THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 295 



regular income. One of the richest land-owners might pos- 

 sibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as iooo/. 

 sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed away 

 in some secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every 

 family to have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground. 



November joth. Early on Sunday morning we reached 

 Castro, the ancient capital of Chiloe, but now a most forlorn 

 and deserted place. The usual quadrangular arrangement 

 of Spanish towns could be traced, but the streets and plaza 

 were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep were 

 browsing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely 

 built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appear- 

 ance. The poverty of the place may be conceived from the 

 fact, that although containing some hundreds of inhabitants, 

 one of our party was unable anywhere to purchase either a 

 pound of sugar or an ordinary knife. No individual possessed 

 either a watch 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 after- 

 noon 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 he had passed 

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

 bien, senor." 



December ist. 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 com- 

 posed. 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 



