 Chapter 12, Part 1 of The Voyage of the Beagle. Chapter 12, Part 1, Central Chile, Valparaiso, excursion to the foot of the Andes, structure of the land, ascend the bell of Quiota, shattered masses of greenstone, immense valleys, mines, wheat of miners, Santiago, hot baths of coquines, gold mines, grinding mills, perforated stones, habits of the Puma, El Turco and Tapacolo, hummingbirds. July 23. The Beagle anchored late at night in the bay of Valparaiso, the chief seaport of Chile. When morning came, everything appeared delightful. After Tierra del Fuego the climate felt quite delicious, the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue with the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling with life. The view from the anchorage is very pretty. The town is built at the very foot of a range of hills about sixteen hundred feet high and rather steep. From its position it consists of one long, straggling street which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine comes down the houses are piled up on each side of it. The rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies which expose a singularly bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of Santa Cruz in Tenerife. In a northwesterly direction there are some fine glimpses of the Andes, but these mountains appear much grander when viewed from the neighboring hills. The great distance at which they are situated can then more readily be perceived. The volcano of Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge and irregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that of Chimborazo, for from measurements made by the officers in the Beagle, its height is no less than twenty-three thousand feet. The Cordiera, however, viewed from this point, owe the greater part of their beauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. When the sun was setting in the Pacific it was admirable to watch how clearly their rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied and how delicate were the shades of their color. I had the good fortune to find living here Mr. Richard Corfield, an old school fellow and friend to whose hospitality and kindness I was greatly indebted in having afforded me a most pleasant residence during the Beagle's stay in Chile. The immediate neighborhood of Valparaiso is not very productive to the naturalist. During the long summer the wind blows steadily from the southward and little offshore so that rain never falls. During the three winter months, however, it is sufficiently abundant. The vegetation in consequence is very scanty except in some deep valleys there are no trees and only a little grass and a few low bushes are scattered over the less steep parts of the hills. When we reflect that at the distance of three hundred fifty miles to the south, this side of the Andes is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest, the contrast is very remarkable. I took several long walks while collecting objects of natural history. The country is pleasant for exercise. There are many very beautiful flowers and, as in most other dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and peculiar odors, even one's clothes by brushing through them became scented. I did not cease from wonder at finding each succeeding day as fine as the foregoing. What a difference does climate make in the enjoyment of life. How opposite are the sensations when viewing black mountains half enveloped in clouds and seeing another range through the light blue haze of a fine day? The one for a time may be very sublime. The other is all gaiety and happy life. August 14th. I set out on a riding excursion for the purpose of geologizing the basal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year are not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was northward along the seacoast. After dark we reached the Hacienda of Quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. My object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells which stand some yards above the level of the sea and are burnt for lime. The proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivocal. At the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are numerous and I found some at thirteen hundred feet. These shells either lie loose on the surface or are embedded in a reddish-black vegetable mold. I was much surprised to find under the microscope that this vegetable mold is really marine mud full of minute particles of organic bodies. 15th. We returned towards the valley of Kyoto. The country was exceedingly pleasant, just such as poets would call pastoral, green open lawns separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the cottages we may suppose of the shepherds scattered on the hillsides. We were obliged to cross the ridge of the Chilikokuen. At its base there were many fine evergreen forest trees, but these flourished only in the ravines where there was running water. Any person who had seen only the country near Valparaiso would never have imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in Chile. As soon as we reached the brow of the Sierra the valley of Kyoto was immediately under our feet. The prospect was one of remarkable artificial luxuriance. The valley is very broad and quite flat and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. The little square gardens are crowded with orange and olive trees and every sort of vegetable. On each side huge bare mountains rise and this from the contrast renders the patchwork valley the more pleasing. Whoever called Valparaiso the valley of paradise must have been thinking of Kyoto. We crossed over to the Hacienda de San Isidro situated at the very foot of the Bell Mountain. Chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between the Cordillera and the Pacific, and this strip is itself traversed by several mountain lines which in this part run parallel to the Great Range. Between these outer lines and the main Cordillera a succession of level basins generally opening into each other by narrow passages extend far to the southward. In these the principal towns are situated as San Felipe, Santiago, San Fernando. These basins are plains together with the transverse flat valleys like that of Kyoto which connects them with the coast. I have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays such as at the present day intersect every part of Tierra del Fuego and the western coast. Chile must formerly have resembled the latter country in the configuration of its land and water. The resemblance was occasionally shown strikingly when a level fog bank covered as with a mantle all the lower parts of the country. The white vapor curling into the ravines beautifully represented little coves and bays and here and there a solitary hillock peeping up showed that it had formally stood there as an islet. The contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular mountains gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very interesting. From the natural slope to seaward of these plains they are very easily irrigated and in consequence singularly fertile. Without this process the land would produce scarcely anything for during the whole summer the sky is cloudless. The mountains and hills are dotted over with bushes and low trees and accepting these the vegetation is very scanty. Each landowner in the valley possesses a certain portion of hill country where his half wild cattle in considerable numbers managed to find sufficient pasture. Once every year there is a grand rodeo when all the cattle are driven down, counted and marked and a certain number is separated to be fattened in the irrigated fields. Each is extensively cultivated and a good deal of Indian corn. A kind of bean is however the staple article of food for the common laborers. The orchards produce an overflowing abundance of peaches, figs, and grapes. With all these advantages the inhabitants of the country ought to be much more prosperous than they are. 16th The Mayor Domo of the Hacienda was good enough to give me a guide in fresh horses and in the morning we set out to ascend the Campana or Bell Mountain which is 6400 feet high. The paths were very bad but both the geology and the scenery amply repaid the trouble. We reached by the evening a spring called the Agua del Guanaco which is situated at a great height. This must be an old name for it is very many years since a Guanaco drank its waters. During the ascent I noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the northern slope whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo about fifteen feet high. In a few places there were palms and I was surprised to see one at an elevation of at least 4500 feet. These palms are for their family, ugly trees. Their stem is very large and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at the base or top. They are excessively numerous in some parts of Chile and valuable on account of a sort of tree-acle made from the sap. In one estate near Petorca they tried to count them but failed after having numbered several hundred thousand. Every year in the early spring in August very many are cut down and when the trunk is lying on the ground the crown of leaves is lopped off. The sap then immediately begins to flow from the upper end and continues so doing for some months. It is however necessary that a thin slice should be shaved off from that end every morning so as to expose a fresh surface. A good tree will give ninety gallons and all this must have been contained in the vessels of the apparently dry trunk. It is said that the sap flows much more quickly on those days when the sun is powerful and likewise that it is absolutely necessary to take care in cutting down the tree that it should fall with its head upwards on the side of the hill for if it falls down the slope scarcely any sap will flow. Although in that case one would have thought that the action would have been aided instead of checked by the force of gravity. The sap is concentrated by boiling and is then called triacle which it very much resembles in taste. We unsettled our horses near the spring and prepared to pass the night. The evening was fine and the atmosphere so clear that the mass of the vessels at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso although no less than twenty-six geographical miles distant could be distinguished clearly as little black streaks. A ship doubling the point under sail appeared as a bright white speck. Anson expresses much surprise in his voyage at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from the coast, but he did not sufficiently allow for the height of the land and the great transparency of the air. The setting of the sun was glorious, the valleys being blacked whilst the snowy peaks of the Andes yet retained a ruby tint. When it was dark we made a fire beneath a little arbor of bamboos, fried our charquay or dried slips of beef, took our mate, and were quite comfortable. There is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open air. The evening was calm and still, the shrill noise of the mountain bizcaca and the faint cry of a goat-sucker were occasionally to be heard. Besides these few birds or even insects frequent these dry parched mountains. August 17th. In the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which crowns the summit. This rock, as frequently happens, was much shattered and broken into huge angular fragments. I observed, however, one remarkable circumstance, namely that many of the surfaces presented every degree of freshness some appearing as if broken the day before, whilst on others lichens had either just become or had long grown attached. I so fully believed that this was owing to the frequent earthquakes that I felt inclined to hurry from below each loose pile. As one might very easily be deceived in a fact of this kind I doubted its accuracy, until ascending Mount Wellington, in Von Demon's land, where earthquakes do not occur. And there I saw the summit of the mountain similarly composed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if they had been hurled into their present position thousands of years ago. We spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one more thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen as in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful, was heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere view of the Campania range with its lesser parallel once, and of the broad valley of Kyoto directly intersecting them. Who can avoid wandering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even more so at the countless ages which it must have required to have broken through, removed, and leveled whole masses of them. It is well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary beds of Patagonia, which, if heaped on the Cordillera, would increase its height by so many thousand feet. When in that country I wondered how any mountain chain could have supplied such masses, and not have been utterly obliterated. We must not now reverse the wonder, and doubt whether all powerful time can grind down mountains, even the gigantic Cordillera, into gravel and mud. The appearance of the Andes was different from that which I had expected. The lower line of the snow was, of course, horizontal, and to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel. Only at long intervals a group of points or a single cone showed where a volcano had existed or does now exist. Thus the range resembled a great solid wall surmounted here and there by a tower, and making a most perfect barrier to the country. Almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open gold mines. The rage from mining has left scarcely a spot in Chile unexamined. I spent the evening as before talking round the fire with my two companions. The guasos of Chile, who correspond to the gauchos of the Guas, are, however, a very different set of beings. Chile is the more civilized of the two countries, and the inhabitants, in consequence, have lost much individual character. Gradations in rank are much more strongly marked. The guaso does not by any means consider every man his equal, and I was quite surprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at the same time with myself. This feeling of inequality is a necessary consequence of the existence of an aristocracy of wealth. It is said that some few of the greater landowners possess from five to ten thousand pounds sterling per annum an inequality of riches which I believe is not met with in any of the cattle- breeding countries eastward of the Andes. A traveller does not hear meat that unbounded hospitality which refuses all payment, but yet is so kindly offered that no scruples can be raised in accepting it. Almost every house in Chile will receive you for the night, but a trifle is expected to be given in the morning. Even a rich man will accept two or three shillings. The gaucho, although he may be a cutthroat, is a gentleman. The guaso is in few respects better, but at the same time of vulgar ordinary fellow. The two men, although employed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and attire, and the peculiarities of each are universal in their respective countries. The gaucho seems part of his horse and scorns to exert himself except when on his back. The guaso may be hired to work as a laborer in the fields. The former lives entirely on animal food, the latter almost wholly on vegetable. We do not here see the white boots, the broad drawers, and scarlet chilepa, the picturesque costume of the Pampas. Here common trousers are protected by black and green worsted leggings. The poncho, however, is common to both. The chief pride of the guaso lies in his spurs which are absurdly large. I measured one which was six inches in the diameter of the raule, and the raule itself contained upwards of thirty points. The stirrups are on the same scale, each consisting of a square carved block of wood, hollowed out, and yet weighing three or four pounds. The guaso is perhaps more expert with the lasso than the gaucho, but from the nature of the country he does not know the use of bolas. August 18th. We descended the mountain and passed some beautiful little spots with rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley and passed through Cuiota, which is more like a collection of nursery gardens than a town. The orchards were beautiful, presenting one mass of peach blossoms. I saw also in one or two places the date palm. It is a most stately tree, and I should think a group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must be superb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty straggling town like Cuiota. The valley in this part expands into one of those great bays or plains reaching to the foot of the Cordiera, which have been mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of Chile. In the evening we reached the mines of Jaduel, situated in a ravine at the flank of the Great Chain. I stayed here five days. My host, the superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd, but rather ignorant, Cornish miner. He had married a Spanish woman and did not mean to return home, but his admiration for the mines of Cornwall remained unbounded. Amongst many other questions he asked me, now that George Rex is dead, how many more of the family of Rexes are yet alive? This Rex, certainly must be a relation of the great author Fini, who wrote all books. These mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to Swansea to be smelted. Hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet as compared to those in England. Here no smoke, furnaces, or great steam engines disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains. The Chilean government, or rather the old Spanish law, encourages by every method the searching for mines. The discoverer may work a mine on any ground by paying five shillings, and before paying this he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty days. It is now well known that the Chilean method of mining is the cheapest. My host says that the two principal improvements introduced by foreigners have been first reducing by previous roasting the copper pyrites, which, being the common ore in Cornwall, the English miners were astounded on their arrival to find thrown away as useless. Secondly, stamping and washing the scoriae from the old furnaces, by which process particulates of metal are recovered in abundance. I have actually seen mules carrying to the coast for transportation to England a cargo of such cinders. But the first case is much the most curious. The Chilean miners were so convinced that copper pyrites contained not a particle of copper, that they laughed at the Englishmen for their ignorance, who laughed in turn, and bought their richest veins for a few dollars. It is very odd that in a country where mining had been extensively carried on for many years, so simple a process as gently roasting the ore to expel the sulfur previous to smelting it had never been discovered. A few improvements have likewise been introduced in some of the simple machinery, but even to the present day, water is removed from some mines by men carrying it up the shaft in leathern bags. The laboring men work very hard. They have little time allowed for their meals, and during summer and winter they begin when it is light and leave off at dark. They are paid one pound sterling a month, and their food is given them. This for breakfast consists of 16 figs and two small loaves of bread, for dinner, boiled beans, for supper, broken, roasted wheat grain. They scarcely ever taste meat, as with the 12 pounds per annum they have to clothe themselves and support their families. The miners who work in the mine itself have 25 shillings per month and are allowed a little charquay, but these men come down from their bleak habitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks. During my stay here I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these huge mountains. The geology, as might have been expected, was very interesting. The shattered and baked rocks traversed by innumerable dikes of greenstone showed what commotions had formerly taken place. The scenery was much the same as that near the bell of Kyoto, dry barren mountains dotted at intervals by bushes with a scanty foliage. The cactuses, or rather opunchias, were here very numerous. I measured one of a spherical figure which, including the spines, was six feet and four inches in circumference. The height of the common cylindrical branching kind is from twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth with spines of the branches between three and four feet. A heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me during the last two days from making some interesting excursions. I attempted to reach a lake which theme inhabitants, for some unaccountable reason, believed to be an arm of the sea. During a very dry season it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the water, but the Padre, after a consultation, declared it was too dangerous, as all Chile would be inundated, if, as generally supposed, the lake was connected with the Pacific. We ascended to a great height, but becoming involved in the snowdrifts failed in reaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning. I thought we should have lost our horses, for there was no means of guessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could only move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh snowstorm was gathering, and we, therefore, were not a little glad when we escaped. By the time we reached the base the storm commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours earlier in the day. End of Chapter 12, Part 1. Recording by Zachary Brewstergeis, Greenbelt, Maryland, July 2007. Chapter 12, Part 2 of The Voyage of the Beagle. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Zachary Brewstergeis. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. Chapter 12, Part 2, Central Chile. August 26th. We left Jailluel, and again crossed the basin of San Felipe. The day was truly Chilean, glaringly bright, and the atmosphere quite clear. The thick and uniform covering of newly fallen snow rendered the view of the volcano of Equanagua and the main chain quite glorious. We were now on the road to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We crossed the Cerro del Tagüen and slept at a little rancho. The host talking about the state of Chile as compared to other countries was very humble. Some see with two eyes and some with one, but from my part I do not think that Chile sees with any. August 27th. After crossing many low hills, we descended into the small landlocked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such as this one, which are elevated from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms and stand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. These trees are never found near the sea coast, and this gives another characteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a low ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which Santiago stands. The view here was preeminently striking, the dead-level surface covered in parts by woods of acacia and with the city in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the Andes, whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. At the first glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained the level road, we pushed our horses into a gallop and reached the city before it was dark. I stayed a week in Santiago and enjoyed myself very much. In the morning I rode to various places on the plain and in the evening dined with several of the English merchants, whose hospitality at this place is well known. A never-failing source of pleasure was to ascend the little hillock of rock, Santaluchia, which projects in the middle of the city. The scenery certainly is most striking and, as I have said, very peculiar. I am informed that this same character is common to the cities on the great Mexican platform. Of the town I have nothing to say in detail. It is not so fine or so large as Buenos Aires, but is built after the same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north, so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excursion to the south of the direct road. September 5th. By the middle of the day, we arrived at one of the suspension bridges made of Hyde, which crossed the Maipu, a large turbulent river, a few leagues southward of Santiago. These bridges are very poor affairs. The road, following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. It was full of holes and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a man leading his horse. In the evening, we reached a comfortable farmhouse where there were several very pretty señoritas. They were much horrified at my having entered one of their churches out of mere curiosity. They asked me, why do you not become a Christian? For our religion is certain. I assured them I was a sort of Christian, but they would not hear of it, appealing to my own words, do not your Padres, your very bishops, marry? The absurdity of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them. They scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror struck at such an enormity. Sixth. We proceeded due south and slept at Racangua. The road passed over the level but narrow plain bounded on one side by lofty hills and on the other by the Cordiera. The next day we turned up the valley of the Rio Cacapual in which the hot baths of Cacuenes, long celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. The suspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally taken down during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the case in this valley and we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable. For the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones that one's head becomes quite confused and it is difficult even to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or standing still. In summer when the snow melts the torrents are quite impassable. Their strength and fury are then extremely great as might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We reached the baths in the evening and stayed there five days being confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist of a square of miserable little hovels each with a single table and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just without the central Cordiera. It is a quiet solitary spot with a good deal of wild beauty. The mineral springs of Colcane's burst forth on a line of dislocation crossing a mass of stratified rock the whole of which portrays the action of heat. A considerable quality of gas is continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. Though the springs are only a few yards apart they have very different temperature and this appears to be the result of an unequal mixture of cold water. For those with the lowest temperature have scarcely any mineral taste. After the great earthquake of 1822 the springs ceased and the water did not return for nearly a year. They were also much affected by the earthquake of 1835 the temperature being suddenly changed from 118 to 92 degrees, footnote one. Caldola in philosophical transactions for 1836 and a footnote one. It seems probable that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the earth would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances than those nearer the surface. The man who had charge of the baths assured me that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful than winter. The former circumstance I should have expected from the less mixture during the dry season of cold water. But the latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. The periodical increase during the summer when rain never falls can I think only be accounted for by the melting of the snow yet the mountains which are covered by snow during that season are three or four leagues distant from the springs. I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of my informer who having lived on the spot for several years ought to be well acquainted with the circumstance. Which if true certainly is very curious. For we must suppose that the snow water being conducted through porous strata to the regions of heat is again thrown up to the surface by the line of dislocated and injected rocks at Cocanes. And the regularity of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this district heated rock occurred at a depth not very great. One day I rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot. Shortly above that point the Cacahpual divides into two deep tremendous ravines which penetrate directly into the great range. I scrambled up a peaked mountain probably more than 6,000 feet high. Here as indeed everywhere else scenes of the highest interest presented themselves. It was by one of these ravines that Pinciera entered Chile and ravaged the neighboring country. This is the same man whose attack on an Estancia at the Rio Negro I have described. He was a renegade half-caste Spaniard who collected a great body of Indians together and established himself by a stream in the Pampas which placed none of the forces sent after him could ever discover. From this point he used to Sallyforth and crossing the Cordillera bypasses hitherto unattempted. He ravaged the farmhouses and drove the cattle to his own secret rendezvous. Pinciera was a capital horseman and he made all around him equally good for he invariably shot anyone who hesitated to follow him. It was against this man and other wandering Indian tribes that Rosas waged the war of extermination. September 13th, we left the baths of Colquines and rejoining the main road slept at the Rio Clara. From this place we rode to the town of San Fernando. Before arriving there, the last landlocked basin had expanded into a great plain which extended so far to the south that the snowy summits of the more distant Andes were seen as if above the horizon of the sea. San Fernando is 40 leagues from Santiago and it was my farthest point southward for we here turned at right angles towards the coast. We slept at the gold mines of Yaquil which are worked by Mr. Nixon, an American gentleman, to whose kindness I was much indebted during the four days I stayed at his house. The next morning we rode to the mines which are situated at the distance of some leagues near the summit of a lofty hill. On the way we had a glimpse of the lake Tagua Tagua celebrated for its floating islands which have been described by Monsieur Gaye. Footnote two. Anal des sciences naturelles March 1833. Monsieur Gaye, a zealous and able naturalist, was then occupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout the kingdom of Chile. End of footnote two. They are composed of the stalks of various dead plants intertwined together and on the surface of which other living ones take root. Their form is generally circular and their thickness from four to six feet of which the greater part is immersed in the water. As the wind blows they pass from one side of the lake to the other and often carry cattle and horses as passengers. When we arrived at the mine I was struck by the pale appearance of many of the men and inquired from Mr. Nixon respecting their condition. The mine is 450 feet deep and each man brings up about 200 pounds weight of stone. With this load they have to climb up the alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. Even beardless young men, 18 and 20 years old with little muscular development of their bodies, they are quite naked accepting drawers, ascend with this great load from nearly the same depth. A strong man who is not accustomed to this labor perspires most profusely with merely carrying up his own body. With this very severe labor they live entirely on boiled beans and bread. They would prefer having bread alone but their masters, finding that they cannot work so hard upon this, treat them like horses and make them eat the beans. Their pay is here rather more than at the mines of Jajuel being from 24 to 28 shillings per month. They leave the mine only once in three weeks when they stay with their families for two days. One of the rules of this mine sounds very harsh but answers pretty well for the master. The only method of stealing gold is to secrete pieces of the ore and take them out as occasion may offer. Whenever the major domo finds a lump thus hidden its full value is stopped out of the wages of all the men who thus without all they combine are obliged to keep watch over each other. When the ore is brought to the mill it is ground into an impalpable powder. The process of washing removes all the lighter particles and amalgamation finally secures the gold dust. The washing when described sounds a very simple process but it is beautiful to see how the exact adaptation of the current of water to the specific gravity of the gold so easily separates the powdered matrix from the metal. The mud which passes from the mills is collected into pools where it subsides and every now and then is cleared out and thrown into a common heap. A great deal of chemical action then commences salts of various kind effloresce on the surface and the mass becomes hard. After having been left for a year or two and then rewashed it yields gold and this process may be repeated even six or seven times but the gold each time becomes less in quantity and the intervals required as the inhabitants say to generate the metal are longer. There can be no doubt that the chemical action already mentioned each time liberates fresh gold from some combination. The discovery of a method to affect this before the first grinding would without doubt raise the value of gold ores many fold. It is curious to find how the minute particles of gold being scattered about and not corroding at last accumulate in some quantity. A short time since a few miners being out of work obtained permission to scrape the ground around the house and mills. They washed the earth thus got together and so procured $30 worth of gold. This is an exact counterpart of what takes place in nature. Mountains suffer degradation and wear away and with them the metallic veins which they contain. The hardest rock is worn into impalpable mud. The ordinary metals oxidate and both are removed but gold, platina and a few others are nearly indestructible and from their weight sinking to the bottom are left behind. After whole mountains have passed through this grinding mill and have been washed by the hand of nature. This residue becomes metalliferous and man finds it worth his while to complete the task of separation. Bad as the above treatment of the miners appears it is gladly accepted of by them for the condition of the laboring agriculturists is much worse. Their wages are lower and they live almost exclusively on beans. This poverty must be chiefly owing to the feudal like system on which the land is tilled. The land owner gives a small plot of ground to the laborer for building on and cultivating and in return has his services or those of a proxy for every day of his life without any wages. Until a father has a grown up son who can by his labor pay the rent there is no one except on occasional days to take care of his own patch of ground. Hence extreme poverty is very common among the laboring classes in this country. There are some old Indian ruins in this neighborhood and I was shown one of the perforated stones which Molina mentions as being found in many places in considerable numbers. They are of a circular flattened form from five to six inches in diameter with a hole passing quite through the center. It has generally been supposed that they were used as heads to clubs although their form does not appear at all well adapted for that purpose. Birchell states that some of the tribes in Southern Africa dig up roots by the aid of a stick pointed at one end the force and weight of which are increased by a round stone with a hole in it into which the other end is firmly wedged, footnote three. Birches travels volume two, page 45, end of footnote three. It appears probable that the Indians of Chile formerly used some such rude agricultural instrument. One day a German collector in natural history of the name of Renus called and nearly at the same time an old Spanish lawyer. I was amused at being told the conversation which took place between them. Renus speaks Spanish so well that the old lawyer mistook him for a Chilean. Renus, alluding to me, asked him what he thought of the King of England sending out a collector to their country to pick up lizards and beetles and to break stones. The old gentleman thought seriously for some time and then said, it is not well, hay un gato eserando aquí. There is a cat shut up here. No man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such rubbish. I do not like it. If one of us were to go and do such things in England, do you not think the King of England would very soon send us out of his country? And this old gentleman from his profession belongs to the better informed and more intelligent classes. Renus himself two or three years before left in a house at San Fernando some caterpillars under charge of a girl to feed that they might turn into butterflies. This was rumored through the town and at last the Padres and Governor consulted together and agreed it must be some heresy. Accordingly, when Renus returned, he was arrested. September 19th, we left Yaquil and followed the flat valley formed like that of Quiota in which the Rio Tindirica flows. Even at these few miles south of Santiago, the climate is much damper. In consequence, there are fine tracts of pastures which are not irrigated. 20th, we followed this valley till it expanded into a great plain which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of Rancagua. We shortly lost all trees and even bushes so that the inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the Pampas. Never having heard of these plains, I was much surprised at meeting with such scenery in Chile. The plains belong to more than one series of different elevations and they are traversed by broad flat-bottomed valleys, both of which circumstances, as in Patagonia, bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. In the steep cliffs bordering these valleys, there are some large caves which no doubt were originally formed by the waves. One of these is celebrated under the name of Cueva de la Obispo, having formerly been consecrated. During the day, I felt very unwell and from that time to the end of October I did not recover. September 22nd. We continued to pass over green plains without a tree. The next day we arrived at a house near Navidad on the sea coast where a rich haciandero gave us lodgings. I stayed here the two ensuing days and although very unwell, managed to collect from the tertiary formation some marine shells. 24th. Our course was now directed towards Valparaiso which with great difficulty I reached on the 27th and was there confined to my bed till the end of October. During this time I was an inmate in Mr. Corfield's house whose kindness to me I do not know how to express. I will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds of Chile. The Puma or South American lion is not uncommon. This animal has a wide geographical range being found from the equatorial forests throughout the deserts of Patagonia as far south as the damp and cold latitudes 53 to 54 degrees of Tierra del Fuego. I have seen its footsteps in the Cordillera of central Chile at an elevation of at least 10,000 feet. In La Plata the Puma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, biscaca and other small quadrupeds. It there seldom attacks cattle or horses and most rarely man. In Chile, however, it destroys many young horses and cattle, owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds. I heard likewise of two men and a woman who had been thus killed. It is asserted that the Puma always kills its prey by springing on the shoulders and then drawing back the head with one of its paws until the vertebrae break. I have seen in Patagonia the skeletons of Guanacos with their necks thus dislocated. The Puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large bushes and lies down to watch it. This habit is often the cause of its being discovered, for the condors wheeling in the air every now and then descend to partake of the feast and being angrily driven away rise altogether on the wing. The Chilean oguaso then knows there is a lion watching his prey, the word is given and men and dogs hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a gaucho in the Pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried a lion. I could never myself meet with anyone who pretended to such powers of discrimination. It is asserted that if a Puma has once been betrayed by thus watching the carcass and has then been hunted, it never resumes this habit. But that, having gorged itself, it wanders far away. The Puma is easily killed. In an open country, it is first entangled with the bolas, then lassoed, and dragged along the ground till rendered insensible. At Tandil, south of La Plata, I was told that within three months, 100 were thus destroyed. In Chile, they are generally driven up bushes or trees and are either then shot or baited to death by dogs. The dogs employed in this chase belong to a particular breed called Leoneros. They are weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers, but are born with a particular instinct for this sport. The Puma is described as being very crafty. When pursued, it often returns on its former track and then suddenly making a spring on one side waits there till the dogs have passed by. It is a very silent animal, uttering no cry even when wounded and only rarely during the breeding season. Of birds, two species of the genus Terrapocos, Megapodius and Apicholus of Kitalitz, are perhaps the most conspicuous. The former, called by the Chilinos, El Turco, is as large as a field fair to which bird it has some alliance, but its legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger. Its color is a reddish-brown. The Turco is not uncommon. It lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets, which are scattered over the dry and sterile hills. With its tail erect and stilt like legs, it may be seen every now and then, popping from one bush to another with uncommon quickness. It really requires very little imagination to believe that the bird is ashamed of itself and is aware of its most ridiculous figure. On first seeing it, one is tempted to exclaim, a vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum and has come to life again. It cannot be made to take flight without the greatest trouble, nor does it run but only hops. The various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the bushes are as strange as its appearance. It is said to build its nest in a deep hole beneath the ground. I dissected several specimens. The gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles, vegetable fibers and pebbles. From this character, from the length of its legs, scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils, short and arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to connect the thrushes with the Galanicious order. The second species, or P. abacolus, is allied to the first in its general form. It is called tapacolo, or cover your posterior, and well does the shameless little bird deserve its name, for it carries its tail more than erect, that is inclined backwards towards its head. It is very common and frequents the bottom of hedgerows and the bushes scattered over the barren hills where scarcely another bird can exist. In its general manner of feeding, of quickly hopping out of the thickets and back again, in its desire of concealment, unwillingness to take flight and nidification, it bears a close resemblance to the turco, but its appearance is not quite so ridiculous. The tapacolo is very crafty, when frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the bottom of a bush and will then, after a little while, try with much address to crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an active bird and continually making a noise. These noises are various and strangely odd. Some are like the cooing of doves, others like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The country people say it changes its cry five times in the year, according to some change of season, I suppose. Footnote four. It is a remarkable fact that Molina, though describing in detail all the birds and animals of Chile, never once mentions this genus, the species of which are so common and so remarkable in their habits. Was he at a loss how to classify them and did he consequently think that silence was the more prudent course? It is one more instance of the frequency of omissions by authors on those very subjects where it might have been least expected. End of footnote. Two species of hummingbirds are common. Troculus forphicatus is found over a space of 2,500 miles on the west coast from the hot, dry country of Lima to the forests of Tierra del Fuego, where it may be seen flitting about in snowstorms. In the wooded island of Chiloé, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage is perhaps more abundant than almost any other kind. I opened the stomachs of several specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in all, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a creeper. When this species migrates in the summer southward, it is replaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north. This second kind, Troculus gigas, is a very large bird for the delicate family to which it belongs. When on the wing, its appearance is singular. Like others of the genus, it moves from place to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of surface amongst flies and sphinx among moths. But whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and purposeful movement totally different from that vibratory one common to most of the species which produces the humming noise. I never saw any other bird where the force of its wings appeared, as in a butterfly, so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. When hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. This action appears to steady and support the bird between the slow movements of its wings, although flying from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of insects, which I suspect are much more the object of its search than honey. The note of this species, like that of nearly the whole family, is extremely shrill. End of Chapter 12, Part 2, recording by Zachary Brewstergeis, Greenbelt, Maryland, July 2007. Chapter 13, Part 1 of The Voyage of the Beagle. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Arowit. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. Chapter 13, Part 1, Kiloé and Konos Islands. Kiloé, general aspect, vote excursion, native Indians, Castro, Tame Fox, Asen San Pedro, Konos Archipelago, Peninsula of Tres Montes, Granitic Range, Boatwrecked Sailors, Lowe's Harbor, Wild Potato, Formation of Peat, Maya Potamus, Otter and Mice, Chocot and Barkingbird, Opediar Hinkus, singular character of ornithology, Petrels. November 10th, the Beagle sailed from Valparaiso to the south for the purpose of surveying the southern part of Chile, the island of Chiloé and the broken land called the Konos Archipelago, as far south as the Peninsula of Tres Montes. On the 21st, we anchored in the Bay of San Carlos, the capital of Chile. This island is about 90 miles long with a breadth of rather less than 30. The land is hilly, but not mountainous and is covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have been cleared around the thatched cottages. From a distance, the views somewhat resemble that of Tierra del Fuego, but the woods, when seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. Many kinds of fine evergreen trees and the plants with a tropical character here take the place of the gloomy beach of the southern chores. In winter, the climate is detestable and in summer, it is only a little better. I should think there are a few parts of the world within the temperate regions where so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous and the sky almost always clouded. To have a week of fine weather is something wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single glimpse of the Cordillera during our first visit, once only the volcano of Asorno stood out in bold relief and that was before sunrise. It was curious to watch at the sun rose, the outline gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky. The inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, appear to have three force of Indian blood in their veins. They are a humble, quiet, industrious set of men. Although the fertile soil resulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks supports a rank of vegetation, yet the climate is not favorable to any production which requires much sunshine to ripen it. There is very little pasture for the larger quadrupeds and in consequence, the staple articles of food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. The people all dress in strong bullen garments which each family makes for itself and dyes with indigo of a dark blue color. The arts, however, are in the rudest state as may be seen in their strange fashion of plowing, the method of spinning, grinding corn and in the construction of their boats. The forests are so impenetrable that the land is nowhere cultivated except near the coasts and on the adjoining islets. Even where paths exist, they are scarcely passable from the soft and swampy state of the soil. The inhabitants, like those of Tierra del Fuego, move about chiefly on the beach or in boats. Although with plenty to eat, the people are very poor. There is no demand for labor and consequently, the lower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient to purchase even the smallest luxuries. There's also a great deficiency of a circulating medium. I have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of charcoal with which to buy some trifle and another carrying a plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. Hence, every tradesman must also be a merchant and again sell the goods which he takes in exchange. November 24th, the yaw and whale boat were sent under the command of Mr. now captain, Sylvan, to survey the eastern or inland coast of Kiloé and with orders to meet the beagle at the southern extremity of the island, to which point she would proceed by the outside so as to us to circumnavigate the whole. I accompanied this expedition but instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired horses to take me to Chacao at the northern extremity of the island. The road followed the coast, every now and then crossing promontories covered by fine forests. In these shaded paths, it is absolutely necessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood which are squared and placed by the side of each other. From the rays of the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so damped and soft that except by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass along. I arrived at the village of Chacao shortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night. The land in this neighborhood had been extensively cleared and there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest. Chacao was formerly the principal port in the island but many vessels have been lost owing to the dangerous currents and rocks in the straits. The Spanish government burnt the church and thus arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate to San Carlos. We had not long bivouacked before the barefooted son of the governor came down to reconnature us. Seeing the English flag hoisted at the yall's mast head he asked with the utmost indifference whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In several places the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of men of war's boats and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a Spanish fleet coming to recover the island from the patriot government of Chile. All the men in power, however, had been informed of our intended visit and were exceedingly civil. While we were eating our supper the governor paid us a visit. He had been a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish service but was now miserably poor. He gave us two sheep and accepted in return two cotton handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco. 25th, torrents of rain. We managed, however, to run down the coast as far as Guapir de No. The whole of this eastern side of Chile has one aspect. It is a plain broken by valleys and divided into little islands and the whole thickly covered with one impervious blackish green forest. On the margins there are some cleared spaces surrounding the high roof cottages. 26th, the day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of Orsono was spouting out volumes of smoke. This most beautiful mountain formed like a perfect cone and white with snow stands out in front of the Cordillera. Another great volcano with a saddle-shaped summit also emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam. Subsequently, we saw the lofty peaked Corcovalo while deserving the name of El Famoso Corcovalo. Thus, we beheld, from one point of view, three great active volcanoes, each about 7,000 feet high. In addition to this, far to the south, there were other lofty cones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active, must be in their original volcanic. The line of the Andes is not in this neighborhood nearly so elevated as in Chile. Neither does it appear to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the earth. This great range, although running in a straight north and south line, owing to an optical deception, always appeared more or less curved, for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's eye necessarily converged like the radii of a semicircle. And it was not possible, owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the absence of all intermediate objects, to judge how far and distant the farthest peaks were off. They appeared to stand in a flattish semicircle. Blending at midday, we saw a family of pure Indian extraction. The father was singularly like York minister, and some of the younger boys with the ruddy confections might have been mistaken for Pampas Indians. Everything I have seen convinces me of the close connection of the different American tribes, who nevertheless speak distinct languages. This party could muster but little Spanish and talk to each other in their own tongue. It is a pleasant thing to see the Aborigines advance to the same degree of civilization, however low that may be, which the white conquerors have attained. More to the south, we saw many pure Indians. Indeed, all the inhabitants of some of the islets retained their Indian surnames. In the census of 1832, there were in Kilaue and its dependencies 42,000 souls. The greater number of these appeared to be of mixed blood. 11,000 retained 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 retained some strange superstitious ceremonies and that they pretend to hold communication with the devil in certain caves. Formerly, everyone convicted of this offense was sent to the Inquisition at Lima. Many of the inhabitants, who were not included in the 11,000 with Indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by their appearance from Indians. Gomez, the governor of Lumui, 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 Quincal, both much of his purely kept Spanish blood. We reached at night a beautiful little cove north of the island of Cauca Hue. The people here complained of want of land. This is partly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods and partially to the restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary before buying ever so small a piece to pay two shillings to the surveyor for measuring its 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 the 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 Quiloe, for the damp nature of the climate and the sort of trees, it is necessary to first cut them down. This is a heavy drawback to the prosperity of Quiloe. 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 Chilean authorities are now performing an act of justice, giving to each man, according to his greed of life, a certain portion of land. The value of unclear ground is buried 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, or about 70 pounds sterling. The two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the island of Quincal. This neighborhood is the most cultivated 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, it is almost completely cleared. Some of the farmhouses seemed very comfortable. I was curious to ascertain how rich any of these people may be, but Mr. Douglas says that no one can be considered as possessing a regular income. One of the richest landowners might possibly accumulate in a long industrious life as much as a thousand pounds 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 30th. Early on Sunday morning, we reached Castro, the ancient capital of Chile, 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 browsing. 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 of 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 respect 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 hardly sufficient to drive away from our tents a large circle of lookers on. An Indian family who had come to trade in a canoe from Kailan, Bivouac, Nures, they had no shelter during the rain. In the morning, I asked a young Indian who was wet to the skin how he passed the night. He seemed perfectly content and answered, Mui bien, señor. December 1st, we steered for the island of Lumwe. I was anxious to examine a reported coal mine, which turned out to be a lignite of little value in the sandstone, probably of an ancient tertiary epoch of which these islands are composed. When we reached Lumwe, we had much difficulty in finding any place to pitch our tents, for it was spring tide and the land was whitted down to the water's edge. In a short time, we were surrounded by a large group of the nearly pure Indian inhabitants. They were much surprised at our arrival and said one to the other, this is the reason we have seen so many parrots lately. The Chucao, an odd red-breasted little bird which inhabits the thick forest and uttered very peculiar noises, has not cried beware for nothing. They were soon anxious for barter. Money was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for tobacco was something quite extraordinary. After tobacco indigo came next in value, then capsicum, old clothes and gunpowder. The latter article was required for a very innocent purpose. Each parish has a public musket and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on their saint or feast days. The people here live chiefly on shellfish and potatoes. In certain seasons they catch also in corales or hedges underwater, many fish which are left on the mud banks as the tide falls. They occasionally possess fowls, sheeps, goats, pigs, horses and cattle, the order in which they are here mentioned, expressing their effective numbers. I never saw anything more obliging and humble than the manners of these people. They generally began with stating that they were poor natives of the place and not Spaniards and that they were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. At Katelyn, the most southern island, the sailors bought was a stick of tobacco in the value of three half-pence, two fowls, one of which, the Indian stated, has skin between its toes and turned out to be a fine duck and with some cotton handkerchiefs worth three shillings, three sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured. The yall at this place was anchored some way from the shore and we had fear for her safety from robbers during the night. Our pilot, Mr. Douglas, accordingly told the constable of the district that we always place sentinels with loaded arms and not understanding Spanish if we saw any person in the dark we should assuredly shoot him. The constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect propriety of this arrangement and promised us that no one should stir out of his house during that night. During the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward. The journal features of the country remained the same but it was much less thickly inhabited. On the large island of Tanqui there was scarcely one clear spot, the trees on every side extending their branches over the sea beach. I one day noticed, growing on the sandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the Panké, gonera scapura, which sometimes resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. The inhabitants eat the stalks, which is sub-acid and tan leather with the roots and prefer a black dye from them. The leaf is nearly circular but deeply indented on its margin. I measured one which was nearly eight feet in diameter and therefore is no less than 24 in circumference. The stalk is rather more than a yard high and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves presenting together a very noble appearance. December 6th, we reached Kaelin called El Fin de Cristianidad. In the morning we stopped for a few minutes at a house on the northern end of Lilec which was the extreme point of the South American Christendom and a miserable hovel it was. The latitude is 43 degrees 10 minutes which is two degrees farther south than the Rio Negro on the Atlantic coast. These extreme Christians were very poor and under the plea of their situation begged for some tobacco. As a proof of the poverty of these Indians, I may mention that shortly before this we had met a man who had traveled three days and a half on foot and had as many to return for the sake of recovering the value of a small axe and a few fish. How very difficult it must be to buy the smallest article when such trouble is taken to recover so small a debt. In the evening we reached the island of San Pedro where we found the beagle at anchor. In doubling the point, two of the officers landed to take a round of angles with a theodolite. A fox, Canis full-vipes, of a kind said to be peculiar to the island and very rare in it and which is a new species was sitting on the rocks. He was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers that I was able by quietly walking up behind to knock him on the head with my geological hammer. This fox, more curious or more scientific but less wise than the generality of his brethren is now mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society. We stayed three days in this harbor on one of which Captain Fitzroy with a party attempted to ascend the summit of San Pedro. The woods here had rather a different appearance from those on the northern part of the island. The rock also being Mycaceous slate, there was no beach but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the water. The general aspect and consequence was more like that of Tierra del Fuego than of Chiloé. In vain we tried to gain the summit. The forest was so impenetrable that no one who has not beheld it can imagine so entangled a math of dying and dead tree trunks. I am sure that often for more than 10 minutes together our feet never touched the ground and we were frequently 10 or 15 feet above it so that the seaman as a joke called out the soundings. At other times we kept one after another on our hands and knees under the rotten trunks. In the lower part of the mountain noble trees of the winters bark and a laura like the sassafras with fragrant leaves and others the names of which I do not know were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. Here we were more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal. On the higher parts brushwood takes the place of larger trees with here and there a red cedar or an ellers pine. I was also pleased to see at an elevation of little less than a thousand feet our old friend the southern beach. There were however poor stunted trees and I should think that this must be nearly the northern limit. We ultimately gave up the attempt into spare. End of chapter 13 part one. Chapter 13 part two of The Voyage of the Beagle. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Arawit. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. Chapter 13 part two. Kilaue and Konos Islands. December 10th, the yaw and whale boat with Mr. Sullivan proceeded on their survey but I remained on board The Beagle which the next day left San Pedro for the southward. On the 13th we ran into an opening in the southern part of Guia Tecas or the Konos Archipelago. And with fortunate we did so for on the following day a storm worthy of Tierra del Fuego raged with great fury. White massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky and across them black ragged sheets of vapor were rapidly driven. The successive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows and the setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam much like that produced by the flame of spirits of wine. The water was white with a flying spray and the wind lulled and roared again through the rigging. It was an ominous sublime scene. During a few minutes there was a bright rainbow and it was curious to observe the effect of the spray which being carried along the surface of the water changed the ordinary semi-circle into a circle a band of prismatic colors being continued from both feet of the common arch across the bay close to the vessel's side thus forming a distorted but very nearly entire ring. We stayed here three days. The weather continued bad but this did not much signify for the surface of the land in all these islands is all but impassable. The coast is so very rugged that to attempt to walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down over the sharp rocks of Micah Slate and as for the woods our faces, hands and shin bones all bore witness to the maltreatment we received in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden recesses. December 18th we stood out to sea. On the 20th we bade farewell to the south and with fair wind turned the ship's head northward. From Cape Tres Montes we sailed pleasantly along the beaten coast, which is remarkable for the bold outline of its hills and the thick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. The next day a harbor was discovered which on this dangerous coast might be of great service to a distressed vessel. It can easily be recognized by a hill 1600 feet high which is even more perfectly conical than the famous sugar loaf at Rio de Janeiro. The next day after anchoring I succeeded in reaching the summit of this hill. It was a laborious undertaking for the sides were so steep that in some parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. There were also several extensive breaks of the fuchsia covered with its beautiful drooping flowers but very difficult to crawl through. In these wild countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of any mountain. There is an indefinite expectation of seeing something very strange which, however often it may be balked, never failed with me to recur every one must know the feeling of triumph and pride which a grand view from a height communicates to the mind. In these little frequented countries there is also a joint to it some vanity that you perhaps are the first man who ever stood on this tentacle or admired this view. A strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being has previously visited an unfrequented spot. A bit of wood with a nail in it is picked up and studied as if possessed with this feeling I was much interested by finding on a wild part of the coast a bed made of grass beneath a ledge of rock. Close by there had been a fire and the man had used an axe. The fire, bed, and situation showed the dexterity of an indian but he could scarcely have been an indian for the race is in this part extinct owing to the catholic desire of making at one blow Christians and slaves. I had at the time some misgivings that a solitary man who had made his bed on this wild spot must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor who in trying to travel up the coast had here laid himself down for his dreary night. December 28th the weather continued very bad but it at last permitted us to proceed with the survey. The time hung heavy on our hands as it always did when we were delayed from day to day by successive gales of wind. In the evening another harbor was discovered where we anchored. Shortly afterwards a man was seen waving a shirt and a boat was sent which brought back to seaman. A party of six had run away from an American whaling vessel and had landed a little to the southward and a boat which was shortly afterwards knocked to pieces by the surf. They had now been wandering up and down the coast for fifteen months without knowing which way to go or where they were. What a singular piece of good fortune it was that this harbor was now discovered. Had it not been for this one chance they might have wandered till they had grown old men and at last have perished on this wild coast. Their sufferings had been very great and one of their party had lost his life by falling from the cliffs. They were sometimes obliged to separate in search of food and this explained the bed of the solitary man. Considering what they had undergone I think they had kept a very good reckoning of time for they had lost only four days. December 30th we anchored in a snug little cove at the foot of some high hills near the northern extremity of Tres Montes. After breakfast the next morning a party ascended one of these mountains which was 2400 feet high. The scenery was remarkable. The chief part of the range was composed of grand solid abrupt masses of granite which appeared as if they had been co-evil with the beginning of the world. The granite was capped with micro slate and this in the lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger shaped points. These two formations thus differing in their outlines agree in being almost destitute of vegetation. This baroness had to arise a strange appearance from having been so long accustomed to the sight of an almost universal forest of dark green trees. I took much delight in examining the structure of these mountains. The complicated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of durability equally profitless however to man and to all of their animals. Granite to the geologist is classic ground from its widespread limits and its beautiful and compact texture few rocks have been more anciently recognized. Granite has given rise perhaps to more discussion considering its origin than any other formation. We generally see it constituting the fundamental rock and however formed we know it is the deepest layer in the crust of this globe to which man has penetrated. The limit of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest which is perhaps increased January 1st, 1835 The New Year is ushered in with ceremonies proper to it in these regions. She lays out no false hopes. A heavy northwestern gale with steady rain bespeaks the rising year. Thank God we are not destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to be in the Pacific Ocean where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven of something beyond the clouds above our heads. The northwest winds prevailing for the next four days we only managed to cross a great bay and then anchored in another secure harbor. I accompanied the captain in a boat to the head of the deep creek. On the way the number of seals which we saw was quite astonishing. Every bit of flat rock and parts of the beach were covered with them. They appeared to be of a loving disposition and lay huddled together fast asleep like so many pigs, but even pigs would have been ashamed of their dirt and the foul smell which came from them. Each herd was watched by the patient with the vicious eyes of the turkey buzzard. This disgusting bird, with its bald scarlet head formed to wallow in putridity is very common on the west coast and their attendance on the seals shows on what they rely for their food. We found the water, probably only that of the surface, nearly fresh. This was caught by the number of torrents which, in the form of cascades, came tumbling over the broad granite mountains into the sea. The fresh water attracts the fish during many turns, gulls, and two kinds of cormorant. We saw also a pair of the beautiful black-necked swans and several small sea otters, the fur of which is held in such high estimation. In returning, we were again amused by the impetuous manner in which the heap of seals old and young, tumbled into the water as the boat passed. They did not remain long underwater, but rising, followed us without stretch necks, expressing great wonder and curiosity. Having run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end of the Conos Archipelago in Lowe's Harbour, where we remained a week. The islands were here, as in Kilaue, composed of a stratified, soft, littoral deposit, and the vegetation in consequence was beautifully luxuriant. The woods came down to the sea beach just in the manner of an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. We also enjoyed from the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy cones of the Cordillera, including El Famoso Corcavado. The range itself had in this latitude so little height that few parts of it appeared above the tops of the neighbouring islets. We found here a party of five men from Cailin, El Fin de Cristianidad, who had, most adventurously, crossed in their miserable boat canoe for the purpose of fishing the open space of sea which separates Conos from Kilaue. These islands will, in all probability, in a short time, become people, joining the coast of Kilaue. The wild potato grows in these islands in great abundance, on the sandy shelly soil near the sea beach. The tallest plant was four feet in height. The tubers were generally small, but I found one of an oval shape two inches in diameter. They resembled in every aspect and had the same smell as English potatoes, but when boiled they shrunk much and were watery and insipid without any bitter taste. They are undoubtedly here indigenous. They grow as far south, according to Mr. Lowe, as latitude 50 degrees and are called Aquians by the wild Indians of that part. The Kulotan Indians have a different name for them. Professor Henslow, who has examined the dried specimens which I brought home, says that they are the same with those described by Mr. Sabine from Valparaiso, but that they form a variety which, by some botanist, have been considered as specifically distinct. Note, horticultural transact, page 249. Mr. Caldeleux sent home two tubers, which, being well-manured, even the first season produced numerous potatoes and an abundance of leaves. See Homebolt's interesting discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown in Mexico, in Political Essay on New Spain, Book 4, Chapter 9. It is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile mountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall from more than six months and within the damp forest of the southern islands. In the central parts of the Conota archipelago, latitude 45 degrees, the forest has very much the same character with that along the whole west coast for 600 miles southward to Cape Horn. The arboricent grass of Chile is not found here, while the beach of Tierra del Fuego grows to a good size and forms a considerable portion of the wood. Not, however, in the same exclusive manner as it does farther southward. The islands here find a most congenital climate. In the Strait of Magellan, as I have before remarked, the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at perfection, but in these islands, within the forest, the number of species and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns is quite extraordinary. Note, by sweeping with my insect net, I procured from these situations a considerable number of minute insects, of the family of Staphalinidae and Minut Hymenoptera. For the most characteristic family and number, both of individuals and species, throughout the more open parts of Quiloa and Conos, is that of Teleforidae. In Tierra del Fuego, trees grow only on the hillsides, every level piece of land being invariably covered by a thick bed of peat. But in Quiloa, flat land supports the most luxuriant forests. Here, within the Conos archipelago, the nature of the climate more closely approaches that of Tierra del Fuego, than that of northern Quiloa. For every patch of level ground is covered by two species of plant, Estelia pumula and Donatia magilanica, which by their joint decay compose a thick bed of elastic peat. In Tierra del Fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the production of peat. Fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the other, around the central taproot. The lower one soon decay, along the root downward in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their place, can be observed passing through every stage of decomposition, till the hole becomes blended in one confused mass. The Estelia is assisted by a few other plants. Here and there, a small creeping myrtis, emnumilaria, with a woody stem like our cranberry and with a sweetberry, an ampetrum, e rubrum, like our heath, a rush, juncus grandifloris, are nearly the only ones that grow these plants, though possessing a very close general resemblance to the Inclo species of the same genera, are different. In the more level parts of the country, the surface of the peat is broken up into little pools of water, which stand at different heights, and appear as if artificially excavated. Small streams of water, flowing underground, complete the disorganization of the vegetable matter, and consolidate the hole. The climate of the southern part of America appears particularly favorable to the production of peat. In the Falkland Islands, almost every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the whole surface of the land becomes converted into the substance. Scarcely any situation checks its growth. Some of the beds are as much as 12 feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when dry that it will hardly burn. Although every plant lends its aid, yet in most parts the Estelia is the most efficient. It is rather a singular circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs in Europe, that I never saw moss forming by its decay any portion of the peat in South America. With respect to the northern limit, at which the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow decomposition which is necessary for its production, I believe that in Kilaue, latitude 41 to 42 degrees, although there is much swampy ground, no well characterized peat occurs, but in the Conus Islands, 3 degrees farther southward, we have seen that it is abundant. On the eastern coast in Laplata, latitude 35 degrees, I was told by a Spanish resident who had visited Ireland that he had often sought for the substance but had never been able to find any. He showed me, as the nearest approach to it, which he had discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion. The zoology of these broken islets of the Conus Archipelago is, as might have been expected, very poor. Of quadrupeds two aquatic kinds are common. The myopotamus coipus, like a beaver but with a round tail, is well known from its fine fur, which is an object of trade throughout the tributaries of Laplata. It here, however, exclusively frequents salt water, which same circumstance has been mentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the capybara. A small sea udder is very numerous, this animal does not feed exclusively on fish, but like the seals, draws a large supply from the small red crab which swims in shoals near the surface of the water. Mr. Bino saw one in Tierra del Fuego eating a cuttlefish and at Lowe's Harbour another was killed in the act of carrying to its hull a large volute shell. At one place I caught in a trap a singular little mouse, M. Brachiatis. It appeared common on several of the islets, but the kilotons at Lowe's Harbour said that it was not found in all. What a succession of chances, or what changes of level must have brought into play, thus to spread these small animals throughout this broken archipelago. Note, it is said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their nests. If so, in the course of centuries, every now and then, one might escape from the young birds. Some such agency is necessary to account for the distribution of the smaller gnawing animals on islands not very near each other. In all parts of Kiloy and Conos two very strange birds occur which are allied to and replace the turco and tapacolo of Central Chile. When it is called by the inhabitants Chocow, Tiroptico's Rebecula it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within the damp forests. Sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at hand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the Chocow. At other times, let him stand motionless and the red-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar manner. It then busily hops about the entangled mass of stones and branches with its little tail cocked upwards. The Chocow is held in superstitious fear by the Kilotens on account of its strange and varied cries. There are three very distinct cries. One is called Chiducco and is an omen of good, another Puichro, which is extremely unfavorable and a third which I have forgotten. These words are given in imitation of the noises and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by them. Kilotens assuredly have chosen a most comical little creature for their profit. An allied species, but rather larger, is called by the natives Gidgid, Teropticus Tarnii, and by the English the Barking bird. This latter name is well given, for I defy anyone at first to feel certain that a small dog is not yelping somewhere in the forest. Just as with the Chocow, a person will sometimes hear the bark close by but in vain many endeavor by watching until less chance by beating the bushes to see the bird, yet at other times the Gidgid fearlessly comes near. Its manner of feeding and its general habits are very similar to those of the Chocow. On the coast, a small dusky colored bird, Opedior Hinkus Patagonicus, is very common. Note, I may mention as a proof of how great a difference there is between the seasons of the wooded and the open parts of this coast that on September 20th, in latitude 40 degrees, these birds had young ones in the nest, while among the Conus Islands, three months later in the summer, they were only laying. The difference in latitude between these two places being about 700 miles. It is remarkable from its quiet habits. It lives entirely on the sea beach, like a sandpiper. Beside these birds, only few others inhabit this broken land. In my rough notes I describe the strange noises which, although frequently heard within these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb the silence. The yelping of the gid-gid, and the sudden wee-wee of the Chocow, sometimes come from far off, and sometimes from close at hand. The little black wren of Tierra Del Fuego occasionally adds its cry. The creeper, Oxyurus, follows the intruder screaming and twittering. The humming bird may be seen every now and then darting from side to side, and imbidding like an insect is thrilled chirp. Lastly, from the top of some lofty tree, the indistinct but plaintive note of the white, tough, tyrant flycatcher, myobius, may be noticed. From the great preponderance in most countries of certain common general of birds, such as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with the peculiar forms above enumerated as the commonest birds in any district. In central Chile, two of them, namely the Oxyurus and Scitalopus, occur, although most rarely. When finding, as in this case, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created. But it should always be recollected that in some other country perhaps they are essential members of society, or as some former period may have been so. If America south of 37 degrees were sunk beneath the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to exist in central Chile for a long period, but it is very improbable that their numbers would increase. We should then see a case which must inevitably have happened with very many animals. These southern seeds are frequented by several species of petrels. The largest kind, prokolaria gigantia or nelly, quebranta juezos or brick bones of the Spaniards, is a common bird both in the inland channels and on the open sea. In its habits and manner of flight, there is a very close resemblance with the albatross, and as with the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together without seeing on what it feeds. These bones is however a rapacious bird for it was observed by some of the officers at Port St. Antonio chasing a diver which tried to escape by diving and flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a blow on its head. At Port St. Julian, these great petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. A second species, puffinous scenarius, which is common to Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast of Peru is of much smaller size than the pig gigantia, but like it is a dirty black color. It generally frequents the island sounds in very large flocks. I do not think I ever saw so many birds of any other sort together as I once saw of these behind the island of Quiloé. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for several hours in one direction. When part of the flocks settled in the water, the surface was blackened and a noise proceeded from them as of human beings talking in the distance. There are several other species of petrels, but I will only mention one kind, the Pelicanoides berardi, which offers an example of those extraordinary cases of a bird evidently belonging to one well marked family yet both in its habits and structure allied to a very distinct tribe. This bird never leaves the quiet island sounds. When disturbed, it dives to a distance and on coming to the surface with the same movement it takes flight. After flying by a rapid movement of the short wings for a space in a straight line it drops as a struck dead and dives again. The form of its beak and nostrils, length of foot and even the coloring of its plumage show that this bird is a petrel. On the other hand, its short wings and consequent little power of flight, its form of body and shape of tail, the absence of a hind toe to its foot, its habit of diving and its choice of situation make it at first doubtful whether its relationship is not equally chose with the ox. It would undoubtedly be mistaken for an ox when seen from a distance either on the wing or when diving quietly swimming about the retired channels of Tierra del Fuego. End of Chapter 13, Part 2.