een the mainland and a chain of
islands, two hundred miles in length. Nothing could be grander than the
scenery which those on board the _Dragon_ beheld, as the ship threaded
her way through this intricate channel, with the islands on the left
hand, and lofty snow-capped mountains towering up on the right. As she
proceeded northward, their bases appeared covered with trees, reaching
almost to the water's edge, deep bays and gulfs running up far inland;
indeed, the whole scenery was grand and beautiful. It required careful
steering and a bright look-out ahead to avoid running on shore, a hot
tide being frequently met with which might quickly have whirled the ship
round on the rocks.

At length, a heavy gale blowing outside, in order to avoid it she ran
through a narrow passage, and entered a small harbour known as Connor
Cove. The mountains, thickly covered with trees for some distance up,
rose around the harbour, their snowy summits towering to the sky. The
scene was grand and sombre, a few sea-birds only appearing, who, with
their loud, wild shrieks increased its melancholy character. Though
several of the officers landed, they could make no progress through the
dense forest, the whole ground being one mass of rotten timber, amid
which grew ferns and moss of various descriptions. Here, though the
gale raged overhead, she lay as securely as in a dock, moored by the
stern with a hawser to a large tree on shore. The gale having ceased,
steam was again got up, and about forty miles on she entered the open
sea, and passed several Chilian towns, the most northern being Lota and
Coronel, at both of which places extensive coal-mining operations were
carried on. At the latter, the _Dragon_ took in a fresh supply of coal,
which would carry her, if properly husbanded, across the Pacific.
Steaming northward, she entered the bay of Valparaiso, which Tom, as he
looked at the barren, red, and bare hills surrounding it, with scarce a
bush except the cactus to be seen, pronounced a very odd sort of
Paradise. The town stands partly on the shores of the bay, and chiefly
on a number of hills separated by valleys, with the mighty Cordilleras
rising beyond, giving the scenery, in spite of the barren aspect of the
foreground, a grand and picturesque character. The bay was full of
vessels, showing that a considerable amount of trade is carried on in
the place. Jack and his officers received numerous invitations both
from the Engli