Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle Part 25

2. Chacao. The N.E. part of the island.

3. Carelmapu and Maullin.

4. Calbuco.

5. Dalcahue, extending from Chacao to Tenoun.

6. Quenac.

7. Quinchao.

8. Castro.

9. Lemuy.

10. Chonchi, which extends from Castro to the south extremity of the island.

By the census of 1828, the population of the large island, and those in its neighbourhood would appear to be, comparatively, very considerable; the number of souls being 43,131:[149] particularly as the greater portion of the interior, and much of the sea-coast, are quite uninhabited. The population of the district of San Carlos is confined princ.i.p.ally to the town; for between it and Chacao, there are very few inhabitants. At Chacao there are only about two hundred houses, and Dalcahue is but thinly occupied: but Castro, Quinchao, and Lemuy, are very populous. These three districts are the most fertile and productive part of the island, particularly for seven or eight miles round Castro. The peninsula opposite to that town, which is entirely cleared, would abundantly repay its cultivators, were industry more common among them.

Chiloe is governed by an 'Yntendente,' or civil governor, who exacts obedience to the const.i.tutional laws, as well as to the orders of the executive powers, and the resolutions of the provincial a.s.sembly, which is composed of members, elected {273} by the people, at the rate of one deputy for 7,500 souls; but whatever the number may be, short of 90,000, twelve deputies are to be elected. The duration of the a.s.sembly is biennial, and its business is to superintend the civil regulations of the province.

Under the Yntendente each province has a local governor, whose princ.i.p.al duties are to maintain order, preside in the munic.i.p.al meetings, see their regulations carried into execution, and obey the orders of the Yntendente of the province. Whilst we were at Chiloe, the duties of Yntendente, and military commandant, were performed by one person, Brigadier-general Don Jose Santiago Aldunate; but, upon his resignation, the offices were separated: the military commandant retaining the charge of the treasury.

The duties of the military chief, are to dispose of the troops under his command, as he sees occasion, so as to ensure the quietness, and subordination of the province, for which he is responsible; and to render the Yntendente such a.s.sistance as he may require; but, for all ordinary purposes, the Militia, who are under the immediate control of the Yntendente, are employed. For the administration of the law there is a Judge (Juez de letras), who tries all civil as well as criminal actions.

The province sends two deputies to the Chilian congress, one from San Carlos, and the other from Castro. At the beginning of the year 1829, the Militia amounted to more than seven thousand men, and the regular troops to three hundred and thirty, which was quite sufficient for the province.

The port of San Carlos is capable of being well defended, and, during the time of the Spaniards, was in a good state of defence. The entrance was protected by a battery on the highland of the Corona, and by the castle of Aguy, which effectually commands it. Farther in, on the same side of the port, was the small, but well-placed, two-gun battery of Barcacura; close under which is the anchorage. On the town side there are several batteries; but, towards the Pudeto it is weak, although capable of being made very strong. Fort San Carlos, which, for some years past, has been used as a cemetery, was well-selected as to position, and constructed in a manner very {274} creditable to the engineer. It was surrounded by a deep and wide ditch; and under it lay two small batteries: one, San Antonio, commanding the pa.s.sage between the small island of Cochinos, and the Main; and the other flanking the anchorage off the town. At the Mole were two guns, and opposite to it, under the governor's house, was the battery, Del Carmen, mounting twelve or fourteen guns. In the town, in a convenient situation, there were excellent barracks, capable of containing more than one thousand men.

The original establishment was at the Sandy Point, on the western side of the port, where the situation is better sheltered, and, perhaps, equally capable of being well defended. It is, also, on the windward side of the harbour, and close to the safest anchorage which the port affords; but the inconvenience of water-carriage was found to be so great, that the establishment was removed to its present site. A still better situation might have been selected opposite to Sandy Point, at Leche Agua; where the anchorage is perfectly safe, and the communication with Castro could be more advantageously made.

Northerly and westerly winds prevail, and the town is exposed to all their fury, which, at times, is extreme. The anchorage nearest to it, for the sake of convenience, and expedition in loading and unloading cargoes, is often taken up, but is very unsafe, many vessels having been lost there, from the bottom being shoal, and rocky; and the swell, during a northerly gale, is so short and deep, that anchors will not hold.

The town is built on two rising grounds, and in the valley that separates them; through which a rivulet runs into the bay, at a mole which affords sufficient protection to the boats and piraguas frequenting the port. The houses, which are all of wood, are generally small, and have but little comfort. The plaza, or square, without which no town in Chile of the least importance is to be found, is situated on a flat piece of ground at the summit of the southern hill, and commands an extensive view. It is about one hundred and eighty yards square, with a flag-staff in the centre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAN CARLOS DE CHILoE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: C. Martens S. Bull

SAN CARLOS DE CHILoE.

Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838]

{275} On the north side there is a strong, well-built stone storehouse, and opposite to it is the church, also built of stone. On the side next the sea is the Yntendente's residence, a low range of wooden buildings, erected without regard to taste, convenience, or comfort; and opposite to this are two or three dwellings, very little superior to common huts, or ranchos.

Within the last few years, however, some substantial buildings have been erected by the more wealthy people in the town, an example which is likely to be followed. During our visit, several were built equally creditable for strength and convenience; and not a little remarkable for the rapidity, with which they were completed.

Wood, being abundant, and cheap, as well as easily worked, is the only material used in the construction of houses, which, with the exception of the provision-store, and the church, are all built of it; and notwithstanding the perishable nature of the material, which is not protected by paint, or any external coating, from the humidity of the climate, they are of extraordinary durability. The treasury, one of the oldest houses in the place, has been built upwards of seventy years; and is even now tight, and dry, and by no means unserviceable: but its removal has been ordered, and, probably ere this, it has been replaced by another. In Chacao, where, in former days, the Yntendente resided, the greater number of the government-buildings, not less than sixty or seventy years old, are still standing. This durability can only be accounted for by the nature of the wood, and the practice of charring the ends of the timbers before they are inserted in the ground. The lower frame is of 'Roble;'(t) the beams are of laurel, and the floors and part.i.tions, as well as the weather-boarding and shingles, of 'Alerse:' the latter forms an excellent subst.i.tute for tiles, or slate, being much lighter, and almost as durable. Some of the houses are thatched with reeds; but this shift is only used by those who cannot afford the expense of shingling.

The inclosures, round the houses, are fenced with stakes of {276} Luma, three or four yards in length, fastened above and below to cross-rails, by ligatures of creeping plants, of which there is an abundance in the woods close to the town: the general name for them is Buque.

The land in the vicinity of San Carlos, which is a peninsula, is cleared of timber, and partially cultivated. In the valley, through which the rivulet runs into the sea near the mole, there are a few attempts at gardens; but the extent to which the inhabitants cultivate, seems to be confined to a rood of potatoes and wheat, which, with a litter of pigs, and an inexhaustible store of sh.e.l.l-fish on the coast, are the princ.i.p.al support of their families. It is not surprising, when so little personal trouble is necessary to provide subsistence, that the Chilotes(u) should not be an industrious race. Byron, in his narrative of the loss of the Wager, has given a most excellent and correct account of the inhabitants of this island; which, excepting for those about San Carlos and Castro, may well serve at the present time. In the town, trade, a free communication with other parts of South America, and the residence of several Europeans, have introduced approaches towards refinement; and besides the articles of luxury that occasionally make their appearance, such as chairs and tables, crockery-ware, and similar domestic comforts; shoes and stockings are now, on feast days, in common use among the females; although in many instances one can easily observe, that the wearer is actuated by vanity, rather than by any comfort or pleasure she derives, from a confinement to which her feet have not been accustomed.[150] This is one of the steps towards civilization, which the Chilote peasantry are making, and among the higher cla.s.ses 'el ultimo modo' (the latest fashion), is not less the theme of conversation than it is in other parts of the Republic.

In style of dress, among the upper ranks, the men are more advanced than the women, many having been in other countries. {277} They have given up the use of the poncho, and in this particular, they say they are before the gentry at Concepcion, who wear it on all occasions: and probably are quite right, for, with respect to comfort, there is much to admire in the poncho, as, of all cloaks, it is the most generally convenient, and the best adapted for protecting the person, especially on horseback, where it is indispensable: its use, however, offers the wearer such an opportunity to neglect the other part of his dress, which it effectually conceals, that sometimes, beneath the poncho, the body is very ill-clothed.

The dress of men in the lower orders, consists of a pair of trowsers, and a shirt, over which is thrown the all-concealing poncho. The women are as slightly clad; but instead of a poncho, they wear a rebozo, or shawl, which, however, is very often dispensed with, and their persons are left too much exposed.

These lower cla.s.ses, or Indians, as they, with much reason, are termed, are scarcely superior to the uncivilized savages of the southern coasts; and live princ.i.p.ally upon sh.e.l.l-fish, with what little they are enabled to procure besides by the sale of a few pigs, or poultry, which they rear on the scanty store of potatoes and wheat, that remains after their new crop comes to maturity. One roof shelters a whole family. Father and mother, sons and daughters, dogs and pigs, all live and sleep in their only room, in the middle of which, a fire is made; whence the smoke escapes by numerous apertures in the roof and sides of the dwelling.

As to their morals, within the precincts of their habitations, I have reason to believe they have not much to boast of, although they are described, by Agueros and other writers, as most innocent, and well-conducted. Agueros speaks highly of their character; and cites Padre Ovalle, who, writing upon Chiloe, between the years 1629 and 1636, says: "The natives of these islands are the most docile and n.o.ble (dociles y n.o.bles) of all Chile, and are the least given to drunkenness, and other vices; therefore they are best disposed to be edified by the light of the Gospel."

Since the province became subject to the Chilian Republic, {278} the government has made several attempts to improve the condition of the inhabitants; among which, the instruction of public schools, was not the least important. From an official report there appear to be ninety schools, in which 3,840 children receive an education, according to the abilities of the masters, who are employed; but these, from the small salary attached to the situation, cannot be expected to be superior.

The language in common use, is Spanish; the original Indian tongue being almost forgotten: but it is supposed to be the same as that spoken by the Indians of Madre de Dios; for, on a late occasion, a whaler which had been upon the coast of those islands, and had taken on board an Indian, as a pilot, called at Castro; and during her visit, the Indian communicated with those who understood the language of the Chonos, and by them was tolerably well understood. This Indian has been frequently embarked on board American or English sealers, which frequent those coasts, to serve as a pilot to the seal-rookeries.[151] He is known by the name of Dan.

The products of the island, for the year 1828, according to the census, and returns, officially made, were--

Wheat 64,935 fanegas (175 lbs. in a fanega) about 200,000 bushels.

Barley 21,645.

Potatoes 194,805.

and the muster of stock, and apple-trees, as follows:--

Horned cattle 5,411 head.

Sheep 86,580 Swine 21,645 Apple trees 75,754

The manufactures of the province are Carro, a coa.r.s.e woollen cloth, two and a half, or three yards long, and three quarters of a yard wide, used for men's garments, and of very durable quality.

Ponchos--both these and the carro are manufactured by women, in a rude sort of loom, of wool dyed of various colours from plants that are found in the island, or imported for the {279} purpose. Of the latter indigo is much used, and it is the general colour for the ground-work of the ponchos.

Frezadas, bordillas, sabanillas, mantillas de lana, blankets or rather counterpanes of different textures, are also among the manufactures: none of the above are exported, being made merely for their own use.

Cables, hawsers, and rope, they make of a plant, called Quilineja, which is supposed to be the root of a species of _Callixene_.

No wine or spirit is made in the province, but Chicha (a very good cyder) is manufactured from apples. The only other fruit produced is the 'Frutilla,' a kind of strawberry.

The exports must very nearly amount to the value of foreign imports, which consist princ.i.p.ally of sugar, wine, brandy, salt, wearing apparel, and household furniture. The import duty on European and North American produce is twenty-seven per cent.; from which, however, some articles, such as arms and munitions of war, instruments of music, and other things of less importance, are exempt. Spirits of all kinds, foreign wines, tobacco, tea, and cards, are monopolized by the government, and sold at an immense profit. The unauthorized sale of these goods is declared illegal, and is punishable by a heavy fine, and sequestration of goods.

The exports, during the year 1828, consisted of wood in beams, planks, and boards; hams, wheat, a small quant.i.ty of dried fish, fire-wood, and brooms,[152] to the amount of 52,320 dollars, of which 35,683 dollars were for wood, and 10,887 for wheat. These articles were exported in sixteen vessels under national, and eight under foreign flags. The exports are said to be increasing very much. In the year 1791, Agueros describes the exports of alerse planks (tablones) to Lima, to be between fifty and sixty thousand in number; and some years previous to have been in a much greater quant.i.ty.

The number of alerse boards exported, during the last year, was 328,928, but of planks only 2,623.

The island, and neighbouring part of the main land, produce {280} a great abundance, as well as variety, of wood fit for exportation, as well as home consumption. The following is a list of the princ.i.p.al trees, with their qualities, and the use to which they are most adapted.

Avellana (_Quadra heterophylla_), a handsome tree, in appearance like the ash of Europe, of a light wood, which shrinks very much when dry, and may be used with advantage for oars, being light, strong, and springy, as well as for planking small vessels below the water, and for the ceiling within; it is bad for firewood, being too light. The seed is a nut, about the size of a cherry, the kernel of which is roasted and eaten. The tree abounds at Concepcion, and in the country to the south, and grows on the Peninsula of Lacuy.

Roble (_f.a.gus obliqua_, Mirb.), a large tree; and, from the durable quality of its timber, considered the best in the island, for ground-frames of houses, planks for vessels, and beams. The piraguas are built chiefly of this wood. There are two sorts, one an evergreen, and the other a deciduous-leaved tree. It is evidently a beech, and the same that grows in all parts of the Strait of Magalhaens; the smooth-leafed sort is _F.

obliqua_ of Mirb.--see Bertero, in Mercurio Chileno, No. 14, p. 640.

Tiqui, heavy wood; but esteemed strong and durable. Piraguas are sometimes built of it.

Laurel, used for house building in-doors, for beams and rafters, and posts; durable when not exposed to damp, in which it soon perishes.

Manu, a tree of great dimensions, tall and straight, the leaf is like that of a yew; it is a very useful wood in ship-building, for planks, and, next to alerse, is the best for spars which the island produces; but the large trees have a great tendency to become rotten at the heart, owing possibly to the humidity of the climate, and to the very wet soil.

As the Adelaide wanted a mast, I sent her round to Castro for a manu spar, for which I agreed to pay eighty dollars; but of twenty trees that were cut down, not one was sound at the heart. The wood is heavy, with large knots, which penetrate into the trunk to a great depth. A great deal of this timber grows in the Gulf of Penas.

{281}

Muermo. There is no wood produced on the island more useful than the muermo. It is used for timbers, and knees, and all other purposes of ship-building: and is excellent for the planks of boats, as it bears wet and dry without suffering from either. It is abundant, and much used as firewood, for which it is well suited.