ON JANUARY the 15th we sailed from Low's Harbour,and three days afterwards anchored a second time inthe bay of S. Carlos in Chiloe. On the night of the19th the volcano of Osorno was in action. At midnight thesentry observed something like a large star, which graduallyincreased in size till about three o'clock, when it presenteda very magnificent spectacle. By the aid of a glass, darkobjects, in constant succession, were seen, in the midst of agreat glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall down.The light was sufficient to cast on the water a long brightreflection. Large masses of molten matter seem very commonlyto be cast out of the craters in this part of the Cordillera.I was assured that when the Corcovado is in eruption,great masses are projected upwards and are seen to burst inthe air, assuming many fantastical forms, such as trees:their size must be immense, for they can be distinguishedfrom the high land behind S. Carlos, which is no less thanninety-three miles from the Corcovado. In the morning thevolcano became tranquil.

I was surprised at hearing afterwards that Aconcagua inChile, 480 miles northwards, was in action on the same night;and still more surprised to hear that the great eruption ofCoseguina (2700 miles north of Aconcagua), accompanied byan earthquake felt over a 1000 miles, also occurred withinsix hours of this same time. This coincidence is the moreremarkable, as Coseguina had been dormant for twenty-sixyears; and Aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of action.It is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence wasaccidental, or shows some subterranean connection. If Vesuvius,Etna, and Hecla in Iceland (all three relatively nearereach other than the corresponding points in South America),suddenly burst forth in eruption on the same night, thecoincidence would be thought remarkable; but it is far moreremarkable in this case, where the three vents fall on the samegreat mountain-chain, and where the vast plains along theentire eastern coast, and the upraised recent shells alongmore than 2000 miles on the western coast, show in howequable and connected a manner the elevatory forces have acted.

Captain Fitz Roy being anxious that some bearings shouldbe taken on the outer coast of Chiloe, it was planned thatMr. King and myself should ride to Castro, and thence acrossthe island to the Capella de Cucao, situated on the westcoast. Having hired horses and a guide, we set out onthe morning of the 22nd. We had not proceeded far, beforewe were joined by a woman and two boys, who were bent onthe same journey. Every one on this road acts on a "hailfellow well met" fashion; and one may here enjoy the privilege,so rare in South America, of travelling without firearms.At first, the country consisted of a succession of hillsand valleys: nearer to Castro it became very level. The roaditself is a curious affair; it consists in its whole length,with the exception of very few parts, of great logs of wood,which are either broad and laid longitudinally, or narrow andplaced transversely. In summer the road is not very bad; but inwinter, when the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travellingis exceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, theground on each side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed:hence it is necessary that the longitudinal logsshould be fastened down by transverse poles, which arepegged on each side into the earth. These pegs render a fallfrom a horse dangerous, as the chance of alighting on one ofthem is not small. It is remarkable, however, how activecustom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad parts,where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from oneto the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of adog. On both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases matted together by canes. Whenoccasionally a long reach of this avenue could be beheld, itpresented a curious scene of uniformity: the white line of logs,narrowing in perspective, became hidden by the gloomy forest,or terminated in a zigzag which ascended some steep hill.

Although the distance from S. Carlos to Castro is onlytwelve leagues in a straight line, the formation of the roadmust have been a great labour. I was told that several peoplehad formerly lost their lives in attempting to cross theforest. The first who succeeded was an Indian, who cut hisway through the canes in eight days, and reached S. Carlos:he was rewarded by the Spanish government with a grant ofland. During the summer, many of the Indians wanderabout the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts, where thewoods are not quite so thick) in search of the half-wild cattlewhich live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees. Itwas one of these huntsmen who by chance discovered, a fewyears since, an English vessel, which had been wrecked on theouter coast. The crew were beginning to fail in provisions,and it is not probable that, without the aid of this man, theywould ever have extricated themselves from these scarcelypenetrable woods. As it was, one seaman died on the march,from fatigue. The Indians in these excursions steer by thesun; so that if there is a continuance of cloudy weather, theycan not travel.

The day was beautiful, and the number of trees whichwere in full flower perfumed the air; yet even this couldhardly dissipate the effects of the gloomy dampness of theforest. Moreover, the many dead trunks that stand likeskeletons, never fail to give to these primeval woods acharacter of solemnity, absent in those of countries longcivilized. Shortly after sunset we bivouacked for the night. Ourfemale companion, who was rather good-looking, belonged toone of the most respectable families in Castro: she rode,however, astride, and without shoes or stockings. I wassurprised at the total want of pride shown by her and herbrother. They brought food with them, but at all our meals satwatching Mr. King and myself whilst eating, till we werefairly shamed into feeding the whole party. The night wascloudless; and while lying in our beds, we enjoyed the sight(and it is a high enjoyment) of the multitude of stars whichillumined the darkness of the forest.

January 23rd. -- We rose early in the morning, and reachedthe pretty quiet town of Castro by two o'clock. The old governorhad died since our last visit, and a Chileno was actingin his place. We had a letter of introduction to Don Pedro,whom we found exceedingly hospitable and kind, and moredisinterested than is usual on this side of the continent. Thenext day Don Pedro procured us fresh horses, and offeredto accompany us himself. We proceeded to the south -- generallyfollowing the coast, and passing through several hamlets,each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood. AtVilipilli, Don Pedro asked the commandant to give us a guideto Cucao. The old gentleman offered to come himself; butfor a long time nothing would persuade him that two Englishmenreally wished to go to such an out-of-the-way placeas Cucao. We were thus accompanied by the two greatestaristocrats in the country, as was plainly to be seen in themanner of all the poorer Indians towards them. At Chonchiwe struck across the island, following intricate windingpaths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, andsometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with cornand potato crops. This undulating woody country, partiallycultivated, reminded me of the wilder parts of England, andtherefore had to my eye a most fascinating aspect. At Vilinco,which is situated on the borders of the lake of Cucao,only a few fields were cleared; and all the inhabitants appearedto be Indians. This lake is twelve miles long, andruns in an east and west direction. From local circumstances,the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day,and during the night it falls calm: this has given rise tostrange exaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described tous at S. Carlos, was quite a prodigy.

The road to Cucao was so very bad that we determined toembark in a _periagua_. The commandant, in the most authoritativemanner, ordered six Indians to get ready to pullus over, without deigning to tell them whether they wouldbe paid. The periagua is a strange rough boat, but the crewwere still stranger: I doubt if six uglier little men ever gotinto a boat together. They pulled, however, very well andcheerfully. The stroke-oarsman gabbled Indian, and utteredstrange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver drivinghis pigs. We started with a light breeze against us, but yetreached the Capella de Cucao before it was late. The countryon each side of the lake was one unbroken forest. In thesame periagua with us, a cow was embarked. To get solarge an animal into a small boat appears at first a difficulty,but the Indians managed it in a minute. They brought thecow alongside the boat, which was heeled towards her; thenplacing two oars under her belly, with their ends resting onthe gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly tumbledthe poor beast heels over head into the bottom of the boat,and then lashed her down with ropes. At Cucao we foundan uninhabited hovel (which is the residence of the padrewhen he pays this Capella a visit), where, lighting a fire, wecooked our supper, and were very comfortable.

The district of Cucao is the only inhabited part on thewhole west coast of Chiloe. It contains about thirty or fortyIndian families, who are scattered along four or five milesof the shore. They are very much secluded from the rest ofChiloe, and have scarcely any sort of commerce, exceptsometimes in a little oil, which they get from seal-blubber.They are tolerably dressed in clothes of their own manufacture,and they have plenty to eat. They seemed, however,discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painfulto witness. These feelings are, I think, chiefly to beattributed to the harsh and authoritative manner in whichthey are treated by their rulers. Our companions, althoughso very civil to us, behaved to the poor Indians as if theyhad been slaves, rather than free men. They ordered provisionsand the use of their horses, without ever condescendingto say how much, or indeed whether the owners shouldbe paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with thesepoor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents ofcigars and mate. A lump of white sugar was divided betweenall present, and tasted with the greatest curiosity. TheIndians ended all their complaints by saying, "And it is onlybecause we are poor Indians, and know nothing; but it wasnot so when we had a King."

The next day after breakfast, we rode a few miles northwardto Punta Huantamo. The road lay along a very broadbeach, on which, even after so many fine days, a terrible surfwas breaking. I was assured that after a heavy gale, theroar can be heard at night even at Castro, a distance of noless than twenty-one sea-miles across a hilly and woodedcountry. We had some difficulty in reaching the point, owingto the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shadethe ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire. The pointitself is a bold rocky hill. It is covered by a plant allied, Ibelieve, to Bromelia, and called by the inhabitants Chepones.In scrambling through the beds, our hands were very muchscratched. I was amused by observing the precaution ourIndian guide took, in turning up his trousers, thinking thatthey were more delicate than his own hard skin. This plantbears a fruit, in shape like an artichoke, in which a numberof seed-vessels are packed: these contain a pleasant sweetpulp, here much esteemed. I saw at Low's Harbour theChilotans making chichi, or cider, with this fruit: so true isit, as Humboldt remarks, that almost everywhere man findsmeans of preparing some kind of beverage from the vegetablekingdom. The savages, however, of Tierra del Fuego,and I believe of Australia, have not advanced thus far inthe arts.

The coast to the north of Punta Huantamo is exceedinglyrugged and broken, and is fronted by many breakers, onwhich the sea is eternally roaring. Mr. King and myselfwere anxious to return, if it had been possible, on foot alongthis coast; but even the Indians said it was quiteimpracticable. We were told that men have crossed by strikingdirectly through the woods from Cucao to S. Carlos, butnever by the coast. On these expeditions, the Indians carrywith them only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparinglytwice a day.

26th. -- Re-embarking in the periagua, we returned acrossthe lake, and then mounted our horses. The whole of Chiloetook advantage of this week of unusually fine weather, toclear the ground by burning. In every direction volumes ofsmoke were curling upwards. Although the inhabitants wereso assiduous in setting fire to every part of the wood, yetI did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in makingextensive. We dined with our friend the commandant,and did not reach Castro till after dark. The next morningwe started very early. After having ridden for some time,we obtained from the brow of a steep hill an extensive view(and it is a rare thing on this road) of the great forest.Over the horizon of trees, the volcano of Corcovado, andthe great flat-topped one to the north, stood out in proudpre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long rangeshowed its snowy summit. I hope it will be long before Iforget this farewell view of the magnificent Cordillera frontingChiloe. At night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky,and the next morning reached S. Carlos. We arrived on theright day, for before evening heavy rain commenced.

February 4th. -- Sailed from Chiloe. During the last weekI made several short excursions. One was to examine agreat bed of now-existing shells, elevated 350 feet abovethe level of the sea: from among these shells, large forest-trees were growing. Another ride was to P. Huechucucuy.I had with me a guide who knew the country far too well;for he would pertinaciously tell me endless Indian names forevery little point, rivulet, and creek. In the same manner asin Tierra del Fuego, the Indian language appears singularlywell adapted for attaching names to the most trivial featuresof the land. I believe every one was glad to say farewellto Chiloe; yet if we could forget the gloom and ceaselessrain of winter, Chiloe might pass for a charming island.There is also something very attractive in the simplicity andhumble politeness of the poor inhabitants.

We steered northward along shore, but owing to thickweather did not reach Valdivia till the night of the 8th. Thenext morning the boat proceeded to the town, which is distantabout ten miles. We followed the course of the river,occasionally passing a few hovels, and patches of groundcleared out of the otherwise unbroken forest; and sometimesmeeting a canoe with an Indian family. The town is situatedon the low banks of the stream, and is so completelyburied in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are merelypaths in an orchard I have never seen any country, whereapple-trees appeared to thrive so well as in this damp part ofSouth America: on the borders of the roads there weremany young trees evidently self-grown. In Chiloe the inhabitantspossess a marvellously short method of making anorchard. At the lower part of almost every branch, small,conical, brown, wrinkled points project: these are alwaysready to change into roots, as may sometimes be seen, whereany mud has been accidentally splashed against the tree. Abranch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in the early spring,and is cut off just beneath a group of these points, all thesmaller branches are lopped off, and it is then placed abouttwo feet deep in the ground. During the ensuing summerthe stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bearsfruit: I was shown one which had produced as many astwenty-three apples, but this was thought very unusual. Inthe third season the stump is changed (as I have myselfseen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded with fruit. An oldman near Valdivia illustrated his motto, "Necesidad es lamadre del invencion," by giving an account of the severaluseful things he manufactured from his apples. After makingcider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse awhite and finely flavoured spirit; by another process heprocured a sweet treacle, or, as he called it, honey. Hischildren and pigs seemed almost to live, during this season ofthe year, in his orchard.

February 11th. -- I set out with a guide on a short ride, inwhich, however, I managed to see singularly little, eitherof the geology of the country or of its inhabitants. Thereis not much cleared land near Valdivia: after crossing ariver at the distance of a few miles, we entered the forest, andthen passed only one miserable hovel, before reaching oursleeping-place for the night. The short difference in latitude,of 150 miles, has given a new aspect to the forest comparedwith that of Chiloe. This is owing to a slightlydifferent proportion in the kinds of trees. The evergreensdo not appear to be quite so numerous, and the forest inconsequence has a brighter tint. As in Chiloe, the lowerparts are matted together by canes: here also another kind(resembling the bamboo of Brazil and about twenty feet inheight) grows in clusters, and ornaments the banks of someof the streams in a very pretty manner. It is with this plantthat the Indians make their chuzos, or long tapering spears.Our resting-house was so dirty that I preferred sleepingoutside: on these journeys the first night is generally veryuncomfortable, because one is not accustomed to the ticklingand biting of the fleas. I am sure, in the morning, therewas not a space on my legs the size of a shilling which hadnot its little red mark where the flea had feasted.

12th. -- We continued to ride through the uncleared forest;only occasionally meeting an Indian on horseback, or a troopof fine mules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southernplains. In the afternoon one of the horses knocked up:we were then on a brow of a hill, which commanded a fineview of the Llanos. The view of these open plains was veryrefreshing, after being hemmed in and buried in the wildernessof trees. The uniformity of a forest soon becomes verywearisome. This west coast makes me remember with pleasurethe free, unbounded plains of Patagonia; yet, with thetrue spirit of contradiction, I cannot forget how sublime isthe silence of the forest. The Llanos are the most fertileand thickly peopled parts of the country, as they possess theimmense advantage of being nearly free from trees. Beforeleaving the forest we crossed some flat little lawns, aroundwhich single trees stood, as in an English park: I have oftennoticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory districts, thatthe quite level parts have been destitute of trees. On accountof the tired horse, I determined to stop at the Missionof Cudico, to the friar of which I had a letter of introduction.Cudico is an intermediate district between the forestand the Llanos. There are a good many cottages, withpatches of corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to Indians.The tribes dependent on Valdivia are "reducidos y cristianos."The Indians farther northward, about Arauco andImperial, are still very wild, and not converted; but theyhave all much intercourse with the Spaniards. The padresaid that the Christian Indians did not much like comingto mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for religion.The greatest difficulty is in making them observe the ceremoniesof marriage. The wild Indians take as many wivesas they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have morethan ten: on entering his house, the number may be told bythat of the separate fires. Each wife lives a week in turnwith the cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos,etc., for his profit. To be the wife of a cacique, is an honourmuch sought after by the Indian women.

The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho:those south of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those northof it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All havetheir long hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no othercovering on their heads. These Indians are good-sized men;their cheek-bones are prominent, and in general appearancethey resemble the great American family to which they belong;but their physiognomy seemed to me to be slightlydifferent from that of any other tribe which I had beforeseen. Their expression is generally grave, and even austere,and possesses much character: this may pass either for honestbluntness or fierce determination. The long black hair,the grave and much-lined features, and the dark complexion,called to my mind old portraits of James I. On the road wemet with none of that humble politeness so universal inChiloe. Some gave their "mari-mari" (good morning) withpromptness, but the greater number did not seem inclined tooffer any salute. This independence of manners is probablya consequence of their long wars, and the repeated victorieswhich they alone, of all the tribes in America, have gainedover the Spaniards.

I spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with thepadre. He was exceedingly kind and hospitable; and comingfrom Santiago, had contrived to surround himself with somefew comforts. Being a man of some little education, he bitterlycomplained of the total want of society. With no particularzeal for religion, no business or pursuit, how completelymust this man's life be wasted! The next day, onour return, we met seven very wild-looking Indians, of whomsome were caciques that had just received from the Chiliangovernment their yearly small stipend for having long remainedfaithful. They were fine-looking men, and they rodeone after the other, with most gloomy faces. An old cacique,who headed them, had been, I suppose, more excessivelydrunk than the rest, for he seemed extremely grave andvery crabbed. Shortly before this, two Indians joined us,who were travelling from a distant mission to Valdiviaconcerning some lawsuit. One was a good-humoured old man,but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like anold woman than a man. I frequently presented both of themwith cigars; and though ready to receive them, and I daresay grateful, they would hardly condescend to thank me. AChilotan Indian would have taken off his hat, and given his"Dios le page!" The travelling was very tedious, bothfrom the badness of the roads, and from the number of greatfallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over or toavoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, andnext morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded onboard.

A few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party ofofficers, and landed near the fort called Niebla. The buildingswere in a most ruinous state, and the gun-carriagesquite rotten. Mr. Wickham remarked to the commandingofficer, that with one discharge they would certainly all fallto pieces. The poor man, trying to put a good face upon it,gravely replied, "No, I am sure, sir, they would standtwo!" The Spaniards must have intended to have made thisplace impregnable. There is now lying in the middle of thecourt-yard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardnessthe rock on which it is placed. It was brought fromChile, and cost 7000 dollars. The revolution having brokenout, prevented its being applied to any purpose, and now itremains a monument of the fallen greatness of Spain.

I wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant,but my guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate thewood in a straight line. He offered, however, to lead me, byfollowing obscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk,nevertheless, took no less than three hours! This man isemployed in hunting strayed cattle; yet, well as he mustknow the woods, he was not long since lost for two wholedays, and had nothing to eat. These facts convey a goodidea of the impracticability of the forests of these countries.A question often occurred to me -- how long does any vestigeof a fallen tree remain? This man showed me one whicha party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen yearsago; and taking this as a criterion, I should think a bole afoot and a half in diameter would in thirty years be changedinto a heap of mould.

February 20th. -- This day has been memorable in theannals of Valdivia, for the most severe earthquake experiencedby the oldest inhabitant. I happened to be on shore,and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. It came onsuddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appearedmuch longer. The rocking of the ground was very sensible.The undulations appeared to my companion and myself tocome from due east, whilst others thought they proceededfrom south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is toperceive the directions of the vibrations. There was nodifficulty in standing upright, but the motion made me almostgiddy: it was something like the movement of a vessel in alittle cross-ripple, or still more like that felt by a personskating over thin ice, which bends under the weight of his body.A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations:the earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneathour feet like a thin crust over a fluid; -- one second of timehas created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, whichhours of reflection would not have produced. In the forest,as a breeze moved the trees, I felt only the earth tremble, butsaw no other effect. Captain Fitz Roy and some officerswere at the town during the shock, and there the scene wasmore striking; for although the houses, from being built ofwood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the boardscreaked and rattled together. The people rushed out ofdoors in the greatest alarm. It is these accompaniments thatcreate that perfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by allwho have thus seen, as well as felt, their effects. Within theforest it was a deeply interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. The tides were very curiously affected.The great shock took place at the time of low water;and an old woman who was on the beach told me that thewater flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to high-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level;this was also evident by the line of wet sand. The same kindof quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a fewyears since at Chiloe, during a slight earthquake, and createdmuch causeless alarm. In the course of the evening therewere many weaker shocks, which seemed to produce in theharbour the most complicated currents, and some of greatstrength.

March 4th. -- We entered the harbour of Concepcion. Whilethe ship was beating up to the anchorage, I landed on theisland of Quiriquina. The mayor-domo of the estate quicklyrode down to tell me the terrible news of the great earthquakeof the 20th: -- "That not a house in Concepcion orTalcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villageswere destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washedaway the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this latter statement Isoon saw abundant proofs -- the whole coast being strewedover with timber and furniture as if a thousand ships hadbeen wrecked. Besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., ingreat numbers, there were several roofs of cottages, whichhad been transported almost whole. The storehouses at Talcahuanohad been burst open, and great bags of cotton, yerba,and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the shore.During my walk round the island, I observed that numerousfragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adheringto them, must recently have been lying in deep water,had been cast up high on the beach; one of these was six feetlong, three broad, and two thick.

The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelmingpower of the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequentgreat wave. The ground in many parts was fissuredin north and south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding ofthe parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. Some ofthe fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. Many enormousmasses had already fallen on the beach; and the inhabitantsthought that when the rains commenced far greater slips wouldhappen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary slate,which composes the foundation of the island, was still morecurious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were ascompletely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder.This effect, which was rendered conspicuous by thefresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to nearthe surface, for otherwise there would not exist a block ofsolid rock throughout Chile; nor is this improbable, as it isknown that the surface of a vibrating body is affecteddifferently from the central part. It is, perhaps, owing to thissame reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrifichavoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe thisconvulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size ofthe island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tearof the sea and weather during the course of a whole century.

The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rodeto Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yetinteresting spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who hadformerly know them, it possibly might have been still moreimpressive; for the ruins were so mingled together, and thewhole scene possessed so little the air of a habitable place,that it was scarcely possible to imagine its former condition.The earthquake commenced at half-past eleven o'clock in theforenoon. If it had happened in the middle of the night, thegreater number of the inhabitants (which in this one provincemust amount to many thousands) must have perished,instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariablepractice of running out of doors at the first trembling of theground, alone saved them. In Concepcion each house, orrow of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but inTalcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than onelayer of bricks, tiles, and timber with here and there part ofa wall left standing, could be distinguished. From thiscircumstance Concepcion, although not so completely desolated,was a more terrible, and if I may so call it, picturesque sight.The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo at Quiriquinatold me, that the first notice he received of it, wasfinding both the horse he rode and himself, rolling togetheron the ground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. Healso told me that some cows which were standing on the steepside of the island were rolled into the sea. The great wavecaused the destruction of many cattle; on one low islandnear the head of the bay, seventy animals were washed offand drowned. It is generally thought that this has been theworst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as the verysevere ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easilybe known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have madeany difference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerablesmall tremblings followed the great earthquake, and withinthe first twelve days no less than three hundred were counted.

After viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how thegreater number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The housesin many parts fell outwards; thus forming in the middle ofthe streets little hillocks of brickwork and rubbish. Mr.Rouse, the English consul, told us that he was at breakfastwhen the first movement warned him to run out. He hadscarcely reached the middle of the court-yard, when one sideof his house came thundering down. He retained presenceof mind to remember, that if he once got on the top of thatpart which had already fallen, he would be safe. Not beingable from the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled upon his hands and knees; and no sooner had he ascended thislittle eminence, than the other side of the house fell in, thegreat beams sweeping close in front of his head. With hiseyes blinded, and his mouth choked with the cloud of dustwhich darkened the sky, at last he gained the street. Asshock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes, noone dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knewwhether his dearest friends and relations were not perishingfrom the want of help. Those who had saved any propertywere obliged to keep a constant watch, for thievesprowled about, and at each little trembling of the ground,with one hand they beat their breasts and cried "Misericordia!"and then with the other filched what they couldfrom the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, andflames burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselvesruined, and few had the means of providing food for the day.

Earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperityof any country. If beneath England the now inert subterraneanforces should exert those powers, which most assuredlyin former geological ages they have exerted, how completelywould the entire condition of the country be changed!What would become of the lofty houses, thickly packed cities,great manufactories, the beautiful public and private edifices?If the new period of disturbance were first to commenceby some great earthquake in the dead of the night,how terrific would be the carnage! England would at oncebe bankrupt; all papers, records, and accounts would fromthat moment be lost. Government being unable to collectthe taxes, and failing to maintain its authority, the hand ofviolence and rapine would remain uncontrolled. In everylarge town famine would go forth, pestilence and death followingin its train.

Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from thedistance of three or four miles, approaching in the middleof the bay with a smooth outline; but along the shore it toreup cottages and trees, as it swept onwards with irresistibleforce. At the head of the bay it broke in a fearful line ofwhite breakers, which rushed up to a height of 23 verticalfeet above the highest spring-tides. Their force must havebeen prodigious; for at the Fort a cannon with its carriage,estimated at four tons in weight, was moved 15 feet inwards.A schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, 200 yardsfrom the beach. The first wave was followed by two others,which in their retreat carried away a vast wreck of floatingobjects. In one part of the bay, a ship was pitched highand dry on shore, was carried off, again driven on shore, andagain carried off. In another part, two large vessels anchorednear together were whirled about, and their cables were thricewound round each other; though anchored at a depth of 36feet, they were for some minutes aground. The great wavemust have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of Talcahuanohad time to run up the hills behind the town; andsome sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to theirboat riding securely over the swell, if they could reach itbefore it broke. One old woman with a little boy, four orfive years old, ran into a boat, but there was nobody to rowit out: the boat was consequently dashed against an anchorand cut in twain; the old woman was drowned, but the childwas picked up some hours afterwards clinging to the wreck.Pools of salt-water were still standing amidst the ruins ofthe houses, and children, making boats with old tables andchairs, appeared as happy as their parents were miserable.It was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, howmuch more active and cheerful all appeared than could havebeen expected. It was remarked with much truth, that fromthe destruction being universal, no one individual was humbledmore than another, or could suspect his friends of coldness-- that most grievous result of the loss of wealth. Mr. Rouse,and a large party whom he kindly took under his protection,lived for the first week in a garden beneath some apple-trees.At first they were as merry as if it had been a picnic; butsoon afterwards heavy rain caused much discomfort, for theywere absolutely without shelter.

In Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake,it is said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke andanother like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in thebay. The water also appeared everywhere to be boiling; andit "became black, and exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureoussmell." These latter circumstances were observed in theBay of Valparaiso during the earthquake of 1822; they may,I think, be accounted for, by the disturbance of the mud atthe bottom of the sea containing organic matter in decay. Inthe Bay of Callao, during a calm day, I noticed, that as theship dragged her cable over the bottom, its course was markedby a line of bubbles. The lower orders in Talcahuano thoughtthat the earthquake was caused by some old Indian women,who two years ago, being offended, stopped the volcano ofAntuco. This silly belief is curious, because it shows thatexperience has taught them to observe, that there exists arelation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, andthe trembling of the ground. It was necessary to apply thewitchcraft to the point where their perception of cause andeffect failed; and this was the closing of the volcanic vent.This belief is the more singular in this particular instance,because, according to Captain Fitz Roy, there is reason tobelieve that Antuco was noways affected.

The town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanishfashion, with all the streets running at right angles to eachother; one set ranging S.W. by W., and the other set N.W.by N. The walls in the former direction certainly stoodbetter than those in the latter; the greater number of themasses of brickwork were thrown down towards the N.E.Both these circumstances perfectly agree with the generalidea, of the undulations having come from the S.W., in whichquarter subterranean noises were also heard; for it is evidentthat the walls running S.W. and N.E. which presented theirends to the point whence the undulations came, would bemuch less likely to fall than those walls which, running N.W.and S.E., must in their whole lengths have been at the sameinstant thrown out of the perpendicular; for the undulations,coming from the S.W., must have extended in N.W. andS.E. waves, as they passed under the foundations. This maybe illustrated by placing books edgeways on a carpet, andthen, after the manner suggested by Michell, imitating theundulations of an earthquake: it will be found that they fallwith more or less readiness, according as their direction moreor less nearly coincides with the line of the waves. Thefissures in the ground generally, though not uniformly, extendedin a S.E. and N.W. direction, and therefore correspondedto the lines of undulation or of principal flexure. Bearing inmind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to theS.W. as the chief focus of disturbance, it is a very interestingfact that the island of S. Maria, situated in that quarter, was,during the general uplifting of the land, raised to nearlythree times the height of any other part of the coast.

The different resistance offered by the walls, according totheir direction, was well exemplified in the case of theCathedral. The side which fronted the N.E. presented a grandpile of ruins, in the midst of which door-cases and massesof timber stood up, as if floating in a stream. Some of theangular blocks of brickwork were of great dimensions; andthey were rolled to a distance on the level plaza, likefragments of rock at the base of some high mountain. The sidewalls (running S.W. and N.E.), though exceedingly fractured,yet remained standing; but the vast buttresses (atright angles to them, and therefore parallel to the walls thatfell) were in many cases cut clean off, as if by a chisel, andhurled to the ground. Some square ornaments on the copingof these same walls, were moved by the earthquake intoa diagonal position. A similar circumstance was observedafter an earthquake at Valparaiso, Calabria, and other places,including some of the ancient Greek temples.

I have not attempted to give any detailed description ofthe appearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quiteimpossible to convey the mingled feelings which I experienced.Several of the officers visited it before me, but theirstrongest language failed to give a just idea of the scene ofdesolation. It is a bitter and humiliating thing to see works,which have cost man so much time and labour, overthrown in oneminute; yet compassion for the inhabitants was almost instantlybanished, by the surprise in seeing a state of things producedin a moment of time, which one was accustomed to attributeto a succession of ages. In my opinion, we have scarcely beheld,since leaving England, any sight so deeply interesting.

In almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring watersof the sea are said to have been greatly agitated. Thedisturbance seems generally, as in the case of Concepcion, tohave been of two kinds: first, at the instant of the shock,the water swells high up on the beach with a gentle motion,and then as quietly retreats; secondly, some time afterwards,the whole body of the sea retires from the coast, and thenreturns in waves of overwhelming force. The first movementseems to be an immediate consequence of the earthquakeaffecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that theirrespective levels are slightly deranged: but the second caseis a far more important phenomenon. During most earthquakes,and especially during those on the west coast ofAmerica, it is certain that the first great movement of thewaters has been a retirement. Some authors have attemptedto explain this, by supposing that the water retains its level,whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely the water closeto the land, even on a rather steep coast, would partake of themotion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by Mr. Lyell,similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands fardistant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the casewith Juan Fernandez during this earthquake, and withMadeira during the famous Lisbon shock. I suspect (but thesubject is a very obscure one) that a wave, however produced,first draws the water from the shore, on which it is advancingto break: I have observed that this happens with the littlewaves from the paddles of a steam-boat. It is remarkablethat whilst Talcahuano and Callao (near Lima), both situatedat the head of large shallow bays, have suffered duringevery severe earthquake from great waves, Valparaiso,seated close to the edge of profoundly deep water, has neverbeen overwhelmed, though so often shaken by the severestshocks. From the great wave not immediately following theearthquake, but sometimes after the interval of even half anhour, and from distant islands being affected similarly withthe coasts near the focus of the disturbance, it appears thatthe wave first rises in the offing; and as this is of generaloccurrence, the cause must be general: I suspect we mustlook to the line, where the less disturbed waters of the deepocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partakenof the movements of the land, as the place where the greatwave is first generated; it would also appear that the waveis larger or smaller, according to the extent of shoal waterwhich has been agitated together with the bottom on which itrested.

The most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanentelevation of the land, it would probably be far morecorrect to speak of it as the cause. There can be no doubtthat the land round the Bay of Concepcion was upraisedtwo or three feet; but it deserves notice, that owing to thewave having obliterated the old lines of tidal action on thesloping sandy shores, I could discover no evidence of thisfact, except in the united testimony of the inhabitants, thatone little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly coveredwith water. At the island of S. Maria (about thirty milesdistant) the elevation was greater; on one part, Captain FitzRoy founds beds of putrid mussel-shells _still adhering to therocks_, ten feet above high-water mark: the inhabitants hadformerly dived at lower-water spring-tides for these shells.The elevation of this province is particularly interesting,from its having been the theatre of several other violentearthquakes, and from the vast numbers of sea-shells scatteredover the land, up to a height of certainly 600, and Ibelieve, of 1000 feet. At Valparaiso, as I have remarked,similar shells are found at the height of 1300 feet: it ishardly possible to doubt that this great elevation has beeneffected by successive small uprisings, such as that whichaccompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and likewiseby an insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress onsome parts of this coast.

The island of Juan Fernandez, 360 miles to the N.E., was,at the time of the great shock of the 20th, violently shaken,so that the trees beat against each other, and a volcano burstforth under water close to the shore: these facts are remarkablebecause this island, during the earthquake of 1751, wasthen also affected more violently than other places at an equaldistance from Concepcion, and this seems to show somesubterranean connection between these two points. Chiloe, about340 miles southward of Concepcion, appears to have beenshaken more strongly than the intermediate district of Valdivia,where the volcano of Villarica was noways affected,whilst in the Cordillera in front of Chiloe, two of the volcanosburst-forth at the same instant in violent action. Thesetwo volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for along time in eruption, and ten months afterwards wereagain influenced by an earthquake at Concepcion. Somemen, cutting wood near the base of one of these volcanos,did not perceive the shock of the 20th, although the wholesurrounding Province was then trembling; here we have aneruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake,as would have happened at Concepcion, according to thebelief of the lower orders, if the volcano at Antuco had notbeen closed by witchcraft. Two years and three-quartersafterwards, Valdivia and Chiloe were again shaken, moreviolently than on the 20th, and an island in the ChonosArchipelago was permanently elevated more than eight feet.It will give a better idea of the scale of these phenomena, if(as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to havetaken place at corresponding distances in Europe: -- thenwould the land from the North Sea to the Mediterraneanhave been violently shaken, and at the same instant of time alarge tract of the eastern coast of England would have beenpermanently elevated, together with some outlying islands, -- atrain of volcanos on the coast of Holland would have burstforth in action, and an eruption taken place at the bottom ofthe sea, near the northern extremity of Ireland -- and lastly,the ancient vents of Auvergne, Cantal, and Mont d'Or wouldeach have sent up to the sky a dark column of smoke, andhave long remained in fierce action. Two years and three-quarters afterwards, France, from its centre to the EnglishChannel, would have been again desolated by an earthquakeand an island permanently upraised in the Mediterranean.

The space, from under which volcanic matter on the 20thwas actually erupted, is 720 miles in one line, and 400 milesin another line at right angles to the first: hence, in allprobability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out,of nearly double the area of the Black Sea. From the intimateand complicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptiveforces were shown to be connected during this train ofphenomena, we may confidently come to the conclusion, that theforces which slowly and by little starts uplift continents, andthose which at successive periods pour forth volcanic matterfrom open orifices, are identical. From many reasons, Ibelieve that the frequent quakings of the earth on this lineof coast are caused by the rending of the strata, necessarilyconsequent on the tension of the land when upraised, andtheir injection by fluidified rock. This rending and injectionwould, if repeated often enough (and we know that earthquakesrepeatedly affect the same areas in the same manner),form a chain of hills; -- and the linear island of S. Mary,which was upraised thrice the height of the neighbouringcountry, seems to be undergoing this process. I believe thatthe solid axis of a mountain, differs in its manner of formationfrom a volcanic hill, only in the molten stone havingbeen repeatedly injected, instead of having been repeatedlyejected. Moreover, I believe that it is impossible to explainthe structure of great mountain-chains, such as that of theCordillera, were the strata, capping the injected axis ofplutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along severalparallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on thisview of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected,after intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts orwedges to cool and become solid; -- for if the strata had beenthrown into their present highly inclined, vertical, and eveninverted positions, by a single blow, the very bowels of theearth would have gushed out; and instead of beholding abruptmountain-axes of rock solidified under great pressure, delugesof lava would have flowed out at innumerable points on everyline of elevation.