THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 357 



await my return, while I pursued my solitary way over the 

 steep and rugged ground, alternately ascending and descend- 

 ing. At length I reached the top of a ridge separated 

 from the terminal sugar-loaf-shaped peak of the mountain 

 by a deep thickly-wooded gully, which descended steeply 

 on one side towards the Channel, and on the other was, 

 as it were, bridged over by a narrow neck of rock con- 

 tinuous with the peninsula over which I had hitherto been 

 walking. Here I at first thought that it would be impossible 

 to proceed farther, as the conical peak in front of me rose 

 almost perpendicularly, but, after due deliberation, resolved 

 to make the attempt. So, having disburdened myself of 

 my botanical case and geological hammer, I proceeded to 

 scale the peak by means of digging my feet into the thick 

 coating of moss which coated the rock-faces, and dragging 

 myself up by the tufts of wiry grass and stunted shrubs 

 which projected horizontally outwards. At last, after stren- 

 uous exertions, I gained the summit, and was rewarded by 

 a glorious view of the Messier Channel, with its inlets, 

 islands, and high mountains on either side, together with the 

 harbour, and two deep tarns, which fed the cataract which 

 poured down at its head. I was, however, disappointed in 

 what had been my principal object in undertaking the ascent — 

 namely, the hope of meeting with species of plants which did 

 not occur at a lower level. This result, I may remark, com- 

 pletely accorded with my subsequent experiences in these 

 regions, as, though I ascended many mountains in the course 

 of the following season, I found exceedingly few plants at 

 an elevation of from 1000 to 2000 feet, which did not also 

 occur equally plentifully at the level of the sea. This, I 

 suppose, may be reasonably explained by the fact that the 

 climate at the level of the sea in these regions is alpine or 



