Feb. 1830. more disappointment. 403 



watch in the bushes, he stood out to sea in the boat ; and the 

 stratagem succeeded sufficiently to enable our men to get very 

 near to the natives, but not to catch any of them. One old man 

 squinted very much, and in other respects exactly answered 

 the description of a Fuegian who ill-treated some of the Saxe- 

 Cobourg^'s crew, when they were cast away in Fury Harbour. 

 I wish we could have secured him ; but he was always on the 

 alert, and too nimble for our people. In their canoe, which was 

 taken, was found the sleeve of Mr. Murray's tarpaulin coat, a 

 proof that these people belonged to the tribe which had stolen 

 our boat. The canoe was a wretchedly patched affair, evidently 

 put together in a great hurry. 



" Next morning (22d) the master and I set out on our return 

 to the Beagle ; but seeing a great smoke on the opposite shore, 

 in Thieves' Sound, I thought it must be made by the offen- 

 ders, who, having returned and found their home desolate, 

 were making signals to discover where their family was gone : 

 sending the cutter therefore on board, I pulled across the sound 

 towards the smoke. As the distance was long, and the wdnd 

 fresh against us, it was late before I arrived ; yet the smoke 

 rose as thickly as ever, exciting our expectations to the utmost : 

 —but, to our disappointment, not a living creature could be 

 seen near the fire, nor could any traces of natives be found. 

 The fire must have been kindled in the morning, and as the 

 weather was dry, had continued to burn all day, 



" We were then just as much at a loss as ever, for probably 

 {if that was the party), they had seen us, and would, for the 

 future, be doubly watchful. At first we had a chance of com- 

 ing upon them unawares, but the time for that had passed : 

 every canoe in the sound had been examined, and all its inha- 

 bitants knew w^ell what w^e were seeking. 



" It blew too strong, and it was too late, to recross Whale- 

 boat Sound that night, so I ascended a height to look round. 

 Next morning (g3d) we again searched many miles of the 

 shores of Thieves' Sound without any success ; and afterw^ards 

 sailed across to Stewart Harbour. We reached the Beadle in 

 the evening, but found that all the other prisoners, excepting 



