250 FALKLAND ISLANDS. 



numbers have rapidly decreased ; they are already 

 banished from that half of the island which lies to 

 the eastward of the neck of land between St. Sal- 

 vador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within a very 

 few years after these islands shall have become reg- 

 ularly settled, in all probability this fox will be 

 classed with the dodo, as an animal which has per- 

 ished from the face of the earth. 



At night (17th) we slept on the neck of land at 

 the head of Choiseul Sound, which forms the south- 

 west peninsula. The valley was pretty well shel- 

 tered from the cold wind, but there was very little 

 brushwood for fuel. The Gauchos, however, soon 

 found what, to my great surprise, made nearly as 

 hot a fire as coals : this was the skeleton of a bul- 

 lock lately killed, from which the flesh had been 

 picked by the carrion-hawks. They told me that 

 in winter they often killed a beast, cleaned the 

 flesh from the bones with their knives, and then 

 with these same bones roasted the meat for their 

 suppers. 



ISth. — It rained during nearly the whole da.y. 

 At night we managed, however, with our saddle- 

 cloths, to keep ourselves pretty well dry and warm ; 

 but the ground on which we slept was on each oc- 

 casion nearly in the state of a bog, and there was 

 not a dry spot to sit down on after our day's ride. 

 I have in another part stated how singular it is that 

 there should be absolutely no ti'ees on these islands, 

 although Tierra del Fuego is covered by one large 

 forest. The largest bush in the island (belonging 

 to the family of Compositas) is scarcely so tall as 

 our gorse. The best fuel is afforded by a green 

 little bush about the size of common heath, which 

 has the useful property of buraing while fresh and 

 green. It was very surprising to see the Gauchos, 

 in the midst of rain and everything soaking wet, 



