BOAT EXCURSION. 9 



a bag of charcoal with which to buy some trifle, 

 and another carrying a plank to exchange for a 

 bottle of wine. Hence every tradesman must also 

 be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he 

 takes in exchange. 



November 2ith. — 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 

 circumnavigate 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 vil- 

 lage of Chacao shortly after the tents belonging to 

 the boats were pitched for the night. 



The land in this neighbourhood has been exten- 

 sively cleared, and there were many quiet and most 

 picturesque nooks in the forest. Chacao was for- 

 merly the principal port in the island ; but many 

 vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous 

 currents and rocks in the straits, the Spanish gov- 

 ernment burned the church, and thus arbitrarily 

 compelled the greater number of inhabitants to 

 migrate to S. Carlos. We had not long bivouack- 

 ed before the barefooted son of the governor came 

 down to reconnoitre us. Seeing the English flag 



