Chiloe Is The First Of The Spanish Possessions On The Coast Of Chili,
Reckoning From The South; And, Though It
Produces neither gold nor
silver, is a fine island, and is considered as of great consequence;
insomuch that the Spaniards
Would be under great apprehensions when
strange ships enter its ports, did they not confide in the number of its
inhabitants, which is extraordinary for this part of the world. The body
of this island is in lat. 42 deg. 4' S. being about thirty leagues in length
from N. to S. and not above six or seven leagues from E. to W.[259] It
is watered by several rivers, and produces many kinds of useful trees,
yielding an agreeable prospect, by the great number of Indian farms and
plantations dispersed at small distances from each other, on rising
grounds among the woods. Within this great island there is an
archipelago or cluster of smaller islands, the number of which is not
well known; yet the smallest of these is said to be well inhabited, and
to abound in cattle. Among these islands there are very uncertain and
violent currents, which are by no means safe. I would recommend all
strangers to go in at the north end of the great island, giving the
northern point of the island a good birth, and then to keep the island
side of the channel on board, running along shore to the southward
(eastward). Passing two bays, which seem commodious, you come to a
point, almost contiguous to which is a high rock, somewhat like a
pyramid; and passing between that rock and a small high island near it,
you run directly into a harbour resembling the mouth of a river, which
forms a safe anchorage.
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