June 1829. choiseul bay — prince island. 



239 



not been to the bottom of Snowy Sound, I should have thought 

 they joined. After going far enough, to see quite to the end, 

 we returned, hauled the boat on a shingle beach, and secured 

 her for the time. When a bit of shingle beach could be found, 

 it was a prize ; for on it we could always make a good tent, 

 and have a dry bed, besides hauling the boat up easily. There 

 is a greater rise and fall of tide here, than at the other side of 

 Charles Island, being not less than seven or eight feet, at springs. 

 During the night, a dog stole a small piece of pork, which 

 we had reserved for our last dinner ; and, until his track was 

 discovered, there was no little distrust among our party. 



Whale Sound is a large and deep inlet, ending in a valley 

 between mountains. On the south side, a vessel may anchor 

 in one place, at the west side of Last Harbour; but there, 

 though the harbour appears large, the anchorage is small, and 

 close to the shore. We pulled and sailed along the south shore, 

 landing occasionally to take bearings, until we reached Choi- 

 seul Bay, and in a cove, at its west side, we passed the night. 

 This is a place no ship need approach : it is a large, deceiving 

 bay, full of islets and patches of kelp, under which, probably, 

 there are rocks, and between the islets the water is deep and 

 unfit for anchorage. The temperature of the sea this day, in 

 the middle of the sound, one foot below the surface, was 45°. 



" 8th. As it rained heavily, we remained under such shelter 

 as we could obtain ; and prepared for our return to the Beagle, 

 by making use of the only razor we had. AVhen the rain ceased, 

 we left the cove and sailed across to Port Gallant, with a fresh 

 breeze. The smoke of natives' fires was seen near the entrance 

 of the Barbara Channel; and on Prince Island, where we 

 stopped a few minutes, the first man seen had on an old pair 

 of sailor"*s trowsers, which he had obtained from the Beagle 

 tied round his legs in six places. The wigwam these people 

 were living in was not half covered: both wind and rain passed 

 through it. How they bear the cold is surprising, being with- 

 out clothes : one minute sitting close to the fire, and the next 

 perhaps up to the waist in water, getting muscles or sea-eggs. 

 The women dive for sea-eggs, even in the middle of winter ; 



