We sailed from Port Stanley yesterday at daylight, and after entering Berkeley Sound beat up as far as Hog Island, off which we anchored at sunset, at a distance from the old settlement of Port Louis of about two miles and a half. As the sole object in coming here was to obtain magnetic observations at the spot used for that purpose in 1842 by the Antarctic Expedition under Sir James Ross, for which one day would suffice, we had little time to make excursions in the neighbourhood. Two parties were made up to shoot rabbits in some large warrens which have long been established on the shores of Johnson Harbour and at the head of Port Darlington, but they met with very little success. I preferred accompanying Captain B.J. Sulivan for the purpose of seeing his gauchos use the lasso and bolas in catching some cattle required for the ship. This officer, who formerly commanded H.M.S. Philomel, employed for several years upon the survey of the Falklands, has been one of the first to avail himself of the proposals made by Government to develop the resources of these islands by throwing them open to private enterprise; in association with several gentleman in England he has set on foot an establishment for the purpose of curing beef, hides, and tallow, which, it is expected, will be in full operation in the course of next year. The terms upon which settlers of the better class are invited to East Falkland are, I believe, the following: the purchaser of a block of land of a quarter of a square mile at the minimum price of eight shillings an acre (64 pounds) is entitled to a lease of 10,000 acres of contiguous land for the period of twenty years, at the rent of 10 pounds per annum, with right of pre-emption. Also, according to part of an agreement between Government and Mr. Lafone (an Englishman residing at Montevideo) by which the latter has acquired a right to all the wild cattle on the island (estimated at 30,000 head) until the year 1860, he is bound to reclaim annually a certain number, and supply them to purchasers at the fixed rate of thirty shillings a head.
We landed on Hog Island where Captain Sulivan's herd of eleven hundred cattle (besides a number of horses) had been kept during the winter, supported chiefly by the tussock grass fringing the shore, which they had cropped so closely that, being a perennial plant of slow growth, two years' rest would be required to enable it to regain its former vigour. Large patches of this magnificent grass*--Dactylis caespitosa of botanists--along the shores of the mainland have been destroyed by the cattle in their fondness for the nutritious base of the stem, a small portion of which, as thick as the little finger, has a pleasant taste and may be eaten by man, to whom it has occasionally furnished the principal means of subsistence when wandering in the wilds of these inhospitable islands. Great numbers of upland geese (Chloephaga magellanica) chiefly in small flocks, were feeding on various berries and the tender grass. Although seldom molested on this island, they became rather wary after a few shots had been fired--still a sufficient number to answer our purpose were procured without much difficulty. Unlike the kelp goose, which has a very rank taste, derived from its feeding chiefly upon the filmy seaweeds covering the tidal rocks, the upland goose is excellent eating, and formed a welcome addition to our fare on board. Loggerheads and other ducks, cormorants, and grebes, were swimming about among the beds of kelp, and oyster-catchers of two kinds, gulls, kelp-geese, and many other birds frequented the shores.
(*Footnote. For a full account of this useful plant, the growth of which in Britain in certain favourable maritime situations has been attempted on a large scale, I would refer to Botany of the Antarctic Voyage by Dr. J.D. Hooker page 384 and plates 136 and 137.)
Meanwhile one of the gauchos rode over from Captain Sulivan's establishment on the main by a ford passable at low-water, and was sent back for a companion to assist him in catching the cattle. He was an old weather-beaten half-bred Pampas Indian of the name of Escalante, whose capability of enduring fatigue and privations of every kind were described as being remarkable even in a gaucho. At length the cattle were collected and driven up, and although eight hundred out of those composing the herd had been reclaimed only three months, yet the whole were easily managed by the two men on horseback, who rounded them in without difficulty upon the summit of a low hill close to the slaughtering-place. A fine dun heifer four years old was the first selected; it was detached from the herd after some trouble, and pursued by both gauchos who, throwing off their ponchos, untwisted the bolas from round the waist, and, after swinging them round the head several times, threw them in succession at the beast's hind legs but without taking effect, as each time the animal stumbled for an instant and the bolas slipped off the legs without becoming entangled. Stooping as he passed to pick up the bolas from the ground, Escalante uncoiled his lasso, and getting upon the cow's left flank, drove her at full speed towards the foot of the hill; when distant about twelve yards from the chase, he threw the lasso which he had kept swinging horizontally and slowly round his head for a few minutes back--the noose fell over the animal's head and neck, catching one of the forelegs, which was instantly doubled up under the throat by the drawing of the noose, when the beast staggered and fell, but rose again immediately on three legs, and attempted to charge the horse and rider. Catching one of the forelegs and neck in this manner is considered the master-stroke in lassoing, being the most difficult of execution: Captain Sulivan told me that a one-armed man at Montevideo, famous for his skill in lassoing, on one occasion for a wager caught nine out of ten bullocks in succession after this fashion. It was admirable to observe the manner in which the horse eased off the shock of bringing up an animal much heavier than itself, and by keeping a strain upon the lasso urged the furious beast onwards to a triangle which had been put up. The other gaucho, Andrez Pelaluya by name, meanwhile was riding up behind, and at length threw his lasso over the heifer's flanks, the slack of the noose falling down upon the ground--in throwing up her heels the hind legs were dexterously caught, when in a moment the beast was dragged over on one side and firmly moored. Leaving the horses to keep up the strain--for the lasso is made fast to an iron ring in the saddle--the riders dismounted, and Escalante drawing out a long knife from his belt and renewing the edge upon a steel which he carried in one boot, quickly despatched the beast. A second heifer was afterwards picked out from the herd and caught by the horns; as the animal, maddened with terror, was galloped past with the lasso at full strain, I must confess that being a novice I did not feel quite comfortable, and instinctively clutched my gun, not being altogether sure that the lasso might not break--but, although no thicker than the little finger, it is of immense strength, being made of plaited hide. This beast was secured and butchered pretty much as in the former instance; the bolas had been thrown at the hind legs, but caught only one, round which the three thongs and balls were so tightly interlaced as to require some patience in extricating them.
While slaughtering the cattle it was amusing to notice the familiarity of the carrion hawks, hundreds of which were collected about, perched upon the little hillocks all round, watching every movement of ours, or hovering overhead within the distance of a few yards. They are the Milvago australis, a bird of which the sexes differ so much in appearance, that they were pointed out to me as distinct species. The settlers and others call them rooks, and another very common carrion bird of the vulture family (Cathartes aura) is known here as the john-crow. On board the ship the sight of some quarters of beef secured to the mizen cross-trees had attracted numbers of these hawks, and upwards of a dozen might have been seen at one time perched upon the rigging, including one on each truck; on shore they made several attacks upon a pile of geese lying near the boat, and although repeatedly driven off with stones, they returned as often to make a fresh attempt.
July 25th.
Yesterday afternoon some of our people employed in cutting grass upon a small island close to the ship, stumbled upon a huge sealion asleep in one of the pit-like recesses among the tussocks. At first it was supposed to be a dead bullock, but the beast on being disturbed rose upon his fore flippers, and, displaying a formidable array of teeth, roared loudly* at the disturbers of his rest, who, being unarmed, rushed helter-skelter to the boat and went off to the ship. They returned immediately with an assortment of pikes, muskets, and pistols sufficient to ensure the destruction of a host of sealions; but after cautiously investing the place, it was discovered that the beast had very prudently got out of the way, nor this morning could he be found by a person who went to make a second search.
(*Footnote. "Sometimes when we came suddenly upon them, or waked them out of their sleep (for they are a sluggish sleepy animal) they would raise up their heads, snort and snarl, and look as fierce as if they meant to devour us; but as we advanced upon them, they always ran away; so that they are downright bullies." Cook's Voyages Volume 4 page 187.)
On this--Peat Islet of the chart--the tussock grass grows in great luxuriance, and to a stranger presents a most singular appearance. Its clusters of stems--frequently upwards of a hundred or more in a bunch--are raised from the ground upon a densely matted mass of old and decayed roots, two or three feet high, from the summit of which the leaves, frequently six feet in length, arch gracefully outwards. The tussock grass has been likened to a palm on a small scale, but altogether it reminded me more of the Xanthorrhoea, or grass-tree of Australia. We saw many seals swimming about among the kelp, and on the shore found the carcases of several which had lately been killed with clubs, each of the skulls having been fractured by a blow at the root of the nose. They were of the kind known here as the hair-seal, the skin of which is of little value. It is still very abundant; but the fur-seal, from the indiscriminate slaughter of old and young for many years back has become scarce, and is now confined to a few favourite localities--rookeries as they are called, a name also applied at the Falklands to any great breeding place of penguins or other seafowl. A few days ago a party of five sealers returned to the settlement after a short absence, with the skins of no less than 120 fur-seals, worth, I was told, twenty-five shillings each.
Here I found two pairs of the sheathbill (Chionis alba) a bird whose place in the system has puzzled ornithologists. It has been variously considered as being one of the galinaceous birds, the pigeons, the waders, and even as belonging to the web-footed order. Its habits are those of the oyster-catchers,* however different the form of the beak, which in the sheathbill is short, stout, and pointed, and enveloped at the base by a waxy-looking sheath. Its feet are like those of a gallinaceous bird, yet one which I wounded took voluntarily to the water and swam off to a neighbouring point to rejoin its mate. Cuvier, besides erroneously mentioning that it is a native of New Holland, states that it feeds on carrion; the stomachs of two which I examined contained seaweed, limpets, and small quartz pebbles. The people here call it the rock-dove, and from its snow-white plumage it forms a conspicuous object along the shores.