Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836
The islets, at the north part of the port, were well stocked with geese and other birds, which supplied our people with fresh meals. The steamer duck we found difficult to shoot, from its excessive wariness, and power of remaining, for a great length of time, under water.
Our fine weather lasted but a few hours, and (no unusual occurrence in these regions) was succeeded by a week's rain and wind, during which we were confined to the small space of the Adelaide; and for some days had three anchors down, owing to the violent squalls. Farenheit's thermometer ranged between thirty-six and forty-six degrees, and we had several snow storms, but the snow did not lie on the low grounds.
On the 28th the gale began to subside, and there was a change for the better; but we were again disappointed, and not until the 31st could we effect our departure from this dreary and confined little place.
The day before we sailed, three canoes, containing in all sixteen persons, of whom six only were men, came alongside.
For about an hour they had hesitated to approach; but when once near us, very little invitation was necessary to induce them to come on board. One was clothed in a duck shirt, which was recognised by one of our people, who had joined us from the Uxbridge, as having been given to them a few weeks before, when that vessel passed through Magdalen Channel: another wore a red flannel shirt, and in the canoe we observed an European boarding-pike, painted green, and a part of the iron-work of the cutter, burned at Port Famine during our absence; also some relics of the boat in which Mr. Ainsworth was drowned, which last they had doubtless found thrown up on the beach. Upon our inquiring how they became possessed of the iron-work, they pointed towards Fort Famine; and I have no doubt they were concerned in the fire; but as we could not explain to them the mischief they had occasioned, it was thought better not to notice the affair, and the articles were returned to them. They could have had no idea of our being the owners of the boat, or they would have concealed all that belonged to her.
They conducted themselves very quietly during their stay on board, with the exception of one, who tried to pick my pocket of a handkerchief; the offender was ordered out of the vessel, and there was no further attempt to pilfer. They wished to go below; but this was not permitted, because the odour of their oily persons was scarcely tolerable, even in the open air. As to food, tallow-candles, biscuit, beef, plumb-pudding, were equally liked, and swallowed most voraciously. One of them was discovered taking the tallow out of the end of the deep sea lead and eating it, although mixed with sand and dirt.
Before sunset their canoes were despatched on shore to prepare the wigwams, during which operation three of the men remained on board; and as soon as the preparations were made they called for a canoe and went on shore. We obtained several spears, baskets, necklaces, bows and arrows from them in barter; but they seemed to have very few skins. Perhaps those they possessed were hidden in the bushes, because they had no wish to part with them.
One woman was covered with a guanaco mantle; another merely wore a seal-skin over her back and shoulders, which, while she crouched in the canoe, was sufficient to cover her person. One had a black stripe down the nose, but she was the only female among them who was so painted.
Next morning the Indians visited us with a fresh assortment of bows and arrows, in the manufacture of which they had evidently passed the night, for every one was quite new; the bows were of green wood, and the arrows not even pointed. They found, however, a ready sale. One of the party was a man who had been turned out of our vessel the preceding evening, for picking my pocket; but he was daubed over with a whitish pigment to deceive us, and would probably have escaped detection, but for the unusual ugliness of his person, which was not so easily disguised. He was much disconcerted by our recognition; and our refusal to barter with him made him angry and sullen.
The women had daubed their faces all over with bright red ochre; to add to their beauty, no doubt.
We sailed out of the port by the northern passage, and standing across the Strait, anchored in San Nicolas Bay. Mr. Graves went to Bougainville Harbour, to communicate with the Adeona, and take letters from me to Lieutenant Wickham. He brought back an account of all being well at Port Famine, and of the Beagle having sailed on the 17th.
When we left Port Famine my intention was to examine the Magdalen Channel; but, upon leaving San Nicolas Bay (1st April), the weather was so favourable for our proceeding to the westward, that I changed my mind and steered round Cape Froward in order to get to Port Gallant, whence, with a westerly wind, we might more easily survey the coast in returning. An easterly breeze carried us near Cape Holland, into Wood's Bay, where we anchored, and obtained a bearing of Mount Sarmiento, which, being clear of clouds, was a conspicuous, and even splendid object; for the sun's setting rays, shining upon the projecting snowy ridges on its western side, gave it the appearance of a mass of streaky gold. It had been in sight the whole day, as well as the preceding evening, when its bearings were taken from the islet in San Nicolas Bay.
The next day was so calm that we only reached an anchorage in Bradley Cove, on the west side of Bell Bay, of which a plan was made; an extensive set of bearings was also taken on the west point of the bay, evidently that called by Sarmiento Tinquichisgua.101 The conspicuous mountain at the back of the bay, on its south-eastern side, is particularly noticed by him, and, according to his opinion, is the "Campana de Roldan" of Magalhaens.102 Between Bradley Cove and Point Tinquichisgua are two coves, over which a high double-peaked mountain forms a conspicuous object upon rounding Cape Froward; and they were named in compliment to Mr. Pond, the late Astronomer Royal.
While at Point Tinquichisgua we were discovered by some natives to the westward, who immediately got into their canoes, and paddled towards us; but, as we had no arms in the boat, I did not think it prudent to await their arrival; and therefore, after taking the requisite angles, embarked and returned to the Adelaide, examining the inlets under Mount Pond on our way. Nothing more was seen of the Indians until the following morning, when, as we sailed out of the bay, they made their appearance, but we did not communicate with them. They were as vociferous as usual, and pointed to the shore, inviting us to land. One of them, who stood up in the canoe while we passed, was ornamented about the hair and body with white feathers.
This part of the Strait teems with whales, seals, and porpoises. While we were in Bradley Cove, a remarkable appearance of the water spouted by whales was observed; it hung in the air like a bright silvery mist, and was visible to the naked eye, at the distance of four miles, for one minute and thirty-five seconds before it disappeared.
A glance at the chart of this part of the Strait will show the difference of geological structure in the opposite coasts. The north shore, from Cape Froward to Port Gallant, forms a straight line, with scarcely a projection or bight; but on the opposite side there is a succession of inlets, surrounded by precipitous mountains, which are separated by ravines. The northern shore is of slate; but the other is principally of greenstone, and its mountains, instead of running up into sharp peaks, and narrow serrated ridges, are generally round-topped. The vegetation on both sides is almost equally abundant, but the trees on the south shore are much smaller. The smooth-leaved beech (Fagus betuloides) and Winter's-bark are the principal trees; but here and there a small tree was observed, like a cypress, which does not grow to the eastward, excepting on the sides of Mount Tarn, where it only reaches the height of three or four feet.
The scenery of this part of the Strait, instead of being as Cordova describes it, "horrible," is at this season exceedingly striking and picturesque. The highest mountains certainly are bare of vegetation; but their sharp peaks and snow-covered summits afford a pleasing contrast to the lower hills, thickly clothed with trees quite to the water's side, which is bordered by masses of bare rock, studded with ferns and moss, and backed by the rich dark-green foliage of the berberis and arbutus shrubs, with here and there a beech-tree, just beginning to assume its autumnal tints.
In working into the narrow entrance of Port Gallant, the schooner grounded upon a bank that extends off the mouth of the river; but the water being perfectly smooth, no damage was caused. As a secure cove, Port Gallant is the best in the Strait of Magalhaens; from the stillness of its waters, it is a perfect wet dock, and from its position it is invaluable. There are many coves as safe and convenient when once entered; but the prevailing steepness of the shores, as well as the great depth of water, are obstacles of serious importance. Here, however, is an exception: the bottom is even and the depth moderate; besides, Fortescue Bay, close by, is an excellent roadstead or stopping-place, to await an opportunity of entering.
For repairing a ship, Port Famine is more convenient, on account of the quantity and size of well-seasoned timber lying about the beach, and also from the open character of the country. At Port Gallant the trees are much stunted, and unfit for present use, while the shore, as is the case around almost every cove to the westward of Cape Froward, is covered with shrubs and brushwood, quite to the high-water mark; so that there is no possibility of walking easily to any distance from the sea-side. A shingle, or sandy beach, twenty or thirty yards in length, occasionally intervenes, but is scarcely preferable to a vessel's deck, for a walk.
CHAPTER IX
Detention in Port San Antonio – Humming-birds in snow showers – Fuegians – Geological remarks – Canoes – Carving – Birds – Fish – Shag Narrows – Glaciers – Avalanches – Natives – Climate – Winter setting in – Adelaide loses a boat – Floods – Lightning – Scurvy – Adelaide's survey – Bougainville Harbour – Indians cross the Strait, and visit Port Famine – Sealing vessels sail – Scurvy increases – Adelaide sent for guanaco meat – Return of the Beagle – Captain Stokes very ill – Adelaide brings meat from the Patagonians – Death of Captain Stokes.
Our stay at this port was prolonged beyond my intention by thick snowy weather and hard gales, which cut off our communication with the shore; for notwithstanding we were in so sheltered a place, and the vessel had three anchors down, we did not consider her quite secure against the violent squalls. We had been fortunate in procuring observations, and took advantage of our detention to lay down the operations of the preceding days on paper. Muscles were found in great abundance on the mud flats. There are three varieties, one of which has a bitter, disagreeable taste, but the others are exceedingly good and wholesome. One of the latter is of large size (Mytilus Magellanicus of the Ency. Méth.) The other is of a more globose form than the bitter sort, and has a very obtuse hinge and margin. The bitter kind contains pearls, which are valueless, because small, and of a bad colour.
At first there were plenty of sea-birds103 in the cove, which took refuge at the head of the bay; till after two days, they deserted us altogether. There appeared to be an abundance of fish; but as we had not provided ourselves with a seine, and they would not take bait, we were confined for refreshments principally to shell-fish.
No traces of quadrupeds, excepting an Indian dog, were noticed. Here Wallis's people saw a large cloven-footed animal, which they described to be as "big as a jack-ass." It was probably a deer, one or two of which had occasionally appeared at Port Famine.(104)
It has been mentioned that we found many humming-birds at Port San Antonio, which we attributed to the sheltered situation of the place, and the luxuriant growth of fuchsias and other plants, upon the sweets of whose flowers they feed. Here, however, one of the same species was seen sporting about in a most exposed place and during the falling of a snow shower, a proof of the hardy character of this little bird, which, if it does migrate upon the approach of winter to a warmer clime, lingers, at least, as long as it possibly can. This was the middle of April, the winter had, in fact, already commenced, and all the mountains around us were clothed with snow, while the ground was also coated with the same dazzling covering. Mr. Graves intended to ascend the Mountain de la Cruz; but a heavy fall of snow prevented the attempt, and we lost the opportunity of obtaining a round of angles from that elevation, which would have materially assisted our operations. We should also have obtained a bird's-eye view of the Barbara Channel and the Sounds on the opposite side of the Strait, whose extent and nature we did not know; for Cordova's notice of San Simon's Bay, and a deep inlet which exists to the westward of it, is very unsatisfactory.
There were no signs of a recent visit from the Fuegians, though at the entrance of the cove we found three or four wigwams in good repair; whence it seems probable, that the place is one of their frequent haunts. When the Beagle came here last year, some station staves were left standing; but, before her return, every one had been removed; and when Captain Stokes went down the Barbara Channel, to the relief of the Saxe Cobourg's crew, those staves were seen in the possession of the Indians.
A fine morning (11th) induced us to leave this quiet anchorage, to examine the openings of the south shore; and in the afternoon, the anchor was dropped in a convenient place, on the west side of the western inlet, named by us Warrington Cove. While crossing the bay from Point Elvira, the north extremity of Cayetano Island, several 'smokes' were observed on the low land, at the bottom of the inlet; and after we anchored two canoes visited us, containing six men, four women, and two or three children. They approached very cautiously, and could not be induced to come alongside. At last the men landed, and invited us to communicate with them. I therefore went on shore with two or three officers, and remained with them half an hour, during which they gradually lost the distrust they had at first evinced; but each man still carried a number of pebbles in the corner of his wrapper, ready to repel any attack we might make upon them; from the knowledge we have since obtained of their character, I think it probable that they had lately committed some act of aggression on a sealing-vessel, and were afraid of retaliation. Our conduct tended to assure them of our friendship; and, shortly after we left the shore, they came alongside in their canoes, and were very familiar, eagerly bartering their necklaces and baskets. In their way to us they had probably landed their more valuable goods, such as otter and seal-skins, as well as their weapons and dogs, without which they never go far.
The natives of this part are considered by the sealers to be the most mischievously inclined of any in the Strait, or Tierra del Fuego. The appearance of our visitors was certainly against them; but they did not commit themselves during our two or three days' communication, by any act which could make us complain, or cause suspicion of their honesty and friendship. We, however, kept too good a look-out, to enable them to take advantage of our seeming good-nature.
Among bushes behind the high beach were three wigwams, but the Indians had no intention of remaining with us for the night. They went away, to our great satisfaction, at an early hour, and returned to the bottom of the sound, where a large party of their countrymen was assembled. Their departure enabled us to look round, in the vicinity of our anchorage, and examine its productions, which differed in no way from those of other parts of the coast. Its geological structure is, however, different: the rocks are greenstone, or granite, without slate. Mount Maxwell, rising immediately over the cove, is the termination of a rocky mountain range, whose summits are crowned with snow. The verdant sides of the hill, interspersed at intervals with large masses of bare rock, produced, from a distance, rather a pleasing effect; but, upon examination, the verdure was found to consist principally of moss, or a stunted vegetation, covering a soft and swampy soil. The upper portions of the mount are so precipitous as not to be easily reached; and, indeed, many parts rise with a perpendicular ascent for more than a hundred feet. On the south side of Mount Maxwell is Smyth Inlet, which contains anchorage on the north shore, particularly one in Earle Cove; but in the centre the water is deep, and on that account, it is not an inviting place for a ship. During Mr. Graves's absence in Smyth Harbour, I examined the coast as far as Cape Edgeworth, where I obtained an extensive set of bearings. The afternoon was particularly favourable for the purpose, the snow-capped mountains of the north shore were perfectly distinct; and among them was a very high one, shaped like a Highland target, the peak of the mountain answering to the central spike of the shield. We never afterwards saw it, nor could I, on this occasion, fix its position better, than by estimating its distance. The rock is chiefly greenstone, accompanied by considerable masses of granite. A little islet, off Dighton Cove, is composed of granite, of a lamelliform structure. Mr. Graves brought me a specimen of lamelliform granite attached to a mass of greenstone.
The Indians visited us every day, their number being generally from twelve to sixteen, of which five or six only were men, the rest were women, and children of all ages. One of the latter could not have been more than three weeks old; yet the mother, apparently about sixteen years of age, was always occupied in the laborious employment of paddling the canoes. The child was secured in the mother's lap, with its head on her bosom, by a mantle, which was drawn tightly round both mother and child. Their canoes were similar to those of the eastern parts of the Strait, about ten feet long, holding four or five grown persons and two or three children, besides their dogs, implements, and weapons: they are formed of bark, and kept in shape by wooden cross supports secured to the gunwale, which is lined by a long, slender pole. They are divided into three compartments, the foremost occupying about one-third of the length, contains the spears, placed ready for immediate use; in the second are the grown persons, with the fire-place between them, the men sitting between the fire-place and the spears, to be ready to use them upon the approach of seals or porpoises; on the opposite side of the fire-place are seated the women who paddle the canoe, in which the men sometimes assist, when great expedition is necessary. Behind the women, in the third division, are the elder children and the dogs, the younger children being generally stowed away in the women's laps, for the sake of mutual warmth. The fire is made upon a layer of clay, several inches thick, at the bottom of the canoe; and above the fire, across the gunwales, are laid several pieces of half-burnt wood, for fuel.
During our communications with these visitors they conducted themselves peaceably, and made no attempt to pilfer, although there was some little roguery displayed by them in barter. One of the men having parted with all his disposable property, tendered one of his daughters, a fine girl of fourteen or fifteen years of age, for some mere trifle, and, being refused, became very pressing and importunate to close the bargain for the price that was jestingly offered; nor was it without difficulty that he was convinced we were not in earnest. They were as poor as the rest of their countrymen, very badly clothed, and possessing few skins to barter. Two of them exchanged their otter skin mantles for cotton shirts, which they continued to wear without complaining of cold.
As their visits lasted all day they always brought their food, consisting of the blubber of seals and porpoises. The method used by them in cutting it up is nearly similar to that adopted by the Esquimaux Indians, as described by Sir Edward Parry in his second voyage, and also resembles the process of the natives of King George's Sound, which I have described in the account of my survey of Australia (vol. ii. p. 140): a piece of blubber being held in the left hand, a corner of it is taken between the teeth, and it is then cut by a knife, held underhanded, into strips backward and forward, without passing the instrument entirely through: so that when the operation is finished the piece draws out into a long band, about an inch thick, formed by the connected strips. The whole affair from first to last is most offensive to the sight; and the countenance of the carver is beyond description, for his eyes being directed to the blubber, squint shockingly, and give his ugly face a hideous appearance. The strip of blubber is next divided among the party, each of whom proceeds to extract its oily juices by drawing it through his teeth and sucking it, after which it is warmed in the fire to facilitate its division into small pieces, which are swallowed or bolted without mastication. Morsels of this dainty food were given not only to the elder children, but even to infants at the breast.
On the 14th, while preparing to weigh, the Indians came on board and helped to heave in the cable, but without rendering us much real assistance. When the sails were loosed, the women in the canoes began to chatter and scream for fear we should carry off their friends, and their alarm was no sooner given than the deck was cleared of our visitors, who seemed to be quite as much frightened for their safety as the women were. In a few minutes afterwards we were proceeding to the southward, and first tried to anchor in a bay on the south side of Smyth Harbour, but finding the depth too great, I sent Lieut. Graves to sound behind an islet where there were indications of a place of shelter, but he returned unsuccessful. During his absence I went to a very narrow passage, which he had discovered, leading to a large channel or sound; but finding it intricate, I deferred trying to enter with the vessel until a more favourable opportunity should offer, and we returned to the place south of Warrington Cove, called Dighton Bay, where we anchored off a sandy beach in twenty fathoms, and secured the vessel by laying the kedge on the shore. This sandy beach was the first we had found in the eastern part of the Strait. The sand is quartzose, of a white colour, and being a novelty, rendered the place interesting. A stream, supplied by the ravines of Mount Maxwell, runs over the beach into the sea, and from it an abundant supply of excellent water may be obtained without difficulty.
We observed no quadrupeds; but, of the feathered tribe, we found woodpeckers, kingfishers, and woodcocks, and in the sheltered nooks several humming-birds were darting about the flowery underwood of berberis, fuchsia, and arbutus. In the tide-way, at the narrow passage, the sea teemed with fish; over which hovered corvorants and other sea-fowl, preying upon the small fry that were trying to elude their voracious enemies, the porpoises and seals, thousands of which were seen sporting about as we proceeded on our way. Whales were also numerous in the vicinity, probably because of an abundance of the small red shrimp, which constitutes their principal food.
I went again to examine the passage, and the tide being against us, we were obliged to pull close to the western shore to benefit by the partial eddies, otherwise we could not have proceeded until the turn of the tide.
These narrows, named 'Shag' Narrows, from the quantity of birds there so called by seamen, are not a hundred yards wide. The south end is fronted by an island, from whose summit, about four hundred feet high, I hoped to obtain a good view southward, and after passing the narrows we landed and reached the summit. While looking around at the view, and preparing the theodolite, a woodcock started up from the long grass and walked away so leisurely, that Mr. Tarn nearly succeeded in striking it with a stick. This bird afforded us a name for the station, which we found to be at the northern side of a large basin, ten miles wide, and six long, terminated at its south end by a channel leading to the open sea, but crowded with islands and rocks. A deep inlet or chasm in the land, at the N.W. corner of this basin, was filled with masses of floating ice, broken from an enormous glacier.