as if trained by art. There is another tree,
much larger, which I think resembles that which produces
the jesuit bark. There are plains on the tops
of some of the mountains, on which are groves of the
Indian laurel, mentioned by Frezier in his
description of Chili. These have a straight slender
body, from which sprout small irregular branches all
the way from the root to the top, bearing leaves like
the laurel, but smaller.
Palm-trees are found
in most parts of the island, growing in smooth joints,
like canes, some thirty and some forty feet high.
Their heads resemble the cocoa-nut tree, except that
their leaves are of a paler green, and bear large
bunches of red berries, bigger than sloes, which taste
like haws, and have stones as large as those of heart-cherries.
That which we call the
palm-cabbage is the very
substance of the head of the tree; which being cut
off and divested of its great spreading leaves, and
all that is hard and tough, consists of a white and
tender young shoot or head, having its leaves and berries
perfectly formed, and ready to replace the old one.
When in search of these, we were forced to cut down
a lofty tree for each individual cabbage.
One good property of the woods which cover this island
is, that they are every where of easy access, as there
is no undergrowth, except in some of the deepest valleys,
where the fern grows exceedingly high, and of which
there are very large trees, with trunks of considerable
solidity.[270] Some of the English who had been formerly
here, had sowed turnips, which have spread much, as
have also two or three plantations of small pompions;
but my men never had patience to let any of these
come to maturity. We found also plenty of water-cresses
and wild sorrel. Some of the hills are remarkable
for a fine red earth, which I take to be the same
with that of which the inhabitants of Chili make their
earthenware, which is almost as beautiful as the red
porcelain of China. The northern part of the
island is well watered by a great many streams which
flow down the narrow valleys; and we found the water
to keep well at sea, and to be as good as any in the
world. Down the western peak, contiguous to the
Table Mountain, there fall two cascades from a perpendicular
height of not less than 500 feet. These are close
together, and about 12 feet broad. What with the
rapid descent of these streams, and the numerous palm-trees
growing close beside them, adorned with vast clusters
of red berries, the prospect is really beautiful.
We should have had no want of goats, could we have
conveniently followed them in the mountains.
The Spaniards, before they settled in Chili, left
a breed of goats here, and have since endeavoured to
destroy them, by leaving a breed of dogs, but without
effect. Cats are also very numerous, exactly
resembling our household cats in size and colour; and
those of our men who eat of them, assured me they found
more substantial relief from one meal of their flesh,
than from four or five of seal or fish; and, to their
great satisfaction, we had a small bitch, which, could
catch almost any number they wanted in an hour.
There are not many sorts of birds; but the sea on
the coast abounds with a greater variety of fish than
almost any place I was ever in.
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