Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.3)

Jan. 1835, chiloe. 357 behind S. Carlos^ which is distant no less than ninety-three miles from the Corcovado. Captain FitzRoy being anxious that some bearings should be taken on the outer coast of Chiloe^ it was planned that Mr. King and myself should ride to Castro, and thence across the island to the Capella de Cacao, situated on the west coast. Having hired horses and a guide, we set out on the morning of the 22d. We had not proceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who were bent on the same journey. Every one on this road acts on a " hail fellow well met," fashion; and one may here enjoy the privi- lege, so rare in South America, of travelling without fire- arms. At first, the country consists of a succession of hills and valleys. Nearer to Castro it becomes very level, but is still some height above the sea. The road itself is a curious afiair : it consists in its whole length, witli the exception of very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are either broad and placed longitudinally, or narrow and transversely. In summer the road is not very bad : but in winter, when the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is exceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, the ground on each side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed : hence it is neces- sary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the earth. These pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous as the chance of alighting on one of them is not small. It is remarkable, however, how active custom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad parts, where the logs have been displaced, they skipped from one to the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On either hand the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases matted together by the canes. When occasionally a long reach of this avenvie could be observed, it presented a curious scene of uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in per- spective, became hidden by the gloomy forest, or it termi- nated in a zigzag which ascended some steep hill.