Pages 611-702 of James McRae's journal and papers: James McRae's journal, part 4
Information
Title - Pages 611-702 of James McRae's journal and papers: James McRae's journal, part 4
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/6/1/7
Date - 6 Oct 1825-24 Jan 1826
Scope & content - Pages 611-702, entitled 'Part fourth, continued from Oct 5th 1825': Narrative of James McRae's journey, describing part of his stay in Chile, and the journey on HMS Blonde from Chile to Saint Helena. The journal continues from part 3 [RHS/Col/6/1/6]
This item is bound in the volume comprising journal and papers of James McRae. This is the fourth of five parts of McRae's journal. All five were subsequently bound together in the same volume. For a description of the first three parts, 8 Sep 1824-5 Oct 1825, see RHS/Col/6/1/4-6. For a description of the final part, 25 Jan-15 Mar 1826, see RHS/Col/6/1/8
Illustrations: Includes a small illustration of a plough on page 611. There are occasional pencil annotations in the margins, mainly consisting of simple crosses
Written at times on both rectos and versos
(6 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Seeing several 'poor farmers' ploughing and harrowing the fields with a plough made of two pieces of wood, 'without any ironwork, & their harrows [made] of brushwood pressed flat between four sticks, fastened crossways at each end, upon which the driver sat behind the oxen to make them heavier to loosen the earth rooted up in clods by their wretched ploughs, which are also drawn by a couple of oxen' [here the journal includes a small illustration of the plough used by the farmers]
The road busy with visitors from the city travelling to dine on board the English ships, some on foot, others on horseback, '& numbers of the better sort of females' in carts drawn by oxen, arched over with wood or canvas, open at both ends and with 'low, clumsy' wooden wheels. Similar carts used by 'every family of consequence in Chile, to carry often their whole number, besides their servants & bedding, leaving their homes deserted till their return'
Not finding many new plants. Temperature 54°-60°
(7 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Spending the day 'numbering & shifting' specimens. The sailors from the English ships coming on shore 'to be reviewed' on the nearby hills with about thirty Araucanian Indians [Mapuche] employed by the Chileans: 'these were brought with their chief by the governor to show the English captains their mode of fighting. Their arms were long wands to imitate spears, which they carried in various ways, & were themselves very noisy, particularly when they represented to charge the enemy either on foot or horseback. They appeared to be excellent horsemen, & but yet little civilised. Their dress consisted of the poncho & dark, woollen trousers of their own manufacture, with sandals on their feet, & the toes only in the stirrups. They were all of a dark copper complexion, with long black hair hanging loose over the shoulders, & high, white, pilled cloth caps on their heads'
Not managing to meet with Lord B. [George Anson Byron, captain of HMS Blonde] and Captain M. [Thomas Maling, captain of HMS Cambridge] due to the reviews and the number of visitors. Not seeing Mr Clark [of the Chilean Mining Company] either, despite his promise to tell McRae more about the journey to Santiago [Chile]. Temperature 54°-62°
(8 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Going to Conception [Concepcion, Chile] at 8am to see Clark and Dr Green [unidentified]. Clark and Green 'strongly recommending' McRae not to travel to Santiago due to safety concerns. 'Mr C. & Dr G. are both two of the oldest residents in Chile, & are well acquainted with the nature of travelling in the country, particularly the former gentleman, who was employed during the most part of the revolution by the patriots as a spy to watch the movement of the royal army, which he did always with success, being considered the best horseman in Chile, from his often riding some hundreds of miles in so short a time as to be hardly impossible'. Clark currently employed by the Chilean Mining Company, advising the commissioner, Mr Cameron, regarding the company's intentions to establish settlements in various parts of the country. Clark promising to acquire Araucaria cones for McRae, and to collect plants for the Society and to correspond with the secretary [Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]
The Blossom with Captain Beachy [Frederick Beechey, captain of HMS Blossom] arriving on its 'voyage of discovery'. McRae hoping to receive a letter from Sabine on the ship. Temperature 56°-67°
(9 Oct 1825) Sunday. A fine morning. Turning specimens and packing amaryllis and orchid roots in sand. Going out in the afternoon to collect plants on the seaside. Losing hope of receiving a letter, the Blossom having sent the letter bag on board the Diamond at Rio [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] on its way to Valparaiso [Chile], 'which occasions my mind to feel rather unhappy, being still anxious to go from here to Santiago, notwithstanding the unfavourable reports of the state of the country'. Temperature 55°-61°
(10 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Finding several new plants south of the bay, including a flowering red Amaryllis growing in the sand. Going to the woods ('larger than any other place I had been at in Chile') and finding several Myrtus, some ferns and a new species of Cyathea. Meeting 'one of the gentleman collectors from the Blossom', who had seen Joseph Sabine and Mr Brown [Robert Brown, botanist at the Linnean Society] before leaving London. The man promising that their botanist Mr Lay [George Tradescant Lay, botanist on HMS Blossom] (who was 'Mr Sabine's intimate friend') would visit McRae in the town later
Being told on his return that the ship was to sail the following day. Spending the evening planting 'the few living plants' in a box to take to England. Lord B. [George Anson Byron] asking McRae to send his box and other belongings on board, but saying they would not sail until the following day. Captain M. [Thomas Maling] saying that there would be an opportunity for McRae to send more plants or to get a passage for himself in about two months' time, and again in about four months' time, 'to which I returned thanks, & said I would be guided by himself, unless I had word from England to alter my arrangements already made'
Meeting Captain Beachy [Frederick Beechey] and George Tradescant Lay from the Blossom. The captain asking about McRae's journey to Mouna Kaah [Mauna Kea, Hawai'i Island, Hawaii, United States of America], including whether he had measured the exact height of the mountain, 'which I gave him to understand I had no such means, being always alone in my excursions'. Inviting Lay to visit him the following morning to go 'in the fields'. Temperature 54°-62°
(11 Oct 1825) A fine day. Showing George Tradescant Lay his specimens, 'but [he] could give me no information respecting them, farther than what I knew myself'. Intending to go to the city to visit Dr Green to establish him as a correspondent to the Society and having to cancel spending the day with Lay, 'which he readily excused, seeing how I was situated'. During the short visit, Lay confessing to being 'already sick of the voyage, & wished he had not left England, although he considered himself differently situated from me, being as he said possessed with a warrant (which made me smile) from the Admiralty, that entitled him to the rank of an officer on board, & the right of having a cabin to his own use'
Meeting Thomas Maling. McRae telling Maling about the arrowroot of Chile, made from the roots of a species of Alstroemeria, whereas in the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] it was made from a species of Tacca, & in the W Indes [West Indies] from Maranta. Maling saying he now intended to buy the Chilean arrowroot to 'have them all three anelized [analysed] by the surgeons to ascertain their difference of qualities'
Leaving the port at noon with Maling to go to the city, having received permission to remain on shore for the day ('having now, after the arrowroot business, got more into favour'). Meeting on the way both the consuls [Christopher Henry Nugent and Henry Rouse] with the governor, Mr Clark and Cameron [commissioner of the Chilean Mining Company] on their way to the ships. Leaving a letter for Dr Green with the addresses of Joseph Sabine and the Society's agents, advising him to send plants via Nugent
Going to meet an Araucunan [Mapuche] chief, living in a hut built of reeds and wood with 'several wives & a large family of children. His hut was almost empty, having only a poor bed supported by four sticks, & a few stools. Yet he seemed to possess all the pride & steatleness [stateliness] of a chieftain. He appeared to be in liquer at the time I saw him, & seemed to consider my visit, as I thought, rather intruding. In height he was above the middle size, well-made & rather fairer in complexion than the inferior class of his countrymen. His wives had enormous-sized beads strung to their ears, which reached more than half-way down their bodies'
Seeing plenty of flowering fruit trees in some of the gardens in the city, but hardly any vegetables, and only a few native flowers. Considering it 'somewhat singular that the common sage has never yet found its way to Chile', a wild species of sage being used instead, but basil, thyme, mint and roses growing in abundance. Seeing in some gardens, 'belonging at one time to people of consequence', palm trees with large trunks, resembling the Phynese dactylifera [Phoenix dactylifera], large stone pines and a species of cedar, all native species
Returning to the port at dusk. Seeing several fire rockets being discharged from the Cambridge in honour of the governor of Conception [Concepcion]. Temperature 56°-58°
(12 Oct 1825) [Annotated in pencil in the margin: '1825 Oct on board'] A fine day. Going on board at noon, the Cambridge and the Briton having sailed earlier. The Blossom staying for a few days to finish surveying the harbour before following the other ships to Valparaiso. Spending 12 days in the port of Conception [Concepcion]: 'poor [...] but [with] one of the finest harbour[s] in the world', with the ground full of coal. Wishing he had been able to travel to Santiago at such a favourable season in order to collect plants, in particular 'alstromerias & bulbous-rooted plants'. Temperature 54°-58°
(13 Oct 1825) A fine morning with moderate southerly breezes. Coming in sight of the Cambridge at 4pm. Lowering the boats to tow the ship. Anchoring in 51 fathoms of water in Valparaiso Bay [Chile]. Expecting the ship Waterloo to arrive from Rio [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] with mail. Temperature 54°-58°
(14 Oct 1825) A fine morning with moderate south-westerly breezes. Sailing at 8am further into the harbour and anchoring at 10am with the Cambridge and the Briton. Going on shore in the afternoon to see Mr Cummings [Hugh Cuming, sailmaker and naturalist in Valparaiso]. Being told that 'the inhabitants had been in arms for a few days since we had been away, against the government for to repeal some arbitrary laws lately enacted much to their disadvantage'. Temperature 54°-59°
(15 Oct 1825) A fine day. Asking Lord Byron [George Anson Byron] how long he intended to stay on the coast, but he 'could not name any certain time'. Embarking on a boat at noon to take on shore a box of living plants and his other belongings. Meeting Mr Cruikshanks [Alexander Cruckshanks, botanist and merchant in Chile], who was sorry McRae had not been able to travel to Santiago from Conception [Concepcion]. Temperature 56°-60°
(16 Oct 1825) Sunday. A fine day. Going south of the port to collect plants at 9am. Finding a fine species of Aristolochia growing near the sea, and several other plants in flower and in seed. Returning to the town at 4pm. Putting the specimens in paper and shifting the earlier specimens still drying. Temperature 57°-62°
(17 Oct 1825) A fine day. Going to the hills above the port at 8am to collect plants. Finding several kinds of orchids, wild potatoes growing in the ravines, amaryllises and alstroemerias. Being told on his return by his landlord that the officers of the English ships were busy organising another play and that the governor of the port had gone on board the Briton 'for protection from the government, who had censured him for suffering the inhabitants of the port to rise in arms against them'. Temperature 58°-61°
(18 Oct 1825) A 'dull', foggy morning. Going to the valley above Alexander Cruckshanks' house, 'where Mrs Gream [Maria Graham, later known as Maria Calcott, travel writer and illustrator, who lived in Chile in 1822, and who McRae met in Brazil in 1824] had so often visited, & found, according to her book of Chile [Maria Graham, 'Journal of a residence in Chile during the year 1822; and a voyage from Chile to Brazil in 1823', 1824], so many plants, which most of them I found had disappeared, since the handsome Steryoxylon [Stereoxylon] was seen here before in February last was not at this time in flower'. Crossing several ravines on his way back, but not finding many new plants
Being told the governor, Lastre [Francisco de la Lastra y de la Sotta, governor of Valparaiso, previously the Supreme Director of Chile], had arrived from the city 'to take the place of Saintone [Jose Ignacio Zenteno, military officer and governor of Valparaiso], [who had] gone on board the Briton for protection & who, [it] is said, is going to Peru to join Boliver [Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan military and political leader]'. Temperature 59°-61°
(19 Oct 1825) A fine day. Christopher Richard Nugent inviting McRae to visit him at 11am. Meeting at Nugent's office George Anson Byron, Thomas Maling and Sir M. Maxwell [Murray Maxwell, captain of HMS Briton] reading the newspapers that had arrived in the post that day. Finding that the post had brought no letters for him. Nugent giving McRae a young Araucaria plant to take to the Society, 'in case it should meet with some accident while in his possession'. Arranging specimens and numbering seeds in the afternoon. Temperature 58°-61°
(20 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Visiting Alexander Cruckshanks at 9am with the Araucaria plant, intending to fill two empty boxes left at Cruckshanks' with plants. Finding Cruckshanks busy writing to Dr Hooker [William Jackson Hooker, professor of botany at the University of Glasgow and director of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens] and Joseph Sabine, 'to whom he said he was sending seeds by a gentleman going home from Santiago by way of Liverpool'. Returning to town in the evening to shift the specimens after a hot day collecting plants on the hills. Temperature 59°-66°
(21 Oct 1825) A fine day. Arranging specimens and seeds. Going to Alexander Cruckshanks' in the afternoon to plant another box of plants. Meeting on his way Lord B. [George Anson Byron], Murray Maxwell and Christopher Richard Nugent. Byron telling McRae that he had spoken with Thomas Maling 'for to endorse my bills after he left, & who wished to see myself respecting it & to know the stay I intended to make'. Temperature 61°-67°
(22 Oct 1825) A fine day. Writing to Joseph Sabine 'to go by the overland post'. Arranging specimens in the afternoon. Loud thunder and vivid lightning during the night. Temperature 62°-65°
(23 Oct 1825) A hazy morning. Visiting Christopher Richard Nugent and Thomas Maling at 10am. Lord B. [George Anson Byron] suggesting McRae return home with him, as he intended to stay longer on the coast than first expected. Maling saying he would be able to get a passage on any HM ship sailing to England. Byron, Nugent and Maling saying they were going to the city in a few days and recommending McRae to go there as soon as possible, to make the best use of his time. Several salutes fired from the English ships in honour of the new governor's visit. Temperature 62°-65°
(24 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Packing for the journey to Santiago. Mr Talbot [Henry John Chetwynd Talbot, lieutenant on HMS Blonde] promising to join McRae if he received permission from Lord B. [George Anson Byron]. Visiting Alexander Cruckshanks in the afternoon to ask him to fill the plant boxes during McRae's absence. Talbot visiting in the evening to say he would be joining McRae, 'which I felt glad [of], being before old travellers together at the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii]'. Temperature 60°-64°
(25 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Rising at dawn to send the luggage in advance to Santiago. Buying a horse for $25, 'as the person with whom I had made an engagement failed to get his in from the country'
Henry Rouse, the consul, and Murray Maxwell with 'another gentleman' visiting McRae and asking him to join them on a visit to the French Hotel to observe an 'experiment to be had upon fowls by a gentleman from Peru, with some kind of herb from that country that had the powerful effect of stopping blood instantly, & also the power of preventing mortification'. Seeing the man ('a Spaniard') with two fowls and a herb resembling a species of Piper, but smelling like sage. The experiment commencing by the landlord cutting one of the birds with a pen knife, 'perfectly through one of the fowls' head & brains, then afterwards cramming himself the mouth full of his yerba basadoe, as he called it, as well as rubbing over [the] wound, which certainly did stop the blood from running, but the fowl died almost instantly. So did also a second, which he tried by running the pen knife through the neck, that disgusted us all in seeing him perform his barbarous experiment'. The man giving McRae some of the yerba and inviting him to visit him in the city
Leaving the port for the city with Mr T. [Henry Talbot] and two other 'gentlemen' from the Blonde. Reaching Casa Blanca [Casablanca, Chile] at 6pm after 36 miles' journey, 'drenching wet' after torrential rain in the afternoon. Having refreshments and attempting to dry their clothes before going to bed. The landlady, 'a Chileno widow woman named Brown, had but very poor accommodations for us, yet the creature was obliging & did her best to make us all comfortable'
The village small and located on a large plain covered with low trees of espina [espino, a species of Acacia] and mimosa, with several varieties of myrtle. Seeing plenty of fruit trees in the gardens of 'the few straggling houses'. The road from the port 'tolerably good' for riding on, 'but hardly fit for carts' due to the many canals and holes made by heavy rainfall during the winter season. The country appearing fertile, but little cultivated and thinly inhabited, being used mainly as pasture for cattle ('generally of a good size & fat'), sheep ('many of the latter we noticed had four, & some six horns, with long tails & of no great size themselves, nor either very fat') and mules ('as good as any in the world & can bear great fatigue & hunger, & often undergo long journeys with heavy hide bags of cord [rope] or fruit etc on their backs, who on these occasions have always a mare led by a peon [farmworker or labourer, or a person subject to peonage, unfree labour] before them, with a small bell round the neck. Mares are considered useless in Chile for anything except the breeding of horses & treading the corn to separate it from the starch, & going before droves of mules on journeys to carry the ringing bell for the rest'). Temperature 58°-61°
(26 Oct 1825) A foggy morning. Rising at dawn. Having the horses fed and having breakfast before resuming the journey at 6am. Reaching the first 'cuesta [hill]' at 9am, called Zapata [Cuesta Zapata, Chile], very high with numerous turns on the road and 'one of the finest prospects imaginable' from the top. Continuing along a straight road over a large plain for eight or ten miles. Seeing some high myrtle trees and plenty of 'yellow, sweet-scented' flowering Mimosa, giving the road the 'beautiful appearance of an avenue'. The hills covered with low trees and shrubs, and steep rocks and piles of stones, 'heaped up above each other, as if ready for to tumble down into the valleys below'. The valleys covered with larger woods, mainly composed of Myrtus, Peumus and several shrubby Sygnisea [Syngenesia] plants
Passing the Half-way House Inn, kept by an American called Stewart. The roadsides 'pleasantly covered with sweet-scented flowering trees and shrubs', different from those growing on the coast, including a fine, rambling species of Eccremocarpus with reddish flowers, growing on trees, bushes and hedges, and Calceolaria growing in shady places
Reaching another inn called Curacavi at 10am, kept by a Spaniard called Lopaz. Stopping to feed the horses and to eat breakfast: 'the hostler [ostler] at this paltry inn we found was a young Scotch lad that had run away from some vessel about six months before, & who, as he said, now hired himself for four dollars a month & his board'
Seeing on the busy roads, travelling in carts and on horseback, 'several respectable females […] banished lately by the government, on their way to the port of Valparaiso for Peru. Several of these females we noticed had with them servants in livery & a number of mules loaded with part of their property, & were guarded as prisoners by three or four cavalry soldiers. Their appearance seemed to us defeated & melancholy, & in no hurry on their journey'. Seeing other travellers, including 'the wretched stagecoaches, or rather gigs, established between the port & the city by a few poor foreigners for the convenience of travellers, for which they charge 24 dollars independent of luggage', and the common heavy carts carrying goods to the city, travelling slowly, drawn by four or six oxen. The shafts and wheels of the carts roughly made and heavy, and the sides composed of bamboos or reeds, arched over the top with coarse canvas, and 'for want of grease always make a disagreeable noise'
Passing another inn at noon at Bustamente [?Cerro Bustamante, Chile], a small village at the foot of Cuesta de Prado [Cuesta de lo Prado, Chile]. The road up the mountain containing numerous turnings and the top of the mountain 'pleasantly covered' with low trees, shrubs and 'plenty of good pasture grass'. Descending to the large Mypo Plain [Maipu, Chile] and crossing Mapocho River [Chile]. Seeing the city 10-12 miles away, its high, white steeples mixed with 'luxuriant' trees. Seeing large flocks of sheep on the plain. Not being able to see the Andes [Chile] due to the hazy fog, until near the city, 'when they at once appeared majestically in view everywhere, covered with snow'
Reaching the city at 6pm. McRae staying at the English Tavern, kept by 'a Yorkshire lady, the name of Shields', while his travelling companions staying with English merchants. Everyone 'somewhat tired' after a 60-mile journey. McRae returning to the inn after ensuring his horse was well fed. The landlady showing him into a large room with a long table, 'where twenty or thirty gentlemen dine daily together, chiefly lodgers, after the manner of an ordinary, a number of whom were yet settling after dinner round the table enjoying their glass, & who, on finding me newly come from the port, were very inquisitive to know the news, particularly what vessels had lately arrived & where from, & what their cargo consisted of & so on with an endless number of other questions, which I was obliged to answer the best way I could till they appeared satisfied'
Temperature 58°-64°
(27 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Delivering a letter of introduction to Major Ross [unidentified], 'who I found was a man of the world, & only talked of Chileno families, military men & the travels he had made in the country during the last fourteen years in the Chilean service'. Ross recommending the baths of Colina [Banos de Colina, Chile] for collecting plants, about 35 miles east of the city at the foot of the Cordilleras [Chile]
Hiring 'a guide peon' and mules for carrying his belongings. Spending the day walking around the town, larger and more populated than expected: 'nothing can be more interesting to a stranger' than seeing the snowy mountains rising above the plains, and the gardens, vineyards and cultivated fields, 'plentifully stocked with all kinds of European & other fruit trees, which give so remote an extensive spot a cheerful & pleasant appearance'. Mapocho River [Chile] separating a part of the suburbs from the city, but connected to it by a 'good stone bridge' with seven arches, with 'a large public work called the tajamar or cutwater [dam]', rising for two miles towards the mountains to protect the town from the melting snow waters
The streets regular, similar to Conception [Concepcion], with small canals for conveying water from the river. The houses built of large, unburnt bricks, usually single-storey to withstand the frequent earthquakes. Many of the houses large, with extensive gardens at the back and a paved, square courtyard at the front with an arched gateway, shut with wooden doors at night. The windows commonly glazed and barricaded with painted iron bars, sometimes decorated with 'gold gilt'. Seeing the Director's Palace and the cathedral on the 'great square or placa': 'both extensive public buildings, which are destroyed in their appearance from the other low houses fronting the square, who are chiefly mean retail shops, while the centre is occupied by a poorer class, exposing for sale coarse cloths & a variety of other articles local to the country, such as spurs, wooden stirrups, bridles, saddles, whips, boots & shoes'., The shops resembling 'our basars'. Seeing several large buildings, many richly ornamented with gold and silver, 'notwithstanding the long-disturbed state of the country'
The 'Alameda or public walk [La Alameda], begun in the time of the directorship of O'Higgins [Bernardo O'Higgins, Chilean leader of independence and the Supreme Director of Chile until exiled in 1823]' running for about a mile through the city, not yet finished but 'much frequented' in the cool evening 'by most of the respectable inhabitants, who dress themselves little inferior to those with us who resort to Hyde Park on Sundays'. The avenue having three 'principal walks', separated by small stone canals, with rows of poplar trees on both sides of each canal, stone seats 'cut in shape of sofas, convenient for persons to sit upon them on both sides', and places for carriages and carts on each side: 'the whole if ever once finished, will add greatly to the respectability of the city', and the circular fountain would have 'a pretty effect'. Seeing no evidence of other 'new improvements' for the future by the government, however the new large, two- and three-storey merchants' houses built 'in a superior style to the former houses'
Temperature 56°-61°
(28 Oct 1825) A fine day. The horse not yet sufficiently recovered from the previous day's journey to go to Colina baths [Banos de Colina]. Walking around the town. Visiting the market place by the new bridge at the end of the tajamar. The market 'better supplied' than in Valparaiso, but 'kept without any order or cleanliness'. Seeing barbers' stalls with hot water ('ready to shave the long-bearded peons that come in from the country'), and a shed with rough trellis-work for butchers' meat, 'to be thrown across, to be exposed for sale, cut in large slices, separated from the bones & of a soft reddish black appearance, far from being inviting to eat'. Seeing men and women without stalls selling wares, including seasonable vegetables, bread, corn and flour, and others cooking 'greasy soup for the peons'. The vegetables consisting mainly of cabbage, young onion, potato, lettuce, pea and three or four varieties of kidney bean, 'which the poorer class of Chilenos make into soup & almost live upon nothing else when the watermelons & other fruits are out of season'
Lord B. [George Anson Byron], Christopher Richard Nugent and Henry Rouse arriving at 4pm at the English inn. Byron saying he intended to stay in the city for ten days, and would be able to tell McRae after that when he intended to sail to England. Temperature 57°-60°
(29 Oct 1825) A foggy morning with light rain. Setting off at 6am and arriving at Colina Baths [Banos de Colina] at 3pm. Not seeing any interesting plants on the way across the plain of Mypo [Maipu]. The hills by the plain covered with grass, low shrubs and cactuses. Seeing several cultivated cornfields, and houses and gardens surrounded by 'healthy' fruit trees
The Baths of Colina located at the head of a deep, narrow ravine at the foot of the Cordilleras [Chile], surrounded by 'plenty of good pasturage, thinly wooded with low trees & shrubs'. The temperature of the water supplying the eight small brick baths 84°-89°, popular during the summer due to their 'romantic situation' and proximity to the city, frequented 'by the first families in Chile, who hire small rooms furnished with a couple of long stools & a common table & temporary empty bed places in each for the sum of three quarter dollars a day, including the use of a large room where the company meet every night to dance. The proprietor of the baths takes very little trouble to provide his numerous visitors with suitable refreshments, most families therefore bring with them nearly all the necessaries they think is wanted for the time they intend to remain'. It being early in the season, McRae finding only eight people at the baths, 'nearly all in ill health, excepting three young men, one of whom said his name was Bullard [unidentified], & but a few months out from London, where on his departure he had been made a corresponding member of the H Society, & intended to collect for them all kinds of seeds & plants'. Temperature 58°-61°
(30 Oct 1825) Sunday. A fine morning. Travelling around the neighbourhood. Finding several new plants, including a brown, flowering Calceolaria, a light yellow and a blue flowering Tropaeolum, only growing near the Cordilleras [Chile] and 'some others equally rare'. The sun in the middle of the day 'hot & disagreeable', despite being in sight of snow
On his return to the baths with his collections, 'nearly all the people at the baths kept coming to my little room to see what they called useless things I had been gathering in the heat of the day, who at times could hardly contain themselves from laughing at me, which putting them in paper & eagerly asking me a number of questions to know what I intended to do with them, & whether I was a fisico [doctor] & wanted them for medicinal purposes, as they were sure they would not grow'. Putting the specimens in paper ready for pressing. Dining with Bullard and his two companions and spending the evening with 'our other Spanish friends' playing card games: 'their curiosity to know what profession I belonged to, which to satisfy them we said a botanist, even the proprietor himself was equally surprised with the rest, although a respectable sort of man, & seemed somewhat pleased to think I visited his baths, as he had never [met] any of my description before, & now began to respect me better, as he said I must know something more than common medico [doctor], or then I would not come all the way from Inglaterra [England] to gather the common plants of the campos or fields'
Temperature 56°-66°
(31 Oct 1825) A fine morning. Going to the mountains at dawn. Reaching the snow at 9am and the first summit at 11am. Not seeing much vegetation in the snow. The air 'chilly & the wind rather fresh, yet pleasant', with the temperature in the sun 79° and in the shade 50°. Staying at the summit for nearly an hour admiring the beautiful scenery, the hills and the fields on one side and the Cordilleras [Chile] on the other side: 'the whole looked wild, cold, dreary & barren, with majestic mountains rising irregularly with their peaks above each other back in the interior as far as the eye could reach', the black rock forming a contrast to the snow sparkling in the sun
Seeing different plants from those seen lower down. The ground covered with Scilla and amaryllises, including crocus growing as far as the snowline, and low, prickly barberries and other shrubs, covered with 'the pretty, red, little, creeping Tropaeolum'. The gravelly surfaces of the mountains full of holes made by chinchillas, 'a little grey animal, about double the size of a rat, with a bushy tail, whose furs are of demand in England & other countries'. Noting that his visit to 'this interesting place' was two months too early in the season to find the local plants in flower, everything appearing 'chilly & partly broken & withered', but some bulbous plants and orchids beginning to appear with the melting snow. Finding one orchid in flower, with 'a curious whitish green flower full of dark spots, with long filaments adhering to the edges of the petals'. Finding several other 'interesting' plants on the lower elevations
Returning home at dusk. Discovering that more people had arriv
Extent - 91 pages
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - Royal Horticultural Society
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)