THE STKAIT OF MAGELLAN. 503 



tion are much discontented on account of the heavy taxes 

 which are imposed upon them by the Portuguese government, 

 and not long before our arrival a revolution had broken out 

 in San Miguel and some of the other members of the group, 

 to quell which Portuguese troops, to the amount of seven or 

 eight hundred, had been billeted over the islands, having been 

 transported from Portugal by the man-of-war now at anchor 

 in the bay. 



It was such a beautiful evening that a few of us were 

 tempted by the long light to land after dinner and spend a 

 couple of hours on shore, strolling through the town, and 

 out into one of the country roads sunk beneath the level of 

 the fields. The streets appeared very clean, and the inhabit- 

 ants, in general, struck us as healthy-looking, and much 

 less sallow than the natives of southern Europe generally 

 are, a result probably due to the fine climate and exhi- 

 larating sea-breezes. Two circumstances specially arrested 

 our attention while passing through the town, one being 

 furnished by the flocks of bats which were flying about, 

 and the other by the attire of the ladies, who wore long dark 

 blue cloaks, with huge stiff hoods, somewhat like poke-bonnets, 

 measuring about a foot in height,, and nearly twice that amount 

 from back to front. 



Arrangements having been entered into for a riding- 

 party to visit a wonderful caldera, or crater, at the summit 

 of the island, between three and four thousand feet above 

 the level of the sea, four of us breakfasted early next morn- 

 ing, landing thereafter between seven and eight a.m., and 

 walking to the consulate, close to which we found our donkeys, 

 strong sturdy animals, in the care of donkey-boys, awaiting 

 us. The saddles were sufficiently odd-looking structures. 



