404 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [34] 



To enter Wreck Bay stand for Dalryinple Kock, and when up with 

 it steer SSE. § E. for the light-house. This consists of a spar 25 or 

 30 feet in height surrounded by an iron cage, which contains the lantern. 

 Make due allowance for the current, and anchor in from 5^ to 6 fath- 

 oms, when Malamocco Point will bear about SW. f W. and the light- 

 house SE. by S., magnetic. 



We were visited about an hour after our arrival by Manuel A. Cobos, 

 the son of Senor Manuel J. Cobos, one of the proprietors of the island. 

 In his father's name, and in very good English, he tendered his services 

 during our stay, and offered to send horses down to the beach for as 

 many of us as wished to visit the hacienda. Proper acknowledgments 

 were made, and the following morning Professor Lee, Mr. Townsend, 

 Mr. McCormick, and I availed ourselves of his invitation, and went up 

 to the settlement. Senor Cobos met us at the door of his residence, 

 expressed great pleasure at our arrival, and entertained us in a most 

 hospitable manner. 



The settlement consisted of the residence of the proprietor, with the 

 necessary store-houses, cane- mills, etc., and numerous simple native 

 houses, sufficient for the accommodation of the inhabitants, who num- 

 bered about two hundred. 



Fresh horses were brought to the door, and in company with Selior 

 Cobos and son we rode over a portion of the estate, where we saw great 

 fields of sugar-cane, sweet-potatoes, and other tropical aud semi-trop- 

 ical products growing side by side. A young coffee plantation gave 

 promise of future profit, and oranges, lemons, and limes were growing 

 in profusion. Large herds of cattle were seen feeding in excellent past- 

 ures, inclosed with iron fences, hedges, or the favorite broad, deep ditch, 

 the proprietor estimating the number of cattle on the island at 20,000. 

 Horses, mules, asses, sheep, and hogs were seen in large numbers, more 

 than sufficient for all purposes of the plantation. Water was procured 

 from a large spring and carried to the settlement by ditches which 

 could be seen winding around the hills. 



Guayaquil is their only market, and, as most of the products compete 

 directly with those of Ecuador, it does not always prove a profitable 

 one, only the higher priced articles bearing the cost of transportation. 

 Bum, hides, orchilla, fish, and a little fruit are the principal exports. 



Chatham Island, and in fact all the islands of the archipelago are of 

 recent volcanic origin, the only arable land being in the elevated basins 

 of the craters. Here, on the principal cone near the center of the 

 island, we found the Hacienda del Progres. 



Before our return to the ship, Seiior Cobos proposed to send his son 

 and a couple of his best native guides with us through the islands, as their 

 local knowledge would save us much time and be the means of adding 

 to our collections. His proposition was thankfully accepted, and they 

 made the cruise through the archipelago with us, rendering valuable 

 service both afloat and on shore. 



