242- NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



a few hundred feet of the shore, but, seen by the 

 imperfect light, I felt uncertain as to the fact. Since 

 entering the Straits, I had noticed that on the steeper 

 slopes facing the south, where the surface can receive 

 but little sunshine at any season, the forest ascends 

 but a short distance above the sea-level. Above that 

 limit in such situations I observed only a scanty 

 covering of bushes, and higher up the surface at this 

 season appeared quite bare. 



As Borya Bay is one of the customary haunts of 

 the Fuegians, the steam-whistle was sounded on our 

 arrival as an invitation to any natives who might be 

 encamped there. This always suffices to attract 

 them, with the hope of being able to gratify their 

 universal craving for tobacco. The appeal was not 

 answered, as the people were doubtless on the 

 outer coasts, and we were not destined to see 

 anything of the most miserable of all the races of 

 man. 



As the weather remained bright, the anchor was 

 raised soon after midnight, and by one a.m. we were 

 on our way, steering south-east, to round the southern 

 extremity of the mainland of America. Awaking to 

 the disappointment of having missed a view of one of 

 the most interesting portions of the Straits, I hurried 

 on deck, and found a new change in the aspect of 

 the skies. The night had been cold, with a sharp 

 frost ; but in the morning, soon after daybreak, the 

 air felt quite warm, with the thermometer marking 

 39° Fahr. A northerly breeze had set in, and as an 

 inevitable result brought thick weather. I again 

 noticed, however, that the barometer on these coasts 



