360 
CBUISE OF H.M.S. GHALLENGEB. 
directions was like a great bog. Had several hauls 
with the trawl in the harbour, getting plentiful 
supplies of large prawns, starfish, coral, and sea- 
weed. 
PORT FAMINE TO SANDY POINT. 
Jan. \Ath . — A charming morning. We left the 
port, and steaming over a calm sea, and passing the 
land rapidly, it was near 9 a.m. when the anchor 
was dropped in the roadstead off Punta Arenas, the 
site of a small settlement established by the Chilian 
government. This colony, the only one in the 
straits, has a governor and other officials, and some 
hundred colonists. 
I took the opportunity of landing, and had a stroll 
round the settlement, which consists of a number 
of wooden buildings so grouped as to form one long 
straggling street, running nearly parallel with the 
beach. From this it is intended that other streets 
shall branch off, but they are at present only indi- 
cated by scattered buildings half a mile apart. A 
large square, or Plaza, is provided for, on one side of 
which is the hospital, and on the other the residence 
of the British Consul (Mr. Hamilton). At the ex- 
treme end of the main street is the residence of the 
governor, and beyond is a large inclosure containing 
the barracks, the prison, and the guard-house. 
A small river is at hand, and forests where abun- 
dant supplies of timber are to be obtained ; here 
also are considerable tracts of open country for cattle- 
