16 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



lioiir or two. tramping througli the 

 mud and slush searching for the best 

 spots from which to photograph them. 

 It was a surprise to see and hear several 

 creepers in ragged plumage in the long 

 tussac grass, as not a hush or tree was 

 in sight, and the}' are birds of the for- 

 est ratlier than of the open. Perhaps 

 an abundance of flies about the rook- 

 eries attracts them. A drizzly fog hang- 

 ing low over the island gave promise of 

 a change in wind, and after taking- 

 photographs and deciding that the yel- 

 low-nosed albatrosses were not present, 

 we returned to the sloop which was 

 standing on and off near shore. 



We ran back toward Hoste Island, 

 passing in between Morton and Hen- 

 derson islands and close to a little 

 island where a copper mine had been 

 Avorkod some years before, then up 

 through a tortuous channel, finally an- 

 choring under the Diadem Mountain, 

 which stretches up about three thou- 

 sand feet. Mrs. Beck and I climbed 

 the mountain-side from the thick grass 

 and mossy tundra along the beach, to a 

 small lake where great cakes of ice w^ere 

 floating in the cold water. This was 

 probably two thousand feet up and was 

 surrounded by snow-covered mountains. 

 A flock of dominican gulls was stand- 

 ing on a snow-covered islet in the lake, 

 and some were bathing in the icy water. 

 The overflow water from the lake 

 poured down a rocky cascade and A\ent 

 tumbling over high falls to join the 

 salt water below. Pretty white verbena- 

 like flowers were blossoming on the 

 steep hillside and adding their bit to 

 make the climb qviite worth while. 



The next day, soon after lunch, we 

 were surprised to see a small sailboat 

 appear around a headland, and as it 

 approached, our cook recognized the 

 steersman as a former friend from 

 Ushuaia. The sloop contained but two 

 individuals, the young man acting as 

 captain and an Indian boy as helper. 

 They had three dogs with them and 

 about fifty otter skins which they were 



This article will be concluded in 



taking to Punta Arenas to sell. After 

 making some inquiries about the course 

 and telling us they intended to try for 

 fur seals on an outer rock some miles 

 south, they vanished around a point — 

 and have never Ijeen heard from since. 

 "We made particular inquiries six- 

 months later in Ushuaia and Punta 

 Arenas, but their foolhardiness had un- 

 doubtedly brought its certain reward. 



We moved a few iiiih's down toward 

 False Cape Horn the next day and from 

 a rocky point where a colony of tei'us 

 was nesting we secured a bucketful of 

 eggs to eat. December '2i Ix^gan with a 

 light breeze and, as False Cape Horn 

 was only twenty-five miles av^'ay, we 

 hoisted anchor at four in the morning 

 and headed for it. Getting away from 

 the protection of the small islands, we 

 could see the dark heavy clouds piling 

 u]) over the top of Hoste Island behind 

 us. This was a sure presage of storm. 

 l)ut our l)reeze freshening, we hoped to 

 get around the cape l)efore it struck us. 

 Just before reaching the cape a rain 

 squall hit us and with it wind. The 

 sea roughened suddenly, and as we ran 

 before the squall the boom hnmniered 

 the waves as they swe|)t ])ast. I-'oi'tu- 

 nately we W(>re a few miU^s to wind- 

 ward, and it took l)ut a short time to 

 swino- round the cape and haul up on 

 the lee side where the fine anchorage 

 at r.oi't Bay protected us from the bad 

 weather. Christmas day began sunnily. 

 and we went ashore for a couple ef 

 liours to Avhere an old Indian rancho. 

 as the wigwam frames are called, wa'^ 

 standing as a reminder of a fast van- 

 ishing race. Wild celery grew in al)uu- 

 dance about the site, and mussel sliell^ 

 showed through the rank vegetation 

 growing everywhere, ^^'e left on the 

 twenty-sixth for Hermite Island from 

 which we expected to round the Horn. 

 Anchoring at the east end and spend- 

 ing a couple of days there, we took pic- 

 tures of Cape Horn from the top of 

 Hermite Island in case our attem])t at 

 rounding the Horn proved futile. 



the next issue of the Journal. 



