"You were lucky, Stephens," he said, "to have left Arequipa when you did. Larramendi was planning to catch you for his youngest daughter, and likewise had you looked up. He thought you would have made a good match for her and has many times deplored that you went away. He was very fond of you and I honestly believe Anastasia loved you and still hopes you will return. However if you married her, you would be in the same mess that I was in. Larramendi is not so old as he likes to make out and I doubt if he will cash in his checks for twenty-five years yet. That is a long time waiting for dead men's shoes. I am satisfied where I am and when I reached Chile I knew that I was safe for even if my first wife hadn't obtained a divorce the Peruvian extradition laws are a joke and the Chilean government would never have given me up to be sent back to Peru to stand trial for bigamy there."
Street in San Felipe
The time was approaching when I had to return to the United States; Prat was just as anxious to return to Barcelona, and Gumprecht was getting restless in Santiago and wanted to see more of Chile, especially the northern part. We accordingly made arrangements to go north by rail taking our time to the trip stopping off at different places. Prat and I had a great impedimenta of baggage constituting curiosities that we had collected on our travels besides live parrots, toads, turtles, etc. indigenous to South America not to mention a couple of trunks full of bulbs and seeds which I intended to experiment with by planting at home. We also had baskets, pottery, and Indian blankets. We did not care to be encumbered with them and as we met a roustabout in Santiago who was recommended to us for his honesty, and who was anxious to get to Lima to accept a position that was offered him there, but could not make the grade through lack of funds, we told him we would pay his passage to that port if he would take our baggage with him. This proposition he jumped at so we made arrangements for him to sail on a boat that was to leave Valparaiso the following month. That would make him reach Lima about the same time Prat and I would arrive. This roustabout's name was Angel Larrain. He was a tough looking customer about thirty-eight years old, was broad shouldered, and wore a full beard which he seldom kept trimmed. His facial appearance was adorned by an ugly scar on his right temple which he received in a saloon brawl some years previously in one of Valparaiso's waterfront dives.
Not far out of our route northward are the Springs of Jahuel which are so well known that we determined to take them in. To reach them it is first necessary to take the train to San Felipe, three hours distant from either Santiago or Valparaiso, and then drive twelve and a half miles.
Street in Almendraz
San Felipe, with a population of 14,426 inhabitants, is the capital and largest city of the Province of Aconcagua which lies directly north of the Province of Santiago. This large province is Andine in character although it extends to the ocean and in its confines are the highest mountains in Chile. It is semi-arid although in its narrow valleys the largest vineyards in the republic are located. It is famous for its wines and its chicha. This last is a sort of grape cider, muddy brown in color, sweet and heavy and is apt to give the partaker indigestion. It should not be confused with the chicha of Peru. Peruvian chicha is an alcoholic beverage made from cereals and is akin to moonshine or corn whiskey.