paraiso from the interior of the
country. These parrots are very docile, and are easily taught to
speak; but they cannot endure cold, and require to be tended with very
great care. In the bay itself there are numerous cormorants, and
occasionally penguins and large flights of the cut-water or shear-bill
(_Rhynchops nigra_, Linn.). The latter is distinguished by a
sharp-pointed bill closing laterally, the under mandible being about
double the length of the upper one. But the most beautiful bird in the
bay of Valparaiso is the majestic swan (_Cygnus nigricollis_, Mol.),
whose body is of dazzling white, whilst the head and neck are black.

On the 13th of August we at length obtained leave to sail. Early on
the morning of the 14th we weighed anchor; and, as we sailed out of
the Bay of Valparaiso, the summit of Aconcagua soon disappeared in
the blue horizon.

CHAPTER III.

Juan Fernandez--Robinson Crusoe--Passage to Callao--San
Lorenzo--Rise and fall of the coast--Mr. Darwin's opinions
on this subject--Callao--The Fortress--Siege by the
Spaniards--General Rodil--Siege by the Chilians--The
Colocolo--Pirates--Zoology--Road to Lima.

With a favorable east wind we reached, in thirty-six hours, the island
of Juan Fernandez, which lies in the latitude of Valparaiso. Ships from
Europe, bound to Peru, which do not go into Chile, usually touch at Juan
Fernandez to test their chronometers. It consists in fact of three
islands, forming a small compact group. Two of them, in accordance with
the Spanish names, may be called the Inward Island and the Outward
Island, for the most easterly is called _Mas a Tierra_ (more to the main
land), that to the west is called _Mas a Fuera_ (more towards the
offing). That to the south, which is almost a naked rock, is the _Isla
de Lobos_, which we may call Sea-dog Island. The two first are covered
with grass and trees. _Mas a Tierra_ is much longer, and better suited
for cultivation than _Mas a Fuera_. In form the two islands have a
striking resemblance to Flores and Cordua, islands of the group of the
Azores. Until within these twenty years, _Mas a Tierra_ was the place of
exportation for convicts from Chile; but as it was found that the
facility of escape is great, none are now sent there. In 1812 a number
of prisoners of war were confined there, but the rats, which had
increased in an extraordinary degree, consumed all the provisions sent
from Chile. Several fruitless attempts have been