not been to the bottom of Snowy Sound, I should have thought they joined. After going far enough, to see quite to the end, we returned, hauled the boat on a shingle beach, and secured her for the time. When a bit of shingle beach could be found, it was a prize; for on it we could always make a good tent, and have a dry bed, besides hauling the boat up easily. There is a greater rise and fall of tide here, than at the other side of Charles Island, being not less than seven or eight feet, at springs. During the night, a dog stole a small piece of pork, which we had reserved for our last dinner; and, until his track was discovered, there was no little distrust among our party.
"Whale Sound is a large and deep inlet, ending in a valley between mountains. On the south side, a vessel may anchor in one place, at the west side of Last Harbour; but there, though the harbour appears large, the anchorage is small, and close to the shore. We pulled and sailed along the south shore, landing occasionally to take bearings, until we reached Choiseul Bay, and in a cove, at its west side, we passed the night. This is a place no ship need approach: it is a large, deceiving bay, full of islets and patches of kelp, under which, probably, there are rocks, and between the islets the water is deep and unfit for anchorage. The temperature of the sea this day, in the middle of the sound, one foot below the surface, was 45°.
"8th. As it rained heavily, we remained under such shelter as we could obtain; and prepared for our return to the Beagle, by making use of the only razor we had. When the rain ceased, we left the cove and sailed across to Port Gallant, with a fresh breeze. The smoke of natives' fires was seen near the entrance of the Barbara Channel; and on Prince Island, where we stopped a few minutes, the first man seen had on an old pair of sailor's trowsers, which he had obtained from the Beagle, tied round his legs in six places. The wigwam these people were living in was not half covered: both wind and rain passed through it. How they bear the cold is surprising, being without clothes: one minute sitting close to the fire, and the next perhaps up to the waist in water, getting muscles or sea-eggs. The women dive for sea-eggs, even in the middle of winter;
but the water is never very cold (42° to 44°).([q]) In the afternoon we saw the Beagle's mast-heads, and soon afterwards arrived on board, and enjoyed the happiness of finding all hands well, and every thing ready for farther progress. Lieutenant Kempe had turned the few hours of light, each day afforded, to the best account. Those who have had the care of ships in remote places, will know my feelings at finding all as it should be, after a long absence, in a country little known. Not a man had been ill; and the weather had been very tolerable compared with what was expected. There was less snow on the mountains than when I left Port Gallant early in May. One thing only disappointed me,—the Adelaide had not arrived. It was past the time appointed for her, but she might have found much more to do than was expected, or might have been obliged to return by the Magdalen, instead of coming through the Barbara Channel.
"During my absence, two sealing vessels had been at Port Gallant, on their way through the Strait. From one (an American), which arrived on the 7th of May from Staten Land, information was received that the Adventure had not been there. The Chanticleer had remained some time, but had sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. The master of the American had a brother staying with a boat's crew in Staten Land, during the whole of April, who would probably have seen the Adventure, had she called. The other was Mr. Cutler's vessel, the Uxor, bound to the United States; he had been through a channel which leads from the Gulf of Trinidad to Cape Tamar, and spoke well of it; but could give no drawing, nor precise information; having passed through rapidly.
"Lieutenant Kempe had been at the summit of the Mountain de la Cruz, and left a memorial. No rare animals had been seen, nor any new birds. Small fish were still caught with hook and line, but very few with the seine.
"I never was fully aware of the comfort of a bed until this
night. Not even a frost-bitten foot could prevent me from sleeping soundly for the first time during many nights.
"9th. At one o'clock this day, I heard an exclamation of 'The schooner!' and soon saw her standing across from the Barbara Channel with a fair wind. Before she anchored in Port Gallant, I went on board, and, to my joy, found Lieutenants Skyring and Graves, and all their companions well, having thoroughly completed the work they had to perform, without loss, or even an accident. The difficulty of their task was increased by very bad weather; but they succeeded in tracing and surveying the Magdalen Channel to its junction with the sea, and thence returned by the Barbara Channel to Port Gallant; carrying on a regular chain of triangles, and connecting their work with points previously fixed in the Strait of Magalhaens. A multitude of small islands, and much bad weather, detained them longer than was expected.
"While Lieutenants Skyring and Graves, assisted by Mr. Kirke, were employed surveying, Mr. Bynoe collected geological and other specimens.[[129]]