4th February 1835

Chonos Archipelago
We sailed from P. Arena; but from dirty weather were obliged to return & anchor in English harbor. — In this last week I made some short excursions; one was to see a bed of oysters, out of which large forest trees were growing at an elevation of 350 feet. — Another was to P. Huechucucuy. I had with me a good Vaqueano, who pertinaciously told me the Indian name for every little point, rivulet & creek. In the same manner as in T. del Fuego, the Indian language appears singularly well adapted for attaching names to the most minute divisions of land.

I believe every one is glad to say farewell to Chiloe. Yet if we forget the gloom & ceaseless rain of winter, Chiloe might pass for a charming island. — There is also something very attractive in the simplicity & humble politeness of all the cottagers; when we look however to their morality, there is, as in the weather, a dark as well as bright point of view.

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
We remained till the 4th of February in the port of San Carlos. Mr. Darwin profited by the opportunity afforded to make an excursion into the interior of the island, while the surveying party were occupied in arranging data, in laying down chart-work, and in taking and calculating observations.

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