FIRST PASSING THROUGH HELLGATE 



-75 



or lean against their yet quick companions awaiting the slow decay 

 of things. But it is very hard to give any adequate idea in words 

 of these vast and nameless tree-kinodoms. Most common amone 



GLACIKR AM) GLACIAL DKTKITUS 



die trees was the antarctic beech. I observed also redwood and 

 cypress. 



There are some wild cattle and huemules to be found in the 

 outskirts of the woodlands ; we also saw parrots, hawks and owls 

 in some of our wanderings, while in other spots there seemed nu 

 sign of life at all save a {gw small rodents, and even those, as 

 we pushed farther into the thicker recesses, disappeared. Ami 

 then we came under the sway of that curious silence which broods 

 among these forest depths. 



The aspects of the various forests and the trees of which thev 

 were composed varied greatly. Some were bare ami de\t)id of 

 undergrowth as a northern forest ; others were absolutely tropical 

 in their heav\' luxuriance. In one. a majestic place, the tall 

 antarctic beeches were draped with long trailing Sj)anish moss. 



