28 VOYAGE TO THE 



chap, tion are cock-fighting and billiards. All classes of 

 v -^v^ society assemble at the pit, and if there be no fight, 



1825.' will light their cigars, and chat whole hours away, 

 in the hope of a match being made up, and are dis- 

 persed only by the approach of night. The English 

 cocks are most esteemed, and are sometimes valued 

 at a hundred dollars a-piece (twenty guineas). The 

 Chilian spurs cut as well as thrust, and greatly 

 shorten the cruel exhibition. Some of the gover- 

 nors are said to have imposed a tax on these esta- 

 blishments for their own private advantage, but 

 without the authority of the laws. 



Of the country round Conception I have little to 

 say, except that it has undergone a great change 

 since the days of its prosperity. In the parallel of 

 37° on the western side of a great continent, a luxu- 

 riant soil may be expected to produce an abundant 

 vegetation. This district has, in consequence, been 

 famous for its grain, vines, fruits, esculent roots, &c, 

 and for its pasture lands, on which formerly were 

 reared immense herds of cattle, and horses of the 

 finest breed. But the effects of the disturbed state 

 of the country are as manifest here as in the differ- 

 ent parts of the city. At present, as much arable 

 land as is absolutely necessary for the support of the 

 inhabitants is cleared, and no more ; and even its 

 produce is but scantily enjoyed by the lower classes 

 on the coast, who are obliged to subsist almost en- 

 tirely upon shell-fish. The soil, if attended to, will 

 give an abundant return : wheat, barley, Indian corn, 

 beans, pease, potatoes, and arrow-root ; grapes, ap- 

 ples, pears, currants, strawberries, and olives, are the 

 common produce of the country. From the latter 

 a fine oil is extracted ; but the fruit is too rank to 



