20th April 1835

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
Coasting along, anchored off the Maule River on the 20th.

19th April 1835

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
In a very thick fog, during the night of the 19th, while carrying sail to get an offing, we were within a fathom of being run down by a vessel crossing us on the opposite tack. As both ships were under all sail, and it was dark, our momentary sensations were far from agreeable.

To land here was perplexing enough, for a heavy surf broke on the bar of the river, and nearly as much along the shore; but with some risk and difficulty we effected our purpose in two light whale-boats, which could be hauled up directly they touched the beach.

17th April 1835

Valparaiso
At Valparaiso I lived with my good friend MrCorfield.

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
The Beagle sailed from Concepcion Bay, examined Coliumo.

15th April 1835

Santiago to Valparaiso
Started for Valparaiso, was two days & a half on the road endeavouring to geologize.

10th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 24) - Santiago
We reached St Jago by the middle of the day, having been absent 24 days, & being well repaid for my trouble.

9th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 23) – Colina
We were now on the high road to St Jago, & crossing the Cuesta of Chacabuco reached at night the village of Colina. From this day till I reached Valparaiso, I was not very well & saw nothing & admired nothing.

8th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 22) – Villa de St. Rosa
We left the valley of the river of Aconcagua by which we had descended, & reached in the evening a cottage near the Villa de St Rosa. The fertility of this plain was extremely delightful; the Autumn being well advanced the leaves of many of the fruit trees were falling, & the labourers were all busy in drying on the roofs of their cottages, figs & peaches; while others were gathering the grapes from the vineyards. It was a pretty Scene; but there was absent that pensive stillness which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening of the year.

7th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 21) – Ojos del Agua
I staid here the ensuing day in hopes of finding the mule, which the Arriero thought had been hidden in the mountains. — The valley here had assumed the air of a Chilian landscape; certainly the lower parts of the hills dotted over with the pale evergreen Quillay tree & the great candlestick-like Cactus are much prettier than the bare Eastern valleys. Yet I can hardly understand the admiration expressed by some travellers at this view; the extreme delight is, I suspect, chiefly owing to escaping from the cold regions & the prospect of a good fire. I am sure I participated in such feelings.

6th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 20) – Ojos del Agua
In the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules & the bell from the Madrina; we only rode a short distance to the remains of the old Guard House.

5th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 19) – Ojos del Agua
A long days march across the central ridge down to the Ojos del Agua. This was near to the lowest Casucha on the Western slope. — These Casuchas are round little towers, with the floor elevated above the ground & steps outside to reach it. — There are eight in number; formerly in the time of the King of Spain, stores were kept in them, & the Couriers took with them in the Winter master keys. Now they only answer the purpose of caves & are miserable dungeons; seated on some little eminence in the wild valleys, they are not ill suited to the surrounding desolation. The zigzag ascent of the Cumbre or partition of the waters is very steep & tedious: the road does not pass over any perpetual snow, but there are patches on either hand. — The wind on the summit was very piercing; but it was impossible not to admire again & again the intense color of the Heavens & the brilliant transparency of the Air. — The scenery moreover was grand; to the West there was a fine Chaos of huge mountains divided by profound ravines. — By this time of the year there have generally fallen a few snow storms, & not infrequently the Cordilleras are shut up; but we were favoured with the brightest fortune, & everything happened well: the sky was cloudless, excepting sometimes a few round little masses of Vapour floated around the highest peaks; such little islands in the sky are seen from a distance, when the Cordilleras are beneath the horizon to mark their position. — We met during the day several parties & Cargo troops; the road is well frequented, I suppose during the whole passage we met at least ten different parties.

4th April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 18) – Puenta del Inca
From the Rio de las Vacas to the Puente del Inca, half a days journey; here was a little pasture for the mules; & some interesting geology for me, so we bivouaced for the night. When one hears of a Natural bridge, one pictures to oneself some deep & narrow ravine across which a bold mass of rock has fallen, or a great archway excavated. Instead of all this the Incas bridge is a miserable object. The bottom of the valley is nearly even & composed of a mass of Alluvium; on one side are several hot mineral springs, & these have deposited over the pebbles a considerable thickness of hard stratified Tufa; The river running in a narrow channel, scooped out an archway beneath the hard Tufa; soil & stones falling down from the opposite side at last met the over hanging part & formed the bridge. The oblique junction of the stratified rock & a confused mass is very distinct & this latter is different from the general character of the plain. This Inca's bridge is truly a sight not worth seeing.

Near to this place are some ruins of Indian buildings; they consist now merely of the vestiges of walls; I saw such in several other stations; the most perfect were the Ruinas del Tambillos. — The rooms were small & square & many huddled together in distinct groups; some of the doorways yet stood, these were formed of a cross slab of stone & very low, not more than 3 ft high. — The whole were capable of containing a good many people. Tradition says they were the halting places for the Incas when they crossed the Cordilleras, & these Monarchs would probably travel with a large Retinue. The situation of Tambillos is utterly desert & that of the Puente only a shade better. Traces of Indian buildings are common all over the Cordilleras; those mentioned in the Portillo pass probably were not only used as lodging houses in the passage; because if so, there would have been others, & the situation is by no means central. — Yet the Valley is now quite useless & destitute of vegetation. — In the ravine of Jajuel near Aconcagua I frequently heard of numerous remains situated at a great elevation, & of course both cold & sterile; — there is no pass in that part. —I at this time imagined these might have been places of refuge on the first arrival of the Spaniards. Subsequently what I have seen has led me almost to suspect there has been a change of Climate in these Latitudes.2 In very many places, indeed in all the ravines, in the Cordilleras of Copiapo remains of Indian houses are found; in these they find bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals, Indian corn, & I had in my possession the head of an arrow made of Agate, of precisely the same figure as those in T. del Fuego. — It is the opinion of the people of the country that the Indians resided in these houses; Now I am assured by men who have passed their lives in travelling the Andes, that these ruins are found at the greatest elevations, almost on the limit of perpetual snow, in places where there are no passes, where the ground produces nothing, & what is more extraordinary where there is no water. In the "Despoblado" (ininhabited) valley near Copiapò at a spot called Punta Gorda, I saw the remains of seven or eight square little rooms; they were of a similar form with those at the Tambillos but chiefly built of mud instead of stone, & which mud the people of the country cannot imitate in hardness: there was no water nearer than 3 or four leagues & this only in small quantity & bad. — The valley is utterly desert.— These houses are placed in the most conspicuous spot in a broad flat valley & in a defenceless position; they could not therefore have been places of refuge. — Even with the advantage of beasts of burden, a mine could only be worked here at great expense; yet former Indians chose it out as a place of residence. A person who has never seen such countries will not readily understand how entirely unfit they are for human habitations. If however a few showers were to fall annually, in the place of one in several years, so as to make a small rill of water, by irrigation such spots would be highly fertile. — All these facts strongly incline me to suspect that some change for the worse has taken place since the period when the ruins were inhabited. — (Note in margin: The Indians in the Quebrada of [illegible] had built an extensive Azequi or Conduit with the hard mud.)

I have certain proof that the S. part of continent of S. America has been elevated from 4 to 500 feet within the epoch of the existence of such shells as are now found on the coasts. It may possibly have been much more on the sea-coast & probably more in the Cordilleras. If the Andes were lowered till they formed (perhaps 3–4000 ft) a mere peninsula with outlying Islands, would not the climate probably be more like that of the S. Sea Islands, than its present parched nature — At a remote Geological æra, I can show that this grand chain consisted of Volcanic Islands, covered with luxuriant forests, some of the trees one of which, 15 feet in circumference, I have seen silicified & imbedded in marine strata. — If the mountains rose slowly, the change of climate would also deteriorate slowly; I know of no reason for denying that a large part of this may have taken place since S. America was peopled. — We need not be surprised at the remains of stone & hardened mud walls lasting for so many ages as I imagine; it will be well to call to mind how many centuries the Druidical mounds have withstood even the climate of England. — I may also remark that the above conjecture explains the present elevation of the ruins; I am aware that the Peruvian Indians chose stations so lofty that a stranger is affected with Puna, but I am assured there are "muchissimas" houses where during the whole long winter snow lies. Surely no people would found a village under such circumstances. — When at Lima3 I was conversing with a civil engineer, Mr Gill, about the number of Indian ruins & quantity of ground thrown out of cultivation in that province, & he told me that the conjecture about a change of climate had sometimes crossed his mind; but generally he thought that the present sterility where there was formerly cultivation was chiefly owing to neglect or subterranean movements injuring the Conduits or subterranean passages, which the Indians had formed on so wonderful a scale to bring water for the purposes of irrigation. — As an illustration he told me one very curious fact, that travelling from Casma to Huaraz he found a plain covered with ruins &c &c & now quite bare; near to it was the dry course of a considerable river; in its bed there were pebbles & sand, & in one spot solid rock to the depth of 8 feet & about 40 yards wide had been cut through. (Note in margin: The fall in perpendicular ft. about 40–50.) From its appearance he could not tell that the river had not followed this line within a few years; but upon following up the course for a short distance, to his astonishment he afterwards found it going down hill; that is the bed of the river was arched; this could, of course, only happen after some subterranean movement which would throw the water back on itself untill some new lateral line of drainage was opened.4 The inhabited plain from that year would necessarily be deserted.

3rd April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 17) – Rio de las Vacas
In the morning when we arose, we had much difficulty in saddling the mules owing to a gale of wind, this brought such clouds of dust that we soon were convinced the name was properly applied. — In the evening we reached the R. de las Vacas, which is about the worst stream in the Cordilleras; it was deemed prudent to take up our nights lodging on the side. As all the water in the rivers proceeds from the melted snow, & the course being short & rapid, the hour of day makes a considerable difference in the difficulty of crossing, in the evening the stream is muddy & full, about an hour after day-break it is both both clearer & much less impetuous. And this we found to be the case on the ensuing morning.

The scenery during the whole of the ascent is very uninteresting as compared to the pass of the Portillo, little can be seen beyond the grand valley with its broad base which the road follows up to the very crest of the chain. It is moreover very sterile; during this & the previous night the poor mules had eaten nothing. Besides a few low resinous bushes, there are very few plants.

During the last day we have crossed some of the worst passes in the Cordilleras. I have been quite surprised at the degree of exaggeration concerning the danger & difficulty. These are not only Travellers tales, for I was told in Chili that if I attempted to pass on foot my head would turn giddy, that there was no room to dismount &c &c. Now I did not see a place which I would not walk backwards over & get off on either side of my mule. One of the bad passes, called Las Animas (the Souls), I had crossed, & did not find out till a day afterwards that it was one of the awful dangers. — No doubt in very many places if the Mule should fall you would be hurled down an enormous precipice; in a like manner if a Sailor falls from aloft, it is probable he will break his neck; (& by the latter way many more in proportion have lost their lives). — I daresay in the Spring time, the Laderas or roads which each year are formed anew across the piles of fallen detritus, are much worse; but from what I have seen I believe the real danger is nothing, & the apparent very little. With Cargo mules the case is rather different, the loads project so far beyond the animals sides that they occassionally run against another mule or overhanging point, & losing their balance are lost. — With respect to the rivers, I can well believe the difficulty amounts to every degree till it is impossible to cross them. In the Autumn, at this season, there is no trouble, but in the summer they must be very bad. I can quite imagine what Capt Head describes, the different expression of countenance of these who have passed & those who are passing these torrents. I never heard of any man being drowned, but of plenty of Cargo mules. The Arriero tells you to show your mule the best line & then allow her to take her own manner in crossing. The Cargo mule takes a bad line & then with its great load is lost.

2nd April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 16) – Pulvadera
We left the houses at noon & crossed the plain, which is so extensive that to the North nothing can be seen over its level horizon. Our road lay along the side of the mountain torrent which we had crossed by the village of Luxan, it was here a furious & quite impassable stream, & similarly to the case of V. Vicencio appeared larger than in the plain. We followed the valley which trends very Southerly, & slept at a place called the Pulvadera.

1st April 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 15) – Estancia of Uspallata
... we crossed the Uspallata range of mountains; these correspond in their position & probably in their age to the Portillo range, but are of very inferior height. They are separated from the main range by a level plain of the same appearance & nature as those basins described in Chili. On this barren plain which has an altitude of nearly 6,000 ft are the houses of the Estancia of Uspallata. We slept here at night; it is the custom house & the last inhabited place on this side of the Cordillereas. The Uspallata mountains are deficient in water & quite barren; on the road shortly before reaching the plain there is a very extraordinary view; there are quite white, red, purple & green sedimentary rocks & black Lavas; these strata are broken up by hills of Porphyry of every shade of Brown & bright Lilacs. All together they were the first mountains which I had seen which literally resembled a coloured Geological section.