C H A P . exclusion of the costly gold and silver tissue stuffs of Spain, which,
Perouse observes, were entailed in families like diamonds, and
October, descended from the great-grandmother to the children of the third
and fourth generation. Even the national musical instrument, the
guitar, has fallen into neglect, and has been supplanted by the English
piano-forte. It would have been better for the lower orders
of society, of which a large portion of the population of Conception
consists, if the use of this simple instrument had been retained; for it
is well known, in foreign countries, how many hours of innocent mirth
are beguiled in the happy circles it assembles around the cottage
doors; and how many idle characters its fascination deters from
indulging in less innocent occupations, to which the Chilians are
equally prone with other nations; though I am by no means an
advocate for its being prized to the extent it once was by the Portuguese,
who, after a battle in which they were defeated, left 14,000
guitars upon the field *.
The entertainments most frequented in Conception are cock-
fighting and billiards. All classes of society assemble at the pit, and
if there be no fight, will light their cigars, and chat whole hours away,
in the hope of a match being made up, and are dispersed only by the
approach of night. The English cocks are most esteemed, and are
sometimes valued at a hundred dollars a-piece (twenty guineas). The
Chilian spurs cut as well as thrust, and greatly shorten the cruel exhibition.
Some of the governors are said to have imposed a tax on
these establishments for their own private advantage, but without the
authority of the laws.
Of the country round Conception I have little to say, except
that it has undergone a great change since the days of its prosperity.
In the parallel of 87° on the western side of a great continent, a
luxuriant soil may be expected to produce an abundant vegetation.
This district has, in consequence, been famous for its grain, vines,
fruits, esculent roots, &c., and for its pasture lands, on which formerly
were reared immense herds of cattle, and horses of the finest breed.
But the effects of the disturbed state of the country are as manifest
* Mengiana , tom. i.
here as in the different parts of the city. At present, as much arable CHAP,
land as is absolutely necessary for the support of the inhabitants is
cleared, and no more ; and even its produce is but scantily enjoyed by OcW«.
the lower classes on the coast, who are obliged to subsist almost entirely
upon sliell-fish. The soil, if attended to, will give an abundant return :
wheat, barley, Indian corn, beans, pease, potatoes, and arrow-root;
grapes, apples, pears, currants, strawberries, and olives, are the common
produce of the country. From the latter a fine oil is extracted ; but
the fruit is too rank to be eaten at table, except by the natives. The
arrow-root is of a good quality and very cheap. In tlie ravines and
moist places, the panque ( gumiera scabra) grows luxuriantly and strong;
it is a very useful root, and serves for several purposes ; a pleasant and
cooling drink is extracted from it, which is deemed beneficial in feverish
complaints; its root furnishes a liquid serviceable in tanning, and
superior to any of the barks of South America; when made into tarts, it
is scarcely inferior to the rhubarb, for which it is sometimes mistaken ;
and it is eaten in strips after dinner, with cheese and wine, &c. Several
European shrubs and herbaceous plants grow here, but more luxuriantly
than in our own country; among these were hemlock, flax, chickweed,
pimpernel, water-cresses, and a species of elder.
The wines, which were formerly so much esteemed, and carried
along the coast to the northward, are now greatly deteriorated, and
in the sea-port much adulterated. There is a great variety of them,
and in general they are very intoxicating. The only palatable kind
I tasted was made from the vines on the estate of General Eriere, and
for which I was indebted to the liberality of the governor, as there
was none to be purchased. This wine, though agreeable to the English
palate, is not in such estimation with the Chilians as one that has a
strong empyreumatic flavour. It acquires this in the process of heating,
or rather of boiling, the fruit, which is done with a view to extract
a larger proportion of the juice than could be obtained by the ordmary
nieans, and to produce a mellowness which age only could otherwise
give. Cici, and niattee, are still iu use, though less so than formerly ;
and indeed it appeared to me that the Chilians were fast getting rid
of all their old customs, of which the drinking of niattce is one.
After passing a very pleasant time in the society of the Intenÿ
ftJ