342 



CHILOE. 



Dec. 1834. 



trunks. I am sure that often^ for more than ten minutes 

 together^ our feet never touched the ground^ and we were fre- 

 quently ten or fifteen feet above ; it so that the seamen as a joke 

 called out the soundings. At other times we crept one after 

 another on our hands and knees, under the rotten trunks. 

 In the lower part of the mountain, noble trees of the winter^s 

 bark, and a laurel like the sassafras with fragrant leaves, 

 and others, the names of which I do not know, were matted 

 together by a trailing bamboo or cane. Here we were more 

 like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal. On the 

 higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees, with 

 here and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. I was also 

 pleased to see, at an elevation of a little less than 1000 feet, 

 our old friend the southern beech. They were, however, poor 

 stunted trees ; and I should think this must be nearly their 

 northern limit. We ultimately gave up the attempt in despair. 



December 10th. — The yawl and whale-boat, wdth Mr. 

 Sulivan, proceeded on their survey, but I remained on board 

 the Beagle, which the next day left S. Pedro for the south- 

 ward. On the 13th we ran into an opening in the southern 

 part of Guayatecas, or the Chonos Archipelago ; and it was 

 fortunate we did so, for on the following day a storm, worthy 

 of Tierra del Fuego, raged with its wonted fury. White mas- 

 sive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky, and across 

 them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven. The 

 successive mountain-ranges appeared like dim shadows ; and 

 the setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much 

 like that produced by the flame of spirits of wine on a man^s 

 countenance. The water was white with the flying spray ; 

 and the wind lulled and roared again through the rigging. 

 It was a most ominous, sublime scene. During a few minutes 

 there was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the 

 eff*ect of the spray, which, being carried along the surface of 

 the water, changed the ordinary semicircle into a ring. A 

 band of prismatic colours was continued from both feet of 

 the common arch, across the bay, close to the vessePs side ; 

 thus forming a distorted, but very nearly entire circle. 



