26G CHILOE. [CHAP. xiii. 



hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was unable anywhere to 

 purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary knife. Xo indi- 

 vidual possessed either a wateh or a clock ; and an old man, who 

 was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed to strike 

 the church bell by guess. The arrival of our boats was a rare 

 event in this quiet retired corner of the world ; and nearly all the 

 inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our tents. 

 They were very civil, and offered us a house ; and one man even 

 sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon we paid our 

 respects to the governor a quiet old man, who, in his appearance 

 and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an English cottager. 

 At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient to drive 

 away from our tents the large circle of lookers-on. An Indian 

 family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen, bivouacked 

 near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the morning 

 I asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how lie had passed 

 the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, " Muy bien, 

 senor." 



December 1st. We steered for the island of Lemuy. I was 

 anxious to examine a reported coal-mine which turned out to be 

 lignite of little value, in the sandstone (probably of an ancient 

 tertiary epoch) of which these islands are composed. When we 

 reached Lemuy we had much difficulty in finding any place to 

 pitch our tents, for it was spring-tide, and the land was wooded 

 down to the water's edge. In a short time we were surrounded by 

 a large group of the nearly pure Indian inhabitants. They were 

 much surprised at our arrival, and said one to the other, " This is 

 the reason we have seen so many parrots lately ; the cheucau (an 

 odd red-breasted little bird, which inhabits the thick forest, and 

 utters very peculiar noises) has not cried ' beware ' for nothing." 

 They were soon anxious for barter. Money was scarcely worth 

 anything, but their eagerness for tobacco was something quite 

 extraordinary. After tobacco, indigo came next in value ; then 

 capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. The latter article was 

 required for a very innocent purpose: each parish has a public- 

 musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on their 

 saint or feast days. 



The people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. At 

 certain seasons they catch also, in "corrales," or hedges under 

 water, many fish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. 



