178 THE ATLANTIC. [chap. iv. 



cleared up, and we had a good view of the little group — Jason 

 West, Jason East, Grand Jason, Steeple Jason, and Elephant Ja- 

 son — rocky islets rising abruptly from the sea. We had a fine 

 run during the night along the north coast of the Falklands; 

 at half-past five next morning Cape Bougainville was seen due 

 south of us. The weather was showery and squally, with a 

 strong southerly breeze, but the land became more distinct 

 during the forenoon as we passed the entrance of Berkeley 

 Sound, and some rather high hills could be seen at intervals 

 between the showers. At two o'clock we passed Pembroke 

 Light -house, and slipped quietly between the headlands into 

 the little land-locked bay which forms the harbor of Stanley, 

 the present seat of government of the Falkland Islands. 



At a first glance these islands are not attractive, and I doubt 

 if they imj^rove greatly on acquaintance. Tlie land is gener- 

 ally low and flat, but it rises here and there into ridges, the 

 highest a little over 2000 feet in height. The ground is dark 

 in color, a mixture of brown and dull green ; the ridges are 

 pale gray, with lines of outcrop of hard white quartzite, like 

 dilapidated stone -walls, at different levels along the strike. 

 The vegetation is scanty, and, what little there is, very ineffect- 

 ive. There is nothing of a higher dignity than an herb, the 

 nearest approach to a shrub being a rank form of groundsel 

 {Senecio candicans)^ with large button-like yellow flowers and 

 very white woolly foliage, which runs up along the shore and 

 in sheltered nooks inland to a height of two or three feet, and 

 a pretty Yeronica {¥. decussata), which is, however, indigenous 

 on the west island only, and is introduced in the gardens about 

 Port Stanley. 



Above Stanley Harbor the land slopes up for a hundred feet 

 or so to a low ridge, beyond which what is called there the 

 " Camp " {champ) extends nearly level for many miles, with 

 slightly raised stretches of pasture and wide patches of peat 

 and dark boggy tarns. The little town of Stanley is built 



