416 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



in 1853 about one hundred and fifty German emigrants were settled at Punta 

 Arenas, and when the " Novara " visited the strait in 1858, they were found in a 

 thriving condition. Should the project of stationing steam-tugs in the strait, 

 and of erecting lighthouses at Cape Virgins and at the entrance of Smyth Chan- 

 nel be executed, the Magellans would become one of the high-roads of com- 

 merce, and the dangers which proved so dreadful to the navigators of former 

 days a mere tale of the past. 



A HIGHWAY OF COMMERCE. 



