THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 241 



by a spur of mica-slate; the head by a cliff of ice about 

 forty feet high; and the other side by a promontory fifty 

 feet high, built up of huge rounded fragments of granite 

 and mica-slate, out of which old trees were growing. This 

 promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a period 

 when the glacier had greater dimensions. 



When we reached the western mouth of this northern 

 branch of the Beagle Channel, we sailed amongst many un- 

 known desolate islands, and the weather was wretchedly bad. 

 We met with no natives. The coast was almost everywhere 

 so steep, that we had several times to pull many miles before 

 we could find space enough to pitch our two tents : one night 

 we slept on large round boulders, with putrefying sea-weed 

 between them ; and when the tide rose, we had to get up and 

 move our blanket-bags. The farthest point westward which 

 we reached was Stewart Island, a distance of about one hun- 

 dred and fifty miles from our ship. We returned into the 

 Beagle Channel by the southern arm, and thence proceeded, 

 with no adventure, back to Ponsonby Sound. 



February 6th. We arrived at Woollya. Matthews gave 

 so bad an account of the conduct of the Fuegians, that Cap- 

 tain Fitz Roy determined to take him back to the Beagle; 

 and ultimately he was left at New Zealand, where his brother 

 was a missionary. From the time of our leaving, a regular 

 system of plunder commenced; fresh parties of the natives 

 kept arriving: York and Jemmy lost many things, and Mat- 

 thews almost everything which had not been concealed un- 

 derground. Every article seemed to have been torn up and 

 divided by the natives. Matthews described the watch he 

 was obliged always to keep as most harassing; night and 

 day he was surrounded by the natives, who tried to tire him 

 out by making an incessant noise close to his head. One day 

 an old man, whom Matthews asked to leave his wigwam, 

 immediately returned with a large stone in his hand : another 

 day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes, and 

 some of the younger men and Jemmy's brother were crying : 

 Matthews met them with presents. Another party showed 

 by signs that they wished to strip him naked and pluck all 

 the hairs out of his face and body. I think we arrived just 

 in time to save his life. Jemmy's relatives had been so vain 



