CHAPTER IX. 
Detention in Port San Antonio—Humming-birds in snow showers— 
Fuegians— Geological remarks — Canoes— Carving—Birds—Fish— 
Shag Narrows— Glaciers —Avalanches—Natives— Climate— W inter 
setting in—A delaide loses a boat—Floods—Lightning— Scurvy—A de- 
laide’s survey—Bougainville Harbour—Indians cross the Strait, and 
visit Port Famine—Sealing vessels sail—Scurvy increases—A delaide 
sent for guanaco meat—Return of the Beagle—Captain Stokes very 
ill—Adelaide brings meat from the Patagonians—Death of Captain 
Stokes. 
Our stay at this port was prolonged beyond my intention 
by thick snowy weather and hard gales, which cut off our 
communication with the shore; for notwithstanding we were 
in so sheltered a place, and the vessel had three anchors down, 
we did not consider her quite secure against the violent squalls. 
We had been fortunate in procuring observations, and took 
advantage of our detention to lay down the operations of the 
preceding days on paper. Muscles were found in great abun- 
dance on the mud flats. There are three varieties, one of which 
has a bitter, disagreeable taste, but the others are exceedingly 
good and wholesome. One of the latter is of large size (My- 
tilus Magellanicus of the Ency. Méth.) The other is of a 
more globose form than the bitter sort, and has a very obtuse 
hinge and margin. The bitter kind contains pearls, which are 
valueless, because small, and of a bad colour. 
At first there were plenty of sea-birds* in the cove, which 
took refuge at the head of the bay ; till after two days, they 
deserted us altogether. ‘There appeared to be an abundance of 
fish ; but as we had not provided ourselves with a seine, and they 
* Here we obtained a second species of the Steamer-duck, which is 
described in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, as 
‘ Micropterus Putachonicus, Nob.’ It difters from the MW. brachypterus not 
only in colour but in size, being a smaller bird, and having the power 
of raising its body, in flight, out of the water. We called it the ‘ Flying 
Steamer.’ 
