118 EAST PRUSSIA TO THE GOLDEN GATE 



ably more than fifteen-hundred feet in height. The zig- 

 zag of the many wide cracks, the caves and protruding- 

 rocks, all coated with eternal snow, presented a view most 

 picturesque, and never to he forgotten; and the magnifi- 

 cence of the scene which the early morning sun illumined 

 can only find its equal in the Alps. But, notwithstanding 

 the imposing sight, which I have described, the view is a 

 strangely desolate one, with the absolute absence of vege- 

 tation. Nothing was visible but wildly torn rocks of a 

 reddish brown color, which were inhabited by innumera- 

 ble water-fowl, whose screeching alone would be echoed 

 in the cold, cavernous mountains, where even the native 

 nomad dared to set his foot but rarely. • 



The surface of the ocean had a dark gray-green color 

 and was comparatively quiet; a Western wind hastened 

 our speed considerably, which naturally brought us new 

 scenery from minute to minute. 



"We reached Cape St. Vincent soon after ten o'clock 

 and passed it. We had approached shore slowly and were 

 able to distinguish the ever breaking billows at the foot 

 of the Cape. 



Beginning with this point, we find the chain of coast 

 mountains recedes somewhat into a deep-cut picturesque 

 bay, which enables the eye to enjoy the panorama of the 

 endless snow-fields and ferns of the interior. This bay 

 ends in the east at the point where the noted Cape San 

 Diego appears as a gigantic corner stone of the Strait of 

 Le Maire. This cape protrudes considerably into the sea, 

 almost pointed like a needle and ends in a rock of about 

 three hundred feet high, which hangs most threatening- 

 ly over the breakers, that roar amidst fallen fragments, 

 which, reaching almost a quarter of a mile into the sea, 

 may easily be taken for a dam of gigantic construction. 

 We sailed around this dangerous place at about a mile 

 distant and entered the Strait Le Maire at eleven o'clock. 

 This strait divides Fireland and Staten Island. 



We kept close to the coast of Fireland, or less than half 

 a mile from the shore. Though the northern coast had 

 offered already a beautiful view, it could not be compared 



