1834.. 



VIEWS — PORT SAN JULIAN. 



319 



such an extent as this we never either before or afterwards wit- 

 nessed an error arising wholly from the state of the atmosphere 

 near the horizon ; causing the visible water-line to be apparently 

 raised several minutes of a degree. On these occasions we 

 always used the mean of the two results, which agreed closely 

 with the latitude resulting from triangular connection with 

 points on the shore, whose latitude we knew by observations 

 made with the artificial horizon.* 



7th. Mr. Stokes and I landed some leagues northward of 

 Port San Julian, near Cape Look-out, and ascended a level- 

 topped range of hills about 300 feet above the sea. The view 

 we obtained was similar to those so tiresomely common in 

 eastern Patagonia. Level, arid, desert-like plains extended 

 to the horizon : a few irregular hills were seen in the distance; 

 some guanacoes and a few ostriches were here and there dis- 

 cerned ; a fox crossed our path, and a condor wheeled over- 

 head; nothing more was noticed. 



We returned to the low ground near the sea, and there we 

 found plenty of small wood, stunted shrubby trees, fit for 

 fuel ; as well as several ponds of fresh-water. The rise of 

 tide on the shore was considerably more than twenty feet, but 

 we had not time to ascertain it accurately. 



9th. Mount Wood,t that excellent land-mark for Port San 

 Julian, was seen at daylight : and about noon the Beagle 

 anchored off the bar of the harbour. Mr. Stokes went with 

 me to examine the passage, and before evening our ship was 

 safely moored in the port. This was one, among numerous 

 instances I could mention, where the good qualities of the 

 Beagle, as* to sailing and working, saved us days of delay, 

 trouble, and anxiety. All hands immediately set-to about the 

 plan of the port, and such efficient officers as were with me 

 made short work of it. One day Mr. Darwin and I under_ 

 took an excursion in search of fresh-water, to the head of the 

 inlet, and towards a place marked in an old Spanish plan, 



* Bellaco rocks are the same as Estevan shoal. There are at least two 

 distinct masses of rock. A ship may pass between them, 

 t Nine hundred and fifty feet high. 



