218 PORT ST. JULIAN. 



cestors have lain, would, make the now roaming 

 Indians bring the less perishable part of their dead 

 to their ancient burial-ground on the coast. 



January ^th, 1834. — Before it was dark the 

 Beagle anchored in the fine, spacious harbour of 

 Port St. Julian, situated about one hundred and ten 

 miles to the south of Port Desire. We remained 

 here eight days. The countiy is nearly similar 

 to that of Port Desire, but perhaps rather more 

 sterile. One day a party accompanied Captain 

 Fitz Roy on a long walk round the head of the 

 harbour. We were eleven hours without tasting 

 any water, and some of the party were quite ex- 

 hausted. From the summit of a hill (since well 

 named Thirsty Hill) a fine lake was spied, and two 

 of the party proceeded with concerted signals to 

 show whether it was fresh water. What was our 

 disappointment to find a snow-white expanse of 

 salt, crystallized in great cubes ! We attributed 

 our extreme thirst to the dryness of the atmo- 

 sphere ; but, whatever the cause might be, we were 

 exceedingly glad, late in the evening, to get back to 

 the boats. Although we could nowhere find, du- 

 ring our whole visit, a single drop of fresh water, 

 yet some must exist ; for by an odd chance I found 

 on the surface of the salt water, near the head of 

 the bay, a Colymbetes not quite dead, which must 

 have lived in some not far distant pool. Three 

 other insects (a Cincindela, like hybrida, a Cymin- 

 dis, and a Harpalus, which all live on muddy flats 

 occasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other 

 found dead on the plain, complete the list of the 

 beetles. A good-sized fly (Tabanus) was extreme- 

 ly numerous, and tormented us by its painful bite. 

 The common horsefly, which is so troublesome in 

 the shady lanes of England, belongs to this same 

 genus. We here have the puzzle that so frequent- 



