From the rays of the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so damp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass along.

I arrived at the village of Chacao shortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night.
The land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest.
Chacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks in the straits, the Spanish government burnt the church, and thus arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate to S.Carlos.We had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son of the governor came down to reconnoitre us.

Seeing the English flag hoisted at the yawl's masthead, he asked with the utmost indifference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao.

In several places the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of men-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a Spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot government of Chile.

All the men in power, however, had been informed of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil.