270 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 



the grandeur of the scene. The gloomy depth of 

 the ravine well accorded with the universal signs 

 of violence^ On every side were lying iiTegular 

 masses of rock and torn-ujj trees ; other trees, 

 though still erect, were decayed to the heart and 

 ready to fall. The entangled mass of the thriving 

 and the fallen reminded me of the forests within the 

 tropics — yet there was a difference ; for in these 

 still solitudes, Death, instead of Life, seemed the 

 predominant spirit. I followed the watercourse 

 till I came to a spot where a gi-eat slip had cleared 

 a straight space down the mountain side. By this 

 road I ascended to a considerable elevation, and 

 obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. 

 The trees all belong to one kind, the Fagus betu- 

 loides ; for the number of the other species of Fa- 

 gus and of the Winter's Bark is quite inconsider- 

 able. This beech keeps its leaves throughout the 

 year ; but its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green 

 colour, with a tinge of yellow. As the whole land- 

 scape is thus coloured, it has a sombre, dull ap- 

 pearance ; nor is it often enlivened by the rays of 

 the sun. 



Dccemher 2Qth. — One side of the harbour is 

 formed by a hill about 1500 feet high, which Cap- 

 tain Fitz Roy has called after Sir J. Banks, in 

 commemoration of his disastrous excursion, which 

 proved fatal to two men of his party, and nearly so 

 to Dr. Solander. The snow-storm, which was the 

 cause of their misfortune, happened in the middle 

 of January, corresponding to our July, and in the 

 latitude of Durham \ I was anxious to reach the 

 summit of this moimtain to collect alpine plants ; 

 for flowers of any kind in the lower parts are few 

 in number. We followed the same watercourse as 

 on the previous day, till it dwindled away, and we 

 were then compelled to crawl blindly among the 



