263 



mountainous, and covered with almost impenetrable thickets. The 

 rains are excessive, and only in the autumn do the inhabitants en- 

 joy fifteen or twenty days of fair weather in succession. During 

 any other season, were eight days to pass without rain, it would be 

 esteemed a singular phenomenon. The atmosphere, of ceursc, is 

 very humid, and streams and rivers are to be found in every part. 

 The air, notwithstanding, is very salubrious, and the temperature 

 so mild, that it is never known tobe either hot or very cold. Owin^ 

 to the great degree of moisture, grain and fruits produce but very 

 indifferently in these islands ; the corn, however, that is raised there 

 is sufficient for the supply of the inhabitants. Barley, beans and 

 flax produce very well. Of kitchen herbs, the cabbage and gar- 

 lic are the only ones that grow there. The grape never attains 

 to maturity, and the same is the case vv^ith all other fruits, except 

 the apple and some wildings. Beef, though not so plenty as in Chili, 

 is by no means scarce. Horses, though not in such numbers as 

 on the continent, are yet common, and there is scarcely a per- 

 son who is not the owner of one or two. Asses die in a short time 

 after they are transported thither, whence there is not a mule to 

 be found throughout the whole of the Archipelago. The animals 

 thjit are met with in the greatest abundance are sheep and hogs, 

 in which the inhabitants carry on a considerable trade. The wild 

 animals, natural to the country, are deers, otters, and a species of 

 black fox. Domestic fowls, as well as wild, are produced therein 

 great numbers. Ifi addition to these, the benevolent author of na- 

 ture has, as an indemnity for those things of which they are desti- 

 tute, provided all these islands with vast quantities of excellent 

 fish of all kinds. Ambergris of a superior quality is also found 

 there, and much honey, which is made by the wild bees. Wçod is 

 likewise very plentiful, and of a kind fitted for every sort of man- 

 ufacture and ship-building. 



This Archipelago was first discovered in the year 1558, by Don 

 Garcia de Mewdoza, governor of Chili, but no attempt was tliea 

 made to conquer it. But in 1565, Don Martino Ruiz Gamboa was 

 sent there, who, with only sixty men, subjected its inhabitants to 

 the number of seventy thousand, without experiencing the least re- 

 sistance, and founded in the principal island, the city of Castro and 

 the port of Chaca. These Indians, called Chilotes, remained sub- 

 missive to Spain, until the present century, when they threw oíF the 

 yoke, but were soon brought under subjection, through the conduct 

 of general Don Pedro^ Molina, who was sent from Conception to 

 reduce them to obedience. Although descendecl from the Civilians, 



