« mriTTT-XTrtr-Ti " 



550 A NATURALIST ON THE " CHALLENGER. 



seen progressing tlirough the water alongside the ship in troops, 

 by series of bounds, just like porpoises.* 



The anchor was dropped every night, it being impossible to 

 proceed without daylight, because of the intricacy of the channel. 

 Every evening I went on shore at some wilcl harbour, to wade 

 through swamps and crawl through the dense undergrowth, in 

 pursuit of wild geese, ducks, snipes, and woodcocks. In some of 

 the harbours it was impossible to get away from the sea-shore, 

 so dense was the barrier of forest everywhere. The ground is 

 encumbered with prostrate trees and logs, which are overgrown 

 with the most delicate and beautiful ferns, mostly Hymeno- 

 phyllums, which thrive in the constantly moist atmosphere. 



At one place we fired the forest. The fire spread rapidly for 

 miles, covering the mountains with clouds of smoke, and some- 

 what endangering Mr. J. J. Wild, one of the members of the 

 scientific staff, who was on shore alone. After an anxious hue- 

 and-cry he was found safe on a rocky promontory, and brought 

 back to the ship in one of the boats in triumph. 



About Sandy Point there is more open country, and wide 

 stretches of grass-land, on which we found abundance of mush- 

 rooms. A curious accident happened at Port Churruca, in 

 Desolation Island. The ship's anchor was let go in a glassy 

 calm, and apparently the ship was safely anchored. A short 

 time later, however, a slight breeze sprung up, and the officer of 

 the watch found that the ship was drifting freely before it. 

 He had just time to let go another anchor and save the ship 

 from drifting on shore* which was a very short distance off in the 

 narrow fjord. It was found that the anchor, falling heavily on 

 the rocks when let go, had broken in two short off, so that the 

 remnant did not hold at all, a fact which had not been apparent 

 during the calm. 



Many deserted huts of the Fuegians were seen at the various 

 harbours ; but to my great disappointment we met with no 

 natives themselves. Only one day, as we steamed along the 

 middle of the main Strait of Magellan, near the southernmost 

 point of America, Cape Frowarcl, in a bitterly cold blast, we saw 

 on the shore, in the distance, three fires, with their smoke 



* See page 265. 



