156 NATURAL HISTOEY OF 



which passed not far from us on her westerly way through 

 the Strait. Next morning, the weather having improved 

 considerably, we left our anchorage, and, passing through 

 the first Narrows, proceeded slowly out of the Strait, taking 

 a line of soundings as we went, and emerging at the eastern 

 entrance late in the afternoon. The l7th was bright and 

 sunny, but there was a heavy swell, and unfortunately but 

 little wind, so that we made rather slow progress. The 

 following day was also fine, and we were favoured with a fair 

 wind. In the evening we reached the Jason Islands, on the 

 north-east of the West Falkland. On passing near Jason 

 West Cay, the westernmost of the group, at about nine p.m., 

 a most pungent odour, compounded of guano and decaying 

 fish, was wafted off to the ship, an unmistakable evidence 

 of an extensive roosting-place of penguins or cormorants ; and, 

 at the same time, we encountered a remarkable tide-rip. A 

 little more than an hour later we were drifted by a very strong 

 current unpleasantly close to Jason East Cay, and soon after 

 one of the steep cones of Steeple Jason, upwards of 1000 feet 

 in height, formed a very striking object, looming through the 

 haze. The morning of the 19 th was very misty ; but about 

 nine o'clock the remarkable Eddystone Eock, about 280 feet 

 in height, off Cape Dolphin, on the north coast of the East 

 Falkland Island, was sighted, and revealed to us our position. 

 Between five and six p.m. we entered Port -William, and 

 about an hour later we were lying at anchor in Stanley 

 Harbour, which we all concurred in regarding as one of the 

 most wretched-looking places which we had ever seen — the 

 settlement, on this cold, rainy afternoon, appearing very dreary, 

 with its gray stone houses scattered along the side of a bare, 

 low, bleak hill. We had before long, however, the great 

 satisfaction of finding that a large batch of letters, left by 



