4M PASSAGES STEAM- — JEMMY BUTTON. May 1830. 



necessary to ply to windward all day, and every day, making 

 half-mile boards in defiance of squalls strong enough to cap- 

 size a vessel. A steam- vessel might answer in this region, as 

 there is plenty of wood every where. Directly the noon obser- 

 vations were finished, and the instruments safely stowed, we 

 began our return, and as a fresh breeze sprung up from the 

 westward, we dashed along with a favouring tide at a great 

 rate. 



" 11th. Next day we landed, for dinner and rest, near the 

 Murray Narrow, and close to a wigwam, whose inmates ran 

 away ; but soon returned, on seeing us seated quietly by their 

 fire. We bought fish from them for beads, buttons, &c., and 

 gave a knife for a very fine dog, which they were extremely 

 reluctant to part with ; but the knife was too great a temp- 

 tation to be resisted, though dogs seemed very scarce and 

 proportionably valuable. Afterwards we continued our route, 

 but were stopped when in sight of the Narrow by three canoes 

 full of natives, anxious for barter. We gave them a few beads 

 and buttons, for some fish ; and, without any previous inten- 

 tion, I told one of the boys in a canoe to come into our boat, 

 and gave the man who was with him a large shining mother-of- 

 pearl button. The boy got into my boat directly, and sat 

 down. Seeing him and his friends seem quite contented, I 

 pulled onwards, and, a light breeze springing up, made sail. 

 Thinking that this accidental occurrence might prove useful 

 to the natives, as well as to ourselves, I determined to take 

 advantage of it. The canoe, from which the boy came, paddled 

 towards the shore ; but the others still paddled after us, hold- 

 ing up fish and skins to tempt us to trade with them. The 

 breeze freshening in our favour, and a strong tide, soon car- 

 ried us through the Narrow, and half an hour after dark we 

 stopped in a cove, where we had passed the second night of this 

 excursion. ' Jemmy Button,"* as the boat's crew called him, 

 on account of his price, seemed to be pleased at his change, 

 and fancied he was going to kill guanaco, or wanakaye, as he 

 called them — as they were to be found near that place. 



" 12th. We continued our course with a fresh and favouring 



