516
C O Q C O Q
tifni appearance. A mountain similar to this is
found in the marshes of Maule.]
Copiapo, a river Avhich rises in the cordillera.
It runs two leagues to the w. passes near the settle-
ment of its name, and empties itself into the S. sea,
serving as a port for vessels.
Morro de Copiapo, a mountain, called Morro de Copiapo,
in the coast, at the side of the port of its name.
COPILA, a small settlement or ward of the
alcaldia mayor of Guachinango in Nueva Espana ;
annexed to the curacy of Naupan.
COPORAQUE, a settlement of the province
and corregimiento of Canes and Canches or Tinta
in Peru.
COPORAQUE, another, in the province and cor-
regimiento of Collahuas of the same kingdom.
COPORAQUE, another. See Vilcomayo.
(COPPER Mine, a large river of New Britain,
reckoned to be the most n. in N. America. Taking
a n. course, it falls into the sea in lat, 19P n. and
about long. 119° a;, from Greenwich. The ac-
counts brought by the Indians of this river to the
Rritish ports in Hudson bay, and the specimens of
copper produced by them, induced Mr. Hearne to
set out from fort Prince of Wales, in December
1770, on a journey of discovery. He reached the
river on the 14th July, at 40 miles distance from
the sea, and found it all the way encumbered with
shoals and falls, and emptying itself into it over a
dry flat of the shore, the tide being then out, which
seemed by the edges of the ice to rise about 12 or
14 feet. This rise, on account of the falls, will
carry it but a very small way within the river’s
mouth ; so that the water in it has not the least
brackish taste, Mr. Hearne had the most exten-
sive view of the sea, which bore n. w. by w. and
n. e. when he was about eight miles up the river.
The sea at the river’s mouth was full of islands
and shoals ; but the ice was only thawed away
about three-fourths of a mile from the shore, on the
17th of July. The Esquimaux had a quantity of
whale-bone and seal-skins at their tents on the
shore.)
COPTA, a settlement of the province and cor-
regimiento of Aricá in Peru.
COPTOS, silver mines of the province and
corregimiento of Guamachuco in Peru ; they are
most abundant, and have yielded immense wealth.
COPUENO, a settlement of the province and
government of Quixos and Macas in the kingdom
of Quito.
COQUEROSO, a settlement of the province
and captainship of Sergipe in Brazil ; situate on
the shore of the river Cirti.
COQUE-UIELLE, a shoal of the n. coast of
the island of St. Domingo, in the French posses-
sions, between the point Roche-a-Picoler and the
river Grande.
COQUIBACOA, Cabo de, a point of land
which runs into the sea, on the coast of the pro-
vince and government of Venezuela, distinct from
that of Chichibacoa. ‘
COQUIMBO, a province and corregimiento of
the kingdom of Chile ; bounded e. by the pro-
vince of Tucuman, of the kingdom of Peru, tho
cordillera running between ; s. by the province of
Quillota; and w. by the Pacific ocean. It is 80
leagues in length s. and 40 in width e, w. Its
temperature is very benign ; and on account of
its not raining much in the sierra,, through the low
situation of this part of the province, the snow
and frost is not so common here, nor does it stay
upon the ground so long as it does upon the
parts which lie s. of Santiago. For the same
reason the rivers are few, and th# largest of them
are those of Los Santos or Limari, and that which
passes through its capital. Many huanmos and
vicunas breed here. The territory is for the most
part broken and uneven, and produces, although
not in abundance, the same fruits as in the whole
kingdom, such as grain, wine, and oil of excel*
lent quality. It has many gold mines, likewise
some of silver, copper, lead, sulphur, white lime,
and salt ; but the most abundant of all are those of
copper; large quantities of this metal having been
sent to Spain for founding artillery, and indeed
from the same source has been made all the artillery
in this kingdom. This metal is found of two sorts,
one which is called campanal, and is only fit for
founding, and the other, which has a mixture of
gold, and is called de labrar,, or working metal, and
which is known only in this province. Here also
they make large quantities of rigging for ships.
Its inhabitants may amount to 15,000. [In this
province is found tlie quisco tree, with thorns of
eight inches long ; the same being used by the na-
tives for knitting needles. It is noted for produc-
ing the best oysters, and for a resin which is yielded
from the herb chilca. See Chieb.] The capital
bears the same name, or that of La Serena. This
was the second settlement of the kingdom, and
founded by the order of Pedro de Valdivia, by
Captain Juan Bohon, in 1543, in the valley of
Cuquimpi, which gave it its name, and which,
being corrupted, is now called Coquimbo, and
El Segundo de la Serena, in memory of the country
of Valdivia in Estremadura. It lies at a quarter
of a league’s distance from the sea, and is situate
EN