Ch. X. SOUTH AMERICA. 283 



ifland to be abfolutely deftitute, the fanguine colour of 

 the flame, inclined me to think there might be fome 

 volcano ; but having never feen any thing of that 

 kind before, nor heard from others that there was 

 ever any eruption, I v/as far from being tenacious of 

 my opinion. We had indeed all our conjedures ; but 

 the difficulty was not cleared up till my fifth and lail 

 voyage to this ifland, v/hcn Don Jofeph Pizarro, lent 

 fome people on fliore to take an accurate furvey of this 

 place, and the ground was found to be burnt, full of 

 fifllires and hot, which verified my firfl: opinion of a 

 volcano. 



On the 21ft after coafting along this ifland, we 

 continued our courfe for Valparaifo, where our little 

 fquadron came to an anchor on the 24th, and were the- 

 more pleafed as we found there the prefident of Santi- 

 ago, Don Jofeph Manfo, and our commodore ; and 

 in the harbour, befides the Callao fleet, three French 

 fliips, called the Louis Erafme, Notre Dame de la 

 Delivrance, and the Lys, which had been freighted 

 by four merchants as regifl:er fliips ; and Valparaifo 

 was the firfl: port they had touched at, for vending 

 their cargoes. 



From feveral obfervations made in this harbour by 

 Don George Juan, in the lafl: voyage of 1744, its la- 

 titude appears to be 33*^ 02' 36'' 30'^' and father Fevillee 

 fettled its longitude at 304® ii'45^' from the meridian 

 of Teneriff. This town was at firfl; very mean, con- 

 fifling only of a few warehoufes built by the inhabi- 

 tants of Santiago for laying up their goods till fliipped 

 ofl^ for Callao, the harbour of Valparaifo beisg the 

 nearefi: port to that city, from which it is only twenty 

 leagues difl:ant, though the natives will have it to be 

 more. The only inhabitants at that time were the 

 few fervants left by their refpedlive mafl:ers for taking 

 care of the w^arehoufes, and managing their mercantile 

 affairs. But in procefs of time, the merchants them- 

 felves;» together with feveral other families, removed 



from 



