230 



TIERRA DEL FUEGO 



dropped our anchor in forty -seven fathoms, fire 

 flashing from the windlass as the chain rushed 

 round it. How dehghtful was that still night, after 

 having been so long involved in the din of the 

 warring elements ! 



January i^thj 1833. — The Beagle anchored 

 in Goeree Roads. Captain Fitz Roy having 

 resolved to settle the Fuegians, according to their 

 wishes, in Ponsonby Sound, four boats were 

 equipped to carry them there through the Beagle 

 Channel. This channel, which was discovered by 

 Captain Fitz Roy during the last voyage, is a 

 most remarkable feature in the geography of this, 

 or indeed of any other country : it may be com- 

 pared to the valley of Loch Ness in Scotland, 

 with its chain of lakes and friths. It is about 

 one hundred and twenty miles long, with an 

 average breadth, not subject to 

 any very great variation, of about 

 two miles ; and is throughout the 

 greater part so perfectly straight, 

 that the view, bounded on each 

 side by a line of mountains, 

 gradually becomes indistinct in 

 the long distance. It crosses 

 the southern part of Tierra del 

 Fuego in an east and west line, 

 and in the middle is joined at 

 right angles on the south side 



by an irregular channel, which has been called Ponsonby Sound. 

 This is the residence of Jemmy Button's tribe and family. 



igth. — Three whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of 



FUEGIAN BASKET AND UONE WEAPONS. 



