Straits of Le Make. 



Captain King. Orange Harbour. 



TERRA DEL FUEGO. 



Nassau Bay. Large medusa. 

 Anchor in Orange Harbour. 



He was told that he could not be received on 

 board, and a boat landed him again. 



On the 3rd of February we got under way, and 

 were glad to leave an exposed and unpleasant 

 anchorage. 



On the 4th and 5th we experienced a heavy sea 

 from the southward, with much wind. 



On the 6th the weather began to moderate, and 

 the wind to haul to the westward. Shortly after- 

 wards we had strong winds accompanied with rain. 



On the 8t,h we had a sudden fall of the baro- 

 meter to 29'500 in., but without any change in the 

 weather except fog and mist. On the llth the 

 wind hauled to the south-west, when the barometer 

 began to rise, and the weather to clear off. On 

 the 12th the barometer again fell, and in a few 

 hours we had heavy squalls, with hail and rain, 

 the weather becoming sensibly colder. The next 

 morning we made Staten Land, and soon after- 

 wards Cape St. Diego, Terra del Fuego. The land 

 was broken, high, and desolate. The Straits of Le 

 Maire were before us : we were just in time to 

 take the tide, and with a fair wind we sailed 

 rapidly through the strait, passing its whirls and 

 eddies, now quite smooth, but in a short time to 

 become vexed and fretted by the returning tide. 

 The squadron glided along with all its canvas 

 spread to the breeze, scarcely making a ripple 

 under the bows. The day was a remarkably fine 

 one for this climate, and the sight beautiful, 

 notwithstanding the desolate appearance of the 

 shores. 



I cannot see why there should be any objection 

 to the passage through the Straits of Le Maire, as 

 it gives a vessel a much better chance of making 

 the passage round the Cape quickly. No danger 

 exists here that I know of. A vessel with the tide 

 will pass through in a few hours. As for the " race 

 and dangerous sea," I have fully experienced it in 

 the Porpoise on the side of Staten Land; and am 

 well satisfied that any vessel may pass safely 

 through it, at all times and in all weathers, or if 

 not so disposed, may wait a few hours until the 

 sea subsides and the tide changes. We were only 

 three hours in passing through. We entered the 

 Straits with studding-sails set, and left them under 

 close-reefed topsails. 



The coast of Terra del Fuego presents the same 

 general character throughout, of high, broken, and 

 rugged land, which appears of a uniform elevation 

 of about one thousand or fifteen hundred feet, with 

 here and there a peak or mountain covered with 

 snow, rising to some four or five thousand feet. 

 The whole wears a sombre and desolate aspect. 

 It may be said to be iron-bound, with many high 

 and isolated rocks, that have become detached 

 from the land apparently by the wear of ages. 

 Numerous unexpected indentations occur all along 

 the coast, many of them forming harbours for 

 small vessels, and some of them very safe ones. 



On Captain King's report of Orange Harbour, I 

 had determined to make that our place of rendez- 

 vous previous to our first antarctic trip, and ac- 

 cordingly all the vessels were ordered to proceed 

 thither. We had his directions, although we were 

 without the chart. I felt confident I might re- 

 pose full reliance in them, from his well-known 

 ability ; and I now offer an acknowledgment of 

 their value and general accuracy. 



The channels formed by the islands are deep, 



with no anchorage except in the coves near the 

 rocks ; but a vessel is generally safe in passing 

 through, as there are no dangers but those which 

 show themselves, and wherever rocks are, kelp 

 will be found growing upon them. To pass through 

 the kelp without previous examination is not safe. 

 It borders all the shores of the bays and harbours, 

 and effectually points out the shoal water. 



It was my intention to pass within or to the 

 north of the Hermit Islands into Nassau Bay, but 

 the wind did not permit our doing so. This bay 

 forms a large indenture in the southern coast of 

 Terra del Fuego, a few miles to the northward of 

 Cape Horn; it is about thirty miles east and west, 

 by eight miles north and south, and is somewhat 

 protected from the heavy seas by the Hermit 

 Islands. Around the bay are found some har- 

 bours sheltered by small islands, and surrounded 

 by precipitous rocky shores, with occasionally a 

 small ravine forming a cove, into which streams of 

 pure water discharge themselves, affording a safe 

 and convenient landing-place for boats. 



In passing the Cape, the weather was delightful. 

 We sailed within two miles of this dreaded promon- 

 tory, and could not but admire its worn and wea- 

 ther-beaten sides, that have so long been invested 

 with all the terrors that can beset sailors. Here 

 we first encountered the long swell of the Pacific, 

 but there was scarcely a ripple on its surface. 

 Although the landscape was covered with snow, 

 the lowest temperature we had yet experienced 

 was 40 Fahrenheit. 



The Porpoise, just before night, made signal 

 that she wished to speak us, and sent on board a 

 tub filled with a large medusa, for examination by 

 the naturalists. Its dimensions were nine feet in 

 circumference; the brachise seven feet long. It 

 proved to be the acalopha medusa pelagia of 

 Cuvier. 



We continued beating into the passage between 

 the Hermit Islands and False Cape Horn, and 

 found great difficulty in passing Point Lort, from 

 the very strong outward set of the tide, which we 

 found to run with a velocity of five miles an hour. 

 We were not able to make way against it, though 

 the log gave that rate of sailing. After beating 

 about in this channel a long and dark night, with 

 all hands up, we made sail at daylight, and on the 

 17th of February, 1839, at half-past 6 A.M. an- 

 chored in Orange Harbour. Here we found the 

 Relief and tenders, all well. 



The Relief had an opportunity of proving the 

 positions and sailing directions of Captain King,R.N., 

 and it affords me great pleasure to say that all his 

 observations tend to show the accuracy of the posi- 

 tions, and the care with which that officer has 

 compiled his sailing directions. 



No navigator frequenting this coast or passing 

 round Cape Horn should be without the sailing 

 directions for East and West Patagonia, and he will 

 prize them as highly valuable after he has once 

 used them. The admirable surveys and exertions 

 of this officer and those under him on this coast 

 entitle him to the rewards of his country, as well 

 as the thanks of the civilized world. 



The day the crew of the Relief landed, no natives 

 were seen, but many marks of a recent visit were 

 evident on the beach and in the deserted huts. 

 On the morning of the 22nd, at daylight, the natives 

 appeared on the beach, shouting to them to land. 



