May 1829. tide — giiass —whitestone plain. 229 



" Having sent the cutter back a short distance, to make a 

 fire and land our things, I crossed the channel to a fine level 

 plain, and measured a base line. In crossing, I found a most 

 rapid tide, at least five or six knots at neap tides, and to pull 

 against it was out of the question. It caused a considerable 

 swell and race at the entrance, which is not a quarter of a mile 

 wide, though it averages twelve fathoms in depth. On the 

 plain was growing thick grass, like that in the vicinity of the 

 river Plata. So rich and good was the grass and trefoil, that I 

 saved a few seeds, hoping some day to see their produce in 

 England. No tree was seen; the soil seemed dry, rich, and light. 

 Skunks, and a small kind of cavy, had burrowed every where, 

 which proves the climate to be of a different nature from that 

 of the Strait. The bones and traces of guanacoes were nume- 

 rous, and some horses' tracks were found ; as also part of a 

 dead guanaco, which appeared to have been a prey to wild 

 beasts. Water was not so plentiful as to the southward ; but 

 quite sufficient for all useful purposes, many small brooks being 

 noticed, besides springs in the sides of the low hills. We shot 

 a swan (o) and some coots ; the swans were so fat, or so tame, 

 that they would not rise from the water. 



*• 17th. While on Whitestone Plain, a very heavy squall of 

 wind and hail passed over from the S.W., so cuttingly cold, 

 that it showed me one reason why these plains, swept by every 

 wind from S.S.W. to N., are destitute of trees. 



" After dark, we returned to the cutter and partook of a 

 large mess, made of the swan we had shot, the coots, some 

 limpets, and preserved meat. The shortness of the days was 

 becoming very inconvenient ; from eight to four were the only 

 hours of daylight ; but some of the nights were so fine, that I 

 got many sets of observations of the moon and stars. 



(o) Black-necked swan, noticed elsewhere by Captain King-. — R.F. 



