John Ball

“ Rising out of the horizon at six o’clock, the sun passed exactly through the zenith, and went down perpendicularly in the west into the boundless ocean. Who can wonder that this daily disappearance of the sun has had so large a share in the poetry and the religion of our race? In every land, under every climate, it is the one spectacle which is ever new and ever fascinating. ”

“ The scenery at Chicla is wild, but neither very beautiful nor very imposing. As in the lower valley of the Rimac, the slopes of the mountains are steep, but the summits are deficient in boldness and variety of form. Those lying on the watershed of the Cordillera, at a distance of fifteen or twenty miles, apparently range from seventeen to eighteen thousand feet in height, and on the first day of our visit showed but occasional streaks and patches of snow, while the sombre tints of the rocks exhibited little variety of hue even in the brightest sunshine. ”

“ Early on May 2 we cast anchor opposite Arica. There is nothing deserving to be called a harbour; but a projecting headland on the south side of the little town protects the roadstead from the southerly breeze and the swell, which was here scarcely perceptible. On landing, I hastened along the shore on the north side, where a fringe of low bushes and some patches of rusty green gave promise to the botanist, and broke the monotony of the incessant grey which is the uniform tint of the Pacific coast from Payta to Coquimbo. ”

“ If the Andes act as a barrier against the vapour-laden atmosphere of eastern tropical America throughout Peru, Bolivia, and Northern Chili why, it may be asked, do they fail to perform the same function in Ecuador and Colombia? Whence the absolute contrast in point of climate that exists between these regions? Why is the littoral zone between the Gulf of Guayaquil and that of Panama, a distance of some eight hundred miles, not merely less dry than that of Peru, but actually more moist than most parts of the coast of Brazil or Guiana? ”

“ Whatever may be the original home of that ancient tribe which has spread throughout all the temperate and tropical regions of the earth, it is in South America, and especially in the extra-tropical regions, that it has developed the greatest variety both of genera and species. On the heights of the Peruvian Andes, from the snows of the Chilian Cordillera to the shores of the Pacific, as well as on the plains of Argentaria and Uruguay, the botanist is everywhere charmed by the brilliant flowers of numerous species of true Verbena. ”

“ To a detached rock below the headland English seamen have given the name Dungeness. In the failing light, I could see that the coast westward from Cape Virgenes rises into hills, which appeared to be bare of forest. I should guess their height not to exceed two thousand feet, if it even reaches that limit.
It was almost quite dark when we finally re-entered the Atlantic, and found its waters in a very gentle mood. In these latitudes the name Pacific is not well applied to any part of that which the older navigators more fittingly designated the Southern Ocean. ”

“ As I stood at the entrance, a dark-haired person, speaking pretty good English, proposed to take me to the house of the English vice-consul, and in his company I had the first view of the settlement of Sandy Point. As the ground rises very gently from the beach, few houses are seen from the sea, and the place is not so inconsiderable as it at first appears. Though rather to be counted as a village than as a town, it has the essential privilege of a Spanish city in the possession of a plaza, not yet quite surrounded by houses. ”

“ If we compare this with the climate of places in about the same latitude, as, for instance, with that of the Isle of Man, we are apt to consider the climate as severe; but we habitually forget how far the condition of Western Europe is affected by exceptional circumstances; and if we look elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, taking, for instance, the Labrador coast, the south of Kamschatka, or even the coast of British Columbia, we must admit that the Straits of Magellan afford no confirmation to the prevalent ideas respecting the greater cold of the climate of the southern hemisphere. ”

“ It was strange to observe that one of the deadliest enemies, a small parasite, fixing itself near the ground on the trunks of the larger trees, is a species of fig, belonging to the same genus as some of the giants of the forest, and doubtless tracing its descent from a common ancestor. It is in the tropical forest that one feels the force of Darwin’s phrase “struggle for existence,” as applied to the vegetable world. ”

“ One of the minor satisfactions of a naturalist in South America arises from the fact that the inhabitants are so thoroughly used to seeing strangers of every nationality, and in the most varied attire, that his appearance excites no surprise and provokes no uncivil attentions. Going about almost always alone, with a large tin box slung across my back, I never found myself even stared at, which, in most parts of Europe, is the least inconvenience that befalls a solitary botanist. ”

“ The steamers of the Pacific Mail Company employed for the traffic between San Francisco and Valparaiso are as perfectly suited to the peculiar conditions of the navigation as they would be unfit for long sea-voyages in any other part of the world. In the calm waters of this region, rarely ruffled even by a stiff breeze, the fortunate seamen engaged in this service know no hardships from storm or cold. Their only anxiety is from the fogs that at some seasons beset parts of the coast. ”

“ A stranger is at once struck by one marked difference between the towns on the Atlantic coast and those on the western side of South America. Here people live free from the constant dread of earthquakes, and do not shrink from making their town houses as high as may be convenient; but the towns become more crowded, and one misses the charming patios of the better houses of Santiago and Lima. ”

“ The mules, attracted by the colour, had sought the refreshment of green food, and had vainly gnawed away the painted surface.
However singular the aspect of nature in this place might be, it could not long detain a naturalist. A world without life is soon found to be monotonous; and after clambering about for some time, and satisfying myself that there was nothing to be found, I turned to the shore, where broken shells and other remains of marine animals presented at least some variety. ”

“ About thirty miles long and twenty in breadth, it is large enough to allow of spacious views, yet not so large as to lose in distance the marvellous background that is presented in every direction by the fantastic peaks that surround it. Numerous islands stud the surface, the larger telling their history in piles of huge blocks, either simulating rude Cyclopean architecture, or lying in wild confusion—granite pinnacles, half-decayed or fallen into utter ruin. ”

“ Every edge of rock was sharp, as if freshly broken, and on the steep slope no trace of a channel furrowed its face.16 The aspect is absolutely that of the scenery of the moon—of a world without water and without an atmosphere. ”

“ I have sought in vain in the records of mountain observations in other parts of the world for materials from which any probable inference may be drawn as to a law regulating the ratio of decrease of temperature with increasing height above the sea-level. There is reason to admit that isolated peaks of no great height show a more rapid decrease as compared with the plain than do considerable mountain masses. Of mountains exceeding the height of 3000 metres in the tropics, the most rapid rate of decrease is that recorded for Pangerango in Java, being 1° for 178·5 metres. ”

“ The country between the Parahyba valley and the coast appears to be an irregular mountain tract, nowhere of any great height, with projecting summits rising here and there of the same general character as those already described, and the railway follows a sinuous course so as to select the lowest depressions between the neighbouring bosses of granite. As we wound to and fro, constantly changing our direction amid scenes of increasing loveliness, night closed with that suddenness to which one becomes accustomed in the tropics, and the last part of the way was unfortunately passed in darkness. ”

“ The aspect of the coast is not less monotonous than that of the inhabited places. The sea-board is nearly a straight line running from north to south, and, except at Mejillones, I saw no projecting headland to break its uniformity. Nearly everywhere what appears to be a range of flat-topped hills from about eight to fifteen hundred feet in height, of uniform dull grey hue unbroken by a single patch of verdure, forms the background. ”

“ The starting of a covey of flying-fish, the fringe of cocos palms rising against the horizon, the Southern Cross and the Magellanic clouds, the reversed apparent motion of the sun from right to left—none of them very marvellous as mere observed facts—are so many keys that unlock the closed-up recesses, the blue chambers of the memory, which the youthful imagination had peopled with shapes of beauty and wonder and mystery. ”

“ Thinking of these365 things as the journey drew to a close, I could not help feeling how great are the rewards that a traveller reaps, even irrespective of anything he may learn, or of the suggestions to thought that a voyage of this kind cannot fail to bear with it. How much is life made fuller and richer by the stock of images laid up in the marvellous storehouse of the brain, to be summoned, one knows not when or how, by some hidden train of association—shifting scenes that serve to beautify many a common and prosaic moment of life! ”

“ The parque of Lota, to which I directed my steps, has rather the character of an extensive pleasure-ground than of what we call a park; but the surface is so uneven, and the outline so irregular, that I could not estimate its extent. The numerous fantastic structures in questionable taste that met the eye in every direction create at the first moment an unfavourable impression, but the charms of the spot are so real that this is soon forgotten. ”

“ French, embarked with the impression that life in a country town on the Uruguay is very much like life in a country town anywhere in Europe—somewhat dull, but not devoid of interest to one who is content to feel that he has been of some use to fellow-creatures.
The weather had become brighter, and we were spared the annoyance of waiting at night for the clearing of the fog. We held on our course down the stream, and at sunrise were again at anchor opposite to the city of Buenos Ayres, now for the first time become visible. ”

“ In architecture, since the great era of Alcobaça and Batalha, the Portuguese have not achieved much, and their descendants in South America have done little to adorn the capital of their great empire. The largest building, the imperial palace, might easily be taken for a barrack. Nature has undertaken the decoration of the city, and, amid the palms, and under the shade of large-leaved tropical trees in the public walks and gardens, the absence of sightly buildings is not felt. ”

“ The passage of men and animals had in the course of centuries reduced the original stony surface to a river of fine sand, and by no better mode of transport had the treasures of Cerro de Pasco, and the other rich silver deposits of the same region, been carried to the coast to sap the manhood and energy of the Spanish settlers in Peru, and help to achieve the same result in the mother country.
The American railway car, which is not without its drawbacks for ordinary travellers, is admirably suited to a naturalist in a new country. No time is lost in opening and shutting doors. ”

“ A brisk southerly breeze made the air feel cooler than it had done since we entered the tropics, as we ran about due south until sunset, when, after passing abreast of the promontory of Ajulla, our course was altered to nearly due south-east. I was assured by a native passenger that the promontory of Ajulla, for a distance of thirty or forty miles, is an absolute desert, without a drop of water or the slightest trace of vegetation. ”

“ It was now nearly three months since I had enjoyed a glimpse of true tropical vegetation in the forest of Buenaventura, and the interest and delight of this renewed experience can never be forgotten.307 It was clear that on the slopes about Santos the native forests had been cleared, but on all the steeper parts, not reclaimed for cultivation, the indigenous vegetation had resumed the mastery. Trees and shrubs in wonderful variety contended for the mastery, and maintained, as they best could, a precarious struggle for existence with a crowd of climbers and parasites. ”

“ Apart from the very positive benefit to health, they gain what they like most in the world—a season of absolute idleness, with the amusement of seeing new objects and talking to new people. For the remainder of the voyage the main-deck was crowded and somewhat encumbered by picturesque groups of rough men, some accompanied by womankind, alternating with huge heaps of tropical fruit—pineapples and bananas, a single bunch of the latter sometimes weighing more than a hundred pounds. ”

“ Scanning anxiously the portion of the great range seen towards the head of the valley, I saw that fresh snow extended much lower than I had observed it at Santiago, while heavy broken masses of dark clouds lay along the flanks of the higher mountains. I received no encouragement from Mr. Hess. The ordinary season for rain in the low country had arrived, and this would take the form of snow in the inner valleys of the Cordillera; all appearances boded a change of weather which is always anxiously desired by the native population. ”