82 STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. [1823 



CHAPTER VI. 



Strait of Magellan — Face of the Country — Hailed by a Troop of Patagonians — 

 Arrival at Port Famine — History of the Place — Ledger River — Natural Produc- 

 tions — An Excursion into the Interior — Ruins of Philipville — Cape Froward 

 — Indians of the Highlands described — A Visit to their Village — The Visit recip- 

 rocated — Excursion up the River Capac, accompanied by two Chiefs — Adven- 

 tures in returning — Filial Affection of a Chief's Son — Character, Manners, 

 Habits, Customs, Employments, and Dress of the Natives — Their Canoes, 

 Arms,&c. — Their Want of Cleanliness, moral Condition, and probable Origin — 

 Enter the Pacific Ocean. 



Terra, del Fuego, generally represented as one large island, is in 

 fact composed of several islands, the cluster being separated from the 

 continent of South America by the Strait of Magellan. The passages 

 between these different islands are very narrow, and have never yet 

 been explored. The interior of the largest presents a cold, dreary, 

 cheerless, and desolate appearance ; rising into rugged barren moun- 

 tains, the summits of which are covered with snow. One of these is 

 a volcano, the fires of which occasionally brighten and illume the 

 snows, which they can never melt. 



" Here it was," says Burney, " that the sailors observed fires on 

 the southern shores of the strait, for which reason the land on that 

 side was called Terra del Fuego." Another writer says, " Narrow 

 channels, strong currents, and boisterous winds render it dangerous to 

 enter into this desolate labyrinth. The coast, which is composed of 

 granite, lava, and basaltic rocks, is inaccessible in many places. 

 Cataracts interrupt the stillness that reigns there ; seals sport in the 

 bays, or repose their unwieldy bodies on the sand." 



Notwithstanding the cheerless and forbidding aspect of this country, 

 it is not destitute of vegetation or inhabitants. In the valleys are to 

 be found several sorts of trees of a large growth, which are frequented 

 by various kinds of birds. Here, also, a rich soil of considerable 

 depth is clothed with beautiful verdure. At the base of almost every 

 hill is a brook of good water, having a reddish hue, but not ill tasted. 



The Strait of Magellan, at its eastern entrance, is between six and 

 seven leagues in width, and has from fifteen to fifty fathoms of water. 

 Many vessels have passed through this strait to the Pacific Ocean, 

 though the navigation is said to be difficult, which is not the case. 

 There are many good harbours to be found in this passage, and an- 

 chorage under either shore, all the way through ; the bottom generally 

 good holding-ground. Within the strait the wind never blows fresh 

 from north-north-east, round by the eastward to south-east-by-east ; 

 consequently a shelter from these points is unnecessary. Wood and 

 water can be procured with ease, fish may be caught in great abun- 

 dance, and antiscorbutic vegetables are found on both shores. 



