THE STEAIT OF MAGELLAN. 375 



at Captain Mayne's disposal three horses, one of which was 

 allotted to me. 



The morning of the 10th was beautifully bright and clear, 

 and the air delicious, in fact everything that could be wished 

 to make a ride thoroughly charming, and shortly after nine a.m. 

 I landed with Captain Mayne and one of the officers, and we 

 proceeded to the consul's office. While waiting for the horses, 

 we had a considerable amount of talk with Mr. Cunningham, 

 who possesses a most extensive knowledge of Chilian affairs, 

 and I then inquired of him if anything was accurately known 

 as to the numbers of the Araucanian Indians, receiving for 

 reply that it was impossible to ascertain precisely, but that 

 they probably numbered about 50,000, although they were 

 rapidly disappearing — a fact that one could not hear without 

 regret, as there can be no doubt that these people constitute one 

 of the finest aboriginal races in the world, and they have main- 

 tained their independence, ever since the Spanish conquest, 

 in an almost marvellous degree. Shortly before ten a.m. we 

 mounted our steeds and rode out of the town, passing the 

 entrance of a hotel where five of the officers were selecting 

 horses wherewith to follow us. The ride proved most delight- 

 ful, the country, though rather flat and sterile in many places, 

 looking very attractive in the clear sunlight. As we rode 

 along I observed numerous winding rifts in the ground, pro- 

 bably due to the frequent occurrence of earthquakes. On 

 passing various hovels from time to time, we were assailed 

 by packs of curs, who rushed after us, barking furiously and 

 snapping at our horses' heels. Here and there some pretty 

 Acacias, not natives of the country, were in flower, and the 

 rounded bushes of the Boldu prevailed in the uncultivated 

 tracts. We did not gain any prospect of Concepcion till we 

 were close upon it, owing to its straggling over a flat de- 



