What I saw on the west coast of South and North America, and at the Hawaiian Islands.: By H. Willis Baxley, M.D.

CHAPTER XI.
A BIRLOCHO AND A BIRLOCHERO-HACIENDA PENUELAS-CHILEAN PIC-NIC-PLEASURE
AND PAIN SANDWICHED.
EARLY on the morning of a feast day, when all business
according to custom was suspended, I started in company with
the United States Consul on a before-breakfast ride of twelve
miles to the hacienda Peiuelas, an estate of several leagues extent. Our conveyance was a birlocho; before the introduction
of stage-coaches the usual carriage for Santiago travel, and still
often used on that and other roads. The birlocho is a heavy,
lumbering chaise, consisting of a one seat body mounted on
strong leather thorough braces attached behind to vertical semicircular steel springs, running on two large clumsy wheels, and
having shafts for one horse. On thie outside of the shafts
another horse is attached by a strong rope to some part of the
vehicle, a hook on the other end of the rope slipping into a
ring of his saddle girth. The driver is mounted postilion fashion on the latter horse, and directs the movements of the
birlocho either by pulling the bridle of the shaft horse, or by
urging in the opposite direction the horse he-rides against the
shaft, at the same time punching the neck of the shaft horse
with a formidable looking lwhip handle. The postilion's
limbs are wrapped in leather leggings; and with bandit slouch
and variegated poncho, knotted raw-Aide whip-so called
probably from habitual enactment as well as constituents-and
colossal spurs savagely serrated, the birlochero, as the postilion
is called, presents-doubtless to the eyes of horses-a truly terrific appearance.
Soon after starting we came to the conclusion, from our