IS34.] POKT FAMINE. 233 



and the colony beinj; then for a time deserted, tlie horse ran wild ; * 

 in loSO, only forty-thiee years afterwards, we hear of them at the 

 Strait of Magellan ! Mr. Low informs me, that a neighbouring 

 tribe of foot-Indians is now changing into Iiorse-Indians : the tribe 

 at Gregory Bay giving them their worn-out horses, and sending 

 in whiter a few of their best skilled men to hunt for them. 



June \st. — We anchored in the fine bay of Port Famine. It 

 was now the beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheer- 

 less prospect ; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only 

 seen indistinctly through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. ^Ve 

 were, however, lucky in getting two fine days. On one of these, 

 Mount Sarmiento, a distant mountain C80U feet high, presented 

 a very noble spectacle. I was frequently surprised, in the 

 scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the little apparent elevation of 

 mountains really lofty. I suspect it is owing to a cause which 

 would not at first be imagined, namely, that the whole mass, 

 from the summit to the water's ^(S.<-rQ^ is generally in full view. 

 I remember having seen a mountain, first from the Beagle 

 Channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to the base 

 w^as full in view, and then from Ponsonby Sound across several 

 successive ridcres ; and it was curious to observe in the latter 

 case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judo-insr of the 

 distance, how the mountain rose in height. 



Before reaching Port Famine, two men were seen rannins: 

 along the shore and hailing the ship. A boat was sent for them. 

 They turned out to be two sailors who had run away from a 

 sealing-vessel, and had joined the Patagonians. These Indians had 

 treated them with their tisual disinterested hospitality. They 

 had parted company through accident, and were then proceeding 

 to Port Famine in hopes of finding some ship. I dare say thev 

 were worthless vagabonds, but I never saw more miserable look- 

 ing ones. They had been living for some days on mussel-shells 

 and berries, and their tattered clothes had been burnt by sleep- 

 ing so near their fires. They had been exposed ni^ht and day, 

 without any shelter, to the late incessant gales, with rain, sleet, 

 and snow, and yet they were in good health. 



During our stay at Port Famine, the Fuegians twice came and 

 plagued us. As there were many instruments, clothes, and men 

 * Renjgcr, Natur. dcr Saeiigethiere Yoa Paraguay. S. 334. 



