413 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



mountains, their cones or jagged peaks covered with eternal snow. Its south- 

 ern bank, formed by Clarence Island, is intersected with bays and channels, two 

 of which, Magdalena Sound and Barbara Channel, lead through a maze of isl- 

 ands into the open sea. Several glaciers descend in a winding course from the 

 Tipper great expanse of snow to the sea-coast, and many a cascade comes dash- 

 ing down from rock to rock. Skogman* draws an enthusiastic picture of the 

 beauty of York Roads near the mouth of the small Bachelor River. To the 

 south, behind Carlos Island, mountains rise above mountains, and snow-fields 

 above snow-fields ; to the north lies the jagged colossus, which from its solitary 

 grandeur has been called Bachelor Peak, and at whose foot the crystal river now 

 hides itself beneath a shady wood, and now rolls its crystal waters through a 

 green lawn, decoi-ated with, clumps of fuchsias. But in spite of its romantic 

 beauty, the want of life gives a melancholy character to this solitary vale. Be- 

 yond Carlos Island in Long Reach, the banks of the strait become yet more bare 

 and desolate. Vegetation descends lower and lower into the valleys, and even 

 here the trees are misshapen and dwarfish. But the mountain scenery has still 

 all the majesty which snow-fields and glaciers of a beryl-like blue impart to an 

 Alpine landscape. As Sea Reach shows itself, vegetation is almost totally ex- 

 tinct, and on approaching the mouth of the strait, the mountains become lower, 

 their forms are less picturesque, and instead of the stern grandeur which marks 

 the middle part of the strait, low, rounded, barren hills make their appearance, 

 which comj)letely justify the name of South Desolation, which Sir James Nar- 

 borough gave to this coast, "because it was so desolate a land to behold." 



It may easily be imagined that the prevailing winds beyond Cape Froward 

 are extremely troublesome to ships sailing to the western mouth of the strait, 

 and that if not entirely beaten back, they can frequently only force the passage 

 after many efforts. Foi'tunately, the deejoly indented coasts possess a number 

 of small havens which may serve the mariner as stations during his gradual ad- 

 vance. Thus, close to the mouth of the strait, where, between Cape Victory 

 and Cape Pillar, the sea during and after storms is so boisterous that even 

 steamers require their utmost strength not to be dashed against the rocks, a se- 

 cure port, appropriately called " Harbor of Mercy," allows the vessels to watch 

 for more tranquil weather, and to seize the first favorable opportunity for 

 emerging into the open sea. But even these harbors and bays are subject to 

 pecuhar dangers from sudden gusts of wind that come sweeping down from the 

 mountains, and are known among the seal-catchers who frequent these danger- 

 ous waters under the name of williwaws, or hurricane squalls. For when the 

 wild south-west storms come rushing against the mountain- masses of Tierra 

 del Fuego, the compressed air precipitates itself with redoubled violence over 

 the rock-walls, and then suddenly expanding, flows down the valleys or gullies, 

 tearing up trees by the roots, and hurling rocks into the abyss. Where such a 

 gust of wind touches the surface of the water, the sea surges in mighty waves, 

 and volumes of spray are whirled away to a vast distance. If a ship comes un- 

 der its influence, its safety depends mainly upon the strength of its anchor ropes. 



Some situations are particularly subject to williwaws, and then the total want 



* Voyage of the Swedish ship " Eugenie." 



