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

398 TOWN — ABORIGINAL NATIVES. Feb. 48-9° S. I thought another copy might be found at Lima, but during my subsequent stay there, not one could be discovered. The town of Valdivia, formerly dignified by the appellation of city, disappointed our party extremely. It proved to be no more than a stragghng village of wooden houses, surrounded with apple-trees ; and the only building, even partially con- structed of stone, was a church.* Many of us were in the town on the 20th of February, at the time of that great earth- quake, wliich ruined so many places besides the city of Con- cepcion : an awful event, which will be related in the following pages. An English carpenter, who had served on board the Beagle, in 1828, but had since settled on the banks of the river Cruces, about thirty miles from Valdivia, came on board his old ship one day, to see those whom he knew. It happened that I had formerly been of some assistance to him, and he was naturally glad to oblige me, by giving such information about the coun- try and the natives as he was able to impart ; and having lived nearly four years among them, his accounts were not only in- teresting, but, I think, worthy of credence.-f As some of these were confirmed by what I heard from residents at Valdivia, and I have no doubt of their truth, I shall mention them with- out hesitation in the course of my narrative. I was much struck by the peculiar physiognomy of those aboriginal natives whom I saw during my stay : and there must have been some ground for Mr. Darwin and myself remarking at different times, unknown at first to one another, that their countenances reminded us of portraits of Charles I. This was my impression at the first glance ; but after closer examination it wore off, and I thought less of that likeness than I did of their resemblance to the Hindoo race. There was neither the open honesty of a Patagonian, nor the brutal look of most Fuegians ; but there was a sombre cast of depressed * That church and other edifices have since been laid in ruins by the violent earthquake of Nov. 7) 1837- t He was a very intelligent, observing man, and a good workman : while belonging to the Beagle, he was rated carpenter's mate.