872 
THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S, CHALLENGES,. 
taken in order to get within shot of them, unless they were met with in long grass. 
When on the alert they settled on the summits of the hillocks and ridges, in order to 
have a wide view of the enemy. One had to creep up under cover of the hillslopes, and 
make a final rush towards the flock ; the birds are startled by this, and it is some time 
before they make up their minds to fly. Doubtless the wariness of these geese is 
due to their progenitors having been hunted for generations by natives in old times. 
The geese at the Falkland Islands are far tamer than those at Elizabeth Island, and 
do not seem to understand a gun, though they have been shot at now for a long period. 
The Falkland Islands, however, were never inhabited by any savage race, and the birds 
have not had time to learn. The other birds, as for example the Loggerhead Ducks, in 
Magellan Strait, which also occur at the Falklands, show the same contrast in their 
wildness. The young geese at Elizabeth Island, whilst still covered with black down, 
run amongst the grass with astonishing quickness, and are as difficult to shoot as rabbits ; 
it is no easy task to catch them by running. A brood when met with separates, every 
gosling running off 1 in a different direction ; the young birds dodge behind a tuft of 
grass, and squatting closely under it are at once safe, for it is quite impossible to find 
them, and a brood of ten or twelve goslings, as large almost as full-grown fowls, 
disappears as if by magic. It was astonishing to find that even goslings are able to 
secure their safety so completely. They can only be caught by the pursuer keeping his 
eye on one bird only, and running after it at the utmost possible speed. They are far 
better to eat than the full-grown geese. At Sylvester Point there was an immense 
rookery of the small Black Headed Tern ( Sterna hirundinacea). 
On the southeast shore there were some large kitchen middens resting on a bed 
of fine sand, into which the sea had cut and exposed long sections of the middens. 
There were bones of Guanacos, of a small Rodent, of Fur Seals, Whales, Porpoises, 
Penguins, Rheas, Terns, and Shags. Some of the bones were charred, some were 
split, and some fashioned into awls and needles. Arrow and spear heads, and knives 
made of chert, were found, also rounded stone sinkers with a groove cut in them for 
a string. In some places the middens were covered by over 6 inches of soil, and 
appeared to be of great antiquity — possibly prior to the separation of Elizabeth Island 
from the mainland. In other places they appeared to be of recent origin ; the island 
was inhabited at the time of the early Dutch voyages. 
On the 20th January, at 4.50 A.M., the ship left Elizabeth Island for the Falkland 
Islands under steam and sail, having a fair tide till noon. The day was fine and clear, 
and no difficulty was experienced in fixing the position of the ship so as to ensure passing 
in the centre of the channels. The ship had the strength of the ebb stream in the first 
narrows, and for half an hour was going at the rate of 1 8 miles per hour over the ground 
(11 through the water). At 2 p.m. Mount Dinero was in line with the beacon on 
Dungeness Point, and a course was shaped to cross- the Sarmiento Bank, which was 
