I8S4.J BOAT EXCURSION. 



shortly after the tents belonging to tke boats were pitched for 

 the night. 



The land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, 

 and there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the 

 forest. Chacao was formerly the principal port in the island ; 

 but many vessels having been lost, owing' to the dangerous cur- 

 rents and rocks in the straits, the Spanish government burnt the 

 church, and thus arbitrarily compelled the greater number of 

 inhabitants to migrate to S. Carlos. We had not long bivou- 

 acked, before the barefooted son of the governor came down to 

 reconnoitre us. Seeing the English flag hoisted at the yawl's 

 mast-head, he asked, with the utmost indifference, whether it 

 was always to fly at Chacao. In several places, the inhabitants 

 Mere much astonished at the appearance of men-of-war's boats, 

 and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a Spanish fleet, 

 coming to recover the island from the patriot government of 

 Chile. All the men in power, however, had been informed of 

 our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. While we were 

 eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. He had been a 

 lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish service, but now was miserably 

 poor. He gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two cotton 

 handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco. 



25th. — Torrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down 

 the coast as far as Huapi-lenou. The whole of this eastern side 

 of Chiloe has one aspect : it is a plain, broken by valleys and 

 divided into little islands, and the whole thickly covered with 

 one impervious blackish-green forest. On the margins there 

 are some cleared spaces, surrounding the high-roofed cottages. 



26th. — The day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of Osorno 

 was spouting out volumes of smoke. This most beautiful moun- 

 tain, formed like a perfect cone, and white with snow, stands 

 out in front of the Cordillera. Another great volcano, with a 

 saddle-shaped summit, also emitted from its immense crater little 

 jets of steam. Subsequently we saw the lofty-peaked Corco- 

 vado — well deserving the name of " el famoso Corcovado." Thus 

 we beheld, from one point of view, three great active volcanos, 

 each about seven thousand feet high. In addition to this, far to 

 the south, there were o':her lofty cones covered with snow, which, 

 although not known to be active, must be in their origin vol- 



t 2 



