1839.] ALARM AT EL CARMEN. 63 



and the bolas, or balls; the latter consisting cf two leaden 

 balls attached to either end of a stout strip of hide, four feet 

 long ; this is grasped in the middle, whirled over the head a 

 few times, and then thrown with astonishing velocity and 

 precision. It rarely fails to disable the object aimed at, be it 

 man or beast. 



(5.) Upon the appearance of the Exploring Squadron off 

 the coast, the inhabitants living on the Rio Negro, fancying 

 the French fleet was approaching to despoil them, became 

 much alarmed, and having hastily collected their cattle, fled 

 with them into the interior. The first party that landed 

 found the estancias deserted, and the fires smoldering: on 

 the rude hearth stones. The mistake was soon discovered, 

 however, and the people gradually ventured forth from their 

 places of concealment. Partial observations and surveys 

 were made, in order to prepare a correct chart of the river — a 

 work subsequently completed by Lieutenant Alden — and on 

 the 3d of February the squadron again got under way, and 

 proceeded on their voyage. 



(6.) As they approached the southern extremity of the con- 

 tinent, flocks of speckled haglets, or cape pigeons, and alba- 

 trosses, were occasionally seen ; the moon began to wear 

 round further to the north, and the nights were rendered 

 gloomy by the lengthening shadows which it cast. On the 

 12th of February, the barometer fell rapidly, and heavy 

 squalls of rain, mingled with hail and sleet, followed. When 

 the day broke on the morning of the 13th, and the dense 

 mists that curtained the sky had lifted sufficiently to enable 

 objects to be distinguished, the gray cliffs of Staten Land 

 were discovered ; and, not long after, the barren rocks, and 

 snow-clad mountain peaks, of Tierra del Fuego — the land of 

 fire — loomed above the horizon, dark, bleak and desolate, 

 and showing no signs of vegetation, except, here and there, a 

 stunted shrub or tree. 



The coast of Tierra del Fuego may well be called iron- 

 bound. It is composed of huge masses of trap rock, 

 traversed by red veins, indicating its volcanic origin, which 



