156 



fishery, but of late have pursued it with great suc- 

 cess. 



In some parts of the coast, great numbers of fish 

 are occasionally found upon the shore. These fish, 

 when pursued by the whale, retire to the shallows, 

 where, unable to contend against the violence of the 

 waves, they are thrown upon the beach, and become 

 the prey of birds, or when found alive by the inhabi- 

 tants, are taken and salted for use. Of the fish, the 

 most esteemed are the robalo^ the corvino^ the lisa^ 

 and the king-fish. 



The robalo (esox Chilensis) is nearly of a cylin- 

 drical form, and from two to three feet long* It is 

 clothed with angular scales, of a golden colour upon 

 the back, and silver on the belly, the fins are soft and 

 without spines, the tail is truncated, and the back 

 marked longitudinally with a blue stripe, bordered 

 with yellow. The flesh is very white, almost trans- 

 parent, light, and of a delicious taste. Those taken 

 upon the Araucanian coast are the most in repute, 

 where they arc sometimes caught of eight pounds 

 weight. The Indians of Chiloe smoke them, after 

 having cleaned and soaked them for twenty- four 

 hours in sea water, and when sufíiciently dried, pack 

 them up in casks of one hundred each, which are 

 geiierally sold from two to three dollars.. The róbala 

 prepared in this manner is superior to any other kind 

 of dried fish. 



The corvina (sparus Chilensis) is nearly of the 

 same size as the preceding ; it is sometimes, how- 

 ever, found of five or six feet in length. This fish 

 has a small head, and a large oval body, covered 



