116 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



to extend farther into the Strait than St. Jago and Philip 

 Bays, where it is replaced by the Valuta Magellanica, a more 

 elegantly formed, and more handsomely coloured species. A 

 single small specimen of the latter was also taken on this 

 occasion. The animal, which has been well figured in the 

 Atlas of one of the French scientific expeditions, is of a much 

 paler colour than that of the V. Ferussacii. The latter 

 species appears to be endowed with considerable powers of 

 vitality, as many of the specimens procured on this occasion 

 were still alive on my return to the ship, though they had been 

 kept tied up in a pocket handkerchief for nearly three days. 



On my return to camp, a considerable amount of time was 

 occupied in hauling down the boat to the water, which opera- 

 tion being at length accomplished, the gear was packed into 

 her, and we embarked, with the intention of getting as near 

 Mont Dinero, a small eminence about midway between Cape 

 Possession and Cape Virgins, as time would permit. As a 

 strong tide was running against us, we kept in shore to take 

 advantage of the eddy, and this circumstance afforded me a 

 good opportunity of observing the geological structure of the 

 coast, which consists for the most part of high cliffs of a sort 

 of boulder-clay, diversified here and there with sloping banks. 

 The colour of the cliffs varied considerably in different places, 

 owing to the prevalence of different strata of clay, and occa- 

 sionally a restricted patch of a dark colour occurred in the 

 centre of a whitish matrix. The imbedded boulders appeared 

 to be of all sorts — limestone, greenstone, granite, etc. ; and they 

 varied in size from that of a pebble to a mass of several tons 

 weight. Huge masses of the cliffs had here and there given 

 way, and lay on the "beach in angular fragments ; and on 

 the perpendicular face were a number of well-marked ledges 

 and cavities (some of which were tenanted by condors), as 



