178 S. CRUZ, PATAGONIA. [CHAP, ix 



parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers but they ap- 

 peared to have been lying long on the ground. Between the place 

 where the Indians had so lately crossed the river and this neigh- 

 bourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to be 

 quite unfrequented. At first, considering the abundance of the 

 guanacos, I was surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony 

 nature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod horse 

 from taking part in the chase. Nevertheless, in two places in this 

 very central region, I found small heaps of stones, which I do not 

 think could have been accidentally thrown together. They were 

 placed on points, projecting over the edge of the highest lava cliff, 

 and they resembled, but on a small scale, those near Port Desire. 



Miy 4:th. Captain Fitz Eoy determined to take the boats no 

 higher. The river had a winding course, and was very rapid ; and 

 the appearance of the country offered no temptation to proceed 

 any further. Everywhere we met with the same productions, and 

 the same dreary landscape. We were now one hundred and forty 

 miles distant from the Atlantic, and about sixty from the nearest 

 arm of the Pacific. The valley in this upper part expanded into a 

 Avide basin, bounded on the north and south by the basaltic plat- 

 forms, and fronted by the long range of the snow-clad Cordillera. 

 But we viewed these grand mountains with regret, for we were 

 obliged to imagine their nature and'productions, instead of stand- 

 ing, as we had hoped, on their summits. Besides the useless loss 

 of time which an attempt to ascend the river any higher would 

 have cost us, we had already been for some days on half allowance 

 of bread. This, although really enough for reasonable men, was, 

 after a hard day's march, rather scanty food : a light stomach and 

 an easy digestion are good things to talk about, but very unpleasant 

 in practice. 



5th. Before sunrise we commenced our descent. We shot down 

 the stream with great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots 

 an hour. In this one day we effected what had cost us five-and-a- 

 half hard days' labour in ascending. On the 8tb, we reached the 

 Beagle after our twenty-one days' expedition. Every one, excepting 

 myself, had cause to be dissatisfied ; but to me the ascent afforded 

 a most interesting section of the great tertiary formation of 

 Patagonia. 



On March 1st, 1833, and again on March I6>h, 1834, the Beagle 



