its neighbourhood afford even the smallest necessary of life, not even water, which the inhabitants have to bring in boats from the Quebrada, or breach of Pisagua, ten leagues to the northward; wherefore, being so miserable a place, the advantage derived from the guana or cormorant’s dung seems the only inducement for its being inhabited.  To be at some distance from the excessively offensive stench of the dung, they have built their wretched habitations on the main, in a most hideous situation, and still even too near the guana, the vapours from which are even there very bad, yet not quite so suffocating as on the island.  The sea here affords abundance of excellent fish, some kinds of which I had never before seen; one of them resembling a large silver eel, but much thicker in proportion.  The inhabitants of this desolate and forbidding place cure these fish in a very cleanly manner, and export large quantities of them by the vessels which come for the guana.

[Footnote 271:  There is no island on the coast of Peru in that latitude.  Iquique is a town on the main land, about thirty miles from the sea.  The islands called los Patillos, or the Claws, are near the coast, in lat. 20 deg. 45’ S. and probably one of these may have got the name of Iquique, as being under the jurisdiction of that town.  The mountain Carapacha of the text, is probably the hills of Tarapaca of our maps.—­E.]

We were informed by two Indian prisoners, that the lieutenant of Iquique had a boat at Pisagua for water, of which we began to be in need, for which reason I sent Mr Randal in search of her.  He failed in this object, but brought off a few bladders full of water, and three or four balsas, very artificially sewed and filled with wind, which are used for landing on this dangerous coast.  On these the rower sits across, using a double paddle; and as the wind escapes from the skin bags, he has a contrivance for supplying the deficiency.  These are the chief embarkations used by the fishermen, and are found very serviceable for landing on this coast, which has hardly a smooth beach from one end of it to the other.  We intended to have looked into the port of Arica, but heard there was a ship there of force, on which we continued our course to the northwards to La Nasca.  Off that port we met a large ship about two hours before day, and though we rowed very hard, it was ten o’clock before we got up with her.  After a brisk dispute of six or seven hours, we were obliged to leave her, in consequence of the sea-breeze coming in very strong.  She was called the Francisco Palacio, of 700 tons, 8 guns, and 10 patereroes, with a great number of men, and well provided with small arms; but was so deeply laden that, in rolling, the water ran over her deck and out at her scuppers; indeed she had more the appearance of an ill-contrived floating castle, than of a ship, according to the present fashion of Europe.  Thus we had the misfortune, on this forlorn