scored in red ink. An interesting feature of the map is the position of the northern boundary line of Chile, which is placed at about latitude 25° 30'S,
Upon the basis of the wet years reported in the correspond- ence over a period of nearly one hundred years | made a rough “curve" to bring out the period of recurrence of the rains (Fig. 53). ‘The general manager of the chief mining company expressed great interest in the curve showing past conditions but still greater interest in the next rainy season. Far from being above the need of such knowledge, he said he was as interested as any of his predecessors, first on account of the forage required for the mules that hauled the matte carts to the railroad and brought ore from the small mines round- about to the smelter operated by his company at the Dulcinea Mine, and second because he was drilling a well to tap the ground water in the small basin whose exit is near the smelter. The lack of water had been one of the standing difficulties in the successful operation of the mine. Ata venture I projected the rainfall curve and told him that 1914 ought to be a wet year. A year later, in June, 1914, he wrote me as follows:
“You will be pleased to learn that your prognostications…have now been confirmed. The Copiapó River has been very swollen, the greatest amount of water within the last fourteen years, while on the 15th inst. the Copiapó district had the benefit of a copious rainfall. This information to you will have great scientific interest—to us great benefits will ensue.”
