BOAT EXCURSION 293 



a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes in 

 exchange. 



November 24///. — The yawl and whale-boat were sent 

 under the command of Mr. (now Captain) Sulivan to survey 

 the eastern or inland coast of Chiloe ; and with orders to meet 

 the Beagle at the southern extremity of the island ; to which 

 point she would proceed by the outside, so as thus to circum- 

 navigate the whole. I accompanied this expedition, but 

 instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired horses to 

 take me to Chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. 

 The road followed the coast ; every now and then crossing 

 promontories covered by fine forests. In these shaded paths 

 it is absolutely necessary that the whole road should be made 

 of logs of wood, which are squared and placed by the side of 

 each other. From the rays of the sun never penetrating the 

 evergreen foliage, the ground is so damp and soft that except 

 by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass 

 along. I arrived at the village of Chacao shortly after the 

 tents belonging to the 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 currents 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 bivouacked, before the barefooted son of the 

 governor came down to reconnoitre us. Seeing the English 

 flag hoisted at the yawl's masthead, he asked, with the utmost 

 indifference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In 

 several places the inhabitants were 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. x-\ll 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. 



