These pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance of
alighting on one of them is not small. It is remarkable, however,
how active custom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad
parts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to
the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On
both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with
their bases matted together by canes. When occasionally a long
reach of this avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene
of uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective,
became hidden by the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which
ascended some steep hill.
Although the distance from S. Carlos to Castro is only twelve
leagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have
been a great labour. I was told that several people had formerly
lost their lives in attempting to cross the forest. The first who
succeeded was an Indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight
days, and reached S. Carlos: he was rewarded by the Spanish
government with a grant of land. During the summer, many of the
Indians wander about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts,
where the woods are not quite so thick), in search of the half-wild
cattle which live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees.
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