342 NORTHERN CHILE. [chap. xvi. 



I II ^a^ - ! ' I I ^> 



impressed with an idea of the heresy, contamination, and evil to 

 be derived from contact with such a person. To this day they 

 relate the atrocious actions of the bucaniers ; and especially of 

 one man, who took away the figure of the Virgin Mary, and re- 

 turned the year after for that of St. Joseph, saying it was a pity 

 the lady should not have a husband. I heard also of an old lady 

 who, at a dinner in Coquimbo, remarked how wonderfully 

 strange it was that she should have lived to dine in the same room 

 with an Englishman ; for she remembered as a girl, that twice, 

 at the mere cry of " Los Ingleses," every soul, carrying what 

 valuables they could, had taken to the mountains. 



\4th. We reached Coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. 

 The town is remarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. 

 It is said to contain from 6000 to 8000 inhabitants. On the 

 morning of the 17th it rained lightly, the first time this year, for 

 about five hours. The farmers, who plant corn near the sea- 

 coast where the atmosphere is more humid, taking advantage of 

 this shower, would break up the ground ; after a second they 

 would put the seed in ; and if a third shower should fall, they 

 would reap a good harvest in the spring. It was interesting to 

 watch the effect of this trifling amount of moisture. Twelve 

 hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as ever ; yet after an 

 interval of ten days, all the hills were faintly tinged with green 

 patches ; the grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres a 

 full inch in length. Before this shower every part of the surface 

 was bare as on a high road. 



In the evening, Captain Fitz Roy and myself were dining with 

 Mr. Edwards, an English resident well known for his hospitality 

 by all who have visited Coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake 

 happened. I heard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams 

 of the ladies, the running of the servants, and the rush of several 

 of the gentlemen to the doorway, I could not distinguish the 

 motion. Some of the women afterwards were crying with terror, 

 and one gentleman said he should not be able to sleep all night, 

 or if he did, it would only be to dream of falling houses. The 

 father of this person had lately lost all his property at Talca- 

 huano, and he himself had only just escaped a falling roof at 

 Valparaiso, in 1822. He mentioned a curious coincidence which 

 then happened : he was playing at cards, when a German, one 



