Jan. 1835. 



CHILOE. 



357 



behind S. Carlos^ which is distant no less than ninety-three 

 miles from the Corcovado. 



Captain FitzRoy being anxious that some bearings should 

 be taken on the outer coast of Chiloe^ it was planned that 

 Mr. King and myself should ride to Castro^ and thence across 

 the island to the Capella de Cucao, situated on the west coast. 

 Having hired horses and a guide^ we set out on the morning 

 of the 22d. We had not proceeded far^ before we were 

 joined by a woman and two boys^ who were bent on the 

 same journey. Every one on this road acts on a " hail 

 fellow well met/' fashion ; and one may here enjoy the privi- 

 lege^ so rare in South America^ of travelling without fire- 

 arms. 



At firsts the country consists of a succession of hills and 

 valleys. Nearer to Castro it becomes very levels but is still 

 some height above the sea. The road itself is a curious 

 affair : it consists in its whole length, with the exception of 

 very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are either broad 

 and placed longitudinally, or narrow and transversely. In 

 summer the road is not very bad : but in winter, when the 

 wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is exceedingly 

 difficult. At that time of the year, the ground on each side 

 becomes a morass, and is often overflowed: hence it is neces- 

 sary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by 

 transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the 

 earth. These pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous ; 

 as the chance of alighting on one of them is not small. 

 It is remarkable, however, how active custom has made the 

 Chilotan horses. In crossing bad parts, where the logs have 

 been displaced, they skipped from one to the other, almost 

 with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On either hand 

 the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases 

 matted together by the canes. When occasionally a long 

 reach of this avenue could be observed, it presented a curious 

 scene of uniformity : the white line of logs, narrowing in per- 

 spective, became hidden by the gloomy forest, or it termi- 

 nated in a zigzag which ascended some steep hill. 



