1833. 



SCHOONER — STORES SQUALL. 



275 



in her temporarily (for I intended to place Mr. Wickham in 

 her if he should be willing to undertake the responsibility), 

 and no time was lost in cleaning her out thoroughly, loading 

 her with stores purchased by me from M. le Dilly and from 

 Mr. Bray (lately master of the Transport), and despatching 

 her to Maldonado, to be prepared for her future employment. 



This schooner was built at Rochester as a yacht for Mr. 

 Perkins, and, as I have reason to believe, cost at least six 

 thousand pounds in building and first outfit. Soon afterwards, 

 she was armed and used by Lord Cochrane in the Mediter- 

 ranean ; then she was fitted out by a merchant to break the 

 blockade of Buenos Ayres ; but, taken by a Brazilian man-of- 

 war, and carried into Monte Video, she was condemned as a 

 prize and sold to Mr. Hood, the British Consul, who went to 

 England and back again in her with his family ; after which, 

 she was fitted out for the sealing expedition I have mentioned. 

 At the time of my purchase she was in want of a thorough 

 refit, and her internal arrangements required alteration ; but it 

 happened that Mr. Bray and M. le Dilly had each saved enough 

 from their respective vessels to enable me to load the Adven- 

 ture on the spot with all that she would require ; from the 

 former I bought anchors, cables, and other stores, amounting 

 to £^16: and from M. le Dilly rope, canvas, and small spars, 

 for which d£^187 were paid. Those who were conversant in 

 such matters, the master, boatswain, and carpenter of the 

 Beagle, as well as others, assured me that these articles were 

 thus obtained for less than a third of their market prices in 

 frequented ports. 



While the Beagle lay in Johnson Cove, we witnessed a 

 memorable instance of the strength with which squalls some- 

 times sweep across the Falklands. Our ship was moored with 

 a cable each way in a land-locked cove, not a mile across, and 

 to the south-westward of her, three cables'* length distant, was 

 a point of land which, under ordinary circumstances, would 

 have protected her from sea, if not from wind. Our largest 

 boat, the yawl, was moored near our eastern anchor, with a 

 long scope of small chain. At six in the evening of a stormy 



T 2 



