226 
VOYAGE TO THE 
we arrived on the 5th of December, without further notice 
of our proceedings here. 
The harbour of Coquimbo is nearly land-locked, and 
safe from the north winds. There is good anchorage on 
fine black sand # , and plenty of excellent water, there being- 
two fine springs, besides the river of Coquimbo, all empty¬ 
ing themselves within the harbour. This is the principal 
port among those called the Intermedios , and from it there 
has always been exported excellent corn, wine, and oil, for 
the northern states, besides copper sufficient for the supply 
of Peru. The town has been more than once destroyed by 
earthquakes; and, to secure it from some of the fatal effects 
of these visitations, its site has been removed to nine miles 
inland, on the banks of the river. Its authorized name is La 
Serena, but, as usual, the native appellation is oftener used. 
As soon as the arrival of an English frigate w r as known in 
the neighbourhood, the guassos, or native farmers, came down 
to the beach with horses to let at a dollar a head for the 
ride up to the town; so that we were soon mounted: but 
truly the saddle is somewhat strange to an English rider, 
being a mass of sheepskins and cloths, one over another, 
placed upon a saddle-tree, which rests on a pad ; so that the 
* See Noticias Secretas de America. 
