THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 285 



that Cape Fairweather could not be very far off ; and accord- 

 ingly toiled along the land at the top of the cliffs, feeling 

 desperately weary, as I had hardly sat down since I had 

 breakfasted in the morning, and a sensation of drowsiness 

 gradually creeping over me. Struggling on in this way for 

 some miles, fighting against sleep, I now and then imagined 

 that some projecting point ahead was the Cape, but, on reach- 

 ing it, invariably found that my hopes were groundless. At 

 one time 1 perceived what I supposed to be a human figure 

 standing at the edge of the cliffs, but on approaching nearer 

 found it to be a huge condor, which allowed me to come 

 within eight feet of it, and did not attempt to move till I 

 brandished my walking-stick, when it slowly flapped its great 

 wings, and rising into the air, sailed off. I continued my 

 walk along the coast till about nine p.m., when the sun setting 

 caused me to realise more distinctly than I had done before, 

 that I had been walking in a north-easterly, instead of a 

 southerly direction. By this time my strength was almost 

 exhausted, and as it was rapidly getting dusk, I felt that I 

 must soon give in for the night ; so, to lighten myself, I unwill- 

 ingly laid down my portfolio of valuable specimens, and 

 walked for some distance inland, looking out for some con- 

 venient shelter during the hours of darkness. Passing through 

 some long grass in one of the small valleys which abounded 

 between the rounded grassy hills, I heard, apparently only 

 a few yards off, the peculiar cry of a puma, which made me 

 quicken my steps, as I was entirely unprovided with firearms, 

 and had no desire to provoke an encounter with even such a 

 comparatively cowardly animal, with an oak stick as my only 

 weapon. Shortly afterwards, feeling very thirsty, I was glad 

 to see a pool of water not far off, and hastening to it, and 

 tooping down, took a great gulp, only to find that it was 



