280 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 



round it. How delightful was that still night, after 

 having been so long involved in the din of the war- 

 ring elements ! 



January loth, 1833. — The Beagle anchored in 

 Goeree Roads. Captain Fitz Roy having resolved 

 to settle the Fuegians, according to their wishes, in 

 Ponsonby Sound, four boats were equipped to car- 

 ry them there through the Beagle Channel. This 

 channel, which was discovered by Captain Fitz 

 Roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable 

 feature in the geography of this, or, indeed, of any 

 other country : it may be compared to the valley 

 of Lochness in Scotland, with its chain of lakes 

 and friths. It is about one hundred and twenty 

 miles long, with an average breadth, not subject to 

 any very great variation, of about two miles ; and 

 is throughout the gi'eater part so perfectly straight, 

 that the view, bounded on each side by a line of 

 mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long 

 distance. It crosses the southern part of Tierra 

 del Fuego in an east and west line, and in the mid- 

 dle is joined at right angles on the south side by an 

 irregular channel, which has been called Ponsonby 

 Sound. This is the residence of Jemmy Button's 

 tribe and family. 



19th. — Three whale-boats and the yawl, with a 

 paity of twenty-eight, started under the command 

 of Captain Fitz Roy. In the afternoon we enter- 

 ed the eastern inouth of the channel, and shortly 

 afterwai'ds found a snug little cove concealed by 

 •some surrounding islets. Here we pitched our 

 tents and lighted our fires. Nothing could look 

 more comfortable than this scene. The glassy wa- 

 ter of the little harbour, with the branches of the 

 ti'ees hanging over the rocky beach, the boats at 

 anchor, the tents supported by the crossed oars, and 

 the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a 



