OF THE EXPEDITION. Vll 



than thirty. The land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is everywhere covered by one dense 

 forest, excepting a few scattered green patches which have been cleared around the thatched 

 cottages. * * * In winter the climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little bet- 

 ter. I should think that there are no parts of the world, within the temperate regions, where 

 so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous, and the sky nearly always clouded; to have 

 a week of fine weather is something wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single glimpse of 

 the cordillera; during our first visit only one opportunity occurred, and that was before sun- 

 rise, when the volcano of Osorno stood out in bold relief, and it was curious to watch, as the sun 

 rose, the outline gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky.' 



" Don Alonzo de Ercilla (see American translation of Abbe Molina's History of Chile, page 

 263) gives this brief, but emphatic opinion, confirming those already quoted : ' The land, like 

 all the other islands, is mountainous, and covered with almost impenetrable forests. The rains 

 are excessive, and only in the autumn do the inhabitants enjoy fifteen or twenty days of fair 

 weather in succession. At any other season, were eight days to pass without rain it would be 

 regarded very singular. The atmosphere, of course, is very humid, and springs are to be found 

 in every part.' 



" The account of Chiloe, therefore, is the reverse of flattering ; and as it is more than intimated 

 that the constant rains of this section of Chile are much influenced by the height and contour 

 of the land, and the success of the proposed Expedition will be mainly dependent on the num- 

 ber of complete comparative observations which may be made, it becomes a duty to inquire 

 whether a slight change of locality will afford us an atmosphere less obstructed by rains, at 

 which the observations may be made in such number as will justify the undertaking. Taking 

 up the latter part of this question at once with great deference to your more experienced judg- 

 ment it appears to me, that as the great object of the southern station will be to furnish com- 

 parative observations of the planet's declination, and the changes of the declination when near 

 the inferior conjunction are not only about a minimum, but are also sufficiently well known to 

 admit of interpolation for at least one hour before and after the transit at Washington, a 

 movement of the station on the parallel cannot materially affect the accuracy of the results. 

 But this cannot be effected in that latitude, for there is no land to the west, or any roads which 

 are traversable with instruments over the Cordilleras to the east ; and the necessary consequence 

 is, we must take Chiloe as we find it described, and hope for good weather, or move northward 

 to a more suitable place on the continent, which, from the configuration of the shore, must also 

 be somewhat more to the eastward of the meridian of Washington. As has just been said, I do 

 not believe that a degree or two of longitude will be of much consideration, more especially as 

 we have observatories at Philadelphia, West Point, and Cambridge, Mass., whose equipments 

 justify the expectation that they will take part in the observations ; and there is but one to the 

 westward of us at all likely to co-operate, viz : at Hudson, Ohio. 



" There is universal testimony to the excellence and serenity of the atmosphere of northern 

 Chile ; and to satisfy you of the fact in case you have not examined for yourself, I quote from 

 one or two books in my possession, the volumes of Agiieros, King, &c., having been found at 

 the library of Congress, which has been closed for a week or two past. In the History of Chile 

 by Abbe Molina, which, I believe, has also been translated into your language, at page 12 he 

 eays : ' The rainy season on the continent usually commences in April and continues till the 

 last of August. In the northern provinces of Coquimbo and Copiapo it very rarely rains ; in 

 those of the centre it usually rains three or four days in succession, and the pleasant weather 

 continues fifteen or twenty days. In the southern the rains are much more frequent, and often 

 continue for nine or ten days without cessation.' 



"On page 19 of the same work I find a note extracted from a volume entitled 'History of the 

 European Settlements in America,' which says: 'Contiguous to Peru is situated the province 

 of Chile, which extends in a long and narrow strip upon the coast of the South sea. The air 

 is remarkably clear and serene, and for three quarters of the year this country enjoys an almost 



