296 CHILOE CHAP. 



marij according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. 

 The value of uncleared ground is very little. The government 

 gave Mr. Douglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of 

 these circumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest 

 near San Carlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for 350 

 dollars, or about £jo sterling. 



The two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached 

 the island of Quinchao. This neighbourhood is the most culti- 

 vated part of the Archipelago ; for a broad strip of land on 

 the coast of the main island, as well as on many of the smaller 

 adjoining ones, is almost completely cleared. Some of the farm- 

 houses seemed very comfortable. I was curious to ascertain 

 how rich any of these people might be, but Mr. Douglas 

 says that no one can be considered as possessing a regular 

 income. One of the richest landowners might possibly accumu- 

 late, 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 '^oth. — 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 brows- 

 ing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely built 

 of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. 

 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 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 



