332 Aspects of Nature in Southern Peru. 



the west of the cape, on an iron-bound and savage shore, and 

 within an ace of being wrecked there. However, although our 

 captain had told us to prepare for the worst, kind providence 

 and good seamanship rescued us from our perilous situation, and 

 the following morning we slid past the island of Cape Horn 

 into Nassau Bay, where we took in wood and water. Here 

 we found large quantities of celery gone to seed (originally 

 left by early voyagers), which was a pleasant addition to our 

 peasoup. 



I made the acquaintance here, for the first time, with the 

 Red-Men of America ; they were called on our charts the Red 

 and Black Magellans, for as yet they had not been christened 

 as Fuegians. I suspect they had been called red and black 

 in consequence of their using red (oxide of iron) and black 

 (charcoal) paint to their almost naked bodies. These miserable- 

 looking creatures, although pure red-men, had a dark tinge, 

 which I then attributed to dirt and the cold climate. 



At last we get a favourable slant, running into the South 

 Pacific Ocean, making a fair wind of the S.W. gales common 

 in these latitudes, which soon carried us into warm, and then 

 into hot weather. 



Our latitude and longitude tell us we are approaching 

 Juan Fernandez, or Robinson Crusoe's island; we sight it, 

 continuing our course to the north, inclining a little to the east; 

 till one evening a white elevation is seen in the eastern horizon ; 

 at daybreak, more white points are observed, and on the follow- 

 ing day the mountains of the coast are beheld, and the uext 

 morning we approach the shore of Arica. 



As we neared the coast, a high, dark, and escarped range of 

 mountains rose abruptly from a placid sea ; but when the swell 

 found opposition to its onward course in the rocky barrier, it 

 dashed against it sullenly, with a thundering noise, rising high 

 up, curling round towards, and falling into, its native element, 

 and spreading itself in rugged sheets of foam with a hissing 

 sound. Ere it had died away, there was a repetition of the 

 scene and sounds, that had something solemn in them, added 

 to which not the slightest vegetation was to be seen. 



We next came in sight of the ' ' Morro," or headland of Arica, 

 where this same picture of desolation presented itself. Yes, I 

 am not ashamed to confess it, my heart sank within me ; but 

 there I was, and there I had to remain for awhile. I was too 

 young then to suppose that I should ever find the least charm 

 in a desert life. It cost me a few silent tears, and it was some 

 time before I could realize my situation. 



Here I met with the gentleman with whom I was to be 

 associated in working some silver mines at Huantajaya, in the 

 neighbouring province of Tarapaca; he was then and still is 



