Thomas H. Huxley - "Coral and Coral Reefs"

Edgar Allan Poe - "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe Volume 3 of the Raven Edition"

William Shakespeare - "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet"

Harry A. Franck - "Zone Policeman 88"

The Voyage Of The Beagle

C >> Charles Darwin >> The Voyage Of The Beagle




FEBRUARY 11, 1835.

I set out with a guide on a short ride, in which, however, I
managed to see singularly little, either of the geology of the
country or of its inhabitants. There is not much cleared land
near Valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few
miles, we entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable
hovel, before reaching our sleeping-place for the night. The
short difference in latitude, of 150 miles, has given a new
aspect to the forest compared with that of Chiloe. This is owing
to a slightly different proportion in the kinds of trees. The
evergreens do not appear to be quite so numerous, and the forest
in consequence has a brighter tint. As in Chiloe, the lower parts
are matted together by canes: here also another kind (resembling
the bamboo of Brazil and about twenty feet in height) grows in
clusters, and ornaments the banks of some of the streams in a
very pretty manner. It is with this plant that the Indians make
their chuzos, or long tapering spears. Our resting-house was so
dirty that I preferred sleeping outside: on these journeys the
first night is generally very uncomfortable, because one is not
accustomed to the tickling and biting of the fleas. I am sure, in
the morning, there was not a space on my legs of the size of a
shilling which had not its little red mark where the flea had
feasted.

FEBRUARY 12, 1835.

We continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only
occasionally meeting an Indian on horseback, or a troop of fine
mules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains.
In the afternoon one of the horses knocked up; we were then on a
brow of a hill, which commanded a fine view of the Llanos. The
view of these open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed
in and buried in the wilderness of trees. The uniformity of a
forest soon becomes very wearisome. This west coast makes me
remember with pleasure the free, unbounded plains of Patagonia;
yet, with the true spirit of contradiction, I cannot forget how
sublime is the silence of the forest. The Llanos are the most
fertile and thickly peopled parts of the country, as they possess
the immense advantage of being nearly free from trees. Before
leaving the forest we crossed some flat little lawns, around
which single trees stood, as in an English park: I have often
noticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory districts, that the
quite level parts have been destitute of trees. On account of the
tired horse, I determined to stop at the Mission of Cudico, to
the friar of which I had a letter of introduction. Cudico is an
intermediate district between the forest and the Llanos. There
are a good many cottages, with patches of corn and potatoes,
nearly all belonging to Indians. The tribes dependent on Valdivia
are "reducidos y cristianos." The Indians farther northward,
about Arauco and Imperial, are still very wild, and not
converted; but they have all much intercourse with the Spaniards.
The padre said that the Christian Indians did not much like
coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for
religion. The greatest difficulty is in making them observe the
ceremonies of marriage. The wild Indians take as many wives as
they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have more than
ten: on entering his house, the number may be told by that of the
separate fires. Each wife lives a week in turn with the cacique;
but all are employed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit. To
be the wife of a cacique is an honour much sought after by the
Indian women.

The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those
south of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a
petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All have their long
hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on
their heads. These Indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones
are prominent, and in general appearance they resemble the great
American family to which they belong; but their physiognomy
seemed to me to be slightly different from that of any other
tribe which I had before seen. Their expression is generally
grave, and even austere, and possesses much character: this may
pass either for honest bluntness or fierce determination. The
long black hair, the grave and much-lined features, and the dark
complexion, called to my mind old portraits of James I. On the
road we met with none of that humble politeness so universal in
Chiloe. Some gave their "mari-mari" (good morning) with
promptness, but the greater number did not seem inclined to offer
any salute. This independence of manners is probably a
consequence of their long wars, and the repeated victories which
they alone, of all the tribes in America, have gained over the
Spaniards.

I spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. He
was exceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from Santiago,
had contrived to surround himself with some few comforts. Being a
man of some little education, he bitterly complained of the total
want of society. With no particular zeal for religion, no
business or pursuit, how completely must this man's life be
wasted! The next day, on our return, we met seven very
wild-looking Indians, of whom some were caciques that had just
received from the Chilian government their yearly small stipend
for having long remained faithful. They were fine-looking men,
and they rode one after the other, with most gloomy faces. An old
cacique, who headed them, had been, I suppose, more excessively
drunk than the rest, for he seemed both extremely grave and very
crabbed. Shortly before this, two Indians joined us, who were
travelling from a distant mission to Valdivia concerning some
lawsuit. One was a good-humoured old man, but from his wrinkled
beardless face looked more like an old woman than a man. I
frequently presented both of them with cigars; and though ready
to receive them, and I daresay grateful, they would hardly
condescend to thank me. A Chilotan Indian would have taken off
his hat, and given his "Dios le page!" The travelling was very
tedious, both from the badness of the roads and from the number
of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over
or to avoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, and
next morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded on board.

A few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party of officers,
and landed near the fort called Niebla. The buildings were in a
most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. Mr.
Wickham remarked to the commanding officer, that with one
discharge they would certainly all fall to pieces. The poor man,
trying to put a good face upon it, gravely replied, "No, I am
sure, sir, they would stand two!" The Spaniards must have
intended to have made this place impregnable. There is now lying
in the middle of the courtyard a little mountain of mortar, which
rivals in hardness the rock on which it is placed. It was brought
from Chile, and cost 7000 dollars. The revolution having broken
out prevented its being applied to any purpose, and now it
remains a monument of the fallen greatness of Spain.

I wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my
guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a
straight line. He offered, however, to lead me, by following
obscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless,
took no less than three hours! This man is employed in hunting
strayed cattle; yet, well as he must know the woods, he was not
long since lost for two whole days, and had nothing to eat. These
facts convey a good idea of the impracticability of the forests
of these countries. A question often occurred to me--how long
does any vestige of a fallen tree remain? This man showed me one
which a party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years
ago; and taking this as a criterion, I should think a bole a foot
and a half in diameter would in thirty years be changed into a
heap of mould.

FEBRUARY 20,, 1835.

This day has been memorable in the annals of Valdivia, for the
most severe earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. I
happened to be on shore, and was lying down in the wood to rest
myself. It came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time
appeared much longer. The rocking of the ground was very
sensible. The undulations appeared to my companion and myself to
come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded from
south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive
the direction of the vibrations. There was no difficulty in
standing upright, but the motion made me almost giddy: it was
something like the movement of a vessel in a little cross-ripple,
or still more like that felt by a person skating over thin ice,
which bends under the weight of his body.

A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the
earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet
like a thin crust over a fluid;--one second of time has created
in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of
reflection would not have produced. In the forest, as a breeze
moved the trees, I felt only the earth tremble, but saw no other
effect. Captain Fitz Roy and some officers were at the town
during the shock, and there the scene was more striking; for
although the houses, from being built of wood, did not fall, they
were violently shaken, and the boards creaked and rattled
together. The people rushed out of doors in the greatest alarm.
It is these accompaniments that create that perfect horror of
earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus seen, as well as
felt, their effects. Within the forest it was a deeply
interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. The
tides were very curiously affected. The great shock took place at
the time of low water; and an old woman who was on the beach told
me that the water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to
high-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper
level; this was also evident by the line of wet sand. The same
kind of quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few years
since at Chiloe, during a slight earthquake, and created much
causeless alarm. In the course of the evening there were many
weaker shocks, which seemed to produce in the harbour the most
complicated currents, and some of great strength.

MARCH 4, 1835.

We entered the harbour of Concepcion. While the ship was beating
up to the anchorage, I landed on the island of Quiriquina. The
mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the
terrible news of the great earthquake of the 20th:--"That not a
house in Concepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that
seventy villages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost
washed away the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this latter statement I
soon saw abundant proofs--the whole coast being strewed over with
timber and furniture as if a thousand ships had been wrecked.
Besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., in great numbers,
there were several roofs of cottages, which had been transported
almost whole. The storehouses at Talcahuano had been burst open,
and great bags of cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise
were scattered on the shore. During my walk round the island, I
observed that numerous fragments of rock, which, from the marine
productions adhering to them, must recently have been lying in
deep water, had been cast up high on the beach; one of these was
six feet long, three broad, and two thick.

The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of the
earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave.
The ground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines,
perhaps caused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of
this narrow island. Some of the fissures near the cliffs were a
yard wide. Many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach;
and the inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far
greater slips would happen. The effect of the vibration on the
hard primary slate, which composes the foundation of the island,
was still more curious: the superficial parts of some narrow
ridges were as completely shivered as if they had been blasted by
gunpowder. This effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the
fresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to near the
surface, for otherwise there would not exist a block of solid
rock throughout Chile; nor is this improbable, as it is known
that the surface of a vibrating body is affected differently from
the central part. It is, perhaps, owing to this same reason that
earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific havoc within deep
mines as would be expected. I believe this convulsion has been
more effectual in lessening the size of the island of Quiriquina,
than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea and weather during the
course of a whole century.

The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode to
Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet interesting
spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had formerly known them,
it possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins
were so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little
the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to
imagine its former condition. The earthquake commenced at
half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened in
the middle of the night, the greater number of the inhabitants
(which in this one province amount to many thousands) must have
perished, instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the
invariable practice of running out of doors at the first
trembling of the ground, alone saved them. In Concepcion each
house, or row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of
ruins; but in Talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more
than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with here and there
part of a wall left standing, could be distinguished. From this
circumstance Concepcion, although not so completely desolated,
was a more terrible, and if I may so call it, picturesque sight.
The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo at Quiriquina
told me that the first notice he received of it, was finding both
the horse he rode and himself rolling together on the ground.
Rising up, he was again thrown down. He also told me that some
cows which were standing on the steep side of the island were
rolled into the sea. The great wave caused the destruction of
many cattle; on one low island near the head of the bay, seventy
animals were washed off and drowned. It is generally thought that
this has been the worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as
the very severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot
easily be known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made
any great difference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerable
small tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the
first twelve days no less than three hundred were counted.

After viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how the greater
number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The houses in many parts
fell outwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little
hillocks of brickwork and rubbish. Mr. Rouse, the English consul,
told us that he was at breakfast when the first movement warned
him to run out. He had scarcely reached the middle of the
courtyard, when one side of his house came thundering down. He
retained presence of mind to remember that, if he once got on the
top of that part which had already fallen, he would be safe. Not
being able from the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up
on his hands and knees; and no sooner had he ascended this little
eminence, than the other side of the house fell in, the great
beams sweeping close in front of his head. With his eyes blinded
and his mouth choked with the cloud of dust which darkened the
sky, at last he gained the street. As shock succeeded shock, at
the interval of a few minutes, no one dared approach the
shattered ruins, and no one knew whether his dearest friends and
relations were not perishing from the want of help. Those who had
saved any property were obliged to keep a constant watch, for
thieves prowled about, and at each little trembling of the
ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and cried
"misericordia!" and then with the other filched what they could
from the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, and
flames burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselves ruined,
and few had the means of providing food for the day.

Earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any
country. If beneath England the now inert subterranean forces
should exert those powers which most assuredly in former
geological ages they have exerted, how completely would the
entire condition of the country be changed! What would become of
the lofty houses, thickly packed cities, great manufactories, the
beautiful public and private edifices? If the new period of
disturbance were first to commence by some great earthquake in
the dead of the night, how terrific would be the carnage! England
would at once be bankrupt; all papers, records, and accounts
would from that moment be lost. Government being unable to
collect the taxes, and failing to maintain its authority, the
hand of violence and rapine would remain uncontrolled. In every
large town famine would go forth, pestilence and death following
in its train.

Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance
of three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with
a smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and
trees, as it swept onwards with irresistible force. At the head
of the bay it broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which
rushed up to a height of 23 vertical feet above the highest
spring-tides. Their force must have been prodigious; for at the
Fort a cannon with its carriage, estimated at four tons in
weight, was moved 15 feet inwards. A schooner was left in the
midst of the ruins, 200 yards from the beach. The first wave was
followed by two others, which in their retreat carried away a
vast wreck of floating objects. In one part of the bay, a ship
was pitched high and dry on shore, was carried off, again driven
on shore, and again carried off. In another part two large
vessels anchored near together were whirled about, and their
cables were thrice wound round each other: though anchored at a
depth of 36 feet, they were for some minutes aground. The great
wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of
Talcahuano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some
sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat
riding securely over the swell, if they could reach it before it
broke. One old woman with a little boy, four or five years old,
ran into a boat, but there was nobody to row it out: the boat was
consequently dashed against an anchor and cut in twain; the old
woman was drowned, but the child was picked up some hours
afterwards clinging to the wreck. Pools of salt-water were still
standing amidst the ruins of the houses, and children, making
boats with old tables and chairs, appeared as happy as their
parents were miserable. It was, however, exceedingly interesting
to observe, how much more active and cheerful all appeared than
could have been expected. It was remarked with much truth, that
from the destruction being universal, no one individual was
humbled more than another, or could suspect his friends of
coldness--that most grievous result of the loss of wealth. Mr.
Rouse, and a large party whom he kindly took under his
protection, lived for the first week in a garden beneath some
apple-trees. At first they were as merry as if it had been a
picnic; but soon afterwards heavy rain caused much discomfort,
for they were absolutely without shelter.

In Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake it is
said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another
like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. The
water also appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it "became
black, and exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell." These
latter circumstances were observed in the Bay of Valparaiso
during the earthquake of 1822; they may, I think, be accounted
for by the disturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea
containing organic matter in decay. In the Bay of Callao, during
a calm day, I noticed, that as the ship dragged her cable over
the bottom, its course was marked by a line of bubbles. The lower
orders in Talcahuano thought that the earthquake was caused by
some old Indian women, who two years ago, being offended, stopped
the volcano of Antuco. This silly belief is curious, because it
shows that experience has taught them to observe that there
exists a relation between the suppressed action of the volcanos,
and the trembling of the ground. It was necessary to apply the
witchcraft to the point where their perception of cause and
effect failed; and this was the closing of the volcanic vent.
This belief is the more singular in this particular instance
because, according to Captain Fitz Roy, there is reason to
believe that Antuco was noways affected.

The town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanish fashion,
with all the streets running at right angles to each other; one
set ranging south-west by west, and the other set north-west by
north. The walls in the former direction certainly stood better
than those in the latter; the greater number of the masses of
brickwork were thrown down towards the north-east. Both these
circumstances perfectly agree with the general idea of the
undulations having come from the south-west; in which quarter
subterranean noises were also heard; for it is evident that the
walls running south-west and north-east which presented their
ends to the point whence the undulations came, would be much less
likely to fall than those walls which, running north-west and
south-east, must in their whole lengths have been at the same
instant thrown out of the perpendicular; for the undulations,
coming from the south-west, must have extended in north-west and
south-east waves, as they passed under the foundations. This may
be illustrated by placing books edgeways on a carpet, and then,
after the manner suggested by Michell, imitating the undulations
of an earthquake: it will be found that they fall with more or
less readiness, according as their direction more or less nearly
coincides with the line of the waves. The fissures in the ground
generally, though not uniformly, extended in a south-east and
north-west direction, and therefore corresponded to the lines of
undulation or of principal flexure. Bearing in mind all these
circumstances, which so clearly point to the south-west as the
chief focus of disturbance, it is a very interesting fact that
the island of S. Maria, situated in that quarter, was, during the
general uplifting of the land, raised to nearly three times the
height of any other part of the coast.

The different resistance offered by the walls, according to their
direction, was well exemplified in the case of the Cathedral. The
side which fronted the north-east presented a grand pile of
ruins, in the midst of which door-cases and masses of timber
stood up, as if floating in a stream. Some of the angular blocks
of brickwork were of great dimensions; and they were rolled to a
distance on the level plaza, like fragments of rock at the base
of some high mountain. The side walls (running south-west and
north-east), though exceedingly fractured, yet remained standing;
but the vast buttresses (at right angles to them, and therefore
parallel to the walls that fell) were in many cases cut clean
off, as if by a chisel, and hurled to the ground. Some square
ornaments on the coping of these same walls were moved by the
earthquake into a diagonal position. A similar circumstance was
observed after an earthquake at Valparaiso, Calabria, and other
places, including some of the ancient Greek temples. (14/1. M.
Arago in "L'Institut" 1839 page 337. See also Miers's "Chile"
volume 1 page 392; also Lyell's "Principles of Geology" chapter
15 book 2.) This twisting displacement at first appears to
indicate a vorticose movement beneath each point thus affected;
but this is highly improbable. May it not be caused by a tendency
in each stone to arrange itself in some particular position with
respect to the lines of vibration,--in a manner somewhat similar
to pins on a sheet of paper when shaken? Generally speaking,
arched doorways or windows stood much better than any other part
of the buildings. Nevertheless, a poor lame old man, who had been
in the habit, during trifling shocks, of crawling to a certain
doorway, was this time crushed to pieces.

I have not attempted to give any detailed description of the
appearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quite impossible
to convey the mingled feelings which I experienced. Several of
the officers visited it before me, but their strongest language
failed to give a just idea of the scene of desolation. It is a
bitter and humiliating thing to see works, which have cost man so
much time and labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion
for the inhabitants was almost instantly banished, by the
surprise in seeing a state of things produced in a moment of
time, which one was accustomed to attribute to a succession of
ages. In my opinion, we have scarcely beheld, since leaving
England, any sight so deeply interesting.

Copyright (c) 2007. topbookz.net. All rights reserved.