Part 2

Our kedge anchor was now buried, and the stout hawser hauled on board, and hove taut, and an attempt to make a second trip with the last raft; but it was upset in the surf, under the stern, and one seaman who had jumped upon it was a long time in great peril of being washed off it, whilst it drifted back to the beach, the slip rope which had attached it to the hawser, by which it had been hove off, having parted. At 3 P.M. the ship appeared to have neared the shore, and it was determined to lash some stout spars to the cutter, and launch her. She landed safely, though nearly filled with water, having conveyed on shore officers, seamen, and marines, to the number of thirteen. It was now nearly dusk, and the whole number landed scarcely exceeded fifty persons. All hands were greatly exhausted, from fatigue both of mind and body, were drenched with wet, and required rest. The comfortless situation of those on shore, on a barren sand, wet through, with scanty refreshment, and a bitter cold frosty night, may be imagined; great anxiety also existing as to the fate of their shipmates on board. A watch was kept on the beach throughout the night, whilst others got shelter under the rafts, and on the side of a mound of sand, at some little distance. To those in the ship an equal share of excessive fatigue and mental anxiety had rendered rest from labour most necessary. The ship continued buried in the sand, and was comparatively quiet, although at intervals labouring, and feeling most sensibly the weighty shocks of the unceasing rollers. A watch attended throughout the night to observe the lead lines; the anchors were kept ready in the event of its being found necessary to drop them, in order to retain the ship’s bows in their position towards the rollers; and the pumps kept working. Much had been done during the past day not yet mentioned: the danger as well as difficulty of communication with the shore had occasioned a vast quantity of the bedding and clothes of the crew to be thrown overboard, attached to pieces of spars, which, on being washed on shore, were received by those on the beach. In addition to these articles were casks filled with bread, casks of salt pork, and a great number and variety of other things. Amongst these a quantity of segars, which had been put into empty bottles and securely corked, were washed up in good condition.

Captain Seymour had hastily written a letter to His Majesty’s consul at Concepçion, from which place we hoped we were not very distant, of which the assistant surgeon, who spoke a little Spanish, and the clerk of the Challenger, had volunteered to be the bearers. They had landed in the second raft; and to find a fit person to conduct these gentlemen, in an unknown country, through thick woods, across rivers, along roads in places almost impassable, was an object of the greatest interest and importance, and which the suspicious countenances of the Indians, who had become numerous around us, and to whom we could not make ourselves understood, afforded little promise of accomplishing. By a most providential circumstance Camilo Hermosillo, a Spanish Chilino from the neighbourhood of the frontier town of Arauco, had come to the southward to purchase cattle, and hearing of a wreck, had accompanied an Indian cacique to the spot of our misfortune. This honest man gave the clue to all our future correspondence.

After much negotiation, and being piqued on his Castilian blood, and with fair promises of reward, Camilo undertook to become the guide, and procure the horses necessary for a journey to Concepçion. We were indebted to the zealous exertions of Mr. Sarjeant, the purser, for our success, which is to be attributed, in a great measure, to his perfect knowledge of the Spanish language and character.

From Camilo we obtained the first outline of our situation. We were informed that the name of the spot on which we were wrecked was Molquilla, in the province of Arauco, sixty leagues south of Concepçion, and about thirty-five miles from the island of Mocha; and by observations afterwards taken on shore with our artificial horizon, in latitude 37° 48′ 48″ south, and longitude 73° 34′ 30″ west. It lies at the extreme southern verge of that portion of the Araucanian Indian territory in which the Indians tacitly acknowledge the authority of the Chilian government; and under its influence the caciques had, for the previous twelve months, been carrying on a war of extermination against the more southern Indians of Tucapel, Tercia, and Imperial. We also learnt that, on the 20th of February last, the city of Concepçion had been totally destroyed by an earthquake, since which shocks had been continually felt upon the coast in the vicinity, and of which we had soon experience. The position on the beach where the landing had been made was described as untenable; and it was recommended to take the highest elevation that the small sand-hills on the extensive flat around us afforded, as a security from the rising of the sea, which in three days after rose far above the spot on which our first communication with Camilo took place, and level with the base of the small sand-hill of scarcely ten feet elevation on which we were encamped.

With the assistance of the Indian cacique, horses were procured; and with the greatest satisfaction we saw from the ship our two shipmates, with their guide, at half past four, depart on their journey to Concepçion, the Indians retiring to the hills on the approach of dusk. In the ship, six larboard after-main-deck guns had been thrown overboard to counteract an inclination which she had to fall over on her larboard broadside, the fore-topmast cut away, and the main-topmast struck, and the sails cut from the yards, and sent on deck ready to transport to the shore for tents.

_May 21._--At daylight all hands were labouring hard in working the rafts between the shore and the ship. So powerfully had the surf acted on the hull of the ship during the night, that she was forced one half the distance that we had been, on the 20th, nearer the beach; and hence our future operations, though still harassing from the breaking in of the surf, were rendered free from danger. The weather proving fine, the sick were landed during the morning: we had three in cots, who were hoisted over the stern, and secured on a heap of bedding and casks sufficiently high to prevent more than a little spray from reaching them. They were carried up to the mound of sand on which the choice had fallen as the site of our camp. Numerous Indians came from the neighbouring hills to reconnoitre us, with the Cacique Cheuquante, with a considerable retinue of them and a Spanish interpreter, offering assistance against the southern Indians, of whom they evinced a great dread. Although the disinterestedness of these offers were prudently estimated, policy enjoined address and conciliation to cultivate their confidence and good opinion; and the captain, who had observed the increase of Indians, landed about 2 P.M. to organise the crew and construct a camp, and keeping in view these considerations, accepted the services of a few as look-out men.

A large tent was erected on the mound of sand for the crew, composed of two topsails, a main course, and some studding sails, and near it a smaller one for the captain and officers. Into this latter tent were conveyed all the small arms which had been landed, cutlasses, pikes, and some ball cartridges, together with any other articles, which time and labour had allowed us to collect and bring up for the night. The spot on which we had fixed for our encampment was distant from the wreck about half a mile: the beach, which we learnt was about forty-five miles in extent, formed the line of sea boundary to the swampy, sandy marsh, in which was situated the mound which held our camp. This flat extended inland to a chain of irregular hills, distant four or five miles, on which were visible patches of trees and underwood. From these hills ran, in the direction of the sea, a small stream of good fresh water, which passed immediately at the base of the mound on which we were encamped. This stream proved to us a blessing of inestimable value, for our stock of water on board had become damaged soon after our misfortune, from the overflowing of the sea-water into the tanks; and to have sent to any distance for water, in our increasing apprehension of the conduct of the Indians, would have added much to our embarrassment. Before the night had closed in on the 21st, we had, by the construction of tents, secured a tolerable shelter for all who were on shore. An officer, with an appointed number of men, remained on board the wreck to attend to the working of the pumps, the tautening of the hawsers, and to watch the labouring of the hull, the surf continuing to roll in with its usual overpowering force, the noise of which on shore, during the night, was quite stunning. The weather throughout the day had been tolerably fine, the wind moderate from the N.W., and the night threatened to be cold and frosty. On the approach of night, the Indians, who had been numerous, moved off in various directions towards the hills: they usually came in the morning, in groups, on horseback and on foot, from six to eight in a party, making the shortest route to our camp which the standing pools of water, which were numerous, would allow.

Before the crew were permitted to partake of any refreshment, the arms were distributed to be dried, cleaned, and prepared for use, and all were cautioned as to their conduct to be observed towards the Indians. The scene of our encampment on this night it is not in the power of any one to imagine, who was not witness to it. The exhaustion from incessant labour throughout the day was evident in all; not an article of clothing or bedding had reached the shore, without having experienced the drenching effects of the surf, and the heaps of innumerable articles that were scattered on all sides, formed a melancholy contrast to our customary order and regularity in our poor lost ship. Bounded in our rear by a marsh, which the rainy season, now at hand, would convert into a lake; the ocean in our front, rising occasionally within little more than a hundred yards of our camp, and from which the effects of an earthquake, (slight, indeed, compared to that which so recently occurred at Talcahuana, where the sea rose thirty feet,) might have swept us away; and the probability of a visit from the hostile southern Indians, who the preceding year had plundered of every article the unfortunate crews of four merchantmen, wrecked upon the coast, left us only the uncheering prospect of equivocal hospitality from our northern neighbours,--a barbarous race who murder the adults, and sell for slaves the infant children, of their captured enemies. Fires were made, and some salt pork cooked for our suppers; each also receiving an allowance of rum. A watch, consisting of an officer, a midshipman, and a proportion of the men under arms, was established for the night, and rest anxiously sought for on the sand under our canvass.

_May 22._--Daylight saw all hands, who were not disabled from previous exhaustion, hard at work in tautening the hawsers from the wreck to the shore, working the pumps, and getting on shore our stream-anchor, which, after some difficulty, was buried in the sand, and backed with a gunslide: to it we bent the chain and hemp stream-cables, which were brought to the capstan on board; and, by keeping a strain on them, the hull continued, from the force of the sea, and daily becoming lighter, to near the shore. We now worked hard to secure whatever provisions we could get at, spars and sails to strengthen our tents, and arms and ammunition for our protection against molestation on the part of the Indians.

One of our nine-pounder long guns was also got up and pointed over the stern of the ship, so as to cover our camp, as well as give protection to the ship. The weather to-day was cold and frosty, with fog: the surf appeared to be forming a ridge of sand outside the bows of the ship; the hull at times working a good deal, particularly in her lower frame, the stanchions and bulkheads in the lower deck and holds having given way, and the chain-lockers displaced. She was in sand to the depth of eight or nine feet. The fore-yard was got over the side, and drifted to the beach. Many stores and provisions were collected, and taken to the encampment, with several articles of comfort, such as tea, which had escaped damp, wine, and cooking utensils; likewise the coppers for the ship’s company’s cooking.

A party had erected another large tent for the captain and officers, their previous tent being now appropriated to the warrant officers and stores. At one end of the officers’ tent was placed the dingy, now converted into a powder magazine. The state of our arms was

## particularly examined into in the course of the day, and the camp as

much organised as circumstances had as yet permitted us. The Indians had been numerous throughout the day, but not unfriendly, and many exchanges had been made between them and the crew, of apples, fowls, and potatoes, for wet clothes, or any description of metal: still we were far from feeling easy about them, from their known savage and wild character. Several of the Cacique Cheuquante’s Indians arrived, with their long spears, and had collected close to us, as our accepted look-outs against their brethren the hostile Indians, who were in force beyond the neighbouring hills, but kept in check by an opposing party, under the influence of the government of Chili, in command of the Cacique Colissi. With Cheuquante’s Indians was the Spanish interpreter before mentioned,--Rafael Lobo, a half-bred Indian, who assumed an authority over them, and with whom we had afterwards much communication. A vast quantity of scattered articles was collected from the beach, and brought within the limits of our camp. An armed watch was at dusk placed round the tents, and twenty-five men, under the command of the second lieutenant, Mr. Collins, remained on board in charge of the wreck.

_May 23._--began with fog, and moderate northerly wind. The operation of tautening the cables was attended to as the wreck continued to be forced farther on the beach. Several more of the main-deck guns having been thrown overboard, assisted this. To aid the landing heavy articles, the lower yards were secured with hanging lashings to the stern, and pointed towards the beach. On these were lashed cross spars; and eventually a rough platform was established, which proved of infinite utility in our operation of clearing the wreck. The chain-pumps were occasionally worked to get at the store-rooms and holds, which had become flooded as high as the situation of the hull in the sand allowed, the depth of water in the holds averaging from seven to nine feet. Cheuquante’s Indians had increased their number of spears to twenty-seven, and with them were a numerous body of straggling Indians, who had collected from all directions, in numbers exceeding our force. Some apprehension was felt by the crew lest they might become victims to treachery. This immediately reached the captain’s ear, who, without loss of time, summoned the men and officers in camp around him, explained to them the better motives of the Indians, yet pointing out the propriety of observing distance with them, and that his orders would exclude them from communication with our camp; that his determination was to assume the best possible state of defence, and to maintain our position, in the event of an attack, until information might arrive from the consul at Concepçion, to govern our movements; and that, as British seamen, he felt confident they would show, by obedience and good conduct, their title to that character. This short and well-timed address dissipated their misgivings, and forcibly exemplified the general confidence which the mild exercise of authority is calculated to inspire. The men were satisfied, returned cheerfully to their tents, and their hardships and privations in camp, although extended to a period of seven weeks, never afterwards excited a murmur. The constant and laborious operation of landing the stores and provisions, the men being constantly wet through, from the breaking-in of the surf, may, at least by the naval reader, be comprehended: our exertions, however, enabled us to rely on our own resources for subsistence as well as defence. No sooner had we begun to examine our situation with reference to strengthen it, than Rafael Lobo expressed great apprehensions and alarm that an attack from the hostile Indians, or, as he termed them, “Enemigos” Indians, would be made upon us, and urgently advised our removing two leagues distant to the northward; for, said he, if we remained in our present position, they would have an advantage, from our exposed situation in a flat plain, and, to use his own meaning, the mounted Indians would ride over us. Captain Seymour consented, therefore, to send two officers with him, for the purpose of examining the ground; but the disadvantage of being at such a distance from the wreck was greater than any slight security that would be afforded us by changing our present position. He was therefore told by the captain his determination to defend the ground he now occupied; and with that view he proceeded to strengthen it by every means in his power.

[Illustration: _Plan of Molguilla Camp, showing the Position of the Crew under Arms._]

An offer was made to Rafael Lobo to put up a small tent, at a little distance south of our camp, for shelter for himself and his armed party of Indians, which was accepted. It may not be here misplaced to give a slight sketch of the history and character of the savages amongst whom it had been our fate to be thrown. The population of the province of Arauco in Chili is by far the most warlike in the whole of South America: all the valour and experience of the Spanish arms, in the days of their greatest glory, failed in their obstinate and repeated endeavours to subdue the Indians of Arauco, who have maintained their independence to the present day, and are denominated by the Spaniards “The unconquerable Araucanos.” A beautiful epic poem in the Spanish language, written by Don Alonso de Ervilla y Zunija, published in 1590, describes the battles in which he was actively engaged. His descriptions of the wonderful valour and perseverance of those valiant Indians would appear exaggerated, did not their protracted and heroic resistance against the best men of Spain, at a period when every Spanish soldier was a hero, fully justify the truth of the narration. The greatest part of the Araucanos are, to the present day, engaged in a war of extermination with the Chilino Spaniards.

The Araucano Indian is strong-built and active, with long shaggy dark hair hanging all round his head, as low as his shoulders; and when attacking an enemy, it is allowed partially to cover his face: his person is on these occasions frequently smeared over with mare’s blood. His legs are bare to the knees; he wears a kind of short loose drawers, made of Indian manufacture, with a poncho of the same material; rides a horse of poor appearance, but great capacity, with large spurs of iron, if he can get them, secured to his bare heel with hide straps; his stirrups are only large enough to admit his great toe. Under his poncho, round his waist, is a large knife, often as broad as an English billhook; a set of bolas[1]; and attached to his saddle is his lasso. His spear is a long bamboo staff, with a sharp iron point on its end, which, from its length (twenty-five feet or more), is very flexible, and when in use is kept constantly moving, so that the eye of the adversary cannot discover the intended spot of thrust. The women are often mounted in a similar manner, with the addition of a sort of wrapper round the upper part of the legs. Their cunning is very great. They are very dirty; and they appear, in point of civilisation, a most degraded race of savages. Their principal food is potatoes, sometimes a little meat, frequently the flesh of mares; and they eat many of the numerous kinds of nuts and berries which abound on the hills in the interior of their country. Salt is an article much in request amongst them. It was not uncommon to see a group of them squatted round a grass net of boiled potatoes, with a lump of rock-salt, which they constantly passed from mouth to mouth, round their circle, each taking a hearty suck. The surf continued heavy, and, at intervals, affected the wreck a good deal. The evening closed in with foggy damp weather: the arms were examined, and the watches on board, as well as in the camp, mustered preparatory for the night.