44 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



that portion of the Pacific westward of the 

 coasts of Chili or Peru ; once out of the track of 

 ships, all signs of life vanish, rarely is a sail 

 sighted, and for weeks together not a fish or a 

 bird are to be seen; and it is only when 

 approaching the land again that the latter 

 reappear, as though to welcome one to their 

 habitations. 



On the evening of the 15th of February we 

 passed close to Mas-a-fuera, a desolate and 

 uninhabited island, and at daylight the following 

 morning the rugged and fantastic peaks of Juan 

 Fernandez were in sight. 



The appearance of this celebrated island is 

 extremely picturesque ; lofty mountains tower 

 up in every variety of form; on a closer 

 inspection these are seen to be thickly wooded 

 to their summits, while lovely glens, lay 

 embosomed at their feet. 



On the southern or weathermost side of the 

 island the land slopes gradually to the sea ; on 

 the northern side the precipices in some places go 

 sheer down many hundreds of feet to the beach. 



