310 



rwo have been peopled h\ ll;e Spau' '.rds or ladiaiis, and the 

 remaining are iiuinhabite<!. Among ?iie I'oniier there is one 

 that is very large, some that are ol" a uio'iciale size, being 

 from tv/elve to fjiieen ieatius i;i length, but thi' others are 

 smali. The large island, which is called Chiloe, lias, in later 

 times, commiinirated its nanse to tli; Arciiipelago, \\hich was 

 forrr.erly known b% that ofAncud. Thi.-i iskin*!; MJiose v.est'nn 

 coast runs from north to soutii, tlie s;i:iu' coiirse as th.at ot the 

 continent, is situated in the very nioiitl) ot the iiulph, Itavtug 

 only two passages, one ot which, between its noriheni exUo- 

 mity and the shore of the continent, is littie Ji\ore '!;un tiiree 

 miles in breaihh; but the other, between i(s sou'licrn poiiii 

 and the foot of the Andes, is more than twelve Itnguea. Ti::i 

 island is situated between the forty firs! and a ii^lf, and the 

 forty-fourth degrees of latitm'e, and is about sixty leagiies in 

 length, and twenty in its greatest breadth. The land, like that 

 of all the other islands, is uioimtainous, and covered with al- 

 most impenetrable thickets. The rains are excessive, and only 

 in the autumn do the inhabitants enjoy fifteen or twciity days 

 of fair w eather iu sutcessioji. During any other .^^euson, w ei e 

 ciuht days to pass wilhout rain, it would be eiteemed a sin- 

 gular phenomenon. Tix; atmo.^phere, of coiuse, is very 

 humid, and streams and rivers are to be found in every part. 

 The air, notwitlistanding, is very salubrious, and the teinjtera- 

 lure so mild, that it is never know n to be either iiot or very 

 cold. Owing to the great degree of moisture, grain and fruits 

 produce but very inditierently in these islands; t!ie corn, iiow- 

 evtr, that is raised there is suli:cit)U ior ihe supply of !he in- 

 habitanis. Barley, bean-, and fiuK, ])rod:ice very well. Of 

 kitchen hnbs, the cabbage ;ind garlic are the only ones tiiat 

 grow there. The gr.,pe ne\er a'tains to maturity, and the 

 same is the case wjlh ail otiier fruits, except the apple and 

 i,oinc wildings. Bt-ef, tiiough not so plenty as in Chili, is by 

 no means scarce. Horses, though not in such lumibers as on 

 iliV tuutinent, are yet coraroon, and there is scarcely a person 



