Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

386 PATRIOTS — SPAIN — CLIMATE. Jan. Feb. to do in turn, each man a fortnight : part of which time was allowed for the journey. These three had worked eight days, finding themselves in everything and receiving no pay ; two were old men : one more than sixty years of age ; and the third was the oldest man''s son. They all declaimed against the so-called ' Patriots ' (Chilians) very vehemently, and asked repeatedly when they might hope to see the Spanish flag hoisted again. The old man had been a cacique, and under the Spanish authority had charge of a watch-house and a small party of men, on Point Centinela : but directly the Spaniards were overthrown he was made a private militia-man — " not to fight," he said, " but to work." If any public work was in progress, a party of militia-men were ordered to it, in their respective turns : and if the commandant had a friend to oblige, who wanted a job done, he would order a man to work at it for a week, when another would take his place, and so on. For these services no pay was given. The old man said that they were paid in money for every service performed when under the Spaniards ; and he could hardly be made to believe that there was no prospect of their returning. There is a marked difference of climate between the east and west sides of Chiloe, as to quantity of rain and wind. A proportion of both appears to be arrested (as it were) on the windward side of the heights, so that the neighbourhood of Castro and the islands in the Gulf of Ancud, enjoy much finer weather than is met with about San Carlos. But even there the inhabitants say a change has taken place gradually, and that they have not now nearly so much rain as used to fall formerly. ' They attribute this to the wood being cleared away, not only on Chiloe itself, but on the neighbouring Cordillera. There is an idea prevalent in Chiloe that, after a great erup- tion of Osomo in particular, or indeed of any of the neigh- bouring volcanoes, fine weather is sure to follow. Without denying the possibility of some such correspondence, I should incline to think that there have been accidental coincidences and that fine weather occurring about or soon after those times, has been more remarked than at other periods.