or even Asia and South America, at the same time no members of the same species 
being found in North America, which intervenes. 

As regards the existence of the two species—M. Andium and M. Humboldtii—while De Blain- 
ville has taken a position so decidedly in opposition to that of Cuvier, and has been followed, 
as it appears, by Dr. Falconer, they both seem to have overlooked some of the facts in the case 
which tend to show the existence of two species at least. Among the different figures of 
molars illustrating the dental series of South American Mastodons, Cuvier|| gives one of a sixth 
or ultimate molar, De Blainville§ four, and Falconer** four; making in all nine different speci- 
mens of ultimate or sixth molars. The size of each of these is readily determined, as they are 
all drawn to a scale indicated on the plates. The following table will give the full dimensions 
of the different ultimate molars figured by the authors mentioned above, and will show their 


relative proportions : 


Inches. 
I—1. Cuvier, Pl. xxviii, Fig. 4, (Dombey’s specimen) - - Seg 
2. De Blainville, Pl. xii, (from Peru, much worn) - - - 6§ 
3. De Blainville, Pl. xii - - - - - - - 0 
4. Falconer, Pl. xl, Figs. 12 and 12° - - - - - = | 63% 
5. Falconer, Pl. xl, Fig. 10 - - - - - - = 


* “Mulgré l’éloignement des lieux, il m’est donc impossible de ne pas reconnoitre ces deux dents comme de la méme espece.” 
—Cuvier, Oss. Foss., 4me edit., T. IT, p. 338. 
t Op. Cit., p. 368. 

t De B., in the same chapter in which he discusses the identity of species, refers the celebrated remains once described as 
those of Teutobocchus to M. Humboldtii.—Osteographie, G. Elephas, p. 286. 

§“ The South American teeth which he (Cuvier) distributed among three nominal species—viz: M. Andium, M. angustidens, 
aud M. Humboldtii—appear to be all referable to a single form, the M. Andium (Humboldtii?) of De Blainville.”—Fauna 
Antiqua Sivalensis, by Hugh Falconer, F. R. S., &e., and Proby Cautley, F. G.S., &c.: London, 1846; Part I, p. 19. 

|| Oss. Foss., Tome HU, p. 339, and figured in Pl. xxviii, Fig. 4. 

{| Osteographie, Genus Elephas, Pl. xii. 


** Fauna Antiqua, Plates xxxv, xl, and xliv. 


Astr* 


] 


Exped! 


Alby ellie 


[ASTODON 


Cuvier . 


Nat! 


Size 


a 


Dougal Se 


FOSSIL MAMMALS. 279 


Inches. 
Il—6. De Blainville, Pl. xii, Buenos Ayres - - - - aa! EQ 
7. De Blainville, Pl. xii, Chile - - - - - - =r 
8. Falconer, Pl. xxxv, Figs. 3 and 3*, (lower jaw) = - - - 9 

9. Falconer, Pl. xl, Fig. 14 - - - - - - - 8A; 


From the above measurements it will be seen that these nine molars may be arranged in two 
distinct groups: those in one measuring between six and seven inches in length, and those in 
the other between eight and nine. The ninth specimen is nearly an inch shorter than the 
other specimens of the same group, which may be attributed to the circumstance of its belong- 
ing to the upper, while the others belong to the lower jaw. 

Not only does there exist this difference in the dimensions of the teeth, but there is good 
evidence for the belief that a corresponding one exists in those of the lower jaw. Of these, De 
Blainville gives the dimensions of three fragments, Cuvier of one fragment, and Falconer 
of an entire mandible ; to these should be added the fragment described in this notice, the dimen- 
sions of all of which are, respectively, recorded in the following table, an allowance having 
been made for the last portions. 


Inches. 
1. Falconer, Pl. xxxv, Figs. 3 and 3*; entire - - - - 30 
2. De Blainville, Chile; broken off at angle, length more - - 30 
3. De Blainville; broken at symphysis and angle, about = - - 20 
4. Cuvier, Pl. xxviii, Fig. 4; broken at angle, about - - - 20 
5. Specimen from Tagua-Tagua, about - - - - - 20 


The estimated length of the broken specimens is based upon the proportions of the entire 
mandible figured and described by Falconer, as above. The broken mandibles are all fractured 
just behind the first molar, which corresponds very nearly with the base of the coronoid pro- 
cess. The length of the jaw behind the base of the coronoid is a little more than one third of 
the whole length. Although the above estimates have not the accuracy that is desirable, yet 
they clearly indicate the existence of jaws which acquire quite different dimensions, viz: of 
thirty inches and of about twenty inches. The ultimate molars contained in those of thirty 
inches in length were nine inches, while in those of twenty they were six inches in length ; not 
only do the shorter ones contain ultimate molars, but in one instance the tooth is ground quite 
to its base, so that only traces of the transverse ridges remain. 

From the facts which have just been mentioned, we have strong evidence, in confirmation 
of the opinion of Cuvier, that there exists a large as well as a small species of Mastodon in 
South America. The lower jaw from Tagua-Tagua corresponds with those of the smaller 
dimensions, and which Cuvier recognised as affording the basis for a distinct species. If the 
existence of the second species—viz: M. Andium—be not admitted, the only alternative which 
remains is to suppose that an ultimate molar may range in its length, in different individuals, 
from six to nine inches, and the lower jaw from twenty to thirty inches. The existence of two 
species—viz: WZ. Andium and M. Humboldtii—distinguished, as Cuvier stated, by difference in 
size, seems by far the more probable view. 


Prate XIII, Figs. 1 and 2. 


Il. Sixth molar of Mastodon Humboldtii.i—The single broken tooth which was sent in com- 
pany with the lower jaw presents some peculiarities of structure which render it desirable that 
it should be described separately. It is an upper molar, of which the anterior portion is 
broken off; but a slight abrasion of some of the anterior points which remain shows that it had 
come into use. Its greatest breadth is in front, and becomes, as is usual in ultimate molars, 
gradually more narrow posteriorly. Its length is six inches, and its breadth three and a 
half; it has four ridges remaining, and a conical nipple which forms the posterior talon. If 
it had five ridges, which is the case generally in ultimate molars, its entire length must 


280 PALEONTOLOGY. 


have been between nine and ten inches. All the ridges were covered with a layer of cement, 
(Figs. 1 and 2, aa,) but in many places it had become accidentally detached. Near the 
base of the tooth it had the thickness of one fourth of an inch. The enamel which invests the 
base of the crown is tuberculated throughout; and between the bases of the transverse ridges 
are to be seen at the outer border longitudinal ones, the upper edges of which are more or less 
multifid. Each transverse ridge is composed of two very unequal portions separated by a deep 
cleft: one portion consisting of a very large conical tubercle, with a smaller one attached to, 
and as it were impressed into, the side towards the axis of the tooth ; the other portion is com- 
posed of three tubercles of more nearly equal size, of which the outer one is the longest, all 
closely packed together ; the cleft between these two portions, as seen on the broken anterior 
end, is one inch and a quarter in depth. A large tubercle is found in the middle of the 
space between the anterior and second ridges; also two smaller ones between the second and 
third; in both cases connecting two adjoining ridges with each other. 

The unequal division of the transverse ridges, and the strongly tubercnlated enamel on the base 
of the crown, do not appear to be represented in any of the different figures of the teeth of Mas- 
todons, except, perhaps, in one instance, the molars from the Camp de Géans, figured by Cuvier, 
where there is an indication of a longitudinal tuberculated ridge; but the other peculiarities 
indicated above are notapparent. Were it allowable to establish a species on the authority of 
a single tooth, it might be done in the present instance; but, before such a step is taken, other 
specimens should be examined, in order to ascertain how far these individual peculiarities are 
constant. 

If it be referable to either of the species referred to above as coming from South America, 
it would be to the larger species, where the molars are from nine to ten or more inches in 
length, viz: MW. Humboldtii—M. Andium being applied to designate the smaller species. 

UI. Fragment of a femur.—This is the lower portion of the thigh-bone of the right leg. It 
does not appear to be wholly mature, as the line of separation between the epiphysis and the 
shaft of the bone is still distinct, though the co-ossification of the two has taken place. The 
following measurements give the dimensians and proportions : 


Inches. 
Breadth through tuberosities - - - - - - = 3 °8 
Breadth across condyles . - - - - - - By Nee 
Breadth of inner condyle - - - - - - - - 34 
Breadth of outer condyle’ - - - - - - - - 33 
Length of inner condyle = - - - - - - - nati) 
Length of outer condyle - - - - - - - - 4 
Breadth of groove for patella - - - - - - - 33 
Length of groove for patella - - - - - - - 42 
Breadth of interval between condyles - - - - - - 02 
Depth of interval between condyles = - - - - - - 4 


The inner condyle is the longest and most prominent, but the difference in length is less than 
in MW. giganteus. The interval between the condyles dilates anteriorly into a pyriform space, of 
about one inch in its transverse diameter, for the attachment of the crucial ligament. The 
whole fragment is nine inches in length; and on the fractured end, which is triangular with a 


flattened apex, it measures seven inches in its transverse and four in its anterior-posterior 
diameters. 


Norre.—Since the preceding descriptions were written, Lieut. Gilliss has forwarded to me 
another molar of a JJastodon Andiwm, more recently received by him from Prof. Domeyko, 
of Chile. It was taken from Lake Tagua-Tagua, and belongs to the same species as the lower 
jaw already noticed. Its dimensions are as follows: 


FOSSIL MAMMALS. 281 


Inches. 
Length of crown - - - - - 4 
Breadth at anterior ridge - - - 245 
Breadth of posterior ridge - - - 214 
Length of roots - - - - - 4 


The crown is surmounted by three ridges, and is terminated at either end by a rudimentary 
one. The three principal ones are much worn, and give the usual characteristic trefoil-shaped 
sections ; the right and left halves of each ridge are separated by a deep cleft, and the portions 
of enamel on either side of this are very distinctly crenulated, but those of the outer half much 
the most so. The outer section is likewise larger than the inner. ‘There is no basal ridge, nor 
is the side of the crown tuberculated ; the enamel generally is quite smooth, but is somewhat 
channeled in the interspaces of the inner halves of the tidges ; on the outer border a blunt 
tubercle is seen between the bases of the first and second and the second and third ridges. 
These last are slightly oblique, their direction being outwards and backwards. The two roots 
which support the crown are about four inches in length, one of them being situated beneath 
the first ridge and the other beneath the second and the third ; this last, however, is partially 
subdivided by a deep groove. The great length of the roots corresponds with the attrition of 
the crown, the former increasing as the latter diminishes in the ordinary use of the teeth. 

This tooth is of the right side, and corresponds with the one marked V (PI. xii, Figs. 1, 2) 
in the lower jaw, from which its dimensions vary but slightly. 


36* 


REMARKS ON THE FOSSIL SHELLS FROM CHILE, COLLECTED BY 
LIEUT. GILLISS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES. 


oer T. A. CONRAD. 


The few secondary fossils collected in Chile, that I have been requested to determine, appear 
to be referable to the Oolitic, although d’Orbigny has referred two of them to the Cretaceous 
period—his Turritella Andii and Pecten alatus. Coquand and Bayle have, however, arranged 
them in a section of the Oolitic group, which they have termed ‘‘ Htaaes du Lias superieur a la 
Grypheé arquée et de l’oolithe inferieure.’? They name Terebratula tetredra and 7’. ornithoce- 
phala, Sowerby, as South American species; but two shells collected by Lieutenant Gilliss, 
though closely related to the former two, appear to be distinct. The Zwurritella Andii of d’Or- 
bigny is found in Europe, but its geological relations are uncertain. There remain, then, only 
two species of Ostrea, the forms of which genus are not so satisfactorily compared with Ku- 
ropean types as in many other genera, and it is with some doubt I refer them to exotic species. 
There is in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences a species of Zerebratula resembling 
T. meridionalis, and very likely identical with that which I have described in this report. It is 
said to have been obtained in the Andes, at the elevation of perpetual snow. None of these 
species of South American shells have yet been found in any part of North America; and, as 
the continent has been so frequently crossed by exploring expeditions, it is not likely they occur. 


TEREBRATULA. 
Prater XLI, Fig. 4. 


1. T. supexcavatTa. Ovate from base to apex, with three folds at base; sides rounded; umbo 
not very prominent ; basal margin profoundly sinuous. 

Locality. Cordillera de Dofia Ana; 13,432 feet above the ocean. 

Allied to 7. perovalis, Sowerby, but a very distinct species. The mesial fold is short and 
deep, and the lateral ones less deeply impressed. The umbo is not large, as in the meridionalis. 


Prate XLII, Fig. 10. 


2. T. MERIDIONALIS, Conrad. Ovate, both valves ventricose; umbo prominent; sides and 


base rounded. 
Locality. Cordillera de Dofia Ana, 
This species differs from 7’. ovoides of Sowerby, in being broader and more obtuse at base, &c. 


Prate XLII, Fig. 8. 


3. T. suprerr=pra, Conrad. Suboval, with three prominent ribs on the mesial elevations, 


and five or six on the sides; ribs angular, acute. 
Locality. Portezuelo de Manflas, 6,545 feet, and also on the Cordillera de Dofia Ana, 13,432 


feet, above the ocean. 
Differs from 7. tetredra, Sow., in its less ventricose form, and in having three instead of four 
or five plaits on the mesial elevation, Wc. 


U.S.N. Astr! Exped” 


Speman eel 


Dousal Se 


16.1. OSTREA GREGARIA, Sow Hictee CME, SAAS = Sich Fig. 3. LITHOTROCHUS 


- ANDII, Conrad. Fids.4. TEREBRATULA SUBEXCAVATA , Gonrad. hid. 5 AMMONITES . 


U.S.N. Astr? Exped” 


6 


J.H.Richard . 
Figs. 6. 


Conrad . 


Casts. 


Fids.7. PERNA CHILIANA , 


Fig. 9. OSTREA IRREGULARIS , Miinst. 


Conrad . 


Fids.10. 


Bids. 8. 


TEREBRATULA MERIDIONALIS , 


Dougal Se. 


TEREBRATULA SUBTETRAEDRA, 


Conrad. 


FOSSIL SHELLS. 283 


OSTREA, Lin. 
Prate XLII, Fig. 9. 


1. O. mrreeuLaRis. Rhomboidal; lamelloso; striate concentrically; superior valve flat ; 
inferior valve irregular, ventricose, sessile at the umbo or whole surface; sides ascending, 
subrugose. 

Locality. Cordillera de Dofia Ana. 


O. irregularis, Munster, Goup. Petrif. vol. II, p. 20 to 79, Fig. 5. 
Prare XLI, Fig. 1. 


2. O. @reGaRIA. Elliptical, encurved; inferior valve acutely carinated, affixed ; superior 
valve plano-convex, folds simple, narrow, bifurcate. 
Locality. Cordillera de Dojia Ana, 13,432 feet above the ocean. 


O. gregaria, Sow. Gorn. Petrif. vol. II, p. 7, Pl. exxiv, Figs. 1, 2. 


PECTEN? - 
Prate XLI, Fig. 2. 


P. auatus. Inequilateral; anterior side of the larger valve considerably enlarged towards 
the base in form of a wing; ribs, fourteen, rounded below, flattened above ; umbo very promi- 
nent; upper valve flat, a little excavated in the middle; ears small. 

Locality. Cerro de Tres Cruces, in the province of Coquimbo, and 2,887 feet above the sea. 


P. alatus, (Von Buch,) D’Orsteny, Petrif. ree. in Amer. par Humb. p. 3, Fig. 1—4. 


This shell probably belongs to the genus Neithea of Drouet. D’Orbigny remarks that it 
forms entire mountains, and that Humboldt observed it in immense quantities at the height of 
8,400 feet between Guambos and Montan, on the route from the river Amazon towards Lima. 


LITHOTROCHUS, Conrad. 


Prate XLI, Fig. 3. 


Conical or trochiform; aperture contracted, subquadrate, entire ; labrum not extending be- 
yond the line of the body whorl above. 

L. Anpi. Conical; whorls six (?); sides straight, oblique, carinated near the base, and 
angulated ; whorls marked with conspicuous revolving lines; angle of the body whorl obtuse 
or rounded. 

Localities. Coquimbo ; San Felipe, Peru; near Hamburg. 


Turritelli Andii, D’Orsiany, Voy. dans Amer. p. 104, Pl. vi, Fig. 11. 
Pluerotomaria Humboldtii, Du Bucn. Petri. rec. en Amer. par Humb. Fig. 26. 
Trochus Struveanus, Zim. Dunk. Paleont, p. 185, t. 26, Fig. 2. 


This shell has been referred to two or three different genera, but it does not correspond in 
characters with any of them. I have no doubt of its being an extinct genus. Perhaps Twrri- 
tella Renauxiana, d’Orbigny, a Cretaceous species, should be associated with it. Dunker’s 
Trochus Struvianus was found among tertiary fossils, and he is in doubt whether it was out of 
place or not. It is most likely a stray Jurassic species ; and, if so, is no doubt identical with 
the South American shell. 


284 PALEONTOLOGY. 


BELEMNITES. 


B. cumensis, Conrad. Subacicular; somewhat curved towards the apex, which ig obtuse; sides 
flattened; groove profound, and terminating much below the apex. 


Locality. Caldera. 


Recent formation of Copiap6, Chile. 


The collection of fossil shells obtained by Lieut. Gilliss consists of some of the common recent 
species of Chile, living as far south as Valparaiso. This recent formation, discovered upon the 
line of the Copiap6 railroad, is an aggregation of fragmentary and water-worn shells, mixed 
with sea-sand and gravel in varying proportions, having evidently been a sea-beach during the 
existence of the present fauna, and now elevated from twenty-five to four hundred and twenty 
feet above the sea. Specimens of this rock are composed of fine fragments of shells, apparently 
cemented by carbonate of lime, and which consist chiefly of one species of bivalve, Mulinia By- 
ronensis, a common recent species of Valparaiso. On the upper surface which marks the last 
deposition of shells previous to their elevation beyond the reach of the sea, many specimens of 
Mulinia are nearly entire, but always water-worn. On one specimen of this rock the most 
abundant shell is Zurritella cingulata, also water-worn; and these two species chiefly compose 
this probably extensive rock formation. The other shells enumerated in the list appended are 
rare, and add little, therefore, to the bulk of the rock. It is evident, from these specimens, that 
the coast of northern Chile has been elevated more than four hundred feet, and to a distance of 
twenty-five miles from the Pacific, at a comparatively recent period. Indeed, these aggrega- 
tions of shell fragments have a striking resemblance to those now forming on Anastatia island, 
on the Florida coast. Darwin, in describing the formations of Copiapé, does not allude to this 
rock, and therefore it has been probably exposed for the first time by excavations made for the 
Copiapé railroad. A large oyster-shell, found imbedded in a mixture of ferruginous quartzose 
sand and gravel, at an elevation of four hundred feet above the sea, is a species that I do not 
find described or referred to by authors, and it is probably tertiary fossil. It has a Balanus 
attached to it, very like one of the Miocene species. 

Many of the specimens of concreted shells are no more altered in structure than those on the 
coast of Florida; but a specimen of this rock, from an elevation of four hundred feet, twenty- 
five miles from the coast, is of a sparry or crystalline structure, the fragments so small and water- 
worn that it is scarcely possible to ascertain with certainty the species of which it is composed, 
but is most probably made up of Mulinia Byronensis. 


Tast of Shells in the recent formation of the Copiapé railroad. 


UNIVALVES. 


. TURRITELLA CINGULATA, Sowerby. 

. CONCHOLEPAS PERUVIANA, Lam. One young specimen; elevation 138 feet. 
Fusus recurvus? Koch. One broken specimen. 

Trocuus Microstoma, d’Orbigny. Rare; elevation 138 feet. 

. CREPIDULA DILATATA, Lam. Rare. 

. STREPHONA PERUVIANA, (Oliva, Lam.) Two specimens. 

. TROCHITA RADIANS, (Calytrea, Lam.) One specimen. 


BIVALVES. 


8. MULINIA BYRONENSIS, Gray. 
9. Taprs LirHoma, (Venus, Jonas.) Elevation 138 feet; one valve. 


-—* 


FOSSIL SHELLS. 285 


10. Myrtrius ovatts, Lam. One specimen. 
11. Paputa ponacta, Young. Rare. 


No. 1. Darwin did not find this species among the recent upraised shells near Valparaiso. 
It is a common living species on that part of the coast of Chile, where it has been dredged up 
from a depth of ten to twenty fathoms. No. 2 is recent on the coast of Peru; No. 4, recent at 
Valparaiso; No. 5, ditto; No. 6, recent at Coquimbo and Copiapé; No. 7, living on the coasts 
of Chile and Peru; No. 8, living at Valparaiso; No. 9, living at Copiapé; No. 10, living on 
the coast of Peru. No. 11: Darwin says, that about Quintero there are immense accumula- 
tions of this species, packed in sandy earth. It lives north and south of Valparaiso, inhabiting 
sand-banks at the level of the lowest tides. 


Tertiary Shells of Chile. 


In the collection I find three shells which are probably extinct species, as they differ widely 
from any recent shells of the Pacific coast that we have in our collections or are described in 
scientific publications. They have no resemblance to Eocene species; but, from their corre- 
spondence with Miocene forms, I have scarcely a doubt that they will prove to be members of 
that formation. I have traced Miocene deposits from Columbia river, in Oregon, to San Diego, 
in California, by means of fossil shells collected by Townsend, Dana, Lieut. Blake, Dr. Heer- 
mann, and Dr. Leconte; and no doubt the same formation, or synchronous deposits, may yet be 
found at intervals from San Diego to Cape Horn, at greater or less distances from the coast, and 
sometimes, as in California, bordering the sea. 


PERNA. 


Pirate XLII, Fig. 7. 


P. curtensts, Conrad. Oblong-subquadrate; anterior hinge extremity somewhat rostrated ; 
anterior margin rectilinear; hinge oblique, and furnished with about fifteen cardinal teeth; 
posterior margin and basal margin rounded; muscular impression oblong; subovate, very 
large. 

Locality. Caldera, Chile. 


This is a cast of a very large species, allied to P. mazillata of the Virginia Miocene, and 
measures ten inches from hinge to base. The muscular impression is remarkable for its size ; 
measuring 4% inches in length, and its greatest breadth three inches. 


OSTREA, Lim. 


O. coprapIna, Conrad. Upper valve obliquely oblong-oval, somewhat curved, ventricose, with 
very broad, not elevated, irregular radiating undulations; cartilage depression profoundly di- 
lated ; beak not prominent, submargins entire; muscular impression profoundly elongated, 
falcate; cavity capacious. 

Locality. Line of Copiapé railroad. 


This is a large species, measuring from beak to base seven inches ; from anterior to posterior 
extremities, eight and a quarter inches. I have not seen the lower valve, but suppose it to be 
not very different from the opposite one. There are some large Balani attached to it, resem- 
bling a Miocene species of Virginia; but not being in good condition, it remains undetermined. 
These shells are imbedded in a brown quartzose sand, and were found at an elevation of four 
hundred feet above the sea. 


286 PALEONTOLOGY. 


Recent Species. 
LAXICAVA. 


L. cALpERENstIs, Conrad. Ovate-oblong ; of a chalky whiteness ; inequilateral ; anterior and 
posterior margins acutely rounded ; anterior side with broad, flattened, waved radiating ribs ; 
posterior side with narrow, sub-acute, radiating, more prominent ribs ; an oblique wide space 
on the disk without radii, or they are obsolete ; surface with closely-arranged prominent wrin- 
kled lines, larger posteriorly. 


ADDENDUM. 


METEORIC IRON OF ATACAMA. 


BY DR. R. A. PHILIPPI. 


(From the “ Anales de la Universidad de Chile,” for June, 1854. ] 


When hunting guanacos, some thirty or forty years ago, the meteoric iron of the Desert of 
Atacama was discovered by two Indians from the hamlet of Peine, situated some twenty-two 
leagues to the southeast of Atacama—José Maria Chaile and Matias Mariano Ramos—the latter 
now dead. Being white and soft when cut, they at first mistook it for silver, and Chaile 
extracted two masses from their places, each weighing five or six arrobas (of twenty-five pounds 
each), which were buried in the ground near the water-holes of Pajonal, though the spot of 
their concealment is no longer remembered. As soon as it was known that it was meteoric 
iron and not silver which they had found, many persons curious in such matters made expedi- 
tions in search of specimens, others asked like samples from residents of Atacama, who availed 
themselves of the inhabitants of Peine to obtain them, and I was told that even the blacksmiths 
of Atacama sought the iron for manufacturing purposes. The larger specimens were the first 
to be taken away ; and now the iron is so nearly gone, that I am persuaded it will cost much 
time to any one who makes a journey in search of the few fragments of this mineral remaining. 

This rare substance is found at one league in a southwest direction from the water-holes of 
Tmilac—almost in the centre of the most arid and desolate part of the desert. Imilac is distant 
in a right line from the coast about thirty leagues, from Cobija forty leagues, and from Atacama 
thirty-five leagues. On the west, the nearest place where water can be had is at Aguas Blancas, 
some twenty-four leagues off; in the direction of Atacama, none exists nearer than Tilopaso, 
nineteen leagues distant; on the east it may be found at Pajonal, a journey of seven leagues, 
and at Punta Negra, twelve and a half leagues off, on the road towards Paposa. Imilac is a 
little hollow at an elevation of some 3,350 varas, or 8,620 French feet, above the level of the 
sea, with a small salt marsh near its centre, which produces a few gramineous plants, viz: a 
species of Festuca, the Scirpus acicularis, or a species very similar to it, a Ciperacea, and a Trig- 
lochin. Even these are so scarce that a dozen mules would find it impossible to satisfy their 
hunger. There is no other combustible than the dung of mules, and the plants eaten by the 
poor animals are charged with so much salt that this burns only after much difficulty, leaving 
a sort of black scoria instead of ashes. I found it impossible to boil water with it; and as 
observation of the temperature of ebullition was the only mode left to me by which to calculate 
the heights of these elevated places, after my aneroid no longer served and the mercurial 
barometer had become useless, the altitude assigned to Imilac can be considered only approx- 
imate. 

One of the very discoverers of the iron, José Maria Chaile, served as my guide to the spot. 
In order to reach it, on leaving the water-holes of Imilac we turned to the southwest, entering 
a little valley with an eastern aperture, whose very gentle slopes are scarcely more than (30 
or 40 varas) 110 to 120 feet high. After half an hour’s travel, the first small specimen of 
iron was found, and ten minutes later we reached the principal place from whence it has been 


288 ADDENDUM. 


obtained. At the bottom of the valley a hole eighteen to twenty feet deep has been excavated by 
Indians, who expected to “encounter a vein of iron; and at several directions from this principal 
one, at distances of ten to twenty steps, there are other apertures and piles of rubbish two to 
three feet high, indicating, beyond doubt, the places from which the largest and heaviest pieces 
of this greatly-sought substance had been extracted. At Atacama I heard it said that there 
was still a large mass buried in the surface, and one Manuel Plaza told me, at Peine, that a 
very great specimen was rolled to the bottom of the valley; but I saw nothing of either. I 
remember reading, in a manual of mineralogy, that a stone weighing three hundred pounds 
had been obtained from here; but it must be a mistake, because masses of that weight cannot 
be carried by mules, and they afford the only mode of transport on the desert. 

Arriving at the spot, we began the search for specimens. Nothing was found at the bottom 
of the valley or on the northern slope; but, in a search of more than an hour on the southern 
declivity, and at an elevation of seventeen to twenty-eight feet above the bottom of the valley, I 
found a very great number of small fragments, within a space from sixty to eighty steps long 
by twenty paces broad. 

The surface has been formed from the decomposition of certain classes of porphyritic rocks, 
and is composed of a loose clayey earth mixed with an infinity of little stones, from the size of 
a walnut to that of an apple, and does not differ essentially from the greater portion of the 
desert. The porphyry may be termed granitic or sienitic, because, in a whitish, crystalline, 
felspathic component, of which the oxide of iron on the surface becomes reddish, we find dis- 
seminated grains of hyaline quartz, slightly inclined to gray, which are of the size of hemp- 
seed. Small black spots, more or less dendritic, appear to arise from manganese; but in some 
cases they are positively known to be amphibole, as in a specimen I have marked A. It is very 
rare to find, as in one marked B, any specimens containing small spots of white mica, which 
forms the transition to granite, and are more granular. Some of these stones have their sur- 
faces covered with a black rust, which appears to be principally formed of the hydrated oxide 
of iron, as in the specimen marked C. The most remarkable thing is, that all of them have 
their angles very sharp, proving that they have not been rolled from afar, but were formed on 
the same spot by natural fracture of the rock. 

The specimens I collected weigh three pounds, less three drachms, and number 673; so that 
the mean weight of each is twenty-three grains—the largest weighing two ounces, and the 
smallest one less than one grain. We may suppose that my companion, Don Guillermo Déll, 
obtained the same number, José Maria Chaile as many, and it is probable that one half 
remained unseen. Therefore the total number of pieces in that locality exceeded 3,000, without 
enumerating the many large stones carried away during the last thirty or forty years, and 
which there is no possible mode of estimating. 

The smallest specimens have the forms of lamellae. Among the larger of them there are 
many of arborescent lamellar forms, with intersecting lines as on paper that has been compressed 
in the hand and opened again. The surfaces of these are very black, and when collected some 
of them were iridescent. In their cavities transparent olivine is very distinctly seen, although 
it is full of crevices, and the hollows are somewhat regular as if the iron had introduced itself 
when in a state of fusion among already formed crystals of olivine. There are other pieces 
more compact. The olivine which we must suppose originally filled their cavities is generally 
very much decomposed and converted into a whitish-yellow, or a ruddy and earthy substance 
whose examination under a lens shows it to be composed of small vitreous or crystalline grains. 

t would be tedious to describe the varied and multitudinous forms of the Atacama iron ; and 
the samples that I have the honor to present will save me the irksome task. I must mention, 
however, the largest specimen seen, and which is in the collection of our colleague Don Ignacio 
Domeyko. This mass weighs more than fifty pounds, and is of an irregular oblong form with 
somewhat smooth surfaces and sharp corners. Its smooth sides look as though they had been 
rubbed down, whilst its elongated extremities are rough and crooked, with indices of octahe- 


ADDENDUM. 239 


ral crystallization. It has polar magnetism, the poles being near the two extremities of the 
mass, an interesting peculiarity which I do not remember as belonging to any other meteoric 
iron. 

I may remark, further, that the diameter of the cavities filled with olivine ig rarely so much 
as six lines, or less than two lines. One specimen appeared to be composed of two pieces which 
had fallen separately in a state of fusion, and on touching at a point they had become united. 
I also noticed specimens whose exteriors seemed to have been rubbed down as is observed on the 
outsides of numerous minerals taken from within the earth, and principally from metallic veins, 
a phenomenon only explicable on the supposition of a friction or sliding over one another 
during their motion. May we attribute the appearaace which the surface of some of these 
meteoric masses have, to a like origin ? 

It is clearly shown, in what has been said, that only a meteoric origin can be supposed for the 
iron of Atacama: it must have fallen from the atmosphere as did that of Aram and Braunan, 
The fragments are so delicate, so crisped, and have extremities so fine and sharp, that any 
hypothesis that they were transferred from another locality on the globe is inadmissible; we 
must admit that they were found on the spot precisely as we see them. Now, they lie upon 
the surface ; they have the same chemical and physical characteristics as other meteoric iron: 
how, then, could we think them to have had other origin ? 

I think we may conjecture, with a reasonable probability, the direction from which came the 
meteor furnishing these iron fragments. Remembering that the first samples are found ten 
minutes before reaching their principal locality and in a N.N. E. direction, and that almost all 
the specimens yet found lie on the slope facing to the north, none on that falling southward, 
we must almost necessarily believe that the great mass came fromthe N. N. E., lost some par- 
ticles on its path, and burst in the place already described, scattering the small pieces as sparks 
on the slope, whilst the larger fragments either fell or rolled to the bottom of the valley. 


37* 


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INDEX. 


Achiras village, 31, 49. 
Aconcagua river, 3, 4, 6, 14. 
Acorocorto, 23, 51, 52. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 
ZEglea intermedia, 255-257. 
Agachadera, 191. 
de la Cordillera, 191. 
Agelaius cureus, 178. 
thilius, 179. 
Aglaia ceruleocephala, 181. 
eyanicollis, 181. 
fanny, 182. 
gyroloides, 182. 
peruviana, 182. 
viridissima, 182. 
Agourachay, 154. 
Agriornis lividus, 183. 
Aguila, 174. 
Aguilucho, 175. 
Aleatraz, 206. 
Alcon, 177. 
Alfalfa, 17, 23. 
Algarrobas, 23, 29, 38, 47. 
Alosa musica, 245, 246. 
Alto de la Laguna, 6, 66. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76,77. 
Alvares, General A. M, his collection of Peruvian antiquities, 
123-143. 
Ameiva oculata, 224. 
American night heron, 193. 
American stork, 196. 
Analysis of powder collected on the banks of the Yeso, 63. 
Anas antarctica, 200, 201. 
bahamensis, 203. 
chaleoptera, 202. 
chiloensis, 201. 
creccoides, 203. 
eyanoptera, 202. 
fretensis, 203. 
ganta, 200. 
maculirostris, 203. 
magellanica, 201. 
melanocephala, 202. 
metopias, 204. 
nigricollis, 200. 


Anas oxyptera, 205. 
oxyura, 202. 
rafflesii, 202. 
specularis, 202. 
specularoides, 202. 
urophasianus, 203. 
Aneroid barometer, 71-73. 
Angelito, 195. 
Anser melanopterus, 201. 
Antarctic goose, 200, 201. 
Antimonial gray copper, 90. 
silver, 95. 
Antimony ores, 103, 104. 
Aporomera ornata, 223-226. 
Aquila pezopora, 174. 


Arboleda, 57. 


elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 78. 
Ardea candidissima, 193. 
cocoi, 192. 
ecerulescens, 192. 
cyanocephala, 193. 
egretta, 193. 
exilis, 194. 
galatea, 193. 
gardeni, 193. 
leuce, 193. 
maguari, 192, 196. 
nycticorax, 193. 
thula, 193. 
Arenales, 57. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 78. 
Arequitas, 39, 45. 
meteorology of, 80. 

Arica, antiquities found there, 115, 118-122. 

Armadillos, 46, 55. 

Arquerite, 97. 

Arroyo de la Lagunilla, 32. 
de San Jose, 47. 
grande, 57. 

Arseniate of cobalt, 103. 

of copper, 91. 

Arsenic, 104. 

Arsenical cobalt, 102. 

copper, 91. 

gray copper, 90. 

nickel, 103. 
Arsenillo, 88. 


292 


Arseniuret of iron, 101. 
Asbestos, 105. 
Atacamite, 88. 
Athene cunicularia, 178. 

patagonica, 178. 
Atherina microlepidota, 238. 
Attagis gayii, 192. 
Atuel river, 25, 53. 
Auchenia llama, 159-162. 
Avecasina, 194. 

pintada, 194. 

Azara’s plover, 195. 
Azurite, 92. 


Bagre, 243. 

Bailarin, 175. 

Balde, el, 25, 50. 

elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 

Banded plover, 195. 

Bandurria, 197. ~ 

Barometers used, 71-73. 

Barranquitos, los, 32, 49. 

Barrial, el, 21. 

Barriales, los, elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 

Basilichthys microlepidotus, 238, 239. 

Bdellostoma polytrema, 252, 253. 

Bebedero, salt lake, 24, 25, 53. 

Bernicla antarctica, 200. 

magellanica, 201. 
melanoptera, 201. 

Bichos, 36. 

Bien te veo, 42. 

Birds, 172-206. 

Biscachas, 30), 53, 54. 

Bismuth, 103. 

Bismuth silver, 95. 

Black-faced ibis, 197. 

Black-necked swan, 200. 

Black oxide of copper, 88. 

Black oyster-catcher, 198. 

Black vulture, 173. 

Black-winged goose, 201. 

Blende, 104. 

Blue carbonate of copper, 92. 

Blue-headed Tanager, 181. 

Blue vitriol, 93. 

Bolas, 54. 

Brazilian cormorant, 205, 206. 

Bromice silver, 96. 

Bubo crassirostris, 177. 

Buenos Ayres, custom-house, 42. 
latitude and longitude, 76. 
meteorology, 81, 82. 

Buitre, 172. 

Burrowing owl, 178. 

Buteo erythronotus, 175. 

tricolor and unicolor, 175. 


INDEX. 


Buteo unicinetus, 174. 
Buzzards, 55, 


Cabeza del Tigre, 39, 46. 
elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 
Cabral, 47. 
Cachorino de Mato, 155. 
Caguil, 204. 
Calandrias, 13, 55, 183. 
Caleareous spar, 105. 
Caleta, la, 10. 
Calidris arenaria, 194. 
tringoides, 194. 
Calliste eyanicollis, 181. 
cyanoyentris, 182. 
desmarestii, 182. 
gyroloides, 182. 
larvata, 182. 
Callomys aureus, 156. 
Calzoncillas, 27. 
Cafiada de Luea, 47. 
Candelaria post-house, 45. 
Canis azare, 154, 155. 
brasiliensis, 154. 
magellanicus, 154. 
melanostomus, 154. 
Capillary red copper, 88. 
Caprimulgus bifasciatus, 186. 
parvulus, 186. 
Caracara chimango, 174. 
eagle, 173. 
vulgaris, 173. 
Carbonate of iron and manganese, 102. 
Carduelis atratus, 181. 
Carpintero, 190. 
Carranchas, 55. 
Carolina gold mines, 28, 29. 
Castor coypus, 158. 
Casucha de la Cumbre, 6. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 77. 
Casucha de las Calaveras, 6. 
Casucha de los Ojos de Agua, 6. 
Casucha de los Puquios, 8. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 77. 
Casucha del Portillo, 6. 
Cathartes atratus, 173. 
aura, 172. 
jota, 172, 173. 
urubu, 173. 
Catitas hamlet, 23. 
Cavia australis, 156. 
Cernicalo, 176. 
Cerro de los Penitentes, 10. 
del Yeso, 60. 
Dorado, 13. 
Chacabuco, Cuesta de, elevation of, 75. 


Chacabuco, posada de, elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 
Chacra de Montumas, latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 


Chafares, 22, 23, 29, 47. 

Charadrius annuligerus, 195. 
azare, 195. 
ealidris, 194. 
collaris, 195. 
falklandicus, 195. 
hymantopus, 196. 
lampronotus, 195. 
trifasciatus, 195. 

Charqui, 4. 

Cheirodon pisciculus, 249, 250. 

Cheuque, 198. 

Chifles, 19. 

Chilea, 10. 

Chilcas, las, 36, 48, 53. 

Chileas river, 36, 53. 

Chilean blackbird, 178, 179. 
coot, 196. 
lark, 179. 

Chile mocking-bird, 183. 

widgeon, 201. 

Chilla, 154. 

Chincol, 180, 181. 

Chirean negro, 188. 

Chirip 7, 27. 

Chlamydophorus truncatus, 158. 

Chlamyphorus truncatus, 158, 159. 

Chloride of silver, 96. 

Chloro-arsenate of lead, 99. 

Chloro-bromide of silver, 96. 

Chlorophonia occipitalis, 182. 

Chlorospiza fruticeti, 179. 

gayi, 180. 

Choroy, 189, 190. 

Chronometers used, 69, 70. 

Chrysocolla, 92. 

Chrysomitris atratus, 181. 

marginalis, 181. 

Chucul. Sce Las Chileas. 

Chucul river. See Chilcas river. 

Chuncho, 178. 

Churrete, 187. 

Ciconia maguaria, 196. 

pillus, 196. 

Cinclodes nigrofumosus, 187. 

vulgaris, 187. 

Cinnabar, 99. 

Circus cinereus, 175. 
macropterus, 175. 
superciliosus, 175. 

Cisne, 200. 


Cnemidophorus presignis, 227-229. 


Cobalt, 102, 103. 
Cobalt bloom, 103. 
Cobaltene, 102, 103. 
Cochineal, 28. 


INDEX. 


Colaptes pitiguus, 190. 
pituis, 190. 
Colegial, 185. 


Colina, posada de, meteorology of, 76. 


Collared sparrow, 180, 181. 
Columba araucana, 190, 
denisea, 190. 
fitzroyi, 190. 
Columbina strepitans, 191. 
Comadreja, 155. 
Concepcion, villa de, 32-35. 
Condor, 172. 
Conurus eyanolysios, 189. 
Copiapite, 101. 
Copper, 87-93. 
glance, 89. 
pyrites, 89. 
Coquimbite, 101. 


Cordova province, population of, 32. 


Corral de Tortoras, 25. 

Cortaderas, las, 10, 30. 

Cougar, 153, 154. 

Coypu, 158. 

Crithagra luteiventris, 181. 

Cruz, Alta, 39, 45. 
meteorology of, 80. 

Cruz de Piedra, 56. 

Crypturus perdicarius, 192. 

Cuca, 192. 

Cuchareta, 197. 

Cuerno de Vaca, 58. 

Cuesta de Chacabuco, 3. 

Cuesta de la Cumbre, 7. 

Cuervo, 197. 

Cuguacuarana, 154. 

Culpeu, 154. 

Cumbre Pass, and elevation of, 75. 

Curucho, 157. 

Cururo, 157. 

Curraca Salt lake, 64. 

Curanderos, 27. 

Cuyeita, 157. 


Cuzco province, antiquities found there, 123-143. 


Cyanotis omnicolor, 186. 
Cygnus nigricollis,200. 
Cystignathus teniatus, 207, 208. 


D. 


Dafila bahamensis, 203. 

Dasycephala livida, 183. 

Deer, 37, 54. 

De Luna post-house, 45. 

Desaguadero river, 24, 25, 51, 53. 

Desaguadero, elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 


_ Desmochados, 39, 45, 53. 


elevation of, 76. 

meteorology of, 80. 
Diamante river, 25, 53. 
Didelphys elegans, 155, 156. 


293 


294 INDEX. 


Didelphys hortensis, 155. 
Distances from Rosario to Mendoza, 68. 
Diuea, 180. 

Diueon, 185. 

Divisadero hil], 61. 

Dolomite, 105. 

Domeykite, 91. 

Dormida, la, post-house, 23, 52. 
Dryophis vittatus, 211-213. 
Ducks, 55, 57. 

Dwarf owl, 178. 


Egretta galatea, 193. 
leuce, 193. 
thula, 193. 
Elanus dispar, 175. 
leucurus, 175. 
Elaps nigrocinctus, 210, 211. 
Elevation above the sea-level, observations for, 71-73. 
table of, 75, 76. 
Emberiza luctuosa, 179. 
unicolor, 180. 
Embolite, 96. 


Emperor of Brazil, Peruvian pottery from his collection, 133. 


Engraulis pulchellus, 247-249. 
Enicognathus leptorhynchus, 189. 
Erismatura ferruginea, 204. 
Erubescite, 89. 
Ericornis melanura, 188. 
Espatula, 197. 
Esquina de Ballesteros, 47. 
Esquina de Lovaton, post-house, 39, 46. 
Esquina de Medrano, 4. 
elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 
Estero de las Cruces, latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 
Euphonia bicolor, 182. 
occipitalis, 182. 
rufiventris, 182. 
FE. 
Falco aquia, 174. 
brasiliensis, 173. 
cheriway, 173. 
dispar, 175. 
dominicensis, 176. 
gracilis, cinmamominus, and isabellinus, 176. 
harrisii, 174. 
histrionicus, 175. 
nigriceps, 176. 
palustris, 175. 
sparverius, 176. 
tharus, 173. 
Felis concolor, 153-154. 
discolor, 153. 
puma, 153. 
Fire-crowned humming-bird, 187. 
Fishes, 230-262. 
Flamenco, 198. 


Flamingoes, 37. 
Fossil mammals, 275-281. 
shells, 282-286. 
Fraile Muerto village, 46. 
longitude and elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 
Fringilla diuea, 180. 
luteiventris, 181. 
matutina, 180. 
mortonii, 180. 
Fulica chilensis, 196. 
erassirostris, 196. 
Fuligula mecopias, 204. 


Gaimard’s cormorant, 206. 
Galena, 99. 
Galictis vittata, 155. 
Gallina ciega, 1&6. 
Gallinago paraguie, 194. 
Gallinazo, 173. 
Gallinula czsia, 195. 
erassirostris, 196. 

Gancillo, 201. . 
Garnet-eyed fly-catcher, 185. 
Garza chica, 193. 

grande, 193. 
Gaviota grande, 204. 
Gay’s finch, 180. 
Giant humming-bird, 186. 
Glaucidium nanum, 178. 
Goitre, 16, 27, 67. 


Gold, 87. 
Gold mines of La Carolina, 28. 
Gothite, 100, 101. . 


Graculus brasilianus, 206. 
gaimardi, 206. 
Grass of the pampas, 40. 
Greater white heron, 193. 
Great-footed ground-thrush, 184. 
Green carbonate of copper, 92. 
Grison, le, 155. 
Guairabo, 193. 
amarillo, 194. 

Guala, 205. 
Guanacache lakes, 21, 24, 53. 
Guanaco, el, 48. 
Guanacos, 37, 54, 159-162. 
Guardia, la, 57. 

elevation of, 75. 

meteorology of, 78. 
Guardia de la Esquina, 39, 45. 

meteorology of, 80. 

Guardia Vieja, 10, 67. 
Guazuara, 154, 
Guillinomys chilensis, 158. 
Gulo vittatus, 155. 


Heematopus ater, 193. 


INDEX. 


Hematopus niger, 193. 
ostralegus, 197. 
palliatus, 197. 
townsendii, 198. 

Halcon, 177 

Haliztus erythronotus, 175. 

Harpagus bidentatus, 177. 

Heavy spar, 105. 

Hesperomys, 158. 

Hiaticula azare, 195. 

trifasciata, 195. 

Himantopus nigricollis, 196. 

Hoary rail, 196. 

Horn-plovers, 46, 55. 

Horn-silver, 96. 

Huaca, 112. 

Huron, 155. 

Huron menor, 155. 

Hydromys coypus, 157. 

Hypotriorchis femoralis, 177. 


Tbis falcinellus, 197. 
guarauna, 197. 
melanopis, 197. 
Iguanas, 25, 40. 
Inca’s bridge, 9. 
Indian antiquities, 111, 150. 
implements and figures of metal, 112-115, 119, 128-130, 
137-143. 
pottery, 115, 116, 121, 127, 130. 
wooden-ware, &c., 116, 120, 143. 
utensils in stone and wood, 134-137. 
textile fabrics, 118, 121, 122, 128. 
cranium, 122. 
Todie silver, 96, 97. 
Tron ores, 100-102, 287-289. 


J. 
Jarilla, 10. 
Jotecillo, 173. 
Juneal river, 6, 14. 
Junealillo river, 6, 14. 
Junta, la, 4. 
’ K. 
Kerodon kingii, 156. 
L. 


Ladera de las Polvaderas, 10, 
las Vacas, 10. 
los Quillais, 5. 
San Francisco, 61. 
Lagidium cuvieri, 156, 157. 
peruanum, 156, 
Lagotis cuvieri, 156. 
Laguna de Guanacache. 
Lapis-lazuli, 104, 105. 
Larus bridgesii, 205. 
cirrocephalus, 204. 


Sce Guanacache lakes. 


Larus dominicanus, 204. 
glaucodes, 204, 
modestus, 205. 

Latitudes, observations for, 69; table of, 75, 76. 

Lead ores, 99, 100. 

Least bittern, 194. 

Leiestes Americanus, 179. 

niger, 178. 

Leon, 153, 154. 

Leptorhynchus ruficaudus, 189 

Lesser white heron, 193. 

Lichenops erythropterus, 185. 

perspicillatus, 185. 

Liebres, 25, 55. 

Lignite, 105. 

Lile, 206. 

Lions and tigers, 36. 

Llaca, 155. 

Llama guanaco, 159. 

Llautu, 129, 145. 


Loica, 179. 

Longitudes, observations for, 69-71; table of, 75, 76. 
Loro, 189. 

Lueacha, 37. 7 


Lujan, town of, 56. 


Magellanic goose, 201. 
Magnetic determinations, 73-75; table of, 75,76. 
Magnetic oxide of iron, 100. 
Malachite, 92. 
Mal Paso, 58, 63. 
Mammalia found in Chile, list of, 163-171. 
Mammals, 153-172. 
fossil, 275-281. 
Manco Capac, 148-150. 
Manganese, 102. 
Manzanito river, 61. 
Mareea chiloensis, 201. 
Mastodon, fragments of, described, 275-281. 
Mastonotus popelairi, 158. 
Maypu river, 61. 
Megalonyx medius, 184. 
rufus, 184. 

Mellisuga kingii, 187. 
Mendoza city, 13, 15-20, 54, 64. 

canals, 15. 

churches, 15. 

goitre, 16. 

produce, 16, 17. 

latitude, longitude, and elevation, 75. 

meteorology, 77, 78. 
Mendoza river. See Rio de Mendoza. 
Mercurial gray copper, 90. 
Mercury, 99. 
Merganetta armata, 204, 
Mero, 183. 
Merula falklandica, 183, 184. 

fuscater, 183. 

Meteorie iron, 100, 287-289. 


295 


296 INDEX. 


Meteorological observations, 76-82. 

Micaceous oxide of iron, 100. 

Milvago chimango, 174. 

Milvus leucurus, 175. 

Mimetene, 99. 

Mimus thenea, 183. 

Minerals of Chile, 85-105. 

Mineral waters of Chile, 105-107. 

Mispickel, 102. 

Mocking birds, 13,55, 183. 

Molinero, 187. 

Molybdenate of lead, 99. 

Montevideo, latitude and longilude of, 76. 

Morphnus unicinetus, 174. 

Morro, el, 30. 

Motacilla perspiciflata, 185. 

Mus castoroides, 157. 

Mus coypus, 157. 

Muscisaxicola mentalis, 185. 

Myopotamus bonariensis, 158. 
eoypus, 157, 158. 


N. 


Nebli, 175. 

Nematogenys inermis, 240-242. 

Nickel, 103. 

Noctua cunicularia, 178. 

pumila, 178. 

Nothura perdicaria, 192. 

Nuco, 177, 178. 

Numenius hudsonicus, 194. 

Nutria, 158. 

Nycticorax americanus, 193. 
gardeni, 193. , 
nzeyius, 193. 


oO. 


Observations, 69-82, 
of the latitude, 69. 
of the longitude, 69-71. 
elevation above the sea-level, 71-73. 
magnetic determinations, 73-75. 
table of latitudes, longitudes, elevations, and 
magnetic elements, 75-2. 
Ocypetes torquatus, 191. 
Ojos de Agua, 6, 49. 
Olivenite, 91. 
Olla, la, 58, 62. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 78. 
Opetiorhynchus lanceolatus, 187- 
Oregons, or Orejons, 145. 
Oreotrochilus leucopleurus, 187. 
Ornismya gigantea, 186. 
tristis, 186. 
Orthorhynchus sephanoides, 187. 
Ostriches, 37, 55. 
Otus brachyotus, 177, 178. 
Owls, 30, 177, 178. 


Oxide of manganese, 102. 
Oyster-catcher, 197. 


Painted snipe, 194. 
Palomares mountains, 58. 
Pampas, description of, 52. 
modes of crossing them, 18-20. 
Panther, 153, 154. 
Paramillo, 13. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 77. 
Parana river, 39, 53. 
Parra cayanensis, 195. 
Parrina, 198. 
Parrots, 55, 189. 
Partridges, 25, 37, 55. 
Patagonian heron, 192. 
parrot, 189. 
Pato anteojillo, 202. 
capuchino, 203. 
colorado, 202, 203. 
de la cordillera, 204. 
jergon chico, 203. 
jergon grande, 203. 
pimpillo, 204. 
real, 201. 
rinconero, 202. 
sin cresta, 204. 
Pejé-tree station, 37, 38. 
latitude and longitude of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 
Pelecanus gaimardi, 206. 
moline, 206. 
thagus, 206. 
Pelidna pectoralis, 195. 
Peuco, 174. 
Pefion Rasgado, 10. 
Pequen, 178. 
Percha trucha, 231-233. 
Percichthys chilensis, 231-233. 
melanops, 233-235. 
Percilia gillissii, 236-237. 
Perdiz, 192. 
cordillerana, 192. 
del mar, 194. 
Perdizita, 191. 
Peristera auriculata, 191. 
Perpilen, 198. 
Perrito, 196. 
Peruvian Tanager, 182. 
Peje rey, 238. 
Petaquito, 191. 
Phalacrocorax brasilianus, 205, 206. 
gaimardi, 206. 
niger, 205. 
Pheenicopterus andinus, 198-200. 
chilensis, 198. 
ignipalliatus, 198. 
Phrygilus diuca, 180. 
fruticeti, 179. 


—— 


INDEX. 


Phrygilus gayi, 180. 
unicolor, 180. 
Phyllobates auratus, 209. 
Phytotoma bloxhami, 183. 
rara, 183. 
silens, 183. 
Picaflor, 187. 
grande, 186. 
Picurio, 205. 
Pichi-ciego, 55, 158, 159. 
Pichiuta river, 11. 
Picus chilensis, 190. 
lignarius, 190. 
melanocephalus, 190. 
pituis, 190. 
puncticeps, 190. 
Piden, 196. 
Pillo, 196. 
Pifiuda, 187. 
Pipilo cinerea, 180. 
Pitigiie, 190. 
Piuquen, 201. 
Planeta, 197. 
Plants, dried, list of those brought home, 265-267. 
living, list of those sent to the government green-house, 
268, 269. 
Platalea ajaja, 197. 
Podiceps leucopterus, 205. 
Podilymbus brevirostris, 205. 
Poephagomys ater, 157. 
Pole-cat, 45. 
Pollito blanco, 194. 
negro, 195. 
Pollola, 196. 
Polybasite, 95. 
Polyborus chimango, 174. 
teeniurus, 174. 
tharus, 173. 
vulgaris, 173. 
Pontoztus melanoleucus, 174. 
Poplars, Lombardy, 4, 15, 22, 57. 
Portezuelo, 49. 
Portillo Pass, 58, 59, 66. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 78, 79. 
Post-houses : 
Acorocorto, 51. 
Arequitas, 39, 45. 
Arroyo de San José, 47. 
Balde, 25, 50. 
Barraneas, 46. 
Barranquitas, 49. 
Cabeza del Tigre, 39, 46. 
Canada de Luca, 47. 
Candelaria, 45. 
Chucul 48. 
Cruz Alta, 39, 45. 
De Luna, 45. 
Desaguadero, 51. 
, Desmochados, 39, 45, 53. 


38* 


Post-houses : 
Dormida, 23, 52. 
Esquina de Lovaton, 39, 46. 
Esquina de Medrano, 47. 
Guanaco, 48. 
Guardia de la Esquina, 39, 45. 
Ojos de Agua, 49. 
Portezuelo, 49. 
Retamo, 52. 
Rio Quinto, 49. 
Saladillo dela Orqueta, 45. 
Santa Rosa, 52. 
Tambillos, 48. 
Tres Cruces, 47. 
Tortoral, 47. 
Zanjon, 46. 
Potamys coypou, 157. 
Procellaria braziliana, 205. 
Proctotretus femoratus, 219-221. 
stantoni, 221-223. 
tenuis, 217-219. 
Psammomys, 157. 
Psammoryctes noctivagus, 157. 
Psaracolius cureus, 178, 179. 
Psittacara leptorhyncha, 189. 
smaragdina, 189. 
Psittacus cheroyeus, 189 
cyanolysios, 189. 
ochrocephalus, 189, 190. 
rectirostris, 189. 
smaragdinus, 189. 
Pterocyanea ceruleata, 202. 
Pteroptochus albicollis, 184. 
megapodius, 184. 
Ptyonura mentalis, 185. 
rufivertex, 186. 
Puente de Biscachas, 5. 
Puma, 153, 154. 
Puna, 7, 63. 
Punta de las Vacas, 8, 10. e 


297 


latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 


meteorology of, 77. 


del Sauce, 36, 39. 
Purple copper, 89. 
Pyrites, 101. 


Queltregue, 195. 

Querquedula cxruleata, 202. 
creccoides, 203. 
cyanoptera, 202, 203. 
maculirostris, 203. 
versicolor, 203. 

Quillais, 5 


Quiqui, 155. 


Rallus bicolor, 195. 
esius, 195, 195. 
Raphipterus chilensis, 204. 


298 INDEX. 


Raposo de mato, 154. 
Rara, 183. 
Red copper, 88. 
Red teal, 202, 203. 
Red-backed buzzard, 175. 
Red-winged hawk, 174. 
Reduccion, village of, 35. 
Regulus byronensis, 186. 
omnicolor, 186. 
Represa, meteorology of, 79- 
de Chomes, 25. 
de las Cabras, 25. 
Reptiles, 207-229. 
Retamo, el, 22, 52. 
Retamos, 22, 23. 
Rbyncheea occidentalis, 194. 
semicollaris, 194. 
Rhynchocinetes typicus, 258. 
typus, 258-261. 
Rio Blanco, 14. 
Colorado, 5, 14, 62. 
mouth of, elevation of. 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 
Cuarto, 32, 35, 39, 53. 
de las Cuevas, 8, 66. 
de Gualtatos, 14. 
de los Horcones, 8, 14. 
de los Hornillos, 14. 
de la Laja, 32, 53. 
de Mendoza, 10, 12, 14, 21,56. 
elevation of, 75, 
meteorology of, 78. 
del Peron, 14. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 
Quinto, 29, 49, 53, 
elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 
de Tambillos, 66. 
Tercero, 36, 39, 45, 46, 53, 54, 
de las Tunas, 57. 7 
de Tupungato, 10, 14. 
de las Vacas, 1°, 14. 
del Yeso, 60, 68. 
Rodeo de la Cruz, 21. 
del Medio, 21. 
Rosario, 40, 43, 50. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80, 81. 
Roseate spoonbill, 197. 
Ruby silver, 94, 95. 
Ruins of Indian houses, 66. 


Saladillo de la Horqueta, 45. 
elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 
de Rui Diaz, 38, 39, 46. 
latitude, longitude, and eleyation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 80. 


Salado river, 53. 
Salto, el, del Soldado, 5. 
Sanderling, 194. 
San Felipe valley, 3. 
Francisco, festival of, 2. 
Gabriel, 61. 
Ignacio, meteorology of, 76. 
Isidro, 22. 
José de Chile, 61. 
antiquities found there, 113. 
elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 79. 
José del Morro, 30, 49. 
elevation of, 76. 


meteorology of, 79, 80. 
Juan river, 21. 


Luis de la Punta, 26-28, 49. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 76. 
meteorology of, 79. 
Nicoias river, 61. 
Vincente village, 56. 
Santa Rosa estate, 22. 
de los Andes, 3, 4, 52. 


latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 


meteorology of, 76. 
Santiago, latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 76. 
Sarcoramphus condor, 172. 
gryphus, 172. 
Scissor birds, 38, 47. 
Scolopax borealis, 194. 
guarauna, 197. 
paraguaye, 194. 
Scytalopus fuscus, 188. 
obscurus, 188. 
Shells, fossil, 282-286. 
list of those brought home, 263. 
Short-billed curlew, 194. 
Short-eared owl, 177, 178. 
Siete-color, 186. 
Silicate of copper, 92. 
Silver ores, 94-99. 
Smaltene, 102, 103. 
South American barn-owl, 177. 
horned owl, 177. 
lapwing, 195. 
teal, 203. 
turkey vulture, 172. 
Southern glossy ibis, 197. 
Spalacopus poeppigii, 157. 
Sparrow-hawk, 176. 
Spizeetus melanoleucus, 174. 
Stenopsis parvulus, 186. 
Stilt, 196. 
Strix brachyotus, 177. 
californica, 178. 
erassirostris, 177. 
eunicularia, 178. 
ferox, 178. 
georgica, 177. 


a i 


CONTENTS. 


. 


1x 


Remarks on the secondary fossils, 282; TereBrarota: Subexcavata, 282; Meridionalis, 282; Subtetraedra, 282; Osrrea: 
Irregularis, 283; Gregaria, 283; Pecten: Alatus, 283; Lirsorrocaus: Andii, 283; Beremyires: Chilensis, 284; Recent forma- 
tion of Copiap6, 284; List of shells in the recent formation along the line of the Copiapo railroad, 284; Tertiary shells of 
Chile, 285; Perna: Chilensis, 285; Osrrea: Copiapina, 285; Laxicava: Calderensis, 286. By T. A. Conran. 


ADDENDUM. 


An account of the locality where the meteoric iron is found in Atacama, translated from a memoir by Dr. Philippi to the 
University of Chile, and published in the “Anales de la Universidad, 1854,” 287-289. 


Page 8, 
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line 19, for las Puquios, 

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read los Puquios. 


Rosario. 
San Jose. 
San Nicolas. 


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Guanaca. 

bolas. 

guanaco. 

chilensis. 

Elanus leucurus. 
Milvus leucurus. 
Less. 
cerulocephala. 
Dict. XXXII. 

Griff. 

Orbignyianus. 


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Map of the Portillo and Cumbre passes - - 
Map of a part of Chile and the Argentine republic 
Tndian antiquities—metallic - == - - - 
Indian antiquities—pottery - - ao tae Ke 
Indian antiquities—wood — - - - - - 
Chlamyphorus truncatus - - - - - 
Falco nigriceps - - - - : - = 
Psaracolius cureus —- - - = - 2 
Agelaius thilius—Sturnella militaris  - - - 
Chrysomitris marginalis Spee et Ane 
Calliste cyanicollis—Calliste laryata  - - - 
Calliste gyroloides—Calliste desmarestii —- - 
Euphonia rufiventris—Chlorophonia occipitalis — - 
Ericornis melanura—Scytalopus fuscus - - - 
Psittacus ochrocephalus Seber a ae 
Bernicla antarctica - : - : : < 
Bernicla magellanica = - - - - : = 
Anas melanocephala —- A ae - z 
Querquedula creccoides - - - < = 5 
Fuligula metopias - —- See - - = 
Phalacrocorax brazilianus — - - : z “ 


Trichomycterus maculatus—Cheirodon pisciculus—Cystignathus taniatus—Phylobates auratus 


Elaps nigrocinctus - - s = = 4 
Dryophis vittatus - —- - uN eraps PIA 2 
Tachymenes chilensis—Teeniophis tantillus - - 
Proctotretus tenuis—P. femoratus—P. stantoni - 
Aporomera ornata - - - - = = = 
Cnemidophorus preesignis -  - - : E 
Percichthys chilensis—Percilia gillissii - - - 
Percichthys melanops—Basilichthys microlepidotus 
Nematogenys inermis - - = * 5 a 
Alosa musica—Engraulis pulchellus —. - - 
Bdellostoma polytrema- - -~— - < = 
Mastodon andiun—Fragment of lower jaw - - 
Mastodon andium—Teeth = - - = = : 


Ostrea gregaria—Pecten alatus—Lithotrochus andii—Terebratula subexcavata—Ammonites 
Casts—Perna chiliana—Terebratula subtetraeda—Ostrea irregularis—Terebratula meridionalis 


View of the Incas bridge —- - - - - 
Valley of the Tupungato — - - - - - 
Structure of the aneroid barometer —- - - 
Peruvian antiquities of earthenware - - - 
Ancient pottery in cabinet of the Emperor of Brazil 
Ancient utensils of stone and wood - - - 
Implements and utensils of stone - - - - 


Implements of copper and bronze - - - - 
Implements of gold, silver, champi, &e. - - 
Specimens of medern wood carying -  - - 


Mode of wearing ear and under-lip ornaments —- 


WOOD-CUTS, 


PA ET: 


REPORT 


OF 


JOURNEYS ACROSS THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 


OF THE 


ARGENTINE PROVINCKS, 


MADE UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM 


Linum. Ji. M: GiLLIss, 


SUPERINTENDENT U. S. N. ASTRONOMICAL EXPEDITION, 
BY 


Lizur. ARCHIBALD MAORAE, U.S. N., 


PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT, 


INDEX. 299 


Strix nana, 178. Traro, 173. 
perlata, 177. Travesia, 24. 
Sturnella militaris, 177. : Trenea, 183. 
Sturnus aterrimus, 178. Tres Cruces, 47. 
eureus, 178. Tres Puntas, antiquities found there, 112. 
militaris, 179. Trille, 179. 
Sulphate of baryta, 105. Tringa arenaria, 194. 
copper, 93. pectoralis, 195. 
Sulpho-arsenical cobalt, 102. Trochilus galeritus, 187. 
Sulphuret of silver and copper, 94. gigas, 186. 
of zine, 104. leucopleurus, 187. 
Swans, 200. : sephanoides, 187. 
Sylvia melanops, 188. Trucha, 231-233. 
rubigastra, 186. de Guanacache, 21. 
Synallaxis dorso-maculata, 188. Tucuquer, 177. 
Tungstate of lime, 105. 
T. Tunuyan river, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 58, 64.” 


elevation of, 75. 
meteorology of, 78. 
Tupungato mountain, 10, 24, 58. 
latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 


Tachymenis chilensis, 213-215. 

Teeniophis tantillus, 215, 216. 

Tenioptera pyrope, 185. 

Tagua, 196. 

Taguita, 196. 

Tambillos post-house, 48. 

Tambillos, 66. 

Tanaga rufiventris, 182. 
ruficollis, 180. 

Tantalus chalcopterus, 197. 


Turco, 184. 

Turdus falklandiens, 183. 
fuscater, 184. 
magellanicus, 183. 
thenea, 183. 
thilius, 179. 


pillus, 196. U 

melanopis, 197. : 
Tapaculo, 184. Ulula crassirostris, 177. 2 

; Tenorite, 88. otus, 177. 
Terebratule, 93, 282. = Uppucerthia dumetoria, 188. 
Terrapins, 24. nigrofumosa, 187. 
Tertiary shells, 285. vulgaris, 187. 
Thamnophilus lividus, 183. Urre llauquen. See Curraca. 
Thenea, 183. Ursus brasiliensis, 155. 
Thick-billed gallinule, 196. Uspallata hamlet, 12, 14. 
Thinocorus eschscholtzii, 191. Uspallata pass, 66, 67. 
obignyianus, 191. Uspallata peak, latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
rumicivorus, 191, 192. : meteorology of, 77. 
Trichomycterus inermis, 240. Uspallata river, 12. 
Thrichomycterus macrei, 245. Vv 
: maculatus, 243-245 ; 
Thylamys elegans, 155. Vagre, 243. : 
Tinnunculus sparverius, 176. ‘ Vanadate of copper and lead, 93. 
Tira-tira, 197. Vanadinite, 99. 
Tinque, 174. Vanellus cayannensis, 195. 
Torcassa, 190- Vibora, 37. 
Tordo, 178, 179. Villa de la Concepcion. See Villa del Rio Cuarto. 
Torlosa mountain, 8. Paz, 23. 
Torsgles, 37. del Rio Cuarto, 32-35, 48, 50, 53. ‘ 
5 meteorology of, 80. latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 76. 
Tortola, or tortolita, 191. : meteorology of, 80. 
 Tortolita cordillerana, 191. Villavicensio, 13, 65. 
Tortora, 48. — latitude, longitude, and elevation of, 75. 
Tortoral, 47. ; meteorology of, 77. 
elevation of, 76 Viscacha, 156, 157. 

meteorology of, 80. Viverra vittata, 155. 

Tortugas, las, 27. Volborthite, 93. 


--Totanus semicollaris, 194. Vulpes magellanica, 154. 


300 


Vultur atratus, 173. 4 Xi: 
condor, 172. 
gryphus, 172. 
jota, 172. ie S 
magellanicus, 172. Yeco, 206. 
urubu, 173. : Yellow copperas, 101. 

Yellow-winged blackbird, 179. 

Yeso river. See Rio del Yeso. 


Z. 


Xanthornus cayennensis, 179. 


White antimony, 104. : 
copperas, 101. ; 
White-sided mountain humming-bird, 187. Zanjon post-house, 46. 
White-tailed hawk, 175. | Zenaida aurita, 191. _ 
-White-throated ground thrush, 184. Zine, 104. . 
White-winged grebe, 205. Zonotrichia matutina, 180, 181. 
Wulfenite, 99. : Zorzal, 184, 


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