1834.] 



PORT FAMINE. 233 



and the colony being- then for a time deserted, the horse ran wild ; * 

 in 1580, only forty-three years afterwards, we hear of them at the 

 Strait of Magellan ! Mr. Low informs me, that a neighbouring 

 tribe of foot-Indians is now changing into horse-Indians : the tribe 

 at Greo-ory Bay giving them their worn-out horses, and sending 

 in winter a few of their best skilled men to hunt for them. 



June \st. — We anchored in the fine bay of Port Famine. It 

 was now the beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheer- 

 less prospect ; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only 

 seen indistinctly through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. We 

 were, however, lucky in getting two fine days. On one of these, 

 Mount Sarmiento, a distant mountain 6800 feet high, presented 

 a very noble spectacle. I was frequently surprised, in the 

 scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the little apparent elevation of 

 mountains really lofty. I suspect it is owing to a cause which 

 would not at first be imagined, namely, that the whole mass, 

 from the summit to the water's ^(^%Q^ is generally in full view. 

 I remember having seen a mountain, first from the Beagle 

 Channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to the base 

 w^as full in view, and then from Ponsonby Sound across several 

 successive ridges ; and it was curious to observe in the latter 

 case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of the 

 distance, how the mountain rose in height. 



Before reaching Port Famine, two men were seen running 

 along the shore and hailing the ship. A boat was sent for them. 

 They turned out to be two sailors who had run away from a 

 sealing-vessel, and had joined the Patagonians. TJiese Indians had 

 treated them with their usual disinterested hospitality. They 

 had parted company through accident, and were then proceeding 

 to Port Famine in hopes of finding some ship. I dare say they 

 were worthless vagabonds, but I never saw more miserable look- 

 ing ones. They had been living for some days on mussel-shells 

 and berries, and their tattered clothes had been burnt by sleep- 

 ing so near their fires. They had been exposed night and day, 

 without any shelter, to the late incessant gales, Avith rain, sleet, 

 and snow, and yet they were in good health. 



During our stay at Port Famine, the Fuegians twice came and 

 plagued us. As there were many instruments, clothes, and men 

 * Rengger, Natur. der Saeugethiere von Paraguay. S. 334, 



