1896. A ZOOLOGIST IN T I ERR A DEL FUEGO. 179 



tools, etc., were far greater than we had expected. Having traversed 

 with great hardship three-fourths of the distance, we arrived on the 

 fifth day at a waterfall, at least three metres high, and beyond that, 

 we sighted a long series of rapids, stronger than those lower down. 

 Consequently, we deemed it impossible to reach our destination in the 

 short time at our disposal, either by water or by carrying the boat and 

 its cargo through the thick vegetation bordering the river. The 

 return journey down the river to the encampment, with the tide in our 

 favour, occupied only two hours. Thus I had to return after having 

 only sighted from a distant hill that beautiful basin which will, no 

 doubt, some day prove very interesting for research, notwithstanding 

 its analogy with some of our " rehct-lakes." During my twelve days 

 at Admiralty Sound, the weather was too bad to permit of my making 

 any but terrestrial and freshwater collections ; however, I dredged 

 later on at a depth of 100 and. 150 fathoms respectively at Martha's 

 Bank and Cape Valentin. 



Having by this time a good representative collection of the 

 eastern fauna, I thought it would be interesting, for the sake of com- 

 parison, to visit the west of the Strait and the Pacific coast, and, 

 through the courtesy of the Governor in Punta Arenas, Mr. Sehoret, 

 I was invited to start on board the " Huemul," sister boat to the 

 " Condor," for Ultima Esperanza, a fiord never before explored by 

 naturalists. Ultima Esperanza is the Spanish name of that very 

 strange coast feature connected with Smith Channel by a narrow 

 sound and by two narrower passages several miles apart, one of which is 

 only 30 metres broad in some parts, while the other is rendered 

 unnavigable by reason of several boulders just in the narrowest part. 

 The tide sets through Kirke, as the northern passage is named, at 

 the rate of ten or twelve, in spring even fifteen, knots an hour. At 

 Isthmus Bay I found two tadpoles, probably Nannophryne variegata, 

 Giinther. Their occurrence along this coast has, I presume, been men- 

 tioned first by Cunningham, who found them at Eden Harbour and 

 afterwards at Puerto Bueno, where he also met with another species, 

 Hylodes leptopus (Bell) ; at present, then, Isthmus Bay is the farthest 

 point south at which batrachians are recorded. They are another 

 instance of the extension of terrestrial forms, originally sub-tropical, 

 along that part of the South Pacific coast remarkable for its excessive 

 rain and slight variation of mean temperature in summer and winter, 

 and, as a result of these, for its luxurious vegetation. I should not 

 be at all surprised to find this frog as far south as Cape Horn, just as 

 other forms have so v/ide a range as from Chiloe Archipelago to Cape 

 Horn, 800 to goo miles. On arrival at the fiord, I found the water 

 rather brackish, and, as I had expected, dredged at first with very 

 little result — two mussels, a few annelids, a couple of amphipods and 

 sea-stars. Therefore, I was the more surprised to find on the last 

 day, when dredging in ten fathoms, numerous sponges, worms, 

 amphipods, echinoderms, and a species of Cumacea. These were 



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