Feb. 1827. 



WESTERN ENTRANCE. 



79 



noon, obliged me to choose the least evil, and run for the Har- 

 bour of Mercy. 



" On the 23d, we went out again, and beat towards the 

 Isles of Direction, off which we passed a night under sail. 



" The morning of the 24th was very fine, and the wind 

 moderate. Leaving the Beagle to sound about the Isles of 

 Direction, I set out in my boat, with two days^ provisions, 

 towards Cape Victory. As we rowed along these rocky shores, 

 threading the mazes of the labyrinth of islets which fringe 

 them, we saw vast numbers of black whales, and the rocks 

 were quite covered with fur seal and brant geese. 



" After pulling, in earnest, for six hours, we landed upon 

 Cape Victory, the north-western limit of the Strait of Magal- 

 haens, and there, with a sextant, artificial horizon, and chrono- 

 meter, ascertained the position of this remarkable promontory. 

 From an eminence, eight hundred feet above the sea, we had a 

 commanding view of the adjacent coasts, as well as of the vast 

 Pacific, which enabled us to rectify former material errors. 

 Late in the evening we were fortunate enough to get safely on 

 board again, which, considering the usual weather here and the 

 heavy sea, was unexpected success. This night was passed 

 under sail in the Pacific, and next morning we commenced our 

 return to Port Famine. 



" V\^hen within four or five miles of Cape Pillar, and to the 

 westward of it, a current was found to set southward, at about 

 two knots an hour. As we neared the Cape the wind fell, and 

 the Beagle was set rapidly towards those dangerous rocks, 

 called the Apostles. Fortunately, a commanding breeze sprung 

 up, and we extricated ourselves from the difficulty. While 

 passing Cape Pillar, I landed in a cove near it, and deter- 

 mined its position. By sunset we had arrived near the Harbour 

 of Mercy ; and being becalmed, towed the ship in, with her 

 boats, until an anchor was dropped at the proper place. 



" On the 26th, v\^e went to Tuesday Bay, and on the 27th 

 crossed the Strait, and anchored imder Cape Parker. I have 

 rarely witnessed such a high, cross, and irregular sea as we this 

 day passed through, near the strange mass of rock, called by 



