118 



THREE TEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



to be the common receptacle for cast off ponchos, shawls, caps, 

 &:c. To the right of this family apartment was another, of 

 about the same dimensions, in which Feroni had a small dirty- 

 table, with pen, ink, and paper. In one corner was a bed, in 

 another a half dozen skins of butter, and over head a quantity 

 of Bologna sausages, of no mean excellence, were hanging from 

 the naked beams. This, it will be seen, was the office or sanc- 

 tum of our Boniface. 



In Chile, butter is packed in sheep skins with the wool side 

 out, and would be very good, in spite of appearances, were it 

 not so much salted. The operation of churning is performed 

 by a donkey ; the cream is put into large gourds or dry skins, 

 placed on his back, and then the animal is kept trotting round 

 the yard till the butter is made. In this art they seem not to 

 have advanced a single step since its discovery ; for we are told, 

 that a countryman somewhere lost a large jug of cream by car- 

 rying it for a distance on a hard trotting horse, which acci- 

 dent led to the important invention of churns and butter. A 

 friend told me, that he had presented, some years ago, a Yan- 

 kee churn to a family residing near the capital, and taught 

 them to use it. So long as it was a novelty they were pleased, 

 but at the end of a few weeks they decided that the donkey 

 made butter just as well, and consequently threw it aside ! 



Casablanca is situated in the midst of a vast plain, which is 

 well irrigated, and produces quantities of wheat, butter, cheese, 

 apples, peaches, pears, &c. It is ten leagues from Valparaiso, 

 and consists of two long streets which meet at right angles ; in 

 the elbow thus formed stand the church and the curate's dwell- 

 ing, which opens on a grass plot in front. The houses are 

 mostly one story high, built of " adobes'' or sun-dried bricks, 

 and roofed with red tiles. The population does not exceed one 

 thousand souls. 



Half an hour after our arrival, Feroni announced supper, 

 which consisted of roasted lamb, eggs, tea, bread, and excel- 

 lent butter. The bread in Chile is made with a small addition 

 of lard or ''graza," and a little anise to give it flavor. The 

 wheat and flour of Chile are remarkably excellent ; when ma- 

 nufactured by French bakers, it is equal in sweetness and nutri- 



