t height, and supplies excellent pasturage for numerous herds of
cattle. The inhabitants of Chiloe breed for their own use, horses, oxen,
sheep, and swine. The horses are small, and not handsomely formed, but
very spirited and strong. Some are scarcely twelve hands high. The cows
are small and lank, and the same may be said of the swine and sheep. It
is remarkable that all the rams have more than two horns; the greater
number have three, and many are furnished with four or five. I
afterwards observed the same in Peru. The domestic animals on this
island, notwithstanding the abundance of food, are small, and
sickly-looking. I believe the cause to be want of care, for they remain
all the year round exposed to every sort of weather and discomfort.

The population of Chiloe consists of Whites, Indians, and people of
mixed blood. The Indians are now few in number, and those few are
chiefly in the southern part of the island, and the adjacent islets.
They are of the Araucana race, and appear to be a sept between that
race and the people of Tierra del Fuego, on the one side, and the
Pampas Indians on the other. People of mixed races form by far the
greater portion of the population. They are met with in every variety
of amalgamation. Taken in general, they are the reverse of handsome.
They are short and thick-set, and have long, straight coarse hair.
Their faces are round and full, their eyes small, and the expression
of their countenances is unintelligent. The whites are either
Chilenos or Spaniards: the latter are almost the only Europeans
who have become settlers here.

The principal town, San Carlos, called by the natives "Ancud," lies on
the northern coast of a very fine bay. Without a good chart, the
entrance to this bay is difficult. Numerous small islands form a
labyrinth, out of which vessels, if not commanded by very experienced
pilots, cannot easily be extricated. Besides, near the land, the sky is
usually obscured by clouds which prevent any observation for the
latitude, as the sun's altitude cannot be taken even at noon; and when
the sun gets lower, the hills, which would serve as guiding points,
cease to be distinctly seen.

Several whalers, which for some days vainly endeavored to work through
this passage, were afterwards obliged to direct their course northward,
and to cast anchor in Valivia. One of the largest islands at the
entrance of the bay is San Sebastian, where there are numerous herds of
cattle. Co