A COAL MINE 169 



mine had but recently been opened, and the 

 Governor could not say whether it would pay or 

 not. The coal seemed remarkably brittle. Close 

 to the entrance of the shaft I found a number of 

 oysters embedded in the black clay, and succeeded 

 in digging out a perfect specimen. 



We afterwards spent a delightful hour in the 

 forest. Birds were extremely scarce,* and we saw 

 little else besides a small tree-creeper,"]" a bird 

 afterwards met with in most of our anchorages 

 in the Straits of Magellan and in Smythe's Channel. 

 Although it has a tail composed of stiff feathers 

 like our well-known creeper,J it does not seem to 

 climb the trunks of trees like that bird : those 

 we saw were hopping about the trees like tits. 

 It is a familiar little bird, and follows one 

 through the forest, continually uttering its shrill 

 cry. 



On 3rd February we left Punta Arenas, having 

 been delayed for twenty-four hours, owing to a 

 slight breakdown in the engine room, and pro- 

 ceeded westwards. At seven o'clock the same 

 day we anchored in Port Gallant anchorage, 

 about eighty miles from Punta Arenas. 



Ships going through the Straits have to anchor 

 every night, owing to the difficult and dangerous 

 passages. All through the Straits and Smythe's 



* Insects are less numerous in the country bordering the Straits 

 than are birds, and during the whole passage through, the only insects 

 I saw were a bee and two beetles. 



f Oxyurua spinicaudata. J Certhia familiaris. 



