NOTICES OF CHILE. 



155 



dews, and winter rains, than is incompletely afforded by a 

 ramada" and a scanty apparel. A convenient place for land- 

 ing and embarking is formed in front of the Company's 

 house" by a pier of stones, put together without any kind of 

 cement. The custom house is a long, low rancho, which 

 stands between the town and pier. 



Not a single English merchant vessel has visited the bay for 

 the last two years ; American ships only come for copper, which 

 is carried as a remittance to the United States or to China. 

 When they cannot obtain sufficient at Valparaiso, they take in 

 hides, and touch at Coquimbo, and fill up with copper. It fre- 

 quently happens that even here the demand of China-bound 

 vessels cannot be supplied ; in which case, to complete their 

 cargoes, they go to Huasco and Copiapo, two copper ports to 

 leeward. Some ships carry away from six to eight thousand 

 quintals,* which are bought at from thirteen to seventeen dol- 

 lars each. The export duty is one dollar per quintal, and some 

 municipal charges, amounting to seventeen or eighteen cents. 

 From seventy to eighty thousand quintals are annually shipped 

 from this port. 



Besides copper, from seventy to eighty thousand markst of 

 silver, in the form called '^plata pina," (worth at the present 

 price, from ^490,000 to ^560,000,) are annually carried to 

 Europe in British men-of-war, one of which sails every four 

 months for Rio Janeiro and England. The amount in gold can- 

 not be estimated, because it is all smuggled. Silver is taxed 

 with a duty of four reales (fifty cents,) the mark. 



The road from the port to the city, runs along the beach for 

 two or three miles, then striking to the right over some sand 

 hills, passes among cultivated fields and vegetable gardens, 

 which are irrigated by ac^quias from a mountain stream, dig- 

 nified by the name of Coquimbo river, laving the northern side 

 of the town. This part of the road is called La Pampa ; where- 

 €ver a water course traverses it, a foot bridge (used by man 

 sind beast) is formed by laying two ribs of a whale side by side] 



* A Spanish quintal is 100 pounds Avoirdupois, 

 f A mark is eight ounces Avoirdupois. 



