THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 179 



a fire of green boughs of the evergreen beech, on a bed of 

 hard clay, in the bottom of the canoe, which was formed of 

 five thick strips of bark fastened together with rushes, one 

 piece forming the floor, and the remaining four the sides. 

 They exchanged a bow, arrows, and a quiver, for some tobacco, 

 and when we had given them some ship-biscuit, we moved 

 on. The first revolution of the screw seemed to amuse them 

 very much, after which they appeared rather terrified, and 

 paddled off in a great hurry. I was struck with the differ- 

 ence of their physiognomies, one man being hideously ugly, 

 while another possessed decidedly good features. Travellers, 

 I suspect, often draw erroneous conclusions as to the type of 

 face which prevails in a tribe or nation, from having only 

 seen a few representatives of it ; and the same no doubt holds 

 good with regard to the examination of isolated examples of 

 crania. 



We noticed many dark-coloured seals (probably Ardo- 

 cephalus Falklandicus, the fur-seal of commerce, which is not 

 rare in the Strait), leaping out of the water in the distance, 

 the body of the animal being bent during the spring after 

 the manner of a bow. We reached Fortescue Bay early in 

 the afternoon, and on this occasion entered Port Gallant, where 

 we remained during the rest of the day, a number of us land- 

 ing, as usual, in search of sport and specimens. Many heavy 

 showers of sleet fell, and the surface of the country appeared, 

 if possible, even wetter than on our previous visit. I obtained 

 a few more mosses and lichens by dint of scrambling about in 

 the woods, in which a deathlike silence reigned, only broken 

 occasionally by the note of a little bluish-black bird {Scy- 

 talopus Magellanicus), resembling a wren in its general 

 appearance and familiar habits. According to Mr. Darwin, 

 to whose careful and minute observations I have so often to 



