TENURE OF LAND 295 



More to the south wc saw many pure Indians : indeed, all the 

 inhabitants of some of the islets retain their Indian surnames. 

 In the census of 1832 there were in Chiloe and its dependencies 

 forty-two thousand souls : the greater number of these appear 

 to be of mixed blood. Eleven thousand retain their Indian 

 surnames, but it is probable that not nearly all of these are of 

 a pure breed. Their manner of life is the same with that of 

 the other poor inhabitants, and they are all Christians ; but 

 it is said that they yet retain some strange superstitious 

 ceremonies, and that they pretend to hold communication with 

 the devil in certain caves. Formerly, every one convicted 

 of this offence was sent to the Inquisition at Lima. Many 

 of the inhabitants who are not included in the eleven 

 thousand with Indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by 

 their appearance from Indians. Gomez, the governor of 

 Lemuy, is descended from noblemen of Spain on both sides ; 

 but by constant intermarriages with the natives the present 

 man is an Indian. On the other hand, the governor of 

 Quinchao boasts much of his purely kept Spanish blood. 



We reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the 

 island of Caucahue. The people here complained of want of 

 land. This is partly owing to their own negligence in not 

 clearing the woods, and partly to restrictions by the govern- 

 ment, which makes it necessary, before buying ever so small 

 a piece, to' pay two shillings to the surveyor for measuring 

 each quadra (150 yards square), together with whatever price 

 he fixes for the value of the land. After his valuation, the 

 land must be put up three times to auction, and if no one 

 bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. All these 

 exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, 

 where the inhabitants are so extremely poor. In most countries, 

 forests are removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire ; 

 but in Chiloe, from the damp nature of the climate, and the 

 sort of trees, it is necessary first to cut them down. This is 

 a heavy drawback to the prosperity of Chiloe. In the time 

 of the Spaniards the Indians could not hold land ; and a 

 family, after having cleared a piece of ground, might be 

 driven away, and the property seized by the government. 

 The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice 

 by making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each 



