THE VOYAGE OF THE HASSLER 127 



events we see superb snow mountains from this point, 

 Mt. Sarmiento, Mt. Darwin, Mt. Buckland; they are 

 beautiful even at this distance of some seventy miles. 

 In the early part of our voyage I was a little anxious 

 lest the many delays, not only before starting but for 

 the repair of defects in the ship which we did not dis- 

 cover till we were well on our way, would interfere 

 with the success of the enterprise and would make 

 your father so anxious, too, that he would not have 

 any benefit from it either for his health or for science 

 either. But for the last six weeks the real work has 

 begun, and if he had no further successes he would feel 

 more than repaid. He is tolerably cautious, but there 

 are many days when he works as I have not seen him 

 work for years, but he seems to bear it wonderfully 

 well. Tell the children we have four live penguins, a 

 number of wild geese, two cockatoos and two rabbits 

 on board for pets. Many of them are quite tame and 

 will eat from our hands; indeed, the "bunnies" would 

 like to sit in my lap and be fed all day if I would let 

 them. 



TO MRS. CHARLES P. CURTIS 



Monte Video, February 24 



WE started from Rio in fine feather a week ago, ex- 

 pecting nothing in this summer weather but a quick 

 pleasant voyage down to Montevideo. We ran straight 

 into a "stiff gale." I wish you had seen my room, 

 which looked so pretty when we left Boston, about 

 the middle of the second night. All the books had 

 leaped out of the shelves and were rolling round on 



