296 
CHILOE 
CHAP. 
man, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. 
The value of uncleared ground is very little. The government 
gave Mr. Douglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of 
these circumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest 
near San Carlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for 350 
dollars, or about £70 sterling. 
The two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached 
the island of Ouinchao. This neighbourhood is the most culti¬ 
vated part of the Archipelago ; for a broad strip of land on 
the coast of the main island, as well as on many of the smaller 
adjoining ones, is almost completely cleared. Some of the farm¬ 
houses seemed very comfortable. I was curious to ascertain 
how rich any of these people might be, but Mr. Douglas 
says that no one can be considered as possessing a regular 
income. One of the richest landowners might possibly accumu¬ 
late, in a long industrious life, as much as A1000 sterling; 
but should this happen, it would all be stowed away in some 
secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every family to 
have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground. 
November 30 th .—Early on Sunday morning we reached 
Castro, the ancient capital of Chiloe, but now a most forlorn 
and deserted place. The usual quadrangular arrangement of 
Spanish towns could be traced, but the streets and plaza 
were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep were brows¬ 
ing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely built 
of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. 
The poverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that 
although containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our 
party was unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of 
sugar or an ordinary knife. No individual possessed either 
a watch or a clock ; and an old man who was supposed to 
have a good idea of time, was employed to strike the church 
bell by guess. The arrival of our boats was a rare event in 
this quiet retired corner of the world ; and nearly all the 
inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our tents. 
They were very civil, and offered us a house ; and one man 
even sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon 
we paid our respects to the governor-—a quiet old man, who, 
in his appearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to 
an English cottager. At night heavy rain set in, which was 
