ing when we reached the Bio-Bio, a wide
shallow river, at the entrance of the town of Concepcion; it had to be
crossed in a ferry-boat, carriage and all, and as it was after hours,
we had some difficulty in finding any one to take us over. At last, in
consideration of a little extra pay, six men consented to undertake
the job, and having set a square-sail, to keep us from being carried
down the river by the current, they punted us over with long poles.
Sometimes there was nine feet of water beneath us, but oftener not
more than four or five. The boat could not get close to the opposite
shore, and it was a great business to get the carriage out and the
horses harnessed, in some eighteen inches of water. First the carriage
stuck in the sand, and then the horses refused to move, but after a
great deal of splashing, and an immense display of energy in the way
of pulling, jerking, shrieking, shouting--and, I am afraid,
swearing--we reached the bank, emerged from the water, struggled
through some boggy ground, and were taken at full gallop through the
streets of the town, until we reached the Hotel Comercio, where we
found comfortable rooms and a nice little dinner awaiting us.

This was all very well, as far as it went, but when we came to inquire
about our onward route we were disappointed to learn that the line to
Angol was closed, owing to the breaking down of a bridge, and would
remain so until next month, and that, with the exception of a
contractor's train, which runs only once a week, there was nothing by
which we could travel. 'To-morrow is Friday,' added Monsieur
Letellier, 'and that is so near Monday, what can Madame do better than
wait here till then?' By way of consolation, he informed us that there
were no Indians now at Angol, as the Araucanian [6] Indians had
recently all been driven further back from the frontier by the
Chilenos, but that, if we were still bent on trying to get there, we
could go by boat as far as Nacimiento, where we might, with some
difficulty, procure a carriage. The river just now, however, is so
low, that the boat frequently gets aground, and remains for two or
three days; therefore, taking everything into consideration, we have
decided to abandon this part of our programme, for otherwise we shall
not reach Santiago in time. In any case, the journey will be a much
longer one than we expected.

[Footnote 6: I have lately received a letter from a friend in Paris,
who says: 'Strange to te