07 ATACAMA AND COQUIMDO. 271 



never heard .lining the day. You must come down for a personal examination; became, 

 though I shall M-iiil von a l><>x containing some ..!' tin- Mnall fish caught in the Lay, I have DO 

 intention to as.M-il that a or tin- musical li.sh shall Ixj among them." .M \ iii.-n.l -.-nt figh 

 ling to jir.tnii.M-, <ti' which an account is given in the n-jiort from Mr. Cha :ard. 



Ouo of them In- has nanie.l " Alosa miutica," from this circumstance. When I wrote 

 , ,,iilv four niniiths later, these charming aquatic serenaders had shut up their orches- 

 tra, or gone elseuhere. Nothing had he. -n h.-ar.l from them since May. The only analo- 

 gous case of which I have information is that of Mr. Taylor when at Bathcaloa, in Ceylon. 

 On going to a lako near the fort at night, ho was struck by a loud musical noise proceeding 

 from the bottom of the water. The natives told him it was caused by " singing shells," or at 

 least by some animal inhabiting shells. The sounds were like those of an accordeon or jEolian 

 harp, with vibrating notes pitched at different keys. And it is said that there is a snail on the 

 island of Corfu which occasionally emits a distinctly audible and not unmusical sound. It 

 would be interesting to establish the fact that the syren of Caldera and the singing-shells of 

 Ceylon, half way round the globe, are members of the same family. 



Expectation of our monthly supply of letters contributed no little to the impatience with which 

 we North Americans awaited the arrival of the steamer; though the Chileuos probably exhi- 

 bited more restlessness than we did, when hour after hour passed by beyond the usual period of 

 its coming. Nearly the whole party had tired with watching, and were about retiring for the 

 night, when the lights of the New Grenada were descried by one more keen sighted than 

 the rest ; and when her anchor was dropped in the port, half an hour later, in their joy at 

 starting towards the capital and home, even natives could not resist the " stirrup-cup" of our 

 liberal and attentive hosts. At leaving Santiago my plan had been to complete all the observations 

 in Atacama, and proceed to Coquimbo in one of the small steamers, in time to make the mag- 

 netical determinations prior to the arrival of this vessel. This was frustrated by the loss of the 

 Ecuador ; and as continued cloudy weather had prevented the completion of the experiments at 

 Valparaiso, it was concluded that time would be saved by returning thither in this steamer, finish- 

 ing the work during her stay, and coming back to Coquimbo on the 27th. Embarking after 

 midnight, the steamer left the port about daylight, and without material incident reached her 

 destination on the morning of the 21st. The loss of the steamer Peru, belonging to this line, 

 during a gale at Valparaiso only a few weeks before, and the destruction of a great many 

 launches at the same time, rendered it prudent to take in coals at Coquimbo, where we remained 

 some hours, during which most of the passengers made a visit to La Serena. With favorable 

 weather, it would have been easy to accomplish all desired work at Valparaiso ; but a norther 

 set in next morning, and nothing could be effected out of doors. This was the third storm during 

 the winter, and though not so violent as that in which the Peru and many other vessels had 

 been driven on shore, it was sufficiently powerful to cause the most lively apprehensions for the 

 safety of the shipping in the bay. A continuane of cloudy weather prevented the completion of the 

 observations before the 26th; on which day there were an unusually great number of cabin 

 passengers, sixty soldiers on their way to reinforce the garrison in the suspicious province of 

 Coquimbo, and many peons at the cost of the Junta de Mineria. I re-embarked for Coquimbo. 

 Our cabin number was doubled ; those who would have gone two weeks before having been dis- 

 appointed, owing to the loss of the Peru. 



The roads were in very bad condition, and the streams so swollen by the copious rains of the two 

 or three days preceding, that the mail was behind time, and we were detained to await it until 

 some hours past noon. When at last we did get out, the deck was crowded and uncomfortable 

 enough, until a heavy swell drove three fourths of our passengers to such resting-places as they 

 could obtain ; but the detention had affected our arrival at Coquimbo correspondingly, and when 

 we reached the anchorage towards 9 P. M. of the following evening, the vehicles belonging to 

 Serena, usually awaiting passengers, had all gone. 



Neither were there custom-house officers to dispute landing, public accommodations which a 



