THE VOYAGE OF THE HASSLER 147 
Agassiz and his corps went at once to their scientific 
researches, Mrs. Johnson and I devoted ourselves to 
the social investigation of the little town. 
First, we went to the market, a central square sur- 
rounded by booths where were lying and sitting, 
grouped about in all sorts of attitudes, some asleep, 
some nursing their children, Indian and Chilian 
women, with their bright shawls thrown mantilla- 
like over their heads and shoulders, men lounging 
about in their characteristic poncho and slouched hat. 
We met in the market a gentleman, whose name we 
did not know, but he joined us, offered to be our es- 
cort and took us all over the village, up on the hill 
where stands the Catholic church commanding a 
superb view of mountains and harbor and hillsides 
with little farms scattered about. Then we wandered 
through the streets under his escort, looked in at the 
school, were invited into one or two houses where we 
saw the linen lace work made, were presented with 
flowers, and altogether treated with much cordial- 
ity. We saw the fuchsias growing wild in tall bushes 
in the poorest gardens; we saw the groups of Indians 
who come in across the river in the morning from 
their outlying farms to sell milk and eggs, now resting 
and sitting about on the street corners with empty 
milk bottles and egg baskets. We saw the country 
people driving out their double teams of strong pow- 
erful oxen drawing shallow wooden troughs filled 
with manure for their fields. We saw the ladies of 
Ancud, always with the half shawl, half mantle, 
drawn over head and shoulders, sitting in their por- 
