382 



SAILING CANOE — -MOUNT SKYRING. Jail. 1830. 



been near enough to Hope Harbour, to see that it was in the 

 Grafton Islands, and was one of the coves examined by Mr. 

 Murray. He then returned as he had been desired ; but made 

 very good use of his time while away, by collecting materials 

 for the charts. He fell in with a canoe under sail (the sail 

 being a seal-skin) ; the first instance I had then known of a 

 Fuegian canoe sailing. As far as Mr. Stokes could see to the 

 northward, the land was very broken, or rather it was a mass 

 of islands reaching to the base of a range of snowy mountains. 



" North Cove is large enough to hold any vessel when moored ; 

 but the passage, in and out, is too narrow and difficult for a 

 ship of more than three or four hundred tons, unless she uses 

 warps. Being on the weather side of high land, but sheltered 

 by low islands, williwaws do not annoy during westerly winds ; 

 but in a southerly gale I think they would be furious. 



" My next task was to ascend Mount Skyring. As there 

 was but little snow on it, and the ground quite clear of wood, 

 the ascent was easy ; but when at the summit I could not see 

 far, because of low misty clouds. I had taken only a compass 

 with me, intending to look round, and ascend a second time 

 with my usual companion, a theodolite. After taking a few 

 bearings, I moved the compass olf its stand, and placed it on 

 a stone ; when, to my surprise, I found the bearing of a point, 

 I had just been looking at, altered twenty degrees. Suspecting 

 the cause, I put it on another stone, a few feet distant, and 

 found the bearing again altered many degrees. I then examined 

 the stones, and found there was much pyrites in them ;* and 

 that when broken, or struck against one another, they smelt 

 strongly of sulphur. The compass was then replaced on its 

 stand, and bearings of the same point taken from various spots, 

 only a few feet apart, the point being many miles distant, and 

 at each spot the compass gave a different bearing, and was very 

 dull and sluggish, although it was a good Kater's compass, 

 with a light card. Having thus satisfied myself of the very 

 strong local attraction existing, I returned to the ship, intend- 



* Specimens of the rock at the summit are in the collection at the 

 Geological Society, numbered 184 and J 88. 



