DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY. 33 



minor ports of Chafieral do las Animas, latitude 26 24'; Paposo, latitude 25 02'; and Bar- 

 ran<|uillus, latitude 27 31', an well as Caldera, was carried on in :$.")."> vessels, measuring 11-j 

 tons, of these, 208 arrivals were of national vessels, I is), vessels, (inclndii 



monthly .strainers,) and -I A IIH-I iean \. -! -. At the minor ports, vessels only call w: 

 know that a load of copper ore is ready; and as the transportation from the mine won the back 

 of mules, the process of collecting a ship-load is tedious, and several years probably elapse be- 

 t \veen their visits. 



Southwest of Caldera, and separated from it by a rocky peninsula a mile wide across the 

 sandy neck connecting it with the main land, is Port Yngles, Its entrance is open to the 

 northwest, and only four cable-lengths across, after which it widens into a bay a mile broad, 

 of nearly the same length, and having two or three coves secure against all winds. The water 

 is very deep, clear, and smooth ; but the bottom is hard and stony, and in consequence is not so 

 good holding-ground as that of Caldera. Nevertheless, the facilities it offers for building 

 wharves, and the less swell than in the former port, would have secured its selection as a ter- 

 minus for the road, but that the distance must have been increased two miles, or a heavy grade 

 constructed at the very outset. There are no settlers on this bay, and I do not know of any 

 vessel that has visited it legally since H. B. M. surveying ship Beagle. 



So much is elsewhere said of the harbor within the moutli of the Maule Constitucion that 

 little remains to be told except for strictly professional men. Its latitude is 35 19', and the 

 approach to it rendered unmistakable by the Piedra Iglesia (church rock,) which lies a mile 

 to the southward. If the wind be fresh, or was so on the day preceding, the breakers across 

 the bar, or certainly on its southern extremity, will clearly designate one of the dangers to be 

 cared for, and one must patiently wait the tardy movements of the harbor pilot. In fine 

 weather a ship may anchor temporarily two to three miles northwest of the Piedra Iglesia, 

 though it is better to remain under weigh and keep to the southward of the port. Boats may 

 land on the outer beach under Cerro Mutiin, or, as it is called in the sailing directions of Cap- 

 tain Fitzroy, Maule Head ; but there is always delay and no little risk in attempting it, for 

 the surf is constantly high and always treacherous, and the beach of sand is so mixed with 

 broken shells that it is too soft and steep for even a whale-boat to be hauled up without 

 danger. Yet, with a little enterprise, how great a place in Chile this might have been ! Afl 

 long ago as 1835, Captain Fitzroy said of it: " To land here was perplexing enough, for a 

 heavy surf broke on the bar of the river, and nearly as much along the shore ; but with some 

 risk and difficulty we effected our purpose in two light whale-boats, which could be hauled up 

 directly they touched the beach. Nearly all the population of a thriving village, called Con- 

 stitucion, came down to meet us (on the 21st) and assist in hauling our boats up the steep 

 though yielding sand, where, for our comfort, they told us a whale-boat's crew had been 

 drowned not long previously in attempting to land. From a height overlooking the river, 

 village, and neighborhood, we enjoyed a very pleasing view so long as we turned away from 

 the bar of the river, and the surf. A rich country and a fine river are pleasing things at 

 all times, but the difficult approach to Constitucion mars half its beauty. Only the smallest 

 craft can cross the bar; it is dangerous for boats to land on the outer beach, and difficult for 

 them to profit by the few opportunities which occur of passing the bar without risk." 



"Notwithstanding these local disadvantages, Constitucion may thrive wonderfully hereafter, 

 by the help of small steamers ; for she has a most productive country around her, abounding in 

 internal as well as external wealth, and a navigable river at command. Besides this, in 1805 

 a very practicable passage was discoveied through the Andes, about seventy leagues south of 

 Mendoza, not far from the latitude of the. river Maule, almost entirely level, and fit for 

 wagons fhe only pass of such a description between the Isthmus of Darien and Patagonia." 



It was only when the harbor of Valdivia, in latitude 39 53', had been thoroughly surveyed, 

 that navigators learned how small a portion of its extended waters were suited for vessels above 

 the size of coasters. Previously it had been pronounced by several and one of them no less 

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