D244 MOUNTAIN DE LA CRUZ. June 1829. 
so very steep and slippery was the summit, that we were obliged 
to go on our hands and knees, forcing them as deeply into the 
snow as possible, to avoid sliding down again. The ee 
point is not visible from Port Gallant: 
«While I took angles with the theodolite, the seamen made — 
a fire. It was well we carried some fuel and a tinder-box, with 
a sheet of copper, upon which to kindle it ; for without a fire 
we should have been quite numbed. Standing in one place 
for two hours, after being much warmed by exertion, made 
us more sensible of the cold. The highest spot is but a few 
yards wide, and by barometrical measurement is 2,280 feet 
above the sea.* The height is, in truth, small; but as the 
mountain is so steep, and rises so abruptly from the sea, it 
appears considerable. 
«¢ When we had finished our observations with the barometer 
and theodolite, we deposited a Memorial, containing a list of 
the officers and crews of the Beagle and Adelaide—an account 
of the object of their voyage, how far it had succeeded, and 
where we were going—and a collection of coins, well-soldered 
up ina tin case—upon the bare rock ; and made a great pile of 
stones over it. 
“ Having again examined the barometer, we began to 
descend ; for the sun disappearing behind the distant moun- 
tains, warned us that it was time to return. We had enjoyed 
a magnificent view on all sides, and were reluctant to leave our 
station. In descending, we made rapid progress at first, sliding 
many yards together down the soft snow; but, by the time 
we reached the woody part, it was getting dark, and having 
foolishly tried to return by a straight line, instead of going 
round, we found steep cliffs, and ravines covered with rotten 
trees, which perplexed us exceedingly. Darkness, and the 
deep snow, much increased our dilemma; yet we could not 
resist laughing heartily at the ludicrous scrapes some of the 
party got into: one man was rather a-head, looking for a way 
to descend a steep place, when the snow slipped from under 
him, and down he went, about eighty feet, partly sliding, 
* By angular measurement it was found to be 2,270 feet. 
