SPORTING ADVENTURES JN THE PACIFIC. 281 



Carmen Island also contains copper in con- 

 siderable quantities, and shipments of small 

 lots have been made to Europe and the United 

 States. The ore varies in richness from ten to 

 forty per cent., and possesses traces of gold ; 

 but as no regular veins have been discovered, 

 the works have been abandoned. The anchor- 

 age at Salinas Bay is an open one, and exposed 

 to the southward, so we only remained there a 

 few hours, and then stood over to the main- 

 land, to examine a small port called Escondito, 

 or the Hidden Port. This place is scarcely 

 mentioned on our charts, and has certainly 

 never been properly surveyed. The entrance 

 to the port is most difficult to distinguish, and 

 it is necessary to approach it with caution, 

 there is an outer anchorage, with deep water 

 and good shelter, wherein we dropped anchor. 

 The entrance to the inner harbour is only 

 thirty yards across, and has a depth of sixteen 

 feet at high water in the channel; the tide 

 rushes through this gap with great velocity. 

 Inside is a splendid sheet of water of a nearly 



