XIII POVERTY OF THE INDIANS 297 



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 vakie, 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. They occasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, 

 pigs, horses, and cattle ; the order in which they are here 

 mentioned, expressing their respective numbers. I never saw 

 anything more obliging and humble than the manners of these 

 people. They generally began with stating that they were 

 poor natives of the place, and not Spaniards, and that they 

 were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. At Caylen, 

 the most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick of 

 tobacco, of the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of which, 

 the Indian stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out to 



