272 LOSS OF MR. HELLYER. March 



and after him a young native of Buenos Ayi-es, who both cor- 

 roborated Brisbane's account.* 



At my return on board, I was shocked by the sad informa- 

 tion that Mr. Hellyer was drowned. He had walked about a 

 mile along the shore of a creek near the ship, with one of the 

 Frenchmen, who then left him-f- (having recollected that he 

 would be wanted for a particular purpose). Mr. Hellyer, 

 anxious to shoot some ducks of a kind he had not before seen, 

 walked on with his gun, saying he would return in half an hour. 



About an hour after this, the capataz of the gauchos, Jean 

 Simon by name, riding towards the French tents to learn the 

 news, saw clothes, a gun, and a watch, lying by the water side ; 

 but, as no person was in sight, he thought they must have be- 

 longed to some one in the boats which were surveying, so rode 

 on quietly ; and not until another hour had elapsed, did he even 

 casually mention to the Frenchmen what he had seen. They, 

 of course, were instantly alarmed and hastened to the spot, with 

 those of our party who were within reach. Some rode or ran 

 along the shore, while others pulled in whale-boats to the fatal 

 spot, and there, after much searching, the body was discovei-ed 

 under water, but so entangled by kelp that it could not be 

 extricated without cutting away the weed. Mr. Bynoe was one 

 of those who found it, and every means that he and the French 

 surgeon could devise for restoring animation was tried in vain. 

 A duck was found dead in the kelp not far from the body, and 

 his gun was lying on the beach, discharged, with which the 

 bird had been shot. 



To me this was as severe a blow as to his own messmates ; 

 for Mr. Hellyer had been much with me, both as my clerk and 

 because I liked his company, being a gentlemanly, sensible 

 young man. I also felt that the motive which urged him to 

 strip and swim after the bird he had shot, was probably a 



* The German told me, among other things, that he had collected 

 rabbit-skins at his leisure hours, and had made, at different times, above 

 two hundred dollars by them. 



t It was a positive order on board the Beagle, that no one should 

 make any excursion, in such places, alone. 



