MOUNT SARMIENTO. 243 



seems to be very slightly affected by changes in the 

 wind's direction. It stood last night at 30' 16 inches, 

 and on the morning of the loth, with a complete 

 change of weather, had fallen only eight-hundredths 

 of an inch. 



The southern end of the continent is shaped like a 

 broad wedge, whose apex is Cape Froward, laying in 

 south latitude 53° 54'. We passed it early in the 

 forenoon, giving the headland, which we saw dimly 

 to the north, a broad berth, so that we about touched 

 the 54th parallel. If we compare this with the 

 climate of places in about the same latitude, as, for 

 instance, with that of the Isle of Man, we are apt to 

 consider the climate as severe ; but we habitually 

 forget how far the condition of Western Europe is 

 affected by exceptional circumstances ; and if we look 

 elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, taking, for 

 instance, the Labrador coast, the south of Kamschatka, 

 or even the coast of British Columbia, we must admit 

 that the Straits of Magellan afford no confirmation to 

 the prevalent ideas respecting the greater cold of the 

 climate of the southern hemisphere. 



Soon after this turning-point of the voyage the sky 

 partially cleared to the southward, and we were 

 fortunate enough to enjoy one of the most impressive 

 scenes that my memory has recorded. The broad 

 sound that divides Clarence Island from the main 

 island of Tierra del Fuego lay open before us, flanked 

 on either hand by lofty snow-clad summits. In the 

 background, set as in a frame, rose the magnificent 

 peak of Mount Sarmiento, the Matterhorn of this 

 region, springing, as it appeared, from the shore to a 



