Magellan was the first not only to sail through the strait, but to cross the broad Pacific Ocean, which was so named by him on account of the quietness of its waters. Because he saw the fires built by the natives blazing on the islands along the south side of the channel, he called them Tierra del Fuego, meaning "Land of Fire."

The Strait of Magellan varies from three to seventy miles in width. The scenery along its shores, low and treeless in the eastern part, elsewhere is mountainous and heavily wooded—mainly with beech. In various places lofty precipices rise abruptly from the water's edge; throughout most of its extent the shore line is rock-bound and studded with islets.

A more picturesque route, and one abounding in the grandest and most stupendous scenery in the world, is that from the Pacific by way of Smyth Channel, the entrance to which is four hundred miles north of the entrance to Magellan Strait. By this route one follows a series of channels and reaches the strait proper near Desolation Island. On account of the dangers besetting this course, underwriters refuse to insure vessels taking it.

_Copyright, Underwood & Underwood, New York_
The Straits of Magellan. Cape Pilar is the extreme western end
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It remained for a Hollander named Schouten to discover Cape Horn, in 1616, and thus find a safer way for sailing vessels going from the one great ocean to the other. Schouten named the cape "Hoorn," from his native city in Holland. Afterward the name was shortened to Horn, which is applied both to the cape and to the island from which it projects. Since the western entrance to the strait is subject to rough, tempestuous weather and strong currents, very few modern sailing vessels take the shorter course, preferring to double the cape. Though doubling the cape is the safer route, yet this passage itself is beset by dangerous storms and tempestuous seas. Fortunate is the sailing master who rounds the Horn with pleasant weather.

Some of the smaller islands of the archipelago are densely wooded and practically unexplored. Gold has been found on the beaches of several of the islands in paying quantities, and these placers have been worked successfully for several years. On the islands are found wild strawberries of great size and fine flavor, wild raspberries, gooseberries, grapes, and celery; in the spring the pastures are covered with a variety of wild flowers. A profusion of ferns is seen almost everywhere. Wild geese and swans are found on the lagoons and lakes in large numbers.

Once upon a time Patagonia, as the southern part of the continent is popularly called, was regarded as a waste; now it is recognized as a wonderfully fertile region, and is being rapidly settled. European colonies have been established there, and they are highly prosperous. The native Indians are disappearing, hurried to extinction chiefly by King Alcohol, which, once tasted, seems to conquer them. Traders know the weakness of these savages, and exploit it for all they are worth. The articles which the Indians chiefly barter are skins, pelts, and ostrich feathers.

The Indians are well supplied with horses, the descendants of those brought to South America by Spanish explorers. They are wonderful riders and excel in the use of a peculiar lasso called the bolas. It consists usually of three balls of stone or metal covered with rawhide and attached to one another by twisted thongs of the same material. In fighting as well as in capturing wild animals, this instrument is indispensable. The operator, holding one of the balls, swings the others over his head and when sufficient momentum has been obtained lets them go. If well aimed, the connected balls circle around the legs of the animal to be caught, entangling and throwing it down.