XIII 
TENURE OF LAND 
295 
More to the south we saw many pure Indians : indeed, all the 
inhabitants of some of the islets retain their Indian surnames. 
In the census of 1832 there were in Chiloe and its dependencies 
forty-two thousand souls : the greater number of these appear 
to be of mixed blood. Eleven thousand retain their Indian 
surnames, but it is probable that not nearly all of these are of 
a pure breed. Their manner of life is the same with that of 
the other poor inhabitants, and they are all Christians ; but 
it is said that they yet retain some strange superstitious 
ceremonies, and that they pretend to hold communication with 
the devil in certain caves. Formerly, every one convicted 
of this offence was sent to the Inquisition at Lima. Many 
of the inhabitants who are not included in the eleven 
thousand with Indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by 
their appearance from Indians. Gomez, the governor of 
Lemuy, is descended from noblemen of Spain on both sides ; 
but by constant intermarriages with the natives the present 
man is an Indian. On the other hand, the governor of 
Quinchao boasts much of his purely kept Spanish blood. 
We reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the 
island of Caucahue. The people here complained of want of 
land. This is partly owing to their own negligence in not 
clearing the woods, and partly to restrictions by the govern¬ 
ment, which makes it necessary, before buying ever so small 
a piece, to pay two shillings to the surveyor for measuring 
each quadra (150 yards square), together with whatever price 
he fixes for the value of the land. After his valuation, the 
land must be put up three times to auction, and if no one 
bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. All these 
exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, 
where the inhabitants are so extremely poor. In most countries, 
forests are removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire ; 
but in Chiloe, from the damp nature of the climate, and the 
sort of trees, it is necessary first to cut them down. This is 
a heavy drawback to the prosperity of Chiloe. In the time 
of the Spaniards the Indians could not hold land ; and a 
family, after having cleared a piece of ground, might be 
driven away, and the property seized by the government. 
The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice 
by making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each 
