THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 343 



birds, most of which were very tame. They included hawks 

 (chimangos and carranchas), kingfishers {Ceryle stellata), 

 ducks, spur-winged lapwings, and brown herons. A colony 

 of the last named perched on the branches of a tree over- 

 hanging the beach, were amusingly bold, several not taking 

 flight till the stones which we threw at them struck the 

 boughs on which they were standing. We paid a visit 

 to the Chillote owner of a sawmill at the head of the 

 cove. As vessels very seldom visit this spot, the inhabitants 

 were much interested by the sight of Englishmen ; and while 

 we sat for a short time in the miller's house, the principal 

 room of which was heated, as is usually the case in Chili, by 

 means of a large wooden dish of charcoal placed in the 

 middle of the floor, a number of neighbours by degrees 

 gathered, the women sitting in silence, wrapped in their 

 shawls, in a long row on one sidje of the room, like so many 

 images. The miller, who handed round a large tumbler of 

 " aguardiente " to his guests, informed us that when the ship 

 appeared, they supposed that we were Spaniards, and were 

 under some apprehensions for their safety. It was curious to 

 see in this out-of-the-way place a sheet of the Illustrated 

 London News pasted up on one of the walls. How it got 

 there we did not find out. 



The morning of the 13th was fine, with the wind favour- 

 able, and we left Oscuro Cove, continuing our southerly 

 course. The atmosphere was very clear for a time, and a fine 

 range of snowy peaks on the mainland, in consequence, well 

 seen, but rain set in in the course of the afternoon, and after 

 a time a thick fog settled down, so that we did not go to sea, 

 as originally intended, but anchored in Port San Pedro, at the 

 southern extremity of Chiloe, at about five p.m. Next morn- 

 ing we passed out into the open sea, and soon encountered a 



