336 



CHILOE. 



Nov. 1834. 



thickly covered with one impervious blackish-green forest. 

 On the margins there are some cleared spaces, surrounding 

 the high-roofed cottages. 



26th. — The day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of 

 Osorno was spouting out volumes of smoke. This most 

 beautiful mountain, formed like a perfect cone, and white 

 with snow, stands out in front of the Cordillera. Another 

 great volcano, with a saddle-shaped summit, also emitted 

 from its immense crater little jets of steam. Subsequently 

 we saw the lofty-peaked Corcovado — well deserving the name 

 of el famoso Corcovado.^^ Thus we beheld, from one point 

 of view, three great active volcanoes, each of which had an 

 elevation of about seven thousand feet. In addition to this, 

 far to the south, there were other very lofty cones covered 

 with snow, which although not known to be active, must 

 have been in their origin volcanic. The line of the Andes is 

 not, in this neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in Chile ; 

 neither does it appear to form so perfect a barrier between the 

 regions of the earth. This great range, although running in a 

 direct north and south line, owing to an optical deception, 

 always appeared more or less semicircular ; for the extreme 

 peaks being seen standing above the same horizon together 

 with the nearer ones, their much greater distance was not so 

 easily recognised. 



When landing on a point to take observations, we saw a 

 family of pure Indian extraction. The father was singularly 

 like York Minster ; and some of the younger boys, with 

 their ruddy complexions, might have been mistaken for 

 Pampas Indians. Every thing I have seen convinces me of 

 the close connexion of the different tribes, who nevertheless 

 speak quite distinct languages. This party could muster but 

 little Spanish, and talked to each other in their own tongue. 

 It is a pleasant thing to see the aborigines advanced to the 

 same degree of civilization, however low that may be, which 

 their white conquerors have attained. More to the south we 

 saw many pure Indians : indeed, some of the islands, such as 

 Chauques, &c., have no other inhabitants than such as retain 



