Chapter XIII

Darwin announces that the Beagle sailed from Valparaiso to survey southern Chile, Chiloe, and the Chonos Archipelago south to the Peninsula of Tres Montes.

Darwin describes Chiloe as approximately ninety by thirty miles, hilly but forested, with a climate that is exceptionally wet and cloudy, making clear views of the Cordillera rare.

Darwin describes the inhabitants as primarily of Indian descent, humble and industrious, whose diet and economy are constrained by climate unsuitable for crops requiring sunshine.

Darwin explains that despite abundant food, people remain poor due to lack of labor demand and circulating currency, forcing inhabitants to barter directly with goods like charcoal and planks.

Darwin describes traveling by horse to Chacao on November 24th and then proceeding by boat to survey the eastern coast of Chiloe, noting the road is made of logs due to the perpetually damp ground.

Darwin relates that Chacao was formerly the principal port but was depopulated by the Spanish government, which burned the church to force inhabitants to migrate to S. Carlos due to dangerous currents.

Darwin describes meeting the governor during supper, a former Spanish colonel now impoverished, who exchanges gifts of sheep for handkerchiefs, trinkets, and tobacco.

Darwin describes seeing three great active volcanoes about seven thousand feet high, including Osorno and Corcovado, and notes an optical illusion making the Andes appear curved.

Darwin observes a family of pure Indian extraction and argues that physical resemblances convince him of close connections between different American tribes despite their speaking distinct languages.

Darwin provides census figures showing 42,000 inhabitants in Chiloe, with 11,000 retaining Indian surnames, but notes physical appearance does not reliably indicate ethnicity and that intermarriage has blurred distinctions.

Darwin explains that land scarcity near Caucahue results from inhabitants' negligence and government requirements to pay surveyors and auction land, which hampers forest clearing and prosperity.

Darwin notes that under Spanish rule, Indians could not own land and faced seizure of cleared property, but Chilean authorities are now making restitution by granting land portions to indigenous people.

Darwin describes Quinchao as the most cultivated part of the archipelago with comfortable farmhouses, though inhabitants lack regular incomes and bury accumulated wealth as tradition.

Darwin describes Castro as a forlorn, deserted place with streets overgrown with grass, so impoverished that basic items like sugar and knives cannot be purchased and inhabitants lack timepieces.

Darwin recounts how the inhabitants gathered to see the boats arrive and welcomed the party with civility, offering a house and cider, and an Indian family from Caylen camped nearby.

Darwin investigated a reported coal mine on Lemuy but found it to be lignite of little value in sandstone dating to the ancient tertiary epoch.

Darwin describes the nearly pure Indian inhabitants of Lemuy as surprised by the arrival, attributing unusual sightings to omens from the cheucau bird, and eager to trade tobacco and other goods.

Darwin records that inhabitants live on shellfish and potatoes, and provides examples of extraordinarily favorable barter rates, such as trading a stick of tobacco for two fowls.

Darwin describes how the pilot arranged with the local constable to prevent theft by announcing that sentries with loaded arms would shoot any unknown person seen at night.

Darwin describes finding and measuring the panke (Gunnera scabra), a gigantic rhubarb-like plant with leaves nearly eight feet in diameter and stalks over a yard high.

Darwin reaches Caylen at latitude 43°10', the extreme southern point of Christian civilization two degrees farther south than the Rio Negro on the Atlantic coast.

Darwin illustrates the poverty of Caylen's Indians by recounting a man who traveled seven days on foot to recover the value of a small axe and a few fish.

Darwin describes killing a rare and curious fox (Canis fulvipes) with his geological hammer when it was too absorbed in watching the officers' surveying to flee.

Darwin describes attempting to climb the summit of San Pedro but finding the forest so impenetrably entangled with dead trunks that climbers were often elevated above the ground.

Darwin provides a detailed account of a fierce Tierra del Fuego-like storm with dramatic atmospheric effects and a curious phenomenon where spray creates a complete rainbow circle.

Darwin notes that the surface of the Chonos islands is almost impassable, with rugged coasts requiring scrambling over sharp mica-slate rocks and forests that wounded faces and hands.

Darwin describes finding a harbor near Tres Montes recognizable by a conical hill 1600 feet high, potentially valuable for distressed vessels on this dangerous coast.

Darwin reflects on the psychological rewards of reaching summits in unfrequented lands: the triumph and vanity of possibly being the first to stand upon a peak.

Darwin finds a bed made of grass beneath a rock ledge with evidence of fire and axe use, which he initially attributes to a shipwrecked sailor rather than an Indian.

Darwin recounts discovering two seamen who signal from shore; they had been shipwrecked for fifteen months after deserting an American whaling vessel, with one companion dead from cliff fall.

Darwin describes the remarkable geology of Tres Montes: massive granite blocks capped with mica-slate, with discussion of granite's significance in geological science and mystery of its origin.

Darwin marks January 1st, 1835 with ironic observation of the region's gloomy weather and expresses hope to soon reach the Pacific with clearer skies.

Darwin describes encountering numerous seals huddled together on rocks, attended by turkey-buzzards, and notes fresh water from cascades attracts fish that bring terns, gulls, cormorants, swans, and sea-otters.

Darwin describes Low's Harbour in the northern Chonos Archipelago as having luxuriant vegetation from stratified soft deposits, with a splendid view of four great snowy volcanic cones.

Darwin describes finding wild potatoes in abundance on the sandy shore, noting they resemble English potatoes but are watery and insipid when boiled, and grow from central Chile to latitude 50°.

Darwin notes the remarkable fact that the same wild potato species occurs both on sterile mountains where no rain falls for six months and in damp southern island forests.

Darwin compares the forest of the central Chonos Archipelago to that along the west coast south to Cape Horn, noting differences from Chiloe and the presence of Tierra del Fuego beech.

Darwin observes that cryptogamic plants (mosses, lichens, ferns) reach extraordinary species diversity and abundance in the Chonos forests, in contrast to Tierra del Fuego's harsh climate.

Darwin explains that in Tierra del Fuego level land is covered by peat, while in Chiloe forests thrive on flat ground; in Chonos the climate approaches Tierra del Fuego's and peat formation occurs.

Darwin describes how Astelia pumila produces peat through continuous renewal of leaves around its central root, with lower leaves decaying through observable stages of decomposition.

Darwin lists plants growing on Tierra del Fuego's swampy peat surface: creeping Myrtus, Empetrum, and rush species, noting their resemblance to English species despite being distinct.

Darwin argues that southern America's climate particularly favors peat production, with examples from Falkland Islands where various plants convert to peat beds up to twelve feet thick.

Darwin notes the remarkable difference from Europe that moss plays no role in South American peat formation, with other plants being the efficient agents.

Darwin argues that well-characterized peat does not occur in Chiloe (lat. 41-42°) despite swampy ground, but appears in the Chonos Islands three degrees farther south.

Darwin reports that a Spanish resident told him peat is not found in La Plata at latitude 35°, though black peaty soil with abundant roots is present.

Darwin describes the Myopotamus Coypus, similar to a beaver with round tail, as common for its fur trade and notable for exclusively frequenting salt water in this region.

Darwin explains that sea-otters feed not only on fish but also on small red crabs, and provides examples of observed specimens eating cuttlefish and volute shells.

Darwin describes catching a singular little mouse (M. brachiotis) on the islands and questions what succession of chances or changes in sea level would distribute such small animals across the archipelago.

Darwin describes the cheucau as a red-breasted bird frequenting gloomy forest spots, sometimes invisible despite nearby cries yet sometimes approaching familiarly, while hopping among decaying vegetation.

Darwin explains that Chilotans hold the cheucau in superstitious fear because its three distinct cries (chiduco, huitreu, and a third forgotten) are interpreted as omens that govern their behavior.

Darwin describes the guid-guid, an allied but larger species to the cheucau, whose bark so closely resembles a small dog that observers doubt it is a bird.

Darwin notes that the guid-guid, like the cheucau, is difficult to see despite being heard, yet sometimes appears fearlessly, with similar feeding and general habits.

Darwin describes Opetiorhynchus Patagonicus as a small dusky coastal bird living entirely on the sea-beach like a sandpiper, remarkable for its quiet habits.

Darwin notes that few birds besides cheucau, barking-bird, and Opetiorhynchus inhabit the broken Chonos land.

Darwin lists the various bird sounds heard in the forests: guid-guid's yelp, cheucau's whew-whew, black wren's cry, creeper's screaming, humming-bird's chirp, and tyrant-flycatcher's plaintive note.

Darwin expresses surprise that these peculiar bird forms are the commonest in the district, given the usual prevalence of common genera like finches in most countries.

Darwin wonders why seemingly insignificant animals like the Oxyurus and Scytalopus were created, given their small role in nature's grand scheme.

Darwin argues that if the region south of latitude 37° were submerged, these birds might persist in central Chile but their numbers would likely not increase, exemplifying cases that have probably occurred with many animals.

Darwin notes that several petrel species frequent the southern seas and begins with the largest kind, Procellaria gigantea, known as nelly or break-bones.

Darwin describes the great petrel resembling an albatross in flight and feeding habits, observing it chase and kill a diver, and later seeing these petrels kill young gulls.

Darwin describes Puffinus cinereus, a smaller petrel common to Europe, Cape Horn, and Peru, as frequently appearing in enormous flocks that blacken the water and produce sounds like distant human voices.

Darwin describes Pelacanoides Berardi as an extraordinary bird that belongs to the petrel family yet displays habits and structures allied to the distinct auk family.

Darwin describes the Pelacanoides Berardi's behavior of diving, surfacing, flying briefly, then dropping and diving again, making it difficult to distinguish from auks at distance.

Darwin notes that the bird's beak form, nostrils, foot length, and plumage coloring indicate petrel affinity, while short wings, body shape, tail form, absence of hind toe, and diving habit suggest auk relationship.