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C H A P . dente, t v e took our leave and returned to the port. Our occu-
nations there were divided between astronomical observations, making
October, a survey of the bays of Conception and St. Vincent, and equipping
the ship for sea.
1 had some hesitation in procuring coal for our sea stock of fue l;
not that the article was become scarce, but on account of the enormous
price to which the owner thought proper on this occasion to raise it.
Captain Hall states, that when he was at this place, the Penco coal,
W'hich was the best, was sold for twelve shillings a ton, all expenses
included ; but the same quantity was now valued at nine dollars, besides
the labour of digging and carrying. This arose from a report that some
mines which had been recently discovered were about to be worked,
W'hich would occasion a great and permanent demand for the material.
The coal is of a very inferior qnahty, and fit only for the forge. Hitherto,
however, experiment has been made only upon that which is near the
surface: when the mines are worked, if they ever be, a better quality,
in all probability, will be obtained. Talcahuana and Penco are, I believe,
the only places where coal has yet been discovered near Conception.
YVere this article of a good quality and reasonable, there would
be a great demand for it at Valparaiso, and among the several squadrons
upon the station ; and it would probably be well worth the experiment
of the owner to search a little deeper in the earth, and ascertain the
nature of the lower strata. These veins occur in red sandstone formation,
and do not appear at the surface to be very extensive, or to
promise any very large supply of fuel. This observation applies only
to that part of the coast which lies in the vicinity of Conception and the
port, a large proportion of which is composed of alluvial depositions.
YY^e were informed by a visiter to this country, that limestone
is found at Conception, and is used by the inhabitants for whitewashing
their houses ; but this is evidently a mistake, as the natives collect
shells, and calcine them for that purpose; besides, in no part of the
bay or vicinity of Conception could we perceive limestone, or even hear
of its existence. A gentleman pointed out a place to the northward of
Tomé Bay, where he said it occurred; but, on examination, only clay-
slate, chert, and greenstone were found.
As the geology of Conception will appear in another place, I shall
merely observe here, that in the secondary sandstone a variety of
petrifactions occur, of wood, shells, and bones, formed by an infiltration
of siliceous and calcareous matter. The little island of Quiriquina presents
alternate horizontal strata of pebbles, sand stone, and petrified
substances, principally of wood, and vertebral and other bones of the
whale. On the opposite shore a fossil nautilus was found which measured
three feet in diameter. Upon the beach, in several parts of the bay,
there are ridges of magnetic iron-sand, which the waves have thrown up :
they are seen adhering together, apparently by mutual attraction.
The abundance of shell-fish in Conception entices a great many
birds within the bay. The shore is occasionally thronged with them ;
and the shags sometimes fly in an unbroken line of two miles and
more in length. The quebranta huessos, the black-backed gull, a
species of tern, and two or three species of pelican, one of which
pursues its food in a very entertaining manner. It first soars to a great
height, and then suddenly darts into the sea, splashing the water in all
directions ; in a few seconds, it emerges and resumes its lofty flight until
again attracted by its prey, when it plunges into the sea as before ;
and thus the flock, for these birds are gregarious, ranges over the
whole bay, performing all its motions in concert and with a surprising
rapidity. The penguin is also here, and a very large species of duck,
the female of which has a callosity on the shoulder of each wing, and
is very excellent eating ; a species of colymbus with lobed toes ; curlews,
sea-pies, horned plovers, a beautiful species of ehaverey, with
iridescent plumage ; the oyster-eater, or razor-bill, and sanderlings;
turkey buzzards, the condor, several species of hawks, owls, black-birds,
and wood-pigeons, the latter of which are very large and good to eat ;
a very beautiful species of duck, frequenting the marshes and lakes
between Talcahuana and Conception ; partridges, a species of woodpecker,
a dark-brown fringilla, with a beautiful scarlet breast, a species
of loxia, turdus, hirundo, ampelis, not remarkable for their plumage,
and numerous flocks of green parrots, which the Chilian Spaniard, who
eats almost every kind of bird, has no objection to place upon his
table. The domesticated fowls are the same here as in Europe. The
reptiles are few, and not venomous : small lizards arc extremely common