432 FEREY— RIVERA — ESTATE. Juiie 



doubted. In leaping in the horses nearly knocked down, or 

 trod upon, those who were dismounted ; and when leaping out 

 again, they made such a splashing of the water in the leaky 

 ferry-barge as effectually washed our faces. The river is wide, 

 deep, and rapid ; and there are many sand-banks. The boat- 

 men use oars as well as long poles ; but are slow and awkward 

 to a degree I could scarcely have believed, had I not witnessed 

 their progress. The breadth at the ferry is about a quarter of 

 a mile, when the river is low, but upwards of half a mile when 

 flooded, as at this time. The south bank is steep ; and from 

 San Pedro, a little village at the ferry, the land rises in a south- 

 east direction, towards a lofty range of hills ; but towards the 

 south-west, it is low, level, and firm. Across this excellent 

 galloping ground we tried our horses, and made the miles seem 

 short, till we reached a low range of hills over Point Coronel. 

 There, dismounting, we used our own legs until the hills were 

 passed, and before us lay two long sandy beaches, called 

 ' Playa Negra,' and ' Playa Blanca.' 



In our gallop we passed the house of Don Juan de Dios 

 Rivera,^ whose estate on the south side of the Bio Bio is men- 

 tioned by Captain Hall as an instance of the progressive tran- 

 quillization of the Indians. Several large barn-like buildings 

 spread over about two acres of ground, enclosed by a high 

 fence of rough posts and rails, showed an eye accustomed to 

 the country, that the proprietor held in his own hands a large 

 estate : but that collection of thatched irregular roofs, and 

 the utter absence of any thing like outward neatness or regu- 

 larity, brought to my mind a very neglected rick-yard, near 

 which not even a cottage appears. 



Yet this was the house of a man of large property ; and not 

 by any means a bad one, compared with others in that country. 

 Many reasons might be adduced to explain why Chilian gen- 

 tlemen are reluctant to expend either time, trouble, or money 

 in building good houses. Earthquakes are very frequent ; pro- 

 perty is yet insecure; and the country has been occupied, 



* Yntendente of Concepcionin 1821. 



