Chapter XXXIV: Appendix (7)

Casa Blanca 745
Summit of Cuesta de Zapata 1,850
Curacavi 1,560
Summit of Cuesta de Prado 2,543
Post-house, Prado 1,773
Santiago, mean of two observations 1,691
Do. by Malespina 2,463 } {2,254}
Do. Mercurio Chileno 1,693-1/2 } Spanish {1,550} English

[128] Probably they are the same as we observed on the fish taken by us off Cape Fairweather, and which, I believe, to be nearly allied to the one that is figured in Cuvier's Regne animal, Plate XV. figure 5, a species of _Lernaea_, or _Entomoda_ of Lamarck, iii. 233. The species is new.

[129] Geol. Soc. Museum, Nos. 176 to 205, and Zool. Mus.

[130] By angular measurement it was found to be 2,270 feet.

[131] The wristbands of our shirts, and all our outer clothes, were coated with ice, while our inner clothing was wet through.

[132] On heaving up the best bower, we found it had lost one fluke.

[133] The Adventure arrived on the 21st.--P. P. K.

[134] In the old Dutch charts, a passage was laid down near the place, and nearly in the direction of the Cockburn Channel, and named 'Jelouzelt:' but until some written authority can be produced to prove that this passage was explored, or, at the least, discovered by the person who gave the name of 'Jelouzelt' to one of the almost innumerable openings in Tierra del Fuego, it does not appear that the inlet so called has any claim to our consideration, greater than that of the non-existing San Sebastian Channel,--or a number of other imaginary passages which must have been laid down, upon supposition only, in many old charts.

The first person known to have passed through the Cockburn Channel was the mate of the Prince of Saxe Cobourg, who went in a boat (see page 66). It was afterwards passed by Mr. William Low, master of the Mercury, and has since been used by several vessels.

[135] Since surveyed by Capt. Fitz Roy in the Beagle, 1829-30.

[136] San Carlos, in Chiloe.

[137] Mr. Kirke.

[138] A heap, or stack of corn.

[139] No doubt the Mount Oracion of Sarmiento, p. 144.--P. P. K.

[140] This place is described in Sarmiento's journal, p. 144.--P. P. K.

[141] Ensenada de la Oracion of Sarmiento.--P. P. K.

[142] This bay is also described by Sarmiento as an 'Ancon sin salida,' p. 143; but it is evidently not the one that bears that name on the chart.--P. P. K.

[143] Here is certainly the Ancon sin salida of Sarmiento, whose journal describes the inlet as terminating in a cove to the north, p. 142. The mountain of Ano Nuevo cannot be mistaken; indeed the whole of the coast is so well described by the ancient mariner, that we have little difficulty in determining the greater number of places he visited. In all cases we have, of course, preserved his names. The chart compiled by Admiral Burney is a remarkable instance of the care which that author took in arranging it, and how ingeniously and correctly he has displayed his judgment; it is also a proof that our favourite old voyager, Sarmiento, was at least correct in his descriptions, although he appears to have been quite ignorant of the variation of the compass.--See Burney Coll. Voyages, p. 31; and Sarmiento, p. 162.

[144] 'Cordillera Nevada' of Sarmiento.

[145] A very full and detailed account of this journey is given by Agueros, in his 'History of the Province of Chiloe,' pp. 50 to 56, as well as in the 'Chronicles of the Province of Lima, by Padre Fr. Diego de Cordova,' Salinas, chap. xvii. p. 485.

[146] Agueros, l. c. p. 57.

[147] Agueros describes its boundary thus:--It is situated between the latitudes 41deg 30' and 44deg; from Point Capitanes to Quilan. On the north it is bounded by the territories of the Indian tribes Juncos and Rancos, which extend to Valdivia; on the N.E. by those of the ancient but destroyed city Osorno; on the south by the archipelago of Guaitecas and Guaianeco, and others which extend to the Strait of Magalhaens; on the east by the Cordillera; and on the west by the sea. (Agueros, p. 61.)

[148] When the Yntendente, or governor of the province, visited Castro for the purpose of taking a census of the population, a family of Indians waited upon him to render an account of their property; who, upon being asked whence they came, replied, "Del fin de la Cristiandad." The name being new to the Yntendente, it was explained to him that they belonged to Caylin, which was more generally known by the above name, because there existed no Christian population beyond, or to the southward of, that island.

[149] In the year 1783 there were 23,447 (Agueros): and in 1832, 43,830.

[150] Agueros says, "both men and women go generally with the foot and leg uncovered; with the exception of the principal families; but even those do not all wear shoes."--(Agueros, p. 108.)

[151] Places where seal congregate--so called always by the sealers.

[152] Potatoes are not mentioned in the report, yet they must have been exported in considerable quantities.

[153] Molina, i. 167. A species of 'Dolichos.'

[154] The fanega weighs 175 lbs. and contains twelve almudes, which being cubic measures of eight inches and a half, contain each 614.125 cubic inches; therefore a fanega contains 7369.5 cubic inches, and as an English bushel contains 2150.4 cubic inches (2150.4 x 175)/7369.5 = 51-6/10 lbs. the weight of a bushel.

[155] Molina notices the 'Cagge,' or 'Chiloe duck,' (_Anas antarctica_) vol. i. p. 268, and calls it _Anas hybrida_. M. Lesson, in his 'Manuel d'Ornithologie,' ii. 409, has taken great pains to describe it, and remarks, with reason, that much obscurity exists in the specific descriptions of the goose kind in the Malouine (Falkland) Islands, and the extreme southern land of America. The male, Lesson says, is white, the feet and beak of a bright yellow colour. All the specimens that we saw, and numbers were killed by us, had a black beak with a red cere--otherwise M. Lesson's description is correct. In many specimens, however, we found the tip of the primary wing feathers black, which is not to be wondered at when the colour of the female is considered, but which it is not an easy task to describe. M. Lesson, I think, has done it justice in a note to his vol. ii. p. 409:--"Anas antarctica. A capite griseo, genis gulo colloque albo et nigro acuti-striatis; oculorum circuitu nudo: pectore abdomineque omnino atris, atque vittis niveis notatis: tectricibus alarum nigris; dorso uropygio cauda et ano albis; alis niveis cum speculo lato virescente, brunneo marginato; pennis longis aterrimis; rostro et pedibus, aurantiacis."

These birds are very common in the Straits of Magalhaens, and every where on the west coast between the Strait and Chiloe; also at the Falkland Islands.

The _Cancania_ (or _Canquena_) is the _Anas Magellanica_, _Anser Magellanicus_ (Ency. Meth. p. 117). From Buffon's description, and a well-drawn but badly-coloured figure, in the Planches Enluminees, No. 1006, I have no hesitation in assigning it to that kind. The colour of the head, however, instead of being 'reddish purple,' is cinereous with a reddish hue; the feathers of the sides and thigh covers are white, with five black bars, the extremity being white; the central portion of the abdomen is white; the speculum of a splendid shining green. This bird is common to the Strait as well as to Chiloe, and is probably Byron's 'Painted Duck,' and the _Anser pictus_ of the Ency. Meth., p. 117. M. Lesson considers _Anas leucoptera_, Gmel. as the male of _Anas Magellanica_, which may be doubted. The 'Barking Bird,' as our sailors called it, was first brought to me by Capt. Stokes, having been shot during the Beagle's visit to Port Otway, in the Gulf of Penas. It was an imperfect specimen; but Mr. Tarn afterwards obtained for me several others. It seems to have a great affinity to the genus _Megapodius_; but no specimens of that genus being in England when I was last there, and the Barking Bird differing in essential points from M. Tenminck's description of the genus, and from the figured specimen of _Megapodius Freycinettii_;--particularly in the length and form of its wings, which are rounded, and so short as not to reach beyond the base of the tail;--also in the emargination of the upper mandible;--I have been induced, by Mr. Vigors' advice, to form it, provisionally, into a new genus, termed _Hylactes_. (See Proc. Zool. Soc., vol. i. p. 15.) There is another specimen in our collection (now in the Zoological Society's Museum), which will probably be placed in this genus, but there existed some uncertainty in essential points, which prevented my describing it before I left England.

[156] Among the numerous testaceous productions is a small shell, which constitutes a new genus. _Marinula_, nob. in Zool. Journal, vol. v. p. 343. It was found on the wooden piles which support the mole in the bay of San Carlos, below the wash of the high water. The mole stands out into the sea, and there is no fresh water near it, save a very little rill, which discharges its tiny stream more than fifty yards off. This shell was named _Marinula Pepita_, Zool. Journal, l. c. No. 43. The following is its generic character:--'Testa ovato-producta, sub-solida; apertura ovata, integra; columella bidentata et basin versus uniplicata; dentibus magnis sub-remotis conniventibus, superiori maximo; operculum nullum.'

[157] Zool. Journal, vol. v. p. 333.

[158] Some have since been found on the north-east side of the Guaytecas Islands.

[159] Chaura. Una murta que no se come. Febres, Dict. of the Chileno language. It is, however, edible, and has rather a pleasant flavour.

[160] The small-pox was introduced into the island, in the year 1776 by a ship from Lima; but it was confined to San Carlos, and was soon eradicated. The measles also were introduced by similar means, in the year 1769; but did not re-appear after once ceasing.

[161] See orders to Captain Fitz Roy, in the Appendix.

[162] See orders to Lieut. Skyring, in the Appendix.

[163] Phil. Journal, and Annals of Philosophy, for March 1831 (new series x.), 220.

[164] Juan Fernandez is called 'de Tierra,' because it is nearer the mainland than another adjacent island, which is called 'Mas-a-fuera' (farther off, or more in the distance).

[165] Anson's Voyage, p. 118.

[166] Arca angulata. See Zool. Journal, vol. v. p, 336.

[167] Trochilus Fernandensis, nob. _Troch: ferugineo-rufus; capitis vertice splendento-coccineo; remigibus fuscis._ Long. 5 uncias.

Trochilus Stokesii, nob. _Troch: corpore supra viridi-splendente, subtus albo, viridi-guttato; capite supra, guttisque confertis gulae lazulino-splendentibus: remigibus fusco-atris; remigum omnium, mediis exceptis, pogoniis internis albis._ Long. 4-1/2 uncias. Proceed. Zool. Society, vol. i.; also Phil. Magazine, for March 1831, p. 227.

[168] Pinoleo (from 'Pino,' pisando; and 'leo,' rio; or, pisando sobre el rio, living close to the banks of a river), is the Chief of a small tribe, whose territory is near the River Imperial; but he generally lives in the confines of Concepcion. He has four wives in the interior (la tierra) and three in the town.

[169] Hall's Extracts from a Journal, vol. i. pp. 316. 322.

[170] In Febres 'Arte de la lengua de Chile' they are thus described "Ahujas grandes con una plancha redonda de plata como una hostia, o mayor, con que prenden las mujeres sus mantas--Certain large bodkins, with a round silver plate, as large as, or larger than, an oyster, with which the women fasten their mantles."

[171] The ornament on the forehead, which is worn only by unmarried women, is called Trare-lonco, from the old Chilian words trarin, to fasten, and lonco, the head. The bracelet is called Anello curo; the anklets, Anelleo.

[172] From 'Mari,' diez, and 'loan,' huapo: whence Mariloan means 'huapo como diez,' or, 'equal to ten men.'

[173] The same comet was seen at the Mauritius; and its orbit calculated. See Ast. Soc. Proceedings, and Phil. Journal.

[174] They are deposited in the Museum of the Geological Society.

[175] The Marine Islands were so called, in remembrance of the four marines who were put on shore from the Wager's boats, and left behind. See Byron's Nar., p. 85.

[176] Mr. Kirke, who examined them, says, "There are two openings opposite Xavier Island, on the mainland: the northernmost runs through high land, and is terminated by a low sandy beach, with a river in the middle, running from a large glacier; the southern inlet is ended by high mountainous land."

[177] On the west shore Mr. Kirke noticed what appeared to be a channel, about twelve miles N.W. of Halt Bay, in the mouth of which was a considerable tide-ripple; an almost certain indication of such an opening. "I thought the inlet about twelve miles north-west of Halt Bay much like a channel. I also noticed a distinct tide ripple, which I did not remark near any other opening. To me this appeared the southernmost inlet, of any depth; or at all likely to be a channel."--Kirke MS.

[178] At the request of Lieutenant Mitchell, of the Adventure.

[179] Iron pyrites.

[180] _Phal: capite cristato, collo posteriori, corporeque supra intense purpureis; alis scapularibusque viridi-atris; remigibus rectricibusque duodecim fusco-atris; corpore subtus, fascia alarum maculaque dorsi medii sericeo-albis; rostro nigro; pedibus flavescentibus. Staluria Phal. Carbonis._ It was found in the Inner Sounds, within the 'Ancon sin Salida.'--Proceed. of the Zool. Society, vol. i.; also Phil. Magazine, for March 1831, p. 227.

[181] _C. albus remigibus primariis ad apicem nigris, rostro pedibusque rubris, illo lato subdepresso._ Molina describes a Chilian duck thus. Anas Coscoroba--_A. rostro extremo dilatato rotundato, corpore albo_, but I do not think it is the same as my specimen; certainly it is not _Anser Candidus_ of Veillos, the ganso blanco of D'Azara, which the author of the Dict. D'Hist. Nat. (xxiii. 331.) supposes to be the same as A. Coscoroba (id. p. 332). Molina's description is very short, and does not mention the tips of the primary wing-feathers being black.

[182] Mate, lent to the Beagle, from the Adventure.

[183] A small vessel may moor between the islands, instead of lying in the outer road.

[184] The three peaks, in-shore of Cape Kempe, are very remarkable.

[185] Specimens of the rock at the summit are in the collection at the Geological Society, numbered 184 and 188.

[186] Geological Society, Coll. No. 197.

[187] Geological Society, No. 238 to 240, (perhaps clay-slate. P. P. K.)

[188] Name given by sealers to a thick rushy kind of grass, which grows near the sea, in these latitudes.

[189] A high mountain at the N.W. end of London Island.

[190] I carried two tents from the Beagle, theirs having been cut up for the basket.

[191] It afterwards appeared that we had taken the families of the very men who stole the boat from Mr. Murray.

[192] Adventure Passage.

[193] Gilbert Islands.

[194] Doris Cove.

[195] So called in remembrance of the basket-like canoe by which we received intelligence of the loss of our boat.

[196] The man I took out of the canoe.

[197] It had formerly belonged to H.M.S. Doris, which was condemned at Valparaiso; being unserviceable.

[198] Mr. Murray had some bottles of beer in his boat--besides those in which the men's allowance of spirits was kept.

[199] In the lost boat were several pieces of spare line, 'King's white line,' quite new.

[200] False Cape Horn, or Cape False.

[201] A rushy kind of coarse grass.

[202] The mercury in the barometer fell to 28,94, and the oil in the sympiesometer to 28,52; the thermometer ranging from 40deg to 48deg (Faht.)

[203] In longitude 69.20. W.

[204] The stuffed skin is now in the British Museum.

[205] The powder and shot expended here procured four meals of fresh provisions for all hands.

[206] From the Adventure's deck, the eye being thirteen feet above the water, they were seen on the horizon at the distance of fourteen miles.

[207] If from the Second Narrow, N.E. 1/4 E. will be the compass course; but I should recommend a ship to haul up to the northward until abreast of Cape Gregory, and then to steer as above.

[208] The Tide begins to set to the Southward at Noon, at Full and Change.

[209] In the Appendix to the second volume these alterations are discussed.--R. F.

[210] 2,600 Ang. R. F.

[211] This is derived from the observations of Captains Duperrey and Fitz-Roy at the Bay of Islands, in Lat. 35deg. 16'. The interval is short; but the indication receives confirmation from the observations of Captains Cook and Vancouver at Dusky Bay, New Zealand, in Lat. 45deg. 47'.

Cook 1773 70deg. 06' } 1'.4 annual decrease.
Vancouver 1791 69. 43 }

[212] Or _Mephitis Americana_?

[213] _Elminius Kingii_, Gray in Zool. Miscell. from a specimen collected during the voyage.--Ed.

[214] Whilst this sheet was printing, the September number of the Annales des Sciences made its appearance in England, containing a description of the above shell by M. Sander Rang, accompanied by an excellent figure (Annales des Sciences Naturelles, September 1831, p. 55, pl. 3, f. 1). It is there named _Helix multicolor_. In my description I have considered it to be a _Bulinus_, but its specific name has been altered to that given to it by M. Rang.

[215] There has existed much difference of opinion as to the correct mode of spelling the name of this celebrated navigator. The French and English usually write it Magellan, and the Spaniards Magallanes; but by the Portuguese, (and he was a native of Portugal,) it is universally written Magalhaens. Admiral Burney and Mr. Dalrymple spell it Magalhanes, which mode I have elsewhere adopted: but I have since convinced myself of the propriety of following the Portuguese orthography for a name, which to this day is very common both in Portugal and Brazil.

[216] During our examination of this part, our boats ascended the river San Tadeo, and endeavoured in vain to find any traces of the road; an almost impenetrable jungle of reeds and underwood lined the banks of the river, and time was too valuable to admit of further delay, in search of an object comparatively of minor importance.

[217] Agueros, Descripcion Historial de la Provincia y Archipielago de Chiloe, 1791, p. 229.

[218] The precise situation of the wreck of this vessel had hitherto been very vaguely marked on our charts: a careful perusal, however, of Byron's narrative, and of Agueros' account of the Missionary Voyages in 1779, sufficiently points out the place within a few miles. It is on the north side, near the west end of the easternmost of the Guaianeco islands, which we named, in consequence, Wager Island. At Port Santa Barbara, seventeen miles to the southward of this group, a very old worm-eaten beam of a vessel was found, which there is reason to think may be a relic of that unfortunate ship. It was of English oak, and was found thrown up above the high-water mark upon the rocks at the entrance of the port. No other vestige was detected by us;--the missionaries, however, found broken glass bottles, and other evident traces of the wreck. At Chiloe I saw a man who had formed one of this enterprising party, and obtained from him a curious and interesting account of those voyages.

[219] Agueros, p. 205, et seq.

[220] Ibid. p. 181, et seq.

[221] Ibid. p. 237.

[222] Living plants of the above trees, and other vegetable productions from the Strait of Magalhaens, were introduced into England upon the return of the expedition, and have since thriven exceedingly well.

[223] Near Falcon Inlet, seven miles up the eastern side of Sir George Eyre Sound, are some large 'rookeries,' or breeding-haunts, of fur-seal. Many thousands of these animals were congregated together, which probably had been driven from the sea-coast by the activity of the seal-fishers; and perhaps, for many years, if not ages, have been breeding undisturbed in this hitherto unknown, and therefore safe and quiet recess. Two seals that were killed appeared to be of the same description as the species which frequents the sea-coasts.

[224] Hawkesworth, Voyages, i. 38.

[225] The stems of both from six to seven inches in diameter.

[226] This bird, although not rare in several English collections had never been noticed until I forwarded it to England in the early part of the year 1827, when my friend Mr. Vigors described it in the Zoological Journal for the month of November 1827 (vol. iii. p. 432), under the name of _Mellisuga Kingii_. Shortly afterwards, M. Lesson published it in his Manuel d'Ornithologie (vol. ii. p. 80), as _Ornismya sephaniodes_, as a discovery belonging to the Coquille's voyage, in the illustrations of which it is figured at plate 31.

[227] Sarmiento, p. 180.

[228] Narborough's Voyage, p. 78.

[229] Except gun-room, second and third messes.

[230] Except cabin, fourth and fifth messes.

[231] Except cabin, sixth and seventh messes.

ADDITIONAL NOTES BY ROBERT FITZ-ROY

(a) By Nassau Island is meant the land forming the south shore of the Second Narrow.--R. F.

(b) A kind of gun.--R. F.

(c) While the 'current' runs eastward for many days in mid-channel, or along one shore, it often happens that the 'stream of tide' either sets in a contrary direction, along each side of the Strait, or that it follows only the shore opposite to that washed by the 'current.'--R. F.

(e) Or the animal called by Molina 'Huemul.'--R. F.

(f) Thomas Sorrell, now boatswain of the Beagle (1837). He was boatswain of the Saxe Cobourg, when wrecked in Fury Harbour.--R. F.

(g) Campana, or Bell Mountain.--R. F.

(h) I do not think the bay adjacent to Cape Horn is that which was named by D'Arquistade 'St. Francis,' and, if my supposition is correct, Port Maxwell is not the place which was called 'St. Bernard's Cove.' See Second volume.--R. F.

(k) Sharp frosts sometimes occur.--R. F.

(l) This was a remarkable instance of what I often observed afterwards in those regions, a kind of 'ignis fatuus,' which sometimes was stationary, like the light of a lanthorn, and at others suddenly flitting, like the flashes of pistols, at a distance. It was only seen upon the lower hills.--R. F.

(m) Each officer and man, when detached from the Beagle during a night, carried a blanket, or large poncho (sewed up, and with a drawing-string, like a large bag), in which he slept, and found much comfort and warmth.--R. F.

(n) Like a roebuck; supposed to be the 'Huemul' mentioned by Molina.--R. F.

(o) Black-necked swan, noticed elsewhere by Captain King.--R. F.

(p) Noticed previously by Captain Stokes.--R. F.

(q) At the western entrance of the Strait the water is said to be generally a few degrees warmer than at the eastern.--R. F.

(r) Por milagro (miraculously); as the inhabitants told me.--R. F.

(s) I do not think that there is any opening at the bottom of Keats Sound; which lies at the base of a chain of snow-covered mountains, whose southern side I have closely traced.--R. F.

(t) A kind of beech, found every where on these shores. The literal meaning of Roble, is oak.--R. F.

(u) Native of Chiloe.--R. F.

(v) When moderately laden they are stiff under sail; and are not such very bad sea-boats, if properly managed.--R. F.

(w) Not since the first Spanish conquest, perhaps.--R. F.

(x) I believe that the natives who have canoes of the kind described above, do not go near the Hermite Islands, on which Cape Horn is situated.--R. F.

(y) For evidence that Indians have been thereabouts, see Byron's account of the cave entered by the surgeon of the Wager. I believe that curious place was either in, or close to, Port Otway.--R. F.

(z) Could 'Plasta' refer to Alexander Campbell?--R. F.

(a) Pedro Osorio died at San Carlos in 1832.--R. F.

(b) Or by an earthquake wave.--R. F.

(c) During much of this cruise, Lieutenant Skyring was so ill that he was unable to leave the Adelaide; and for a month he was confined to bed. His illness was caused by fatigue, and by sitting too long while constructing charts.--R. F.

(d) Mr. Kirke was rather short-sighted, and therefore unable to discern distant objects clearly. From the natives of Ponsonby land, between the Otway and Skyring Waters, I procured, and gave to Captain King, some short straight horns, and parts of the skins of animals, which were probably deer of the kind seen by Mr. Kirke, and, since that time, by Mr. Low, when he followed my track into the Skyring Water with his sealing vessel, the Unicorn schooner.--R. F.

(e) In Otway Bay, not far from Landfall Island, is a rock on which Mr. Low found Fuegians living among a number of (apparently) tame seals. See second volume.--R. F.

(f) And thence to the Strait of Le Maire.--R. F.

(g) See second volume for further remarks on this subject.--R. F.

(h) Mr. Sorrell, formerly with Mr. Weddell, and since that time with Mr. Brisbane.--R. F.

(k) Five fathoms only were found in one spot during the Beagle's last voyage.--R. F.

* * * * *

Corrections made to printed original:

Errata et Corrigenda:--"443", printed as "----" in original.

Page 23 (in "These wigwams are thus constructed:"):--"constructed", printed as "constucted" in original.

Page 240 (in "to the best account"):--"account", printed as "acccount" in original.

Page 512 (top of column 2):--"1834", printed as "1831" in original.

Page 538 (Chionis alba):--"46.", printed as "44." in original.

Page 554 (Achatina Donellii, in "Mus. nost."):--"Mus.", printed as "Must." in original.

Appendix header page (in "Royal Geographical Society"):--"Society", printed as "Sociely" in original.