THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 469 



cloudy day, with a rapidly-falling barometer, which caused us 

 to anticipate a gale. Early in the afternoon, while a number 

 of us were standing abaft, a seal made its appearance, and 

 remained for some time diving about close astern of us, and a 

 few hours later a small land-bird flew on board, and being cap- 

 tured was brought to me. Under the circumstances I could 

 not be so hard-hearted as to make a specimen of it, and so 

 tried the experiment of feeding it with a little water and 

 crumbs of biscuit, which appeared to have a beneficial effect, 

 as the little creature, which at first seemed in a dying condi- 

 tion, gradually revived, and at last flew off. We anxiously 

 watched the appearance of the weather at this time, as we 

 were desirous, if possible, to revisit the river Gallegos before 

 entering the Strait, in order to institute a further search for 

 the deposit of fossil bones which we had failed in discovering 

 on the previous season. Heavy rain came on during the 

 evening, and in the middle of the night a gale set in from the 

 S.E., but soon changed to the S. W., and by the morning of the 

 6th of March it was blowing furiously off the land, and the 

 vessel rolling so heavily as partially to immerse some of her 

 boats, suspended at their davits at a very considerable height, 

 in the waves. By the evening, however, the wind had become 

 less violent, and the sea had gone down, so that we were able 

 to stand in towards the entrance of the Gallegos, and early on 

 the morning of the 7th we made Cape Fairweather, the 

 characteristic forms of the Friars and the Convents disclosing 

 themselves as we gradually approached the mouth of the 

 river. The tide was against us, so that we made very slow 

 progress, and did not fairly reach the entrance till about 

 two P.M., when, after vainly endeavouring to get into the 

 river, and being foiled by the numerous sandbanks, we anchored 

 at some distance outside. 



