e.
Their estancias, or country houses, are very pleasant, having generally a
fine grove of olive trees, with large vineyards to them. The Chili wine, in
my opinion, is full as good as Madeira, and made in such quantities that it
is sold extremely cheap. The soil of this country is so fertile, that the
husbandmen have very little trouble, for they do but in a manner scratch up
the ground, and without any kind of manure it yields an hundred fold.
Without doubt the wheat of Chili is the finest in the world, and the fruits
are all excellent in their kinds. Beef and mutton are so cheap, that you
may have a good cow for three dollars, and a fat sheep for two shillings.
Their horses are extraordinary good; and though some of them go at a great
price, you may have a very good one for four dollars, or about eighteen
shillings of our money.

It must be a very poor Indian who has not his four or five horses; and
there are no better horsemen in the world than the Chileans, and that is
not surprising, for they never chuse to go a hundred yards on foot. They
have always their laco fixed to their saddle: the laco is a long thong of
leather, at the end of which they make a sliding noose. It is of more
general use to them than any weapon whatever, for with this they are sure
of catching either horse or wild bull, upon full gallop, by any foot they
please. Their horses are all trained to this, and the moment they find the
thong straitened, as the other end is always made fast to the saddle, the
horse immediately turns short, and throwing the beast thus caught, the
huntsman wounds or secures him in what manner he thinks proper. These
people are so dexterous, that they will take from the ground a glove or
handkerchief while their horse is upon full stretch; and I have seen them
jump upon the back of the wildest bull, and all the efforts of the beast
could not throw them. This country produces all sorts of metals; it is
famous for gold, silver, iron, tin, lead, and quicksilver; but some of
these they do not understand working, especially quicksilver. With copper
they supply all Peru, and send likewise a great deal to Europe.

The climate of Chili is, I believe, the finest in the world. What they call
their winter does not last three months, and even that is very moderate, as
may be imagined by their manner of building, for they have no chimneys in
their houses. All the rest of the year is delightful, for though, from ten
or eleven in the mo