382 SAILING CANOE—MOUNT SKYRING. Jan. 1830. 
been near enough to Hope Harbour, to see that it was in the 
Grafton Islands, and was one of the coves examined by Mr. 
Murray. He then returned as he had been desired ; but made 
very good use of his time while away, by collecting materials 
for the charts. He fell in with a canoe under sail (the sail 
being a seal-skin); the first instance I had then known of a 
Fuegian canoe sailing. As far as Mr. Stokes could see to the 
northward, the land was very broken, or rather it was a mass 
of islands reaching to the base of a range of snowy mountains. 
‘* North Coveis large enough to hold any vessel when moored ; 
but the passage, in and out, is too narrow and difficult for a 
ship of more than three or four hundred tons, unless she uses 
warps. Being on the weather side of high land, but sheltered 
by low islands, williwaws do not annoy during westerly winds ; 
but in a southerly gale I think they would be furious. 
** My next task was to ascend Mount Skyring. As there 
was but little snow on it, and the ground quite clear of wood, 
the ascent was easy ; but when at the summit I could not see 
far, because of low misty clouds. I had taken only a compass 
with me, intending to look round, and ascend a second time 
with my usual companion, a theodolite. After taking a few 
bearings, I moved the compass off its stand, and placed it on 
a stone ; when, to my surprise, I found the bearing of a point, 
I had just been looking at, altered twenty degrees. Suspecting 
the cause, I put it on another stone, a few feet distant, and 
found the bearing again altered many degrees. I then examined 
the stones, and found there was much pyrites in them ;* and 
that when broken, or struck against one another, they smelt 
strongly of sulphur. The compass was then replaced on its 
stand, and bearings of the same point taken from various spots, 
only a few feet apart, the point being many miles distant, and 
at each spot the compass gave a different bearing, and was very 
dull and sluggish, although it was a good Kater’s compass, 
with a light card. Having thus satisfied myself of the very 
strong local attraction existing, I returned to the ship, intend- 
* Specimens of the rock at the summit are in the collection at the 
Geological Society, numbered 184 and 188. 
