NOTES
[1] Excepting one for signals.
[2] Twelve additional seamen having been ordered, by the Admiralty, for the Adelaide schooner.
[3] On the north side of the river Plata.
[4] Commonly called Magellan. See p. 11.
[5] Dasyprocta patachonica: it is the Patagonian cavy of Dr. Shaw, and Pennant's Quadr., tab. 39, and the liévre pampa of D'Azara. M. Desmarest thinks that if the teeth were examined it would form a new genus, for which he proposes the name of Dolichotis (Ency. Meth. Mamm. p. 359). At present he has, from its external character, placed it amongst the genus Dasyprocta (agouti). The only one that was taken was not preserved, which prevented me from ascertaining the fact.
[6] Dasypus minutus, Desm. Tatou pichiy, or tatou septième of D'Azara, &c. &c. It has seven bands.
[7] A similar error was made by one of the ships of the fleet under Loyasa in the year 1525. The Nodales also, in their description of the coast, mention the similarity of appearance in the two capes, Virgins and Fairweather. "Y venido de mar en fuera à buscar la tierra facilmente podian hacer de Rio de Gallegos el Cabo de Virgenes," (and in making the land Cape Virgins may easily be mistaken for the river Gallegos).—Viage de los Nodales, p. 53.
[8] Some of the specimens of the clay strata consist, according to Dr. Fitton, who has kindly examined my collection, of a white marl not unlike certain varieties of the lower chalk; and of a clay having many of the properties of fuller's earth. The pebbles on the beach consist of quartz, red jasper, hornstone, and flinty slate, but do not contain any stone resembling chalk flint.
[9] Dr. Fitton considers these masses of clay to bear a resemblance to the upper green sand of England.
[10] Ultimo Viage al Estrecho de Magallanes, part ii. p. 298.
[11] A hill on the north shore of Possession Bay, having near it, to the westward, four rocky summits, which, from a particular point of view, bear a strong resemblance to the cropped ears of a horse or ass. These are described less briefly in the Sailing Directions.
[12] Flowing into the strait from the east towards the west.
[13] Fucus giganteus.
[14] Usually called by seamen 'kelp.'
[15] Columns of smoke rising from large fires.
[16] Berberis.
[17] Previous to the expedition quitting England, I had provided myself with medals, to give away to the Indians with whom we might communicate, bearing on one side the figure of Britannia, and on the reverse George IV. "Adventure and Beagle," and "1826."
[18] Narborough, p. 67.
[19] Ultimo Viage, p. 120.
[20] From an attentive perusal of the voyage of Magalhaens, I have lately been led to think that this is the mountain which Magalhaens called Roldan's Bell. Sarmiento has, however, assigned that name to a mountain at the back of his Bay of Campana, which will be noticed in it's proper place. The name of Mount Sarmiento was too long, and too well established with us, or I should have restored the name bestowed upon it by Magalhaens. Herrera, in his Descripcion de las Indias Occidentales, cap. xxiii, notices the "Campana de Roldan" as a great mountain in the midst of the entrance of a channel; they gave it this name (Campana de Roldan) because one of Magalhaens's companions, named Roldan, an artillery officer, went to examine it. "Y la Campana de Roldan una Peña grande en medio al principio de un canal: dieron le este nombre porque la fué a reconocer uno de los compañeros de Magallanes llamado Roldan que era artillero."
|
By angular measurement, with a theodolite, from the tent, the base being by diff. of lat. 297,863 feet, and allowing 1⁄12 of the intercepted arc for terrestrial refraction | 6,864 feet. |
|
By angular measure with sextant (index error, dip, and 1⁄12 of the intercepted arc being allowed) the base being 290,074 feet | 7,237 |
|
By angular measurement, with a theodolite, from Warp Bay, by Lieuts. Skyring and Graves | 6,800 |
| ——— | |
| Mean | 6,967 feet, |
| ——— |
but as the last observation, from the angle of elevation being greater, was more likely to be correct, 6,800 feet is considered to be its elevation.
[22] At a subsequent visit, embracing a period of 190 days, it was only seen on twenty-five, and during seven days only was it constantly visible. On the remaining eighteen, portions only were seen, and those but for a few hours at a time.
[23] Sarmiento's Voyage, p. 25.
[24] Id. l.c.
[25] See Burney, ii. p. 45, for a fuller account; also id. 71.
[26] Who made a remark on the occasion, which became proverbial, "that if a ship carried out only anchors and cables, sufficient for her security against the storms in that part of the world, she would go well laden." Burney Coll. vol. ii. 45.
[27] Burney, ii. 51.
[28] The situation of "Jesus" must have been about half-way between the First and Second Narrow, near the point named in the chart N.S. de Valle, where some peaked elevations, dividing vallies near the coast line, are conspicuous. The Beagle anchored there, and found plenty of fresh water.
[29] Close to Port Famine.
[30] From Sarmiento's description of the coast, Point Santa Brigida is the outward point of Nassau Island.([a]) See Sarmiento's Voyage, p. 220.
[31] Formerly spelled 'Candish.'
[32] "Near to Port Famine they took on board a Spaniard, who was the only one then remaining alive of the garrison left in the Strait by Sarmiento. The account given by this man, as reported by Magoths, is, that he had lived in those parts six years, and was one of the four hundred men sent thither by the King of Spain in the year 1582, to fortify and inhabit there, to hinder the passage of all strangers that way into the South Sea. But that town (San Felipe) and the other Spanish colony being destroyed by famine, he said he had lived in a house, by himself, a long time, and relieved himself with his caliver([b]) until our coming thither." Burney, ii. p. 96. This man died on the voyage to Europe. Id. p. 97.
[33] So named by Bougainville.
[34] It belongs to the group which M. Temminck has lately named Hylobates, without attending to the name long since conferred upon it by Dr. Fleming. I designated it Oidemia Patachonica, from its large dimensions, in my communication upon the Ornithology of the Straits. Zoological Journal, vol. iv. p. 100. On my return to England, I found that M. de Freycinet had figured this bird, in the account of his last voyage in l'Uranie, where it is described by Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard under the name of Micropterus brachypterus.
[35] Cook's Second Voyage, 4to. p. 570.
[36] On the shores of Eagle Bay we procured a large collection of shells, among which were Margarita violacea (Nob. in Zool. Journ. v. 346, No. 53), a beautiful Modiola (M. trapesina, Lam.k), a new Pecten (P. vitreus Nob. in Zool. Jour. v. 337, No. 17), and a delicate transparent-shelled Patella, answering the description of P. cymbularia. These four species were found attached to floating leaves of the kelp (Fucus giganteus), and afford food to the steamer-duck. We also collected good specimens of Murex Magellanicus, Lam.k, of Fissurella picta, Lam.k, and a great number of the common patella of the Strait, which forms a considerable article of food for the Natives.
[37] Byron's Voyage round the World, 4to. p. 38.
[38] l. c.
[39] Psittacus smaragdinus, Gmel. I have no doubt that the bird we saw is the same as Bougainville procured, and from which a description has been given in the Ency. Méth., art. Ornith. 139; although a material error is made, for they are not splendidé viridis, nor is the uropygium red, in other points, however, the description is correct. See Buffon's Hist. Nat. des Oiseaux, vi. 262. Pl. enl. n. 85, Perruche des Terres Magellaniques.
[40] Bougainville says, "we have likewise perceived some perrokeets: the latter are not afraid of the cold." To which the English translator, T. R. Forster, who is incredulous of the correctness of Bougainville's assertion, appends the following note: "Perruches, probably sea-parrots, or auks." Buffon also doubted the fact, and the author of Histoire Naturelle, art. Oiseaux, tom. ii. p. 322, suggests the possibility of a specimen having been obtained in some other part of the world, and put, by mistake, amongst those collected in the Strait.
[41] So named because Mr. Tarn, the surgeon of the Adventure, was the first person who reached its summit.
[42] The height of this place, as shown by the barometer, on the ascent, was 941 feet, and, on the descent, 973 feet.
[43] On this table-land the barometer stood at 27,767. Temperature of the air 46°,5, and of the mercury 47°,5, which gave the elevation 1,327 feet.
[44] The result of the barometric observation for the height of Mount Tarn is as follows:
| Height | by | one | barometer |  | ascent descent | 2,567.7 2,625.4 |  | mean | 2,596.5 feet. |
| Do. | two | do. | | ascent descent | 2,619.3 2,596.7 | | — | 2,608.0 | |
| ——— | |||||||||
| 2,602.2 | |||||||||
| ——— | |||||||||
By angular measurement from Observation Cove, Port Famine, with theodolite, allowing 1⁄12 of the intercepted arc for terrestrial refraction, the height is 2,850 feet.
Another observation, with the sextant, made it 2,855 feet. The mean 2,852 I consider more correct, from the difficulty of obtaining a correct reading of the barometer on the summit.
[45] By Daniell's hygrometer, used in this sheltered spot, I found the temperature of the air to be 48°; dew point 41°: but upon exposing the instrument to the wind, the air was 39½°, and the dew point 36°: the difference in the former being 7°; and the latter 3½°; from which the following results are obtained:
| air. | dew pt. | diff. | exp. | dryness. | weight of a cubic foot of air. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the ravine | 48 | 41 | 7 | 292 | 776 | 3.323 |
| Exposed to wind | 39½ | 36 | 3½ | 248 | 898 | 2.871 |
| Difference | 8½ | 5 | 3½ | 44 | 122 | 0.452 |
The above being the difference in the short space of three feet apart; the instrument, in the first case, being just under the lee of the rocky summit of the mountain, and in the last, above it, exposed to the wind.
[46] The air was so dry this afternoon that I failed to procure a deposit of dew upon Daniell's hygrometer, although the internal temperature was lowered from 61° to 37°. One of Jones's portable hygrometers was also tried, and the temperature was lowered to 31°½ without a deposit; so that, the difference being more than thirty degrees, the expansive force of the air must have been less than 212, the dryness, on the thermometric scale, less than 367, and the weight of vapour, in a cubic foot of air, less than 2,355 grains.
[47] Fires made to attract attention, and invite strangers to land.
[48] This fern we found at the island of Juan Fernandez also.
[49] After the lieutenant of the Adventure.
[50] At Mr. Tarn's request.
[51] King's 'Australia,' vol. i. p. 70; also vol. ii. pp. 573, 582, and 613.
[52] At high tide the sea-water undermines, by thawing, large masses of ice, which, when the tide falls, want support, and, consequently, break off, bringing after them huge fragments of the glacier, and falling into the still basin with a noise like thunder.
[53] "En los dias 24, y 25, oimos un ruido sordo, y de corta duracion, que, por el pronto, nos pareció trueno; pero habiendo reflexîonado, nos inclinamos à creer que fué efecto de alguna explosion subterranea, formado en el seno de alguna de las montañas inmediatas, en que parece haber algunos minerales, y aun volcanes, que están del todo ó casi apagados, movièndonos a hacer este juicio, el haberse encontrado, en la cima de una de ellas, porcion de materia compuesta de tierra y metal, que en su peso, color, y demas caracteres, tenia impreso el sello del fuego activo en que habia tomado aquel estado, pues era una perfecta imagèn de las escorias del hierro que se ven en nuestras ferrerías.—Apendice al Viage de Cordova al Magallanes, p. 65.
[54] No canvas could withstand some of these squalls, which carry spray, leaves, and dirt before them, in a dense cloud, reaching from the water to the height of a ship's lower yards, or even lower mast-heads. Happily their duration is so short, that the cable of a vessel, at anchor, is scarcely strained to the utmost, before the furious blast is over. Persons who have been some time in Tierra del Fuego, but fortunate enough not to have experienced the extreme violence of such squalls, may incline to think their force exaggerated in this description: but it ought to be considered, that their utmost fury is only felt during unusually heavy gales, and in particular situations; so that a ship might pass through the Strait of Magalhaens many times, without encountering one such blast as has occasionally been witnessed there.—R. F.
"sub rupe cavatâ
Arboribus clausam circum atque horrentibus umbria."
[56] Mount Boqueron.
[57] Including the master, there were on board, when cast away, twenty-two persons.
[58] Bougainville Harbour, better known to Sealers by the name of 'Jack's Harbour.'
[59] "Voyage autour du Monde." 1767.
[60] One of the feathered tribe, which a naturalist would not expect to find here, a 'humming bird,' was shot near the beach by a young midshipman.—Stokes MS.
[61] Hawkesworth's Coll. of Voyages, vol. i. p. 76.
[62] It was here that Commodore Wallis and Captain Carteret separated, the Dolphin going round the world; the Swallow returning to England. Sarmiento's name of Puerto de la Misericordia, or 'Harbour of Mercy,' being of prior date, ought doubtless to be retained.
[63] Called the Scilly Isles.
[64] 'Anas Rafflesii,' Zool. Journ., vol. iv., and Tab. Supp., xxix.
[65] Of these a species of mactra (M. edulis Nob.) was most abundant.
[66] Burney, i. 35 and 37.
[67] Falkner's Patagonia, pp. 110, 111.
[68] It is good to be drunk, it is pleasant to be drunk.
[69] Two Portuguese seamen, however, who had resided some months with them, having been left behind by a sealing vessel, and taken off by us at a subsequent period of the voyage at their own request, informed us that Maria is not the leader of religious ceremonies. Each family possesses its own household god, a small wooden image, about three inches in length, the rough imitation of a man's head and shoulders, which they consider as the representative of a superior being, attributing to it all the good or evil that happens to them.
[70] Burney, i. p. 33.
[71] Ibid. p. 135.
[72] Burney, i. 318.
[73] Ibid, i. 324.
[74] Sarmiento, p. 244.
[75] Sarmiento's Appendix, xxix.
[76] Purchas, iv. ch. 6 and 7.
[77] Burney, ii. p. 106.
[78] The tribes described by this boy are the
1. Kemenites, inhabiting a place called Karay.
2. Kennekas, Karamay.
3. Karaike, Morine.
4. Enoo, the tribe to which the Indians, whom they murdered, belonged.
[79] Burney, ii, 215.
[80] Ibid. ii. 334.
[81] Hawksworth's Coll. i 28.
[82] Ibid.
[83] See a letter from Mr. Charles Clarke, an officer on board the Dolphin, to Mr. Maly, M.D., secretary of the Royal Society, dated Nov. 3, 1766, read before the Royal Society on 12th April 1767, and published in the fifty-seventh volume of the Phil. Trans., part i. p. 75, in which an exaggerated account is given of this meeting. The men are described to be eight feet high, and the women seven and a half to eight feet. "They are prodigious stout, and as well and proportionably made as ever I saw people in my life." This communication was probably intended to corroborate the commodore's account.
[84] Ultimo Viage, p. 21.
[85] Falkner, according to Dean Funes, was originally engaged in the slave trade at Buenos Ayres; but afterwards became a Jesuit, and studied in the college at Cordova, where, to an eminent knowledge of medicine, he added that of theology. He is the author of a description of Patagonia, published in London after the expulsion of the Jesuits.—(Ensayo de la Historia Civil del Paraguay, Buenos Ayres, y Tucuman, por el Doctor Don Gregorio Funes, iii. p. 23, note. Published at Buenos Ayres. 8vo. 1817.)
[86] See Dean Funes's account of Buenos Ayres, and of the Indian tribes, vol. ii. 394.
[87] We left Gregory Bay in the morning, and passed Cape Virgins in the evening of the same day.
[88] On our passage from Santos to St. Catherine's, in latitude 28° south, we caught a 'dolphin' (Coryphena), the maw of which I found filled with shells, of Argonauta tuberculosa, and all containing the 'Octopus Ocythöe' that has been always found as its inhabitant. Most of the specimens were crushed by the narrow passage into the stomach, but the smaller ones were quite perfect, and had been so recently swallowed that I was enabled to preserve several of various sizes containing the animal. To some of them was attached a nidus of eggs, which was deposited between the animal and the spire. The shells varied in size from two-thirds of an inch to two and a half inches in length; each contained an octopus, the bulk and shape of which was so completely adapted to that of the shell, that it seemed as if the shell increased with the animal's growth. When so many learned naturalists have differed so materially as to the character of the inhabitants of the argonauta, it would be presumption in me to express even an opinion; I therefore merely mention the fact, and state that in no one specimen did there appear to be any connexion between the animal and the shell.
[89] Nodales, p. 48.
[90] Falkner says, in his account of the burial ceremonies of the southern Patagonians—that, after a certain interval, the bodies are taken out of the tomb, and skeletons are made of them by the women—the flesh and entrails having been burnt. It is possible that in this case the body had been so treated, and that the fire near it was for the purpose of burning the flesh, and perhaps with it all the flags and ornaments of the tomb.
[91] He was a great favourite with them.
[92] The medicinal property of this intestinal concretion is well known wherever the animal is found. Marcgrave, in his "Tractatus topographicus et meteorologicus Brasiliæ," folio, p. 36, says:—"Hæc animalia (guanacoes) generant lapides Bezoares in sinu quodam ventriculi, qui maximi æstimantur contra venena et febres malignos ad roborandum et refocillandum cor, aliosque affectus. Materia è qua generantur sunt herbæ insignis virtutis, quibus vescuntur naturæ instinctu ad sanitatem tuendum, aut morbos et venena superandum. Hi lapides inveniuntur in adultioribus hisce animalibus atque interdum tam grandes, ut unum in Italiam attulerim qui pendet uncias duas supra triginta."—Mr. Thompson, on Intestinal Concretions. See his Syn. of Chemistry, iv. 576.
[93] Anser nigrocollis. Encyc. Méthod., art. Ornithol. 108.
[94] Weddell's Voyage.
[95] I cannot avoid noticing here the considerate conduct of the Commander-in-chief (Sir George Eyre) with respect to this appointment. By the tenor of my instructions the Adventure and Beagle were placed under the Admiral's orders; and the vacancy, had he wished to exercise his prerogative, might have been filled by one of his own followers. It was, however, given, at my request, to Mr. Sholl, as being more conversant with the duties of this peculiar service than any of the midshipmen of the flag-ship. The Admiral's conduct, on this occasion, calls for my warmest thanks.
[96] Relacion del Viage, &c. que hicieron los Capitanes B. G. de Nodales y Gonzalo de Nodales, p. 59.
[97] Falkner describes the Indians who inhabit the eastern islands of Tierra del Fuego, to be 'Yacana-cunnees,' and as he designates those who inhabit the Patagonian shore of the Strait by the same name, it might be inferred that they are of the same race; but however closely connected they may have been formerly, they certainly are not so now, for Maria (the Patagonian) spoke very contemptuously of them, and disclaimed their alliance; calling them 'zapallios,' which means slaves.
[98] Berberis ilicifolia.—Banks and Solander MSS.
[99] The specimen that was found at Port Gallant was sent by me to Mr. Vigors, who considering it, although well known to ornithologists, as never having yet been named, describes it in the Zoological Journal (vol. iii. p. 432, Aug. 1827), as Mellisuga Kingii. Shortly afterwards M. Lesson published it in his Manuel d'Ornithologie (vol. ii. p. 80.), as Ornismya sephaniodes, as a discovery belonging to La Coquille's voyage, in the illustrations of which it is figured at plate 31. I rather think, however, that it is Molina's Trochilus galeritus.—(Molina, i. 275.).
[100] Sarmiento, p. 213.
[101] Este monte es el que llaman las Relaciones antiguas la Campana de Roldan.—Sarmiento.
[102] Here we obtained a second species of the Steamer-duck, which is described in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, as 'Micropterus Patachonicus, Nob.' It differs from the M. brachypterus not only in colour but in size, being a smaller bird, and having the power of raising its body, in flight, out of the water. We called it the 'Flying Steamer.'
[103] Afterwards examined by Capt. Fitz Roy. It was called Xaultegua by Sarmiento, who very correctly describes it.—(Sarmiento's Voyage, p. 208.)
[104] Because they formed a capital leading mark for the Strait of Magalhaens.
[105] Beagle Island N. 71°. E., Cape Isabel N. 32°. E., a remarkable mountain in the bight between Cape Santa Lucia and Cape Isabel N. 11°. W. Cape Santa Lucia N. 33°. W.; distance off shore three leagues; and soundings fifty fathoms, sandy bottom.
[106] (Sarmiento, p. 65.)
[107] The description of Port Henry is given in our Sailing Directions.
[108] The N.W. end of the Island de la Campana bearing N. 71°. 40′. E. Two distant hummocky islands (answering pretty well in position with the Guaianeco Islands of the Spanish charts) N. 53°. 30′. E., and N. 55°. 48′. E., and a remarkable rock, the 'Dundee' of Bulkeley and Cummings, about forty-five feet high, rising like a tower from the sea, distant offshore five miles, bearing east of us, distant one mile.
[109] Length twenty feet five inches and a half, sided twelve inches, and moulded eight inches and a half.
[110] Xavier's Island is certainly the Montrose Island of Byron's Narrative. The Wager was lost, as will be seen, more to the southward, on the Guaianeco Islands.
[111] This group was afterwards called Hazard Isles.
[112] D'Azara, in his Essai sur l'Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes de Paraguay, gives the following account of this animal, which he calls Yagouaré. It burrows in the ground, eats insects, eggs, and birds, when it can surprise them, and moves about the plains and fields both by day and night in search of food; brushing the ground with its body, and carrying its tail horizontally. It regards not the presence of man or beast; unless an attempt be made to injure or take it, when it gathers up its body, bristles up the hairs of its tail, erecting it vertically; and in this position awaits the approach of its enemy, at whom it ejects its urine, which produces so unbearable a smell, that neither man, dog, nor tiger, will attempt to touch the animal.
The yagouaré moves very slowly, and cannot run. It produces two young ones, which are placed at the bottom of its burrow. The unconquered Indians of the Pampas make mantles with the furs of the fox, cavia, or other animals, and border them with the skins of the yagouaré, which are very soft and fine, and would be fit for being employed by the furrier were it not for the disagreeable odour which they impart to every thing they touch. The Indians eat the flesh of this animal, which they irritate until its only means of defence is unavailing, and it can be captured without offensive consequences.
[113] From which the Mount (at Monte Video) bore N. 11°. W., distant eight leagues.
[114] Specimens of this rock are deposited in the Geological Society's Museum, Nos. 3 and 3-1.
[115] See Zoological Journal, vol. iv. p. 92.
[116] Nos. 1 and 2 in the Geological Society's Museum. A new species of Solen (Solen Scalprum, nob., Zool. Journ. V. 335. No. 5.) was found on the beach; and the camerated nidus of Buccinum muriciforme, nob., Zool. Journal, l.c. No. 62.
[117] According to Capt. Fitz Roy the best berth is in sixteen fathoms. (Sail. Directions.)
[118] Nos. 268 to 271, Geo. Soc. Museum.
[119] A species of Gunnera (Dysemore integrifolia, Banks and Solander), and the green-stemmed Cineraria (Cin. leucanthema. Banks and Solander).
[120] Nos. 283 to 286, in Geol. Soc. Museum.
[121] The changes of pressure, during the intervals of ascent and descent, were obtained by registering the ship's barometer, which was done by signal from the stations on shore, when the readings were taken. During the ascent the column fell 0.039 inches, and during the descent rose 0.041 inches. Corrections were made for the dew point, as observed by Daniell's hygrometer at the base and summit, and the calculations were made according to the formula in Daniell's Meteorological Essay.
The following is the result:
| By Bunten's Syphon. | By Jones 509. | ||
| Ascent | 1743.4 | 1749.3 | |
| Descent | 1738. | 1739.1 | |
| —— | ——— | ||
| Mean | 1741. | 1744.2 | |
| Mean of the two instruments 1742.4 feet. | |||
[122] This rock is very similar to the boulders and pebbles which we found on the beach at Point St. Mary (Freshwater Bay).
[123] The underwood is composed chiefly of Arbutus rigida—Berberis parvifolia and ilicifolia—(sempervirens of Banks and Solander). Veronica (decussata?) and, in moist places, Cineraria leucanthema, and Dysemore integrifolia; both of which are found in all the sheltered corners of Tierra del Fuego. No Fuchsia was seen, but Mr. Anderson gathered the sweet-scented Callixene marginata, and a species of Escalonia, on the hill sides.
[124] Ann. Meeting, 30th Nov. 1832.
[125] The Survey of this part now presents the navigator with the means of ascertaining his position, to a nicety, by angles taken with a sextant between Cape Horn summit and Jerdan's Peak, or Mount Hyde, and Kater's Peak; and if Jerdan's Peak and Mount Hyde be brought in a line, and an angle taken between them and Cape Horn summit, the operation will be still more simple.
[126] Miers, in his account of Chile, gives a table of barometrical measurements of the heights of the land between Valparaiso and Mendoza, from which it appears that he has deduced the height of Curacavi to be 1,560 feet. As my determinations are the results of observations made on my way to and from Santiago, I have no doubt of their correctness, and think that the registered height of Miers's table should be 29.355 instead of 28.355.
[127] The following are the results of the barometrical determination of the height of various points on the road between Valparaiso and Santiago:—
| Feet above the sea. | ||||||||
| Casa Blanca, ten leagues from Valparaiso | 803 | |||||||
| Highest point of the road over the Cuesta de Zapata | 1,977 | |||||||
| Inn at Curacavi | 633 | |||||||
| Plain near Bustamente | 808 | |||||||
| Summit of Cuesta de Prado (not certain to 200 feet) | 2,949 | |||||||
| Inn, or post-house, at the base of the east side of the | ||||||||
| Cuesta de Prado | 1,804 | |||||||
| Santiago, by mean of numerous observations | 1,821 | |||||||
| Miers makes the above places above the sea as follows:— | ||||||||
| Feet above the sea. | ||||||||
| Casa Blanca | 745 | |||||||
| Summit of Cuesta de Zapata | 1,850 | |||||||
| Curacavi | 1,560 | |||||||
| Summit of Cuesta de Prado | 2,543 | |||||||
| Post-house, Prado | 1,773 | |||||||
| Santiago, | mean of two observations | 7,691 | ||||||
| Do. | by Malespina | 2,463 | | Spanish | | 2,254 | | English |
| Do. | Mercurio Chileno | 1,693½ | 1,550 | |||||
[128] Probably they are the same as we observed on the fish taken by us off Cape Fairweather, and which, I believe, to be nearly allied to the one that is figured in Cuvier's Règne animal, Plate XV. figure 5, a species of Lernæa, or Entomoda of Lamarck, iii. 233. The species is new.
[129] Geol. Soc. Museum, Nos. 176 to 205, and Zool. Mus.
[130] By angular measurement it was found to be 2,270 feet.
[131] The wristbands of our shirts, and all our outer clothes, were coated with ice, while our inner clothing was wet through.
[132] On heaving up the best bower, we found it had lost one fluke.
[133] The Adventure arrived on the 21st.—P. P. K.
[134] In the old Dutch charts, a passage was laid down near the place, and nearly in the direction of the Cockburn Channel, and named 'Jelouzelt:' but until some written authority can be produced to prove that this passage was explored, or, at the least, discovered by the person who gave the name of 'Jelouzelt' to one of the almost innumerable openings in Tierra del Fuego, it does not appear that the inlet so called has any claim to our consideration, greater than that of the non-existing San Sebastian Channel,—or a number of other imaginary passages which must have been laid down, upon supposition only, in many old charts.
The first person known to have passed through the Cockburn Channel was the mate of the Prince of Saxe Cobourg, who went in a boat (see page 66). It was afterwards passed by Mr. William Low, master of the Mercury, and has since been used by several vessels.
[135] Since surveyed by Capt. Fitz Roy in the Beagle, 1829-30.
[136] San Carlos, in Chilóe.
[137] Mr. Kirke.
[138] A heap, or stack of corn.
[139] No doubt the Mount Oracion of Sarmiento, p. 144.—P. P. K.
[140] This place is described in Sarmiento's journal, p. 144.—P. P. K.
[141] Ensenada de la Oracion of Sarmiento.—P. P. K.
[142] This bay is also described by Sarmiento as an 'Ancon sin salida,' p. 143; but it is evidently not the one that bears that name on the chart.—P. P. K.
[143] Here is certainly the Ancon sin salida of Sarmiento, whose journal describes the inlet as terminating in a cove to the north, p. 142. The mountain of Año Nuevo cannot be mistaken; indeed the whole of the coast is so well described by the ancient mariner, that we have little difficulty in determining the greater number of places he visited. In all cases we have, of course, preserved his names. The chart compiled by Admiral Burney is a remarkable instance of the care which that author took in arranging it, and how ingeniously and correctly he has displayed his judgment; it is also a proof that our favourite old voyager, Sarmiento, was at least correct in his descriptions, although he appears to have been quite ignorant of the variation of the compass.—See Burney Coll. Voyages, p. 31; and Sarmiento, p. 162.
[144] 'Cordillera Nevada' of Sarmiento.
[145] A very full and detailed account of this journey is given by Agüeros, in his 'History of the Province of Chilóe,' pp. 50 to 56, as well as in the 'Chronicles of the Province of Lima, by Padre Fr. Diego de Cordova,' Salinas, chap. xvii. p. 485.
[146] Agüeros, l. c. p. 57.
[147] Agüeros describes its boundary thus:—It is situated between the latitudes 41° 30′ and 44°; from Point Capitanes to Quilan. On the north it is bounded by the territories of the Indian tribes Juncos and Rancos, which extend to Valdivia; on the N.E. by those of the ancient but destroyed city Osorno; on the south by the archipelago of Guaitecas and Guaianeco, and others which extend to the Strait of Magalhaens; on the east by the Cordillera; and on the west by the sea. (Agüeros, p. 61.)
[148] When the Yntendente, or governor of the province, visited Castro for the purpose of taking a census of the population, a family of Indians waited upon him to render an account of their property; who, upon being asked whence they came, replied, "Del fin de la Cristiandad." The name being new to the Yntendente, it was explained to him that they belonged to Caylin, which was more generally known by the above name, because there existed no Christian population beyond, or to the southward of, that island.
[149] In the year 1783 there were 23,447 (Agüeros): and in 1832, 43,830.
[150] Agüeros says, "both men and women go generally with the foot and leg uncovered; with the exception of the principal families; but even those do not all wear shoes."—(Agüeros, p. 108.)
[151] Places where seal congregate—so called always by the sealers.
[152] Potatoes are not mentioned in the report, yet they must have been exported in considerable quantities.
[153] Molina, i. 167. A species of 'Dolichos.'
[154] The fanega weighs 175 lbs. and contains twelve almudes, which being cubic measures of eight inches and a half, contain each 614.125 cubic inches; therefore a fanega contains 7369.5 cubic inches, and as an English bushel contains 2150.4 cubic inches (2150.4 x 175)/7369.5 = 516⁄10 lbs. the weight of a bushel.
[155] Molina notices the 'Cagge,' or 'Chilóe duck,' (Anas antarctica) vol. i. p. 268, and calls it Anas hybrida. M. Lesson, in his 'Manuel d'Ornithologie,' ii. 409, has taken great pains to describe it, and remarks, with reason, that much obscurity exists in the specific descriptions of the goose kind in the Malouine (Falkland) Islands, and the extreme southern land of America. The male, Lesson says, is white, the feet and beak of a bright yellow colour. All the specimens that we saw, and numbers were killed by us, had a black beak with a red cere—otherwise M. Lesson's description is correct. In many specimens, however, we found the tip of the primary wing feathers black, which is not to be wondered at when the colour of the female is considered, but which it is not an easy task to describe. M. Lesson, I think, has done it justice in a note to his vol. ii. p. 409:—"Anas antarctica. A capite griseo, genis gulo colloque albo et nigro acuti-striatis; oculorum circuitu nudo: pectore abdomineque omninò atris, atque vittis niveis notatis: tectricibus alarum nigris; dorso uropygio caudâ et ano albis; alis niveis cum speculo lato virescente, brunneo marginato; pennis longis aterrimis; rostro et pedibus, aurantiacis."
These birds are very common in the Straits of Magalhaens, and every where on the west coast between the Strait and Chilóe; also at the Falkland Islands.
The Cancania (or Canqueña) is the Anas Magellanica, Anser Magellanicus (Ency. Méth. p. 117). From Buffon's description, and a well-drawn but badly-coloured figure, in the Planches Enluminées, No. 1006, I have no hesitation in assigning it to that kind. The colour of the head, however, instead of being 'reddish purple,' is cinereous with a reddish hue; the feathers of the sides and thigh covers are white, with five black bars, the extremity being white; the central portion of the abdomen is white; the speculum of a splendid shining green. This bird is common to the Strait as well as to Chilóe, and is probably Byron's 'Painted Duck,' and the Anser pictus of the Ency. Méth., p. 117. M. Lesson considers Anas leucoptera, Gmel. as the male of Anas Magellanica, which may be doubted. The 'Barking Bird,' as our sailors called it, was first brought to me by Capt. Stokes, having been shot during the Beagle's visit to Port Otway, in the Gulf of Peñas. It was an imperfect specimen; but Mr. Tarn afterwards obtained for me several others. It seems to have a great affinity to the genus Megapodius; but no specimens of that genus being in England when I was last there, and the Barking Bird differing in essential points from M. Tenminck's description of the genus, and from the figured specimen of Megapodius Freycinettii;—particularly in the length and form of its wings, which are rounded, and so short as not to reach beyond the base of the tail;—also in the emargination of the upper mandible;—I have been induced, by Mr. Vigors' advice, to form it, provisionally, into a new genus, termed Hylactes. (See Proc. Zool. Soc., vol. i. p. 15.) There is another specimen in our collection (now in the Zoological Society's Museum), which will probably be placed in this genus, but there existed some uncertainty in essential points, which prevented my describing it before I left England.
[156] Among the numerous testaceous productions is a small shell, which constitutes a new genus. Marinula, nob. in Zool. Journal, vol. v. p. 343. It was found on the wooden piles which support the mole in the bay of San Carlos, below the wash of the high water. The mole stands out into the sea, and there is no fresh water near it, save a very little rill, which discharges its tiny stream more than fifty yards off. This shell was named Marinula Pepita, Zool. Journal, l. c. No. 43. The following is its generic character:—'Testa ovato-producta, sub-solida; apertura ovata, integra; columella bidentata et basin versus uniplicata; dentibus magnis sub-remotis conniventibus, superiori maximo; operculum nullum.'
[157] Zool. Journal, vol. v. p. 333.
[158] Some have since been found on the north-east side of the Guaytecas Islands.
[159] Chaura. Una murta que no se come. Febres, Dict. of the Chileno language. It is, however, edible, and has rather a pleasant flavour.
[160] The small-pox was introduced into the island, in the year 1776 by a ship from Lima; but it was confined to San Carlos, and was soon eradicated. The measles also were introduced by similar means, in the year 1769; but did not re-appear after once ceasing.
[161] See orders to Captain Fitz Roy, in the Appendix.
[162] See orders to Lieut. Skyring, in the Appendix.
[163] Phil. Journal, and Annals of Philosophy, for March 1831 (new series x.), 220.
[164] Juan Fernandez is called 'de Tierra,' because it is nearer the mainland than another adjacent island, which is called 'Mas-a-fuéra' (farther off, or more in the distance).
[165] Anson's Voyage, p. 118.
[166] Arca angúlata. See Zool. Journal, vol. v. p, 336.
[167] Trochilus Fernandensis, nob. Troch: ferugineo-rufus; capitis vertice splendento-coccineo; remigibus fuscis. Long. 5 uncias.
Trochilus Stokesii, nob. Troch: corpore supra viridi-splendente, subtus albo, viridi-guttato; capite supra, guttisque confertis gulæ lazulino-splendentibus: remigibus fusco-atris; remigum omnium, mediis exceptis, pogoniis internis albis. Long. 4½ uncias. Proceed. Zool. Society, vol. i.; also Phil. Magazine, for March 1831, p. 227.
[168] Pinoleo (from 'Pino,' pisando; and 'leo,' rio; or, pisando sobre el rio, living close to the banks of a river), is the Chief of a small tribe, whose territory is near the River Imperial; but he generally lives in the confines of Concepcion. He has four wives in the interior (la tierra) and three in the town.
[169] Hall's Extracts from a Journal, vol. i. pp. 316. 322.
[170] In Febres 'Arte de la lengua de Chile' they are thus described "Ahujas grandes con una plancha redonda de plata como una hostia, ò mayor, con que prenden las mujeres sus mantas—Certain large bodkins, with a round silver plate, as large as, or larger than, an oyster, with which the women fasten their mantles."
[171] The ornament on the forehead, which is worn only by unmarried women, is called Trare-lonco, from the old Chilian words trarin, to fasten, and lonco, the head. The bracelet is called Anello curo; the anklets, Anelleo.
[172] From 'Mari,' diez, and 'loan,' huapo: whence Mariloan means 'huapo como diez,' or, 'equal to ten men.'
[173] The same comet was seen at the Mauritius; and its orbit calculated. See Ast. Soc. Proceedings, and Phil. Journal.
[174] They are deposited in the Museum of the Geological Society.
[175] The Marine Islands were so called, in remembrance of the four marines who were put on shore from the Wager's boats, and left behind. See Byron's Nar., p. 85.
[176] Mr. Kirke, who examined them, says, "There are two openings opposite Xavier Island, on the mainland: the northernmost runs through high land, and is terminated by a low sandy beach, with a river in the middle, running from a large glacier; the southern inlet is ended by high mountainous land."
[177] On the west shore Mr. Kirke noticed what appeared to be a channel, about twelve miles N.W. of Halt Bay, in the mouth of which was a considerable tide-ripple; an almost certain indication of such an opening. "I thought the inlet about twelve miles north-west of Halt Bay much like a channel. I also noticed a distinct tide ripple, which I did not remark near any other opening. To me this appeared the southernmost inlet, of any depth; or at all likely to be a channel."—Kirke MS.
[178] At the request of Lieutenant Mitchell, of the Adventure.
[179] Iron pyrites.
[180] Phal: capite cristato, collo posteriori, corporeque supra intensè purpureis; alis scapularibusque viridi-atris; remigibus rectricibusque duodecim fusco-atris; corpore subtus, fasciá alarum maculâque dorsi medii sericeo-albis; rostro nigro; pedibus flavescentibus. Staluria Phal. Carbonis. It was found in the Inner Sounds, within the 'Ancon sin Salida.'—Proceed. of the Zool. Society, vol. i.; also Phil. Magazine, for March 1831, p. 227.
[181] C. albus remigibus primariis ad apicem nigris, rostro pedibusque rubris, illo lato subdepresso. Molina describes a Chilian duck thus. Anas Coscoroba—A. rostro extremo dilatato rotundato, corpore albo, but I do not think it is the same as my specimen; certainly it is not Anser Candidus of Veillos, the ganso blanco of D'Azara, which the author of the Dict. D'Hist. Nat. (xxiii. 331.) supposes to be the same as A. Coscoroba (id. p. 332). Molina's description is very short, and does not mention the tips of the primary wing-feathers being black.
[182] Mate, lent to the Beagle, from the Adventure.
[183] A small vessel may moor between the islands, instead of lying in the outer road.
[184] The three peaks, in-shore of Cape Kempe, are very remarkable.
[185] Specimens of the rock at the summit are in the collection at the Geological Society, numbered 184 and 188.
[186] Geological Society, Coll. No. 197.
[187] Geological Society, No. 238 to 240, (perhaps clay-slate. P. P. K.)
[188] Name given by sealers to a thick rushy kind of grass, which grows near the sea, in these latitudes.
[189] A high mountain at the N.W. end of London Island.
[190] I carried two tents from the Beagle, theirs having been cut up for the basket.
[191] It afterwards appeared that we had taken the families of the very men who stole the boat from Mr. Murray.
[192] Adventure Passage.
[193] Gilbert Islands.
[194] Doris Cove.
[195] So called in remembrance of the basket-like canoe by which we received intelligence of the loss of our boat.
[196] The man I took out of the canoe.
[197] It had formerly belonged to H.M.S. Doris, which was condemned at Valparaiso; being unserviceable.
[198] Mr. Murray had some bottles of beer in his boat—besides those in which the men's allowance of spirits was kept.
[199] In the lost boat were several pieces of spare line, 'King's white line,' quite new.
[200] False Cape Horn, or Cape False.
[201] A rushy kind of coarse grass.
[202] The mercury in the barometer fell to 28,94, and the oil in the sympiesometer to 28,52; the thermometer ranging from 40° to 48° (Faht.)
[203] In longitude 69.20. W.
[204] The stuffed skin is now in the British Museum.
[205] The powder and shot expended here procured four meals of fresh provisions for all hands.
[206] From the Adventure's deck, the eye being thirteen feet above the water, they were seen on the horizon at the distance of fourteen miles.
[207] If from the Second Narrow, N.E. ¼ E. will be the compass course; but I should recommend a ship to haul up to the northward until abreast of Cape Gregory, and then to steer as above.
[208] The Tide begins to set to the Southward at Noon, at Full and Change.
[209] In the Appendix to the second volume these alterations are discussed.—R. F.
[210] 2,600 Ang. R. F.
[211] This is derived from the observations of Captains Duperrey and Fitz-Roy at the Bay of Islands, in Lat. 35°. 16′. The interval is short; but the indication receives confirmation from the observations of Captains Cook and Vancouver at Dusky Bay, New Zealand, in Lat. 45°. 47′.
| Cook | 1773 | 70°. | 06′ | | 1′.4 annual decrease. |
| Vancouver | 1791 | 69. | 43 |
[212] Or Mephitis Americana?
[213] Elminius Kingii, Gray in Zool. Miscell. from a specimen collected during the voyage.—Ed.
[214] Whilst this sheet was printing, the September number of the Annales des Sciences made its appearance in England, containing a description of the above shell by M. Sander Rang, accompanied by an excellent figure (Annales des Sciences Naturelles, September 1831, p. 55, pl. 3, f. 1). It is there named Helix multicolor. In my description I have considered it to be a Bulinus, but its specific name has been altered to that given to it by M. Rang.
[215] There has existed much difference of opinion as to the correct mode of spelling the name of this celebrated navigator. The French and English usually write it Magellan, and the Spaniards Magallanes; but by the Portuguese, (and he was a native of Portugal,) it is universally written Magalhaens. Admiral Burney and Mr. Dalrymple spell it Magalhanes, which mode I have elsewhere adopted: but I have since convinced myself of the propriety of following the Portuguese orthography for a name, which to this day is very common both in Portugal and Brazil.
[216] During our examination of this part, our boats ascended the river San Tadeo, and endeavoured in vain to find any traces of the road; an almost impenetrable jungle of reeds and underwood lined the banks of the river, and time was too valuable to admit of further delay, in search of an object comparatively of minor importance.
[217] Agüeros, Descripcion Historial de la Provincia y Archipielago de Chilóe, 1791, p. 229.
[218] The precise situation of the wreck of this vessel had hitherto been very vaguely marked on our charts: a careful perusal, however, of Byron's narrative, and of Agüeros' account of the Missionary Voyages in 1779, sufficiently points out the place within a few miles. It is on the north side, near the west end of the easternmost of the Guaianeco islands, which we named, in consequence, Wager Island. At Port Santa Barbara, seventeen miles to the southward of this group, a very old worm-eaten beam of a vessel was found, which there is reason to think may be a relic of that unfortunate ship. It was of English oak, and was found thrown up above the high-water mark upon the rocks at the entrance of the port. No other vestige was detected by us;—the missionaries, however, found broken glass bottles, and other evident traces of the wreck. At Chilóe I saw a man who had formed one of this enterprising party, and obtained from him a curious and interesting account of those voyages.
[219] Agüeros, p. 205, et seq.
[220] Ibid. p. 181, et seq.
[221] Ibid. p. 237.
[222] Living plants of the above trees, and other vegetable productions from the Strait of Magalhaens, were introduced into England upon the return of the expedition, and have since thriven exceedingly well.
[223] Near Falcon Inlet, seven miles up the eastern side of Sir George Eyre Sound, are some large 'rookeries,' or breeding-haunts, of fur-seal. Many thousands of these animals were congregated together, which probably had been driven from the sea-coast by the activity of the seal-fishers; and perhaps, for many years, if not ages, have been breeding undisturbed in this hitherto unknown, and therefore safe and quiet recess. Two seals that were killed appeared to be of the same description as the species which frequents the sea-coasts.
[224] Hawkesworth, Voyages, i. 38.
[225] The stems of both from six to seven inches in diameter.
[226] This bird, although not rare in several English collections had never been noticed until I forwarded it to England in the early part of the year 1827, when my friend Mr. Vigors described it in the Zoological Journal for the month of November 1827 (vol. iii. p. 432), under the name of Mellisuga Kingii. Shortly afterwards, M. Lesson published it in his Manuel d'Ornithologie (vol. ii. p. 80), as Ornismya sephaniodes, as a discovery belonging to the Coquille's voyage, in the illustrations of which it is figured at plate 31.
[227] Sarmiento, p. 180.
[228] Narborough's Voyage, p. 78.
[229] Except gun-room, second and third messes.
[230] Except cabin, fourth and fifth messes.
[231] Except cabin, sixth and seventh messes.