Feb. 18S7. 



SEDGER RIVER. 



37 



rough pole, eight or ten feet long, split crosswise at one end, 

 and opened so as to form four prongs, kept apart by two small 

 pieces of wood. Although rudely made, it was excellently 

 adapted for a shell-gatherer, and is used by the Indians for 

 collecting sea-eggs, which are found in the Strait of very large 

 size, and are doubtless, to them, a great delicacy. 



During our excursion we ascertained the best place to ascend 

 the snowy mountain, since named ' Tarn f and the surgeon, 

 whose name it bears, set off with a party of officers to make 

 the attempt, in which he succeeded, and obtained such an 

 extensive view as induced me to decide upon ascending it, a 

 few days afterwards, to procure bearings from the summit, and 

 for the purpose of measuring its height with a barometer. 



In the meantime I visited the Sedger river (Sarmiento's 

 ' Rio de San Juan de Posesion'), and found some difficulty in 

 entering it, because of several banks which are dry at low 

 water. Between them, however, the stream keeps a small chan- 

 nel open, by which we effected our purpose. Every gale of 

 wind causes the banks to shift, and between the times of our 

 first, and last, visit to Port Famine, the river''s mouth under- 

 went many changes. The bed of the river is so full of fallen 

 trees, that we could not go, with the boat, more than three 

 miles and a half above the entrance ; there it was about fifteen 

 yards wide, bounded on each side by thickly wooded banks, of 

 moderate height. The trees on these banks are large, chiefly 

 the two species of Beech before-mentioned, and Winter's-bark ; 

 there are besides many shrubs, and an impenetrable underwood 

 of Arbutus, Berberis, and currant bushes. The largest Beech- 

 tree that we saw could not have been more than thirty or 

 forty inches in diameter, which was insignificant compared with 

 those noticed by Commodore Byron. In describing his excur- 

 sion up this river, he mentions " trees that would supply the 

 British navy with the best masts in the world.''* " Some of 

 them are of a great height, and more than eight feet in diame- 

 ter, which is proportionably more than eight yards in circum- 



* Byron's Voyage round the World, 4to.p.38. 



