Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836

During an excursion with Mr. Tarn to Eagle Bay,33 beyond Cape San Isidro, we found many wigwams. They were then novelties to us, and we were ignorant of their being such certain indications of very sheltered places, as subsequent experience has shown them to be. We often used them, after they had been well cleaned out: a boat's sail, thrown over the hemispherical roof, was a sufficient protection from rain; – and from wind they are always well defended by their situation. Here we saw, for the first time, that most remarkable bird the Steamer-duck. Before steam-boats were in general use, this bird was denominated, from its swiftness in skimming over the surface of the water, the 'race-horse,' a name which occurs frequently in Cook's, Byron's, and other voyages. It is a gigantic duck, the largest I have met with. It has the lobated hind-toe, legs placed far backwards, and other characteristics of the oceanic ducks.34 The principal peculiarity of this bird is, the shortness and remarkably small size of the wings, which, not having sufficient power to raise the body, serve only to propel it along, rather than through the water, and are used like the paddles of a steam-vessel. Aided by these and its strong, broad-webbed feet, it moves with astonishing velocity. It would not be an exaggeration to state its speed at from twelve to fifteen miles an hour. The peculiar form of the wing, and the short rigid feathers which cover it, together with the power this bird possesses of remaining a considerable length of time under water, constitute it a striking link between the genera Anas and Aptenodytes. It has been noticed by many former navigators. The largest we found measured forty inches, from the extremity of the bill, to that of the tail, and weighed thirteen pounds; but Captain Cook mentions, in his second voyage, that the weight of one was twenty-nine pounds.35 It is very difficult to kill them, on account of their wariness and thick coat of feathers, which is impenetrable by any thing smaller than swan shot. The flavour of their flesh is so strong and fishy, that at first we killed them solely for specimens. Five or six months, however, on salt provisions, taught many to think such food palatable, and the seamen never lost an opportunity of eating them. I have preferred these ducks to salt-beef, but more as a preventive against scurvy, than from liking their taste.

I am averse to altering names, particularly in natural history, without very good reason, but in this case I do think the name of 'steamer' much more appropriate, and descriptive of the swift paddling motion of these birds, than that of 'race-horse.' I believe, too, the name of 'steamer' is now generally given to it by those who have visited these regions.

Many shells36 were taken from the bottom by means of a fizgig which Mr. Tarn found in one of the wigwams: it was a rough pole, eight or ten feet long, split crosswise at one end, and opened so as to form four prongs, kept apart by two small pieces of wood. Although rudely made, it was excellently adapted for a shell-gatherer, and is used by the Indians for collecting sea-eggs, which are found in the Strait of very large size, and are doubtless, to them, a great delicacy.

During our excursion we ascertained the best place to ascend the snowy mountain, since named 'Tarn;' and the surgeon, whose name it bears, set off with a party of officers to make the attempt, in which he succeeded, and obtained such an extensive view as induced me to decide upon ascending it, a few days afterwards, to procure bearings from the summit, and for the purpose of measuring its height with a barometer.

In the meantime I visited the Sedger river (Sarmiento's 'Rio de San Juan de Posesion'), and found some difficulty in entering it, because of several banks which are dry at low water. Between them, however, the stream keeps a small channel open, by which we effected our purpose. Every gale of wind causes the banks to shift, and between the times of our first, and last, visit to Port Famine, the river's mouth underwent many changes. The bed of the river is so full of fallen trees, that we could not go, with the boat, more than three miles and a half above the entrance; there it was about fifteen yards wide, bounded on each side by thickly wooded banks, of moderate height. The trees on these banks are large, chiefly the two species of Beech before-mentioned, and Winter's-bark; there are besides many shrubs, and an impenetrable underwood of Arbutus, Berberis, and currant bushes. The largest Beech-tree that we saw could not have been more than thirty or forty inches in diameter, which was insignificant compared with those noticed by Commodore Byron. In describing his excursion up this river, he mentions "trees that would supply the British navy with the best masts in the world."37 "Some of them are of a great height, and more than eight feet in diameter, which is proportionally more than eight yards in circumference."38 The Commodore may have been pleased by the appearance of these trees, but must have fancied their quality and dimensions such as he describes. The largest are generally rotten at the heart, and all are more or less defective. Their wood is heavy, and far too brittle for masts: we could not use it even for boat-hook staves. It makes, however, tolerable plank for boat-building, and, when seasoned, might be used in ships. For common purposes, such as houses, or fences, it is very serviceable.

We wandered about to examine the country; but, excepting the track of some quadruped, whose foot was small and cloven, rather like a pig's, we saw nothing new. The traces of foxes were numerous every where. We found no fish of any description in the river. Geese and wild ducks were numerous, whose young were at this time scarcely fledged, and an easy prey. We also observed here, for the first time, the parroquet, which Bougainville described to be common in the Strait. He carried specimens home with him; but some naturalists of those days decided that there must have been a mistake, because, as they averred, parroquets did not exist in so high a latitude. Bougainville, however, made no mistake, for the species39 is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Port Famine, and has been seen by us in all parts of the Strait. It feeds principally upon the seeds of the Winter's-bark. The existence of this bird in Tierra del Fuego is also mentioned by Cook and Narborough.40

All accounts of Port Famine informed us of its abounding in fish, but as yet we had taken none excepting with hook and line, although the seine had been frequently shot. At last, however, in the first week of February, we had a successful haul of mullet and smelts, many of the former weighing eight pounds, and the latter measuring fifteen inches in length. After this we were often very fortunate, and on one occasion caught, at one haul of the seine, sixteen hundred-weight of smelts, some weighing two pounds, and measuring twenty inches in length. A few days previously we had a draught of mullet, which served the crews of both Adventure and Beagle for three days. Geese, wild ducks and teal, snipe, and now and then woodcocks, were to be found by taking a short walk; there were, however, no quadrupeds fit for food which we could take. Foxes and wild cats were occasionally seen, and a foot-mark of some large animal of the feline race, probably a puma, was once observed upon the beach. We found many traces of horses, which showed that the Patagonian Indians sometimes come thus far south. Had we been so fortunate as to meet them here, we might have procured, perhaps, a regular supply of guanaco meat.

On the 9th of February, as the weather seemed favourable for ascending Mount Tarn,41 Lieutenant Cooke, the Surgeon, and Anderson, the botanical collector, set off in advance to select a convenient place for passing the night, carrying with them a tent and provisions. I followed later in the day, and, while the boat's crew were arranging their loads, made some observations with a barometer on the beach.

Our way led through thick underwood, and then, with a gradual ascent, among fallen trees, covered with so thick a coating of moss, that at every step we sunk up to the knees before firm footing could be found. It was very laborious work, and the ground being saturated, and each tree dripping with moisture, we were soon wet through. We proceeded along the same sort of road up a steep ascent; some one of the party constantly falling into deep holes covered by moss, or stumbling over fallen trunks of trees. As I carried a barometer I was obliged to proceed with caution, and succeeded in emerging from this jungle without accident. After about three quarters of an hour spent in this way, we reached an open space, where we rested, and I set up the barometer. Here we found a cypress of very stunted growth.

Our road hence was rather more varied: always steep, but sometimes free from impediment. Here and there we observed the boggy soil was faced with a small plant (Chamitis sp.) of a harsh character, growing so thick and close as to form large tufts, over which we walked as on hard ground. We struggled through several thickets of stunted beech-trees, with a thick jungle of Berberis underneath, whose strong and sharp thorns penetrated our clothes at every step; and began to find the fatigue very oppressive: some of my boat's crew suffered much, being unused to such exercise. At last we approached the place where Mr. Cooke and his party had established themselves, and upon hailing, were invigorated by a cheer in reply. We reached the bivouac in a very way-worn condition, and found, to our great comfort, the tent pitched, and a good fire burning.42

The ground was so exceedingly wet, that although we slept upon branches, forming a layer at least a foot thick, we found ourselves, in the night, lying as if in a morass, and suffering from cold, even with a large fire blazing at our feet. At daylight next morning, just as we were starting, a boat was seen sailing round Cape San Isidro, which, by the aid of a telescope, I made out to be the Hope.

We resumed the ascent, and passed over, rather than through, thickets of the crumply-leaved beech, which, from their exposure to the prevailing winds, rose no higher than twelve or fourteen inches from the ground, with widely-spreading branches, so closely interwoven, as to form a platform that bore our weight in walking. We next traversed an extent of table-land,43 much intersected by ponds of water. Mr. Tarn shot two plovers of a new species (Charadrius rubecola, Zool. Jour. vol. iv. p. 96), and a snipe. We then ascended three or four hundred feet, and crossed a deep ravine. The bottom of the ravine was clay-slate in a decomposing state, but the surface of the ground was strewed with pebbles of granite. Another plain, with many ponds, succeeded; the intervening spaces being covered with tufts of chamitis, and studded here and there with small clusters of dwarf beech; but the ground was so hard, and firm, that we proceeded rapidly, without fatigue, until we attained the height of 1,800 feet, when the ascent became very steep. Near the summit lay a large mass of snow, rapidly melting away. We reached the highest pinnacle of the mount at seven o'clock (having left our resting-place at four), and immediately set up the instruments. I was obliged to avail myself of Mr. Tarn's assistance to hold the barometer, whilst two of my boat's crew held the legs of the theodolite-stand, for the wind was blowing very strongly, and the edge of a precipice was close to us, perpendicular for many hundred feet, and thence downwards so steep, that any body going over would fall at least a thousand feet. The theodolite-stand was unavoidably placed within a very few inches of the edge, and I took a round of angles, suffering, however, intense pain from the piercing coldness of the wind, which, heated as we were by the ascent, was much felt, though the temperature was not lower than 39°. I was lightly clothed, and should have fared badly, had not one of the party lent me his Flushing jacket, while he descended under the lee of the mountain-top to make a fire. The barometer stood at 26,618, the temperature of the air being 40°, and of the mercury 43°.44 Unfortunately the day was very cloudy, and many squalls of sleet and rain, which obscured the hills, passed whilst I was taking bearings. To the N.E., towards the supposed Sebastian Channel, the horizon was too hazy to allow much view. A deep inlet was seen in that direction; but whether the land closed round, or whether a channel was at the bottom, we could not distinguish. A considerable body of water was observed to the southward of Cape St. Valentyn, behind Lomas Bay, but its extent was screened from our view by the intervention of the Lomas hills. It appeared to be a channel, the opposite or eastern side of it being formed by the high ranges previously seen from Point St. Mary. Cordova's Ports San Antonio and Valdez were distinctly made out; but, to the southward, every thing was enveloped in mist.

The bearings and observations, which occupied me nearly two hours, being completed, we all adjourned to a sheltered cleft in the rock close to our station, where we soon recovered the use of our fingers.45

Having accomplished our object, we began the descent. In a comparatively mild and agreeable spot, I again set up the theodolite and barometer, while some of the party employed themselves in fruitless attempts to kindle a fire. The height, by the barometer, proved to be 1,845 feet above the sea; and the bearings from this station were much better than those I had taken from the exposed summit.

We reached our tent at noon, having been absent seven hours. At three we reached the beach, where the barometer stood at 29,312 (air 61.°3,46 and mercury 62,°5).

Excepting near the sea, where clay-slate (very similar to that of Point St. Anna, but with an opposite dip) showed itself, the side of the hill is clothed with trees and underwood, and no rock is visible until one arrives at the ravine. Around the summit of Mount Tarn the ground is bare, but so covered with small decomposed fragments, that the solid rock only appears occasionally: it is very hard, and breaks with a conchoidal fracture: some of the specimens which we detached bore indistinct impressions of organic remains. We also found, projecting from the rock in which they were embedded, nodules, or small rounded masses of stone, in an advanced state of decomposition, mouldering away in laminar forms somewhat resembling the inner leaves of a cabbage. Several were brought away carefully, but before we arrived on board they had crumbled to pieces: the nucleus was quite hard, but was surrounded by concentric laminæ, more brittle the nearer they approached to the outer surface. It seemed as if the face of the summit above-mentioned was covered with the decomposing fragments of these nodules.

The highest parts of the Mount form a ridge extending S.E. and N.W., being a succession of strata of slaty rock, dipping to the eastward, at an angle of 15° or 20° from the horizon. The strata are very narrow, and separated from each other by a vein of quartz, much of which is in a crystallized state. We reached the ship about seven o'clock, and found that the Hope and her party had done well. Her cruize proved interesting, with regard to the geography of the Strait, and a summary of it is subjoined.

Mr. Graves's orders were to survey the Sebastian Channel; but in the event of his seeing any thing more interesting to the S.E., he was allowed to defer that service to another opportunity. The Hope crossed the Strait, and anchored in a small bay, formed between the two projecting points of Cape Valentyn, where some few defects in the vessel were remedied, and a good round of angles obtained from the summit of the Cape, whence there was a fine view. The country was low, undulating, and destitute of trees. From a station about two miles overland, to the eastward, a large body of water was observed to the southward, forming a channel, or deep sound, and it was determined to follow up its examination, rather than risk the crew in the deep bay that was supposed to communicate with the San Sebastian Channel, on board a vessel whose capabilities were unknown. Several fire-places and remains of wigwams were seen; the latter were, however, very different, both in shape and material, from those at Port Famine, for the country being destitute of trees, they were built of driftwood, piled up in a conical form.

Passing round Cape Valentyn, the Hope hauled to the southward, keeping the land on board. At night she anchored in Philip Gidley Cove, at the bottom of Willes Bay, where she was weather-bound until the 29th of January. The shores of Willes Bay are thickly clothed with wood, growing to the water's edge, except at the S.W. side. The great abundance of muscles and limpets attracts the Indians, whose wigwams were found standing, and from the green appearance of the branches with which they were formed, seemed to have been lately erected. After leaving Willes Bay, the Hope visited Fox Bay, and Sir Edward Owen's Sound, which, it was thought, would lead into Lomas Bay, opposite to Port Famine; but, after running ten miles up, they got into shoal water, and as there was no current, or stream of tide, they landed, and found that a mile and a half farther on, the sound was terminated by low land. Another day, while proceeding along the south side of Brenton Sound, the smoke of Indians' fires was noticed near the beach. As this was the first time the Natives of this part had been seen, the course was shaped towards them, until the Hope anchored. Three Indians then approached, holding up the skins of some animal, and inviting them to land. The small boat was hoisted out, and Messrs. Wickham and Rowlett, with Robinson the pilot, went on shore. The Fuegians presented a fox skin to each of the party, who in return gave them some trifles. After a short interview the boat left them, and no further communication was held that night. The following morning a canoe came off to the vessel, containing three young men, two women, and three children, the youngest not more than four months old. They were no sooner alongside than the men went on board, and commenced an active traffic with all the valuables they possessed; and for a few buttons, a glass bottle, or an empty preserved-meat canister, many of their goods were bartered. They had several fox-skins with them, but no other kind of peltry, except their clothing, obtained from the seal or guanaco: and though many of them wore a penguin skin suspended from their girdle, some were without even that covering. This canoe was followed by another, containing an old man, sixty or seventy years of age, with a grey beard; an elderly woman, and two children. Before they came alongside they put their dogs on shore.

Although the visit from these Indians did not last very long, they had time enough to pilfer. One of the young men, who was seen going into a canoe, excited, by his manner, a suspicion of his having stolen something, and a tin pot was found concealed under his mantle. As there was every probability of their soon separating, and Mr. Graves feared that punishment would cause a rupture, he only turned him out of the vessel: the rest soon followed him, and landed. Having made a fire, the men squatted round it; while the women were despatched to collect shell-fish.

As soon as the Natives had finished their meal, they embarked, and proceeded eastward. Next day they again visited the Hope, but in consequence, perhaps, of the occurrence the day before, did not venture alongside, until invited by the words, 'ho-say, ho-say,' which mean, 'come, come.' In a few minutes confidence was restored, and they began to barter. The trade was opened by one of the women making a peace-offering of a shell necklace, in return for which, red caps and medals were given to each of the women and children. The Hope went thence to Soapsuds Cove, where the crew washed their clothes, and replaced a broken spar.

In a S.E. direction from this cove there appeared to be a considerable channel leading to the S.E., and to the southward was a deep sound, towards which they were proceeding the next morning; but having advanced about two miles, the land of Cape Expectation trended suddenly round to the eastward, and a long narrow channel presented itself, which seemed likely to communicate with the Strait, to the southward of Port San Antonio. They proceeded through this channel, which takes a very straight course, and gradually narrows from Port Waterfall, where it is two miles and a half wide, to Passage Cove, where it is scarcely three quarters of a mile; and there they anchored.

Between Port Waterfall and Passage Cove, a party of Natives was seen; but, being probably the same who were met at Indian Cove, no attention was paid to their hallooings and fires of invitation.47 The Hope came into the Strait, eastward of an opening then called Magdalen Sound; her passage must therefore have been through Sarmiento's 'San Gabriel' Channel.

At night, when between Cape Froward and Port San Antonio, a heavy squall from S.W. carried the little vessel rapidly towards Cape San Isidro, and, at daylight the next morning, she was in the position observed by us, while ascending Mount Tarn.