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

1835. TOME — COLIUMO MAULE. 41 In the small port of Coliumo, close to the northward of Concepcion Bay, the waves rose about as high as at Tome, nearly fourteen feet before they reached the shore. The little viDage of Dichato shared the general calamity ; but, stu.,iding rather higher and more distant from the sea than Talcahuano, it escaped the ravages of that element. At the mouth of the Maule the force and height of the waves must have been considerably diminished ; for no particular effect was noticed at the time, nor were there any marks upon the shore by which the height of the wave could be afterwards ascertained. That the sea should not there have occupied attention is not surprising, when one considers the locality o. La Constitucion, as the port and town are called. On level low land, at the south side of the river, lies the town ; between which and the sea there is high land, and a distance of about a mile. The river winds round the northern promontory of the high land, and then fights its way to sea over a bar, 6n which there are always breakers. There are no houses on the sea- shore ; and, without going half a-mile up the hill, the sea cannot be seen; naturally then, for some" time after the town was ruined by the earthquake, the inhabitants would be en- gaged in saving and sheltering their property, rather than looking at the ocean. I could not ascertain whether the river had risen or not : and having previously heard that the waves were very powerful at the mouth of the Maule, I was a good deal surprised to find they had been almost unnoticed : but all attention seemed to have been engrossed with the earth- quake. A vessel, lying close under the promontory mentioned above, was obliged to move as quickly as possible, when the shocks began, so serious was the shower of stones which rattled down the hill and fell about, and on board of her. I was assured by the governor, by the chief pilot, and by other residents, that instead of the land having been elevated at all, they considered that it had sunk about two feet. The pilot said he had found two feet more water on the bar, since the great shock, and that he was certain the banks of the ri\'er were VOL. n. 2 E