274 COOK'S VOYAGE TO APRIL, 



the same size, which some of our people said they 

 had seen in the Straits of Magellan, besides another 

 differing little from the hake. There are also consi- 

 derable numbers of those fish called the chimcerce, or 

 little sea-wolves by some, which is akin to and 

 about the size of the pezegallo, or elephant-fish. 

 Sharks likewise sometimes frequent the sound, for 

 the natives have some of their teeth in their posses- 

 sion ; and we saw some pieces of ray, or skate, which 

 seemed to have been pretty large. The other marine 

 animals that ought to be mentioned here, are a 

 small cruciated medusa, or blubber ; star-fish, which 

 differ somewhat from the common ones ; two small 

 sorts of crabs ; and two others which the natives 

 brought ; one of them of a thick, tough, gela- 

 tinous consistence, and the other a sort of mem- 

 branaceous tube or pipe, both which are probably 

 taken from the rocks. And we also purchased from 

 them once, a very large cuttle-fish. 



There is abundance of large muscles about the 

 rocks, many sea-ears, and we often saw shells of pretty 

 large plain chamce. The smaller sorts are some troclii 

 of two species, a curious murex, rugged wilks, and a 

 snail, all which are probably peculiar to this place, at 

 least I do not recollect to have seen them in any 

 country near the same latitude in either hemisphere. 

 There are besides these, some small plain cockles, 

 limpets, and some strangers who came into the sound 

 wore necklaces of a small bluish volute, or panamce. 

 Many of the muscles are a span in length, and some 

 having pretty large pearls, which, however, are both 

 badly shaped and coloured. We may conclude that 

 there is red coral in the sound, or somewhere upon 

 the coast, some thick pieces or branches having been 

 seen in the canoes of the natives. 



The only animals of the reptile kind observed here 

 and found in the woods, were brown snakes two 

 feet long, with whitish stripes on the back and sides, 

 which are harmless, as we often saw the natives 



