Accidents > Dangers of the deep, or, Narratives of shipwreck and adventure at sea

VALPARAISO.
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court; all the chief caciques meeting him, and
informing him of what has passed since his last
visit, and receiving fresh orders for the year to
come. At Castro we had the same liberty we
enjoyed at Chaco, and visited every body. It
seemed they had forgot all the ceremony used
upon our first landing here, which-was with an
intent to make us believe it was strongly for¬
tified; for now they let us see plainly that they
had neither fort nor gun. At Chaco they had
a little earthen fort, with a small ditch palisa-
doed round it, and a few old honey-combed
guns without carriages, and which do not de¬
fend the harbour in the least. Whilst we were
at Castro, the old lady, (at whose house we lay
the first night upon leaving the Jesuits’college)
sent to the governor, and begged I might be
allowed to come to her for a few weeks: this
was granted; and accordingly I went and
passed about three weeks with her very hap¬
pily, as she seemed to be as fond of me as if I
had been her own son. She was very unwill¬
ing to part with me again; but as the governor
was soon to return to Chaco, he sent for me,
and I left my benefactress with regret.
Amongst the houses we visited at Castro,
there was one belonging to an old priest, who