262 



against external enemies, but it has suffered severely from fire, 

 which has twice ahïiost entirely destroyed it. The harbour is situ- 

 ated in a beautiful bay formed by the river, and is the safest, the 

 strongest from its natural position, and the most capacious of any 

 of the ports in the South Sea. The island of Manzera, situated 

 just in the mouth of the river, forms two passages, bordered by 

 steep mountains, and strongly fortified. As this is a post of the 

 roost importance of any in the Pacific, a governor is always sent 

 from Spain, who pqssesses reputation as a military officer, and is 

 under the immediate direction of the president of the kingdom. 

 He has under his command a considerable number of troops, who 

 are officered by the five castellans, or commanders ©f the castles, a 

 Serjeant major, a proveditor, an inspector, and several captains. 

 For the pay of the soldiers thirty-six thousand crowns are annur 

 ally sent hither from the royal treasury of Peru, and the provi- 

 sions requisite for their subsistence from the other ports of Chili. 

 The Jesuits had formerly a college here ; there are besides some 

 convents of Franciscans and of the Brothers of Charity, with a 

 royal hospital, and the parish church. 



THE ARCHIPELAGO OF CHILOE 



IS a great gulph or bay at the southern extremity of Chili, 

 scooped out, as it were, in a circular form by the South Sea to the 

 skirts of the Andes. This gulph extends from latitude 41. 20. to 

 44. 40. and from longitude 303. to 304. 50. The islands that it 

 Acontains amount to forty-seven, of which thirty-two have been 

 peopled by the Spaniards or Indians, and the remaining are unin- 

 habited. Among the former there is one that is very large, some 

 that are of a moderate size, being from twelve to fifteen leagues in 

 length, but the others are small. The large island, which is cal- 

 led Chiloe, has in later times communicated its name to the Archi- 

 pelago, which was formerly known by that of Ancud. This island, 

 whose western coast runs from north to south, the same course as 

 that of the continent, is situated in the very mouth of the gulph, 

 leaving only two passages, one of which, between its northern ex- 

 tremity and the shore of the continent, is little more than three 

 miles in breadth ; but the other, between its southern point and the 

 foot of the Andes, is mor.e than twelve leagues. This island is situ- 

 ated between the forty-first and a half and the forty-fourth degrees 

 of latitude, and is about sixty leagues in length, and twenty in its 

 greatest breadth. The lawd, like that of all the other islands, 



\ 



\ 



