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CRUISE or THE “ALERT.”
FOUR YEARS IN
PATAGONIAN, POLYNESIA Ny : AND
MASCARENE WATERS.
(1878—82.)
BY
few. C-O PRION G ER, M.D.
(STAFF-SURGEON ROYAL Navy, C.M.Z.S.)
With Sixteen full-page Woodcut Lilustrations from Photographs by
LF. North, R.N., and from Sketches by the Author.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON :
W. SWAN-SONNENSCHEIN AND CO,
PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
1884.
PRD PA Cok.
1 preparing the following pages for the press, I have
endeavoured to give a brief account, divested as much
as possible of technicalities, of the principal points of interest
in Natural History which came under observation during the
wanderings of a surveying ship; while at the same time I
have done my utmost, at the risk of rendering the narrative
disconnected, to avoid trenching on ground which has been
rendered familiar by the writings of travellers who have visited
the same or similar places. And if in a few instances I have
given some rather dry details regarding the appearance and
surroundings of certain zoological specimens, it has been my
intention, by an occasional reference to the more striking forms
of life met with in each locality, to afford some assistance to those
amateurs who, like myself, may desire to avail themselves of the
opportunities afforded by the surveying ships of the British Navy
for performing, although with rude appliances and very few books
of reference, some useful and interesting work.
Large collections of zoological specimens were made, and as
these accumulated on board, they were from time to time sent
Vill Preface.
home to the Admiralty, whence they were transmitted to the
British Museum, the authorities of that institution then submitting
them to specialists for systematic description. For much kindly
aid in making these arrangements, as well as for advice and
encouragement received during the progress of the cruise, I am
indebted to Dr. Albert Giinther, F.R.S., Keeper of Zoology in the
British Museum.
I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Frederick North, R.N.,
for the use of a collection of photographs which were taken by
him during the cruise under circumstances of peculiar difficulty,
and of which most of the engravings in this work are repro-
ductions.
I am also under obligations to all the other officers for assist-
‘ance rendered to me in various ways; and especially to those
officers who acted successively as Senior Lieutenants, for the
consideration with which they tolerated those parts of my
dredging operations that necessarily interfered with the main-
tenance of good order and cleanliness on the ship’s decks.
Finally, I have to thank my friend, Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe,
the distinguished ornithologist of the British Museum, by whose
advice and encouragement I was induced to submit these pages
to the public, for his assistance in perusing my MS., and offering
some useful suggestions.
RK. Wess
eer OT CAIN TENT S.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Object of the Voyage—Former Surveys of Straits of Magellan—Change
of Programme—Selection of Ship—Equipment—Arrangements for
Natural History Work—Change of Captain—List of Officers . . I—4
CHAPTER I.
Departure from England—Storm Petrels—A Sparrow-hawk at Sea—
Collecting Surface Organisms with Tow-net—Water-kite—Wire
Sounding Apparatus—Land-swallow at Sea—Gulfweed—Phospho-
rescence of Seawater—Arrive at Madeira—Curious Town—Dredging
Work—A Pinery—Discoloured Seawater—Petrels again—St. Vin-
cent—Cape de Verdes—Pelagic Animals—Sounding near Abrolhos
Bank—Dredging over Hotspur Bank—Dredging over Victoria Bank
—Moths and Butterflies on the Ocean—Extraordinary Vitality of
Sphynx Moths—Arrive at Monte Video—Gauchos— Trip into Interior
of Uruguay—Buenos Ayres—Dr. Burmeister’s Museum—Arrive at
the Falklands—‘‘ Stone Runs.’’ . : ; ‘ ‘ 3 » 5-33
CHAPTER II.
We enter Straits of Magellan—Reach Sandy Point—Gold and Coal—
Surrounding Country—Elizabeth Island—Dredging—Fuegians at
Port Famine—We enter Smyth’s Channel—Canoe “ Portage’’ at
Isthmus Bay—Arrive at Tom Bay—A Fue gian Family—Trinidad
Channel—Climate of Western Patagonia—Flora—Rock Formation
—Soilcap—Natives—The Channel Tribe of Fuegians—Scarcity of
Old People—Water-birds of Tom Bay—Sea Otters—A Concealed
‘Portage ’’—Habits of Gulls and Shags—Steamer Ducks—Land-
shells—Freshwater Fish—Deer . , : : : ; ~ 34—65
x , Contents.
PAGE
CHAPTER III.
Trinidad Channel gouged out by Glaciers—Port Henry—Trumpet-shells
-——Native Camp—Wolsey Sound—‘‘ Cache Diablo’’ —‘‘ Ripple-
marked’’ Limestone—Fuegian Burial-place—Marine Animals—
Strange Capture of Fish—Whales Abundant—Exploration of Picton
Channel—Attack on Sealers—Signs of Old Ice Action—*‘ Hailstone ”’
Rock—Soil-motion—-We proceed Northward to Refit— English
Narrows—Gulf of Peas. Adie’ : ‘ , . 66—80
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival at Valparaiso—War between Chili, Peru, and Bolivia—Sir George
Nares returns to England—Captain Maclear joins—Coquimbo—
Shell Terraces—Trip to Las Cardas—Habits of Pteroptochus—
Island of St. Ambrose—Habits of Petrels—Flight of the Albatross—
Santiago de Chilé—Natural History Museum—Santa Lucia—Church
of La Compania—Heights of Montenegro—A Fly-trap Plant—
Copper-mines of Brillador—Peculiarities of Chilian Mines—Talca-
huana—Outbreak of Small Pox—lIsla de Los Reyes—Shooting a
‘“¢ Coypo’’—Railway Trip to Araucanian Territory—Our Locomotive
—Incidents of the Journey — Fossil Tree-trunk at Quiriquina
Island . : ‘ ‘ : ° : ; ; . SSrsaba
CHAPTER V.
We return to Patagonian Waters—Gulf of Penas—Spring in the Trinidad
Channel—Gephyrean at Cockle Cove—Diving Petrel—Tree Cor-
morants — Magellan -Kingfisher—A Curious Moss—Wind-swept
Bushes—Gull, Cormorant, and Skua—Examination of Brazo del
Norte—Black-necked Swan—A Sealer’s Yarn—Fur-seal Trade—
Hardships of Seal-hunting—Otter Skins—Experiment with Condor—
Fuegians at Tilly Bay—Flaking Glass Arrow-heads—List of Fuegian
Words—The JMJaranhense—A Magellan Glacier—Native Fish-
weirs—The Magellan Nutria : , : : : . 103-126
Contents. x1
PAGE
CHAPTER VI.
We proceed towards Skyring Water—Otway Water—Canal of Fitzroy
Terrace-levels—Plants and Animals—Bay of the Mines—Previous
Explorers—The Coal Mines—Altamirano Bay—Prospects of the
Settlement—A Seal ‘‘ Rookery’’— Puerto Bueno—We proceed
Northwards—Port Riofrio—Gray Harbour—Sailing for Coast of Chili
—Small Pox amongst the Chilians—Discoloured Sea-water—Habits
of Ant Thrush . ; : ; . ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ . 127—143
CHAPTER VII.
Early History of Tahiti—Otaheite and Tahiti—Its appearance from Sea-
ward—Harbour of Papiété—Produce—Matavai Bay—Tahiti an-
nexed to France—Prince Tamitao—Annexation Festivities—King
Pomare V.—Coral growing on Ship’s Bottom—Nassau Island—
Danger Islands—Tema Reef—Union Group—Nukunono—Oatafu—
Natives afflicted with a Skin Disease—Stone Implements—Religious
Scruples—Metal Fish-hooks not appreciated—Capriciousness of
Sharks—Lalla Rookh Bank : ‘ : : : ‘ - 144—158
CHAPTER VIII.
Arrival at Fiji—Levuka—Ratu Joe comes on Board—Excursion to Bau
in Viti Levu—We visit King Cacobau—A Native Feast—Lalis—
Tapa—The Bure Kalou—Bakola—Old Fijian Atrocities—Double
Canoe—Stone Adzes now becoming rare—Angona Drinking—Sir
Arthur Gordon—Walk across Ovalau—The Kaicolos—An Imprudent
Settler—Pine-apple Cultivation—lerzophthalmus—Suva—Site of
Future Capital—Sail towards Tonga Islands—Pelagic Animals—
Early History of Tonga—Missionaries—Nukualofa—-A Costly Pair
of Gates—Visit to Bea—Davita—Evidence of Elevation of Island—
King George of Tonga—Wellington Gnu—Curious Stone Monument
—Trip to Village of Hifo—We are entertained by the Natives—
Famous Caves—Eyeless Fish—Swifts behaving like Bats—Searching
for Reefs—Discolouration of Seawater—Return to Levuka—Voyage
to Australia—Surface Life . : : : é , ‘ » 159-179
Xil Contents.
PAGE
CHAPTER IX.
Refitting Ship at Sydney—Mr. Haswell joins us—We proceed North-
wards along East Coast of Australia—Port Curtis, Queensland—
A ‘‘Labour Vessel’’—Mr. Eastlake—Marine Fauna abundant—
Festivities at Gladstone—Birds—Percy Islands—Survey of Port
Molle—Queensland Aborigines—‘‘ Black Police’’—‘‘ Dispersing’”’
Black fellows—Dredging Operations—A Parasitic Shell-fish—Port
‘Denison—Visit to a Native Camp—Throwing the Boomerang—A
Beche-de-mer Establishment at Lizard Island—Hostility of the
Natives—Drawings by Aborigines at Clack Island—Albany Island,
North-Eastern Australia . : . . ‘ ; - . 180—193
CHAPTER X.
Settlement at Thursday Island—Torres Straits Islanders—Pearl-Shell
Fisheries—Value of the Shell—Pearls not abundant—Neighbouring
Islands—Lizards—Landcrab—Landshells — Ferns — Birds — Booby
Island—Arrive at Port Darwin, North-Western Australia—Sub-
marine Cables—Trans-continental Telegraph—Palmerston—North-
ern Territory Goldfields—Aborigines at Port Darwin—Marine Fauna
—Birds—Geese perching on Trees . ; ‘ : > - 194—208
CHAPTER XI.
Voyage from Port Darwin to Singapore—Through the Eastern Archi-
pelago—We arrive at Singapore—Oceanic ‘‘ Tiderips’’ — Bird
Island, Seychelles—Seabirds on Land—Port Mahé, Seychelles—
The Coco-de-Mer—Gigantic Tortoise—Produce of the Islands—
Vanilla —-A Primitive Crushing-mill — Dredging Operations —
Periophthalmus—tThe Seychelles, of Granitic Structure—We visit
the Amirante Group—African Islands—Abundance of Oréztolites—
Crabs pursued by Eels—Eagle Island—Partridge shooting—Young
Lizards—Darros Island—Caswarinas—Dredging—Poivre Island—
Trees and Shrubs—Isle des Roches—Flora scanty—Land-birds—
General Remarks on the Amirantes as a Group—‘‘ Fringing Reefs,”’
but no ‘ Barrier Reefs’’—Signs of Elevation—Weather and Lee
Sides contrasted : ‘ ; ; ; ; : : . 209—229
Contents. Xill
PAGE
CHAPTER XII.
yepeonse Island—Pearl-shell—Providence Island—Method of planting
Cocoa-nuts— Edible Turtle— Flora—Red Coral—Cerf Islets—
St. Pierre—Du Lise Island—Flora and Fauna—Erratic Stones on
Coral Reef—Glorioso Island—We sail for Mozambique Island—
And sight East Coast of Africa— Trade at Mozambique —
Inhabitants—Caju—Shells of Foreshore—The Survey concluded
—Homeward Bound—Cape of Good ews of the Zpzornzs—
Arrival at Plymouth . E F A ‘ : ; . 230—245
GENERAL INDEX . ; ; ; ; : ; : ; : . 246
INDEX OF NATURAI HISTORY TERMS . : ; : , i ans
yaa
a
' -
ore
/ a
List “OF ALLUSLTRATIONS.
H.M.S. ‘‘ALERT’’ AT ANCHOR IN TOM BAy, WEStr COAST OF Facing
PATAGONIA / ‘ ‘ , : 3 : ; . title
FUEGIAN AND AUSTRALIAN IMPLEMENTS . , F eae,
CANOE OF CHANNEL FUEGIANS . 3 ‘ ; : : : lity.
FUEGIAN ‘‘ PORTAGE’’ FOR TRANSPORT OF CANOES OVERLAND. 60
FUEGIANS OFFERING THEIR CHILDREN FOR BARTER : ; Sa ia
OUR FUEGIAN FRIENDS AT TILLY BAY, STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. 104
FUEGIAN HvT AT TILLY BAY ; : ; : é : : Py 4
FOOT OF GLACIER, AT GLACIER BAY, STRAITS OF MAGELLAN . 124
FISH-HOOKS OF UNION ISLANDERS . ; F z ; ; ee Y
WOMAN OF TAHITI ey, ‘ ; ‘ ; ‘ . . + 1s
FISHERMAN OF TAHITI . : ; . r ‘ ; . . . 148
KING CACOBAU OF FIJI, WIFE, AND RATU JOE ‘ ; 4 . 160
TOTOONGA VALLEY, OVALAU, FIJI : ; ‘ : P ; .. 166
ANCIENT STONE MONUMENT.AT TONGATABU . : 4 : TA
FACSIMILES OF DRAWINGS BY AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES . ° «wi. tO2
ABORIGINES OF NORTH-WEST AUSTRALIA . ‘ , ° : - 204
‘TRAVELLERS’ TREES”? IN GARDENS AT SINGAPORE ‘ : - 210
‘“COPRA’’ CRUSHING MILL AT SEYCHELLES . ; ; 288
CRUISE OF THE “ALERT.”
INTRODUCTION.
N the summer of 1878 it was decided by the Lords of the
Admiralty to equip a vessel for the threefold purpose of
continuing the survey of the Straits of Magellan, of investigating
the nature and exact position of certain doubtful reefs and islands
in the South Pacific Ocean, and of surveying a portion of the
northern and western coasts of Australia. The special object of
the Magellan portion. of the work was to make such a detailed
survey of the sheltered channels extending southward from the
Gulf of Pefias to Port Tamar as would enable vessels to pass
from the Straits to the Pacific, and vice versd, without having to
encounter the wild and inhospitable outer coasts presented by the
chain of desolate islands here fringing the western coasts of South
America. It was also desirable that additional anchorages should
be found and surveyed, where vessels might lie in safety while
waiting for the cessation of a gale, or for a favourable tide to help
them through the straits. The surveys made by the Adventure
and Beagle in 1826-36, and by the Nassau in 1866-9, were
excellent so far as they went, and so far as the requirements of
their times were concerned; but the great increase of ocean
navigation within the last few years had rendered it necessary
that. the charts should contain more minute surveys of certain
I
2 Cruise of the ** Alert.’
places which were not formerly of importance. The South Pacific
portion of our survey was to be mainly in connection with the
recently acquired colony of the Fiji Islands, and was to be devoted
to an exploration of the eastern passages leading to this group,
with an investigation of the doubtful dangers reported in the
vicinity of the great shipping tracts. Finally, on completing the
above, and arriving at Australia, we were to spend a year anda
half, or thereabouts, in surveying the line of reefs which fringe
its whole western seaboard, the ill-defined position of which is
a serious obstacle to the now extensive trade between Western
Australia and the Dutch islands of the Malay Archipelago.
The latter part of the orders was subsequently changed, inas-
much as we were directed to omit the survey of the western
shores of Australia, and were ordered instead, on completing the
North Australian work, to proceed to Singapore, in the Straits of
Malacca, to refit. Thence we were to return home by the Cape
of Good Hope, stopping on our way at the Seychelles, Amirante
Islands, and Mozambique, in order to fix astronomically the
position of the Amirante group, and, as opportunities occurred, to
take a line of soundings off the east coast of Africa.
The vessel selected for this special service was the Alert, a
man-of-war sloop of 751 tons measurement and 60 horse-power
nominal ; and the command of the expedition was given to Capt.
Sir George Nares, K.C.B. By ahappy coincidence the same stout
craft which had already done such good service in the Arctic
Expedition of 1875-6, and which bears the honour of having
attained the highest zorthern latitude, was selected as the ship
in which Sir George Nares was now about to proceed on a
voyage of exploration in high southern latitudes. She was offi-
cially commissioned on the 2oth of August, with a complement
of 120 officers and men, her equipments including apparatus
for conducting deep sea sounding and dredging operations, and
a miscellaneous collection of instruments not usually supplied
to H.M.’s ships, |
Object of the Voyage. 3
It being the wish of the enterprising hydrographer of the navy
—Captain, now Sir Frederick Evans, K.C.B.—that the opportu-
nities which this expedition would afford of making a valuable
natural history collection in regions little known to science should
not be thrown away, and Sir George Nares warmly seconding him
in this wish, the Admiralty determined on appointing as surgeon
an officer who, in addition to his duties as medical officer of the
ship, would be inclined to devote his spare time to the cause
of natural science. Sir George Nares, knowing my fondness
for natural history, with characteristic kindness gave my appli-
cation his support, and I had therefore the good fortune to be
appointed as medical officer of the A/ert, on the understanding
that (so far as my medical duties permitted) I would not lose
sight of the advantages which would accrue to science from a
collection of natural-history objects illustrative of the fauna and
flora of the countries visited in the course of the voyage.
During the four years over which my narrative extends, many
changes took place in the fersonnel of the expedition. Scarcely
a year had elapsed from the date of our departure from England,
when we had to regret the loss of Sir George Nares, who left us
at Valparaiso, and returned to England by mail steamer, in order
to enter upon his duties as Director of the Marine Department
of the Board of Trade. We were fortunate, however, in having
as his successor Captain John Maclear—formerly of the Challenger
exploring expedition—to whom I take this opportunity of express-
ing my thanks for the unvarying kindness which I have always
experienced at his hands, as well as for much assistance and
encouragement in the prosecution of our zoological work.
The following is a list of the officers:—
Captain Sir George S. Nares, K.C.B. F.R.S.; succeeded by
Captain John Maclear, F.R.ML.S.
Licut. George R. Bethell ; succeeded by Lieut. James Deedes.
Lieut. the Hon. Foley C. P. Vereker; succeeded by Lieut.
George Rooper.
4 Crutse of the ‘‘Alert.”’
Lieut. Gordon S. Gunn (subsequently became senior lieutenant).
Nav. Lieut. William H. Petley.
Sub-Lieut. James H. C. East (subsequently served as lieutenant).
Sub-Lieut. Charles W. de la P. Beresford (left the ship at
Singapore).
Staff-Surgeon Richard W. Coppinger, M.D,
Paymaster Frederick North.
Engineer, John Dinwoodie.
Engineer, William Cook.
Boatswain, Alfred Payne.
(Lieut. Grenfell joined the ship at Singapore, and remained
until the close of the commission.)
Our Bird Visitors, 5
CHAPTER T.
FROM ENGLAND TO THE FALKLANDS.
FA tiie various delays, owing to defects in machinery, we
finally bade adieu to the shores of England on the 25th
of September, 1878, taking our departure from Plymouth.
On the second day at sea the little storm-petrels appeared
over our wake, and accompanied us, off and on, for most of our
way to Madeira. These seemed to be of two kinds, the 7ha/as-
sidroma pelagica and Thalassidroma Leachit, the latter being suf-
ficiently recognizable from their having forked tails, in which
respect they differ from other species of the genus. Many at-
tempts were made to catch them by means of hooks baited with
fat, skeins of thread, etc., but all to no purpose; and I rather
fancy that in this thoroughfare of the ocean the wily creatures
have had too much experience of the arts of man, and are there-
fore not to be caught so easily as their more ignorant brethren of
the southern hemisphere.
On the 28th of September, when 155 miles to the westward of
Cape Finisterre, and during a fresh easterly breeze, a sparrow-hawk
made his appearance, at first hovering round the ship, and _ ulti-
mately settling on the rigging. It had probably strayed too far
from the shore in the pursuit of some tempting prey, and had then
lost its reckoning, being eventually blown to seaward. At aii
events, it had travelled some long distance, as it evinced its
weariness by resting quietly and contentedly on the main-top-
gallant rigging, until one of the seamen, who had managed to
6 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.””’
climb up unobserved, suddenly laid hands on it. On placing it in
a meat-safe, which we extemporised as a cage, it ate ravenously,
as well it might after its long journey.
When in the latitude of Lisbon, and 180 miles to the westward
of the Portuguese coast, a large “sea-flier” bird paid us a visit,
soaring over the waves in our vicinity, and evidently on the look-
out for garbage from the ship. The plumage of the upper surface
of wings and body was of a dusky brown colour, the under surface
of the body was whitish, and the wings were long and pointed;
in mode of flight he resembled a large tern, He did not long
remain with us, probably not finding it a sufficiently productive
hunting-ground. I may here mention that on the 6th of October,
when a hundred miles from Madeira, we sighted a bird answering
the same description. |
All opportunities of plying the tow-net were duly availed of,
but owing to the unusually rapid speed of the ship, these were few.
However, we succeeded in capturing many specimens of living
Foraminifers (mostly of the genus Ordztolttes), stalk-eyed Crus-
taceans, Radiolarians, an Ianthina, a few Salpz, and the pretty
little Pteropod Mollusc, the Crisezs Aciculata, besides many other
organisms which the rapid motion of the net through the water
had rendered unrecognizable. As it is usually found that these
minute pelagic organisms are to be obtained from the surface in
most abundance at night-time, and during the day retreat for
some fathoms from the glare of the sunlight, I constructed a
wooden apparatus on the principle of a kite, which I attached to
the towing line at some three or four yards from the net, and
which had the effect of dragging down the net some yards below
the surface, and then retaining it at a uniform depth. It of
course required to be adjusted each time to suit the required
depth and the rate of the vessel, but it had this great advantage
over the usual system of employing heavy weights, that the strain
not being nearly-so great, a light and manageable rope could be
used; and that, moreover, the adjustment for depth could be
A Sounding Apparatus—Swallows at Sea. 7
readily made by altering the trim of this water-kite. When I
first tried this apparatus, and before I had succeeded in trimming
it satisfactorily, it caused great amusement to the blue-jackets by
the playful manner in which it manceuvred under our stern, now
diving deeply towards our rudder post (the shimmer of the white
wood in the deep blue water reminding one of a dolphin), and
now whimsically rising rapidly to the surface with an impetus
that shot it fully six feet out of the water.
On the 4th of October, the captain made some experiments
with the “ Lucas deep-sea sounder.” It consists of a strong brass
drum carrying 2,000 fathoms of fine steel wire, and fitted with a
cyclometer which registers on a dial the number of fathoms of
wire run out. The sinker, which weighs 20 lbs., is made of lead,
and has at its lower extremity a bull-dog snapper, which, on
striking the ground, shuts up suddenly, so as to enclose a sample
of the sea bottom. The apparatus is supposed to be capable of
sounding to a depth of 500 fathoms in a vessel going 5 knots,
and to 50 fathoms when going 12 knots. It is said to be a
modification of an invention of Sir W. Thompson’s. We subse-
quently used this largely, and found it to be a most convenient
and expeditious method of sounding to depths of 500 fathoms,
with the ship almost stationary. The wire could be wound up
again while the ship was under way. |
During the forenoon of this same day we saw, to our astonish-
ment, a land swallow, which flew about the ship for a few minutes,
and then went on his way rejoicing. He would have had to travel
254 miles to make the nearest land, which was the island of Porto
Santo.
An erratic fragment of gulfweed (Sargassum Bacciferum) was
entangled in the tow-net on the 5th of October, when we were
105 miles north-east of Madeira, a circumstance which is of interest
as regards the distribution of the plant, the locality cited being
considerably beyond the northern limit of the great eddy between
the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic equatorial current, commonly
8 Cruise of the ‘* Alert.”
called the Sargasso Sea. It was encrusted with a delicate white
Polyzoon (Membranipora), and among other organisms carried on
its fronds a pretty little Spzvordis shell, and several entomostracous
Crustaceans of a deep-blue colour.
The phosphorescence of the sea is a trite subject, and one about
which a very great deal has been written ; but nevertheless, of its
actual cause, or of the purposes which it is intended to serve, really
very little is positively known. The animals to which it would
seem mainly due are the small stalk-eyed Crustacea, the Pyrocystis
noctiluca, and the Tunicate Molluscs. I have sometimes observed,
when occupied at night in sifting the contents of a tow-net, that
these organisms, as they were being sucked through the nozzle of
the dip-tube, emitted flashes of light, so brilliant, that they could
be distinctly seen even in a well-lighted room. During the voyage
from England to Madeira, the wake of the ship was every night,
with one exception, phosphorescent. The exception alluded to
was on the night previous to our arrival at Madeira, when pro-
bably the unusual brilliancy of the moonlight caused the light-
emitting creatures to retreat a few yards from the surface, as
happens in the day-time. I have often noticed that while the
phosphorescence of the comparatively still water abeam of the
ship and on her quarter usually seems to emanate from large
spherical masses of about a foot in diameter (commonly called
“globes of fire”), yet the luminosity of the broken water in the
vessel’s immediate wake comes apparently from innumerable minute
points. I have rarely captured any of the larger jellyfishes in
the tow-net ; and on those nights when I have observed the water
lighted up the most brilliantly, the prevailing organisms have proved
to be the small entomostracous Crustaceans.
The morning of the 7th of October broke cool and hazy, as we
steamed up and dropped anchor in Funchal Roads, on the south
side of the island of Madeira. Crowds of native boats, with
their half-naked occupants, quickly thronged around ; remaining,
however, at a respectful distance, until the boat containing the
Madeira. 9
haughty pratique officer came alongside. On the present occa-
sion this portentous individual was contented with a very super-
ficial inquiry into our sanitary condition, and after a few formal
questions as to our tonnage, complement of crew, number of guns,
and general condition, shoved off with the laconic exclamation,
“All right!” We soon availed ourselves of this permission to
visit the shore.
The most conspicuous objects in Funchal, as seen from the
anchorage, are the “Loo Rock” (used as a fort and lighthouse), on
the west side of the town, and on the centre of the crescent-shaped
beach which fronts the town a remarkable and lofty cylindrical
tower of dark-brown stone, This tower, we were informed, was
built about the year 1800, and was intended as, a support for a
huge crane, which was to facilitate the loading and disembarkation
of the cargo of merchant ships. The tower as it stands is about
eighty feet in height, and as its base is now about forty yards
distant from high-water mark on the beach, as an article of utility
it is quite effete. Our surveyors have ascertained that the land
has not been elevated since the first admiralty surveys. This
they arrive at by a comparison of old and recent charts with
known marks on the shore, and we are therefore inclined to
believe that the beach has been silted up by accumulations of
basaltic rubble brought down by the two adjoining rivers, and
here washed inshore by the sea. The tower is now without any
appearance of the crane, and raises its plain cylindrical body in
gloomy grandeur, reminding one of the old round towers of
Ireland ; and, as in their case, its origin will probably some years
hence be veiled in obscurity.
Madeira was considered to be looking unusually dingy, on
account of a long season of drought, rain not having fallen for
nine months. But some two or three days after our arrival a great
religious ceremony took place at the village of Machico, eight miles
to the eastward of Funchal, The object was to offer up prayers for
rain ; and, sure enough, two days afterwards, rain fell abundantly !
10 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.”
During our stay here the dredge was several times brought
into requisition. On the 8th of October, a party, consisting of
the captain, Lieut. Vereker, some seamen, and myself, started ‘in
the steam cutter on a dredging expedition to the bay of Santa Cruz,
which is distant about eight miles from Funchal. As we steamed
along the coast, we had excellent opportunities of observing the
sections exhibited by the cliffs of the varieties of volcanic rock,
of which the upper crust of the island is mainly formed. At Point
Garajas (Brazen Head), of which Lieut. Vereker made a good
sketch, the north-east face of the cliff presents a magnificent dyke
—a nearly vertical seam of dark lava, about three feet in width
and two hundred feet in height, extending from summit to water
line, and sealing up this long fissure in the older trachytic rock of
the head. Farther on, masses of basalt resting unconformably
on variously arranged layers of laterite tuff and trachyte, the
latter in many places honeycombed in weird fantastic caverns,
afforded a fertile subject for geological reveries into the early
history of this now beautiful island. On reaching the bay of
Santa Cruz, we lowered the dredge in thirty-five fathoms, finding,
as we had half anticipated, that it was altogether too heavy to
ride on the mass of sand that here forms the sea bottom. It
buried itself like an anchor, and it was not without great diffi-
culty that we could succeed in dislodging it. On bringing it up,
we found it to contain some shells of the genera Cardium, Pecten,
Cyprea, Oliva, and Dentalium,a few small Echini, a Sertularian
Pulyp, several Annelids—among others, a Meveis—and Alcyo-
narians. We returned on board soon after dusk, having spent
a most enjoyable, if not materially profitable, day. On subse-
quently dredging in fifty fathoms in the same bay, our work
was more satisfactory ; but besides some Crustaceans, an Ophio-
coma, and an Asterias of a brilliant orange colour, obtained few
specimens of any interest. On another day we tried the coast
to the westward of Funchal; and as we moved along in the
steam cutter, obtained, by means of the tow-net, several specimens
Dredging Operations at Funchal. II
of gulfweed entangling small sponges. The dredge, being put
over in seven fathoms, procured for us many specimens of a
Cidaris, studded with black spines three to four inches long,
and whose oblate spheroidal tests of about two inches diameter
were of a beautiful smalt colour. Off the same coast, in forty
fathoms, the bottom was found to consist of black basaltic sand
crowded with tooth-shells. This fine black sand seemed to form
the sea-bottom along the south coast of the island as far out as
the fifty fathom line, and from our experience does not prove a
favourable berth for our friends the Mollusca and Annulosa.
Among the Crustaceans obtained in the above dredgings was
a species of Glaucothde new to science, which has since been
described by Mr. E. J. Miers, of the British Museum, under the
title of “ Glaucothde rostrata.”
On the afternoon of the 12th of October, in company with
Sir George Nares, and under the guidance of Dr. Grabham, a
British doctor for many years resident in Madeira, we had an
opportunity of inspecting a “pinery,” established within the last
two years by a Mr. Holloway, and by which he expects to amass
a considerable fortune. This establishment, which lies to the
north-east of the town, at an altitude of about three hundred
feet, consists of a series of long, low hothouses with sloping glass
roofs, painted white, and facing to the southward, and is heated
entirely by the sun’s rays. The material in which the pines are
planted consists of the branches of the blackberry plant chopped
to fragments, and spread out in a thick layer, and in this sub-
stitute for mould the young pines are placed, at intervals of about
eighteen inches apart. They grow to an enormous size, as we
ourselves witnessed ; and being cut when they show the least
sign of ripening, and packed carefully in well-ventilated boxes,
are shipped to London, where they fetch prices varying from
twenty-five to thirty shillings each.
Dr, Grabham was kind enough to give us much interesting
information concerning the natural history of the island, which,
12 Cruise of the “Alert.”
from his long experience and constant observation, was most
valuable. He pointed out to us a considerable tract of land in
the vicinity of the town which used to be thickly planted with
vines, but which is now only devoted to the cultivation of sweet
potatoes. During the last seven years the vine crops have been
steadily decreasing, owing to the ravages of the Phylloxera
vastatrix, and wine-making is now at a low ebb. The number
of trees in the island was also rapidly diminishing, owing to
the demand for fuel; and although efforts are made, by the
cultivation of pine forests, to supply that want, the demand yet
exceeds the supply. In a few years Madeira will no longer be,
as its name implies, a land of wood. Although so late in the
season, numbers of flowers were still in full bloom; the Bougain-
villea with its dark-red bracts, and the yellow jasmine adorning
the trellis-work ; further up the hill the belladonna lily attracted
attention, and on the heights were the old familiar furze blossoms,
reminding us of the land we had left behind us.
On October 12th we weighed anchor, and proceeded to the
southward. All that night and the following day we steamed
quictly along in smooth water, with a long, shallow ground swell
(of which, however, the old craft took advantage to display her
extraordinary rolling powers), and late in the afternoon, just
before dark, caught sight of Palmas, one of the Canary Islands,
whose peak, 7,000 feet high, loomed conspicuously through a
light bank of clouds. It was distant seventy miles. On the
morning of the 15th we experienced for the first time the
influence of the north-east trade wind, which wafted us along
pleasantly at the rate of about seven knots. Up to this the only
sign of animal life had been a solitary storm petrel, but on the
following day a shoal of flying fish (Zvocetus wolitans) appeared,
to pay their respects and greet us on our approach to the tropical
zone. During the night, the wind, which had hitherto only
behaved tolerably, fell light; and as the morning of the 17th
dawned, we found ourselves flapping about in almost a complete
Life at the Ocean Surface. 13
calm. There were several merchant vessels in sight, with one
of which, a fine-looking full-rigged clipper ship, we communicated
by signal, when the usual dumb interchange of civilities took
place; she informing us that she was the Baron Collinson, seven-
teen days out from Liverpool, and we in return giving the latest
news we were aware of, viz., the failure of the Glasgow Bank.
During the afternoon, a shark, which seemed to be the Squalus
glaucus, hovered about our stern. It was accompanied by at
least four “pilots” (Vaucrates ductor), whose conspicuous dark-
blue body stripes showed out in striking contrast to the sombre
hues of the shark, whose body formed the background.
It is during those tropical calms, usually so wearisome to the
seaman, that the lover of natural history reaps his richest harvest.
On the present occasion the tow-net brought up quantities of a
minute conzferva consisting of little bundles of delicate straw-
coloured fibres, about one-eighth of an inch in length, and resem-
bling, on a small scale, the familiar bundles of “faggots” as one
sees them hawked in the streets. Under a high magnifying
power the individual fibres composing these bundles were seen
to consist of jointed segments marked with dots and transverse
strie as a diatom. When placed in spirit, they at once broke
up into a shapeless fluffy mass. The surface water was thickly
impregnated with them, yet not so as to impart any obvious dis-
colouration. About dusk the trade wind suddenly returned, and
a heavy shower of rain brought to a close a day of great interest.
On the 18th of October, many of us fore and aft were diligently
expending our ingenuity in fishing for bonitoes, of which several
(apparently the 7Aznnus pelamis) were to be seen about the ship ;
but, to our great chagrin, only one, a small specimen, was captured,
The tow-net still brought up quantities of the conferva before
mentioned, and multitudes of minute unattached specimens of
the Spirorbis nummutlites.
On the following day, as we lay all but becalmed, the storm-
petrels (Thalassidroma pelagica) appeared in great numbers, settling
14 Crutse of the *‘Alert.”’
on the water close to our stern, in flocks of twelve or fourteen,
and feeding greedily on the rubbish thrown overboard. It seems
that the natural food of these birds (which probably consists of
the minute surface organisms) is not within their reach when the
surface of the water is unbroken, and hence during calms they
are more than commonly anxious to. avail themselves of any offal
thrown overboard. It was most interesting to observe the neat and
graceful way in which they plant their webbed feet on the water, as
with outstretched wings and legs erect they maintain a stationary
attitude while pecking at the object of their fancy. They appeared
to scrupulously avoid wetting the tarsi, and still to use the feet
as a means of maintaining a fixed position on the surface of the
water. I had never previously observed those untiring little navi-
gators at rest in mid-ocean, but on this occasion we all saw them,
with wings closed, floating as placidly on the water as ducks in a
millpond. The old idea of their following ships only before and
during stormy weather is, I believe, now quite exploded. I think
that within the tropics, at all events, they are most numerous in
the vicinity of ships during calm weather. Finding animal life
scarce at the surface, I tried the tow-net sunk to a depth of about
three fathoms, and having previously raked the surface, was enabled
to institute a comparison; the result being that similar species
were captured in both situations, but that a far greater number
of individuals were present in the deeper water. During the day-
time we obtained a number of Crustaceans, several AZt/ania shells,
Globigerina bulloides, and the same conferva as on the previous
day. After dark I got a great quantity of highly phosphorescent
Crustaceans, and one small cuttle-fish.
On the 20th the trade wind returned in full force, and the
monotony of an otherwise uneventful day was varied by the
appearance of a shoal of porpoises, which accompanied us for
some time, moving along abreast of us and about two hundred
yards off on our starboard beam, and making themselves con-
spicuous by their usual frisky behaviour.
St. Vincent, Cape de Verde. 15
On the afternoon of the 22nd the high land of San Antonio,
the most northerly of the Cape de Verde Islands, hove in sight,
far away on our starboard bow ; but the evening closing in thick
and dark, and this group being almost without lighthouses, the
captain decided on laying-to until next morning. When about
twenty miles off, we received a visit from a good-sized hawk,
evidently out on a foraging tour; he hovered for awhile about
our mastheads, reconnoitring our decks, and then soared away.
As we sailed along the east coast of San Antonio (the largest
island of the Cape de Verde group), we observed a small outlying
island rock, composed of closely packed vertical columnar masses
of rock (probably basaltic), which, from their artificial appearance,
reminded one forcibly of the Giant’s Causeway, or of the Staffa
Columns. The hills of the main island, which sloped up majes-
tically from a low rocky beach to peaks five or six thousand feet
high, were clothed with herbage, whose varying tints of green, to
which the shadows of the secondary peaks added dusky patches
of brown, created a most pleasing landscape.
We reached the harbour of Porto Santo, St. Vincent, on the
afternoon of the 23rd of October, and soon after the anchor was
dropped, those of us who could leave the ship proceeded to land.
As we approached the beach, we were greatly struck by a con-
trivance, new to most of us, for carrying coals from the yard
where it is stowed to the shipping wharves, a distance of nearly
a quarter of a mile,—a row of posts, like those used for telegraph
wires, placed about four yards apart, and supporting on iron
rollers a long endless wire, to which are hung at intervals large
metal buckets containing the coal. There is an incline from the
depdt to the wharf, and consequently, as the full buckets travel
down to the lower end of the circuit, and are canted so as to
discharge their contents, the empty buckets pass up the incline
back to the coalyard, and so a circuit is completed. Most of
the large passenger steamers traversing the South Atlantic find
St. Vincent a convenient place to stop at to replenish their
16 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.”
bunkers, and it is to this coal trade that the island owes its
importance.
After a cursory inspection of the little town, which presented
a very neat and orderly appearance, we strolled out into the -
country, following the direction of the western shore of the bay.
The country exhibited a tolerably green appearance, and we
were informed that vegetation had been exceptionally good
during the previous two years, owing to the rainfall having been
much above the average. Of trees of course there were none to
be seen, and of shrubs only a few stunted representatives, scattered
singly or in patches. A species of rank grass, however, flourished,
and here and there a rather stately fungus raised its head as if in
defiance of its otherwise sterile surroundings, the blown sand of
the foreshore supplying sufficient nutriment for its humble wants.
Of dead shells a great variety were picked up on the beach
between tide marks, including representatives of the genera Avca,
Patella, Cardium, Harpa, Littorina, and Stromdus; a very perfect
Spirula shell was also noticed. The blown-sand ridges above
high-water mark were everywhere perforated by the burrows of
a very active grey-coloured crab (Remites scutellatus), whose feet
terminated in sharp incurved claws admirably adapted for the
creature’s mining operations. Its burrows extended obliquely
downwards, and to a depth of two-feet from the surface of the
blown-sand ridges. A couple of grasshoppers were the only
other additions made on this occasion to our zoological collection.
The afternoon of the next day (24th October) I was enabled
to devote to dredging operations, working over the bay at depths
varying from two to twelve fathoms. From these I obtained
some large and active specimens of a large wing-shell, the Stvombus
pugilis, whose gymnastic performances, when subsequently placed
in a vessel of sea water, excited general interest. Armed with
his long powerful foot, he struck out boldly in all directions, the
operculated extremity acting like a sword blade, and alarming
me for the safety of the seaweeds and other more delicate
Life on the Occean Surface. aie hy
organisms which occupied the same vessel. When disposed to
turn about, it protruded the foot so as to half encircle the shell,
and by then rapidly straightening the organ the desired change
of position was effected. It was very interesting to see the
complete control which the animal thus exercised over its heavy
and apparently unwieldy shell. In twelve fathoms of water we
came upon a great quantity of blue-spined Lc/zini, the tangles
of the dredge in one short haul bringing up about two dozen.
Fishing-lines were also brought into requisition, resulting in the
capture of some fishes of a pale crimson colour, belonging to the
blenny family.
In the evening of this day (24th October) we sailed from St..
Vincent. Up to the 29th instant the north-east trade wind
proved fairly propitious, but it now failed us completely ; and as
we were at this time in latitude 8° N., and there were otherwise
unmistakable indications of our having arrived at the “Doldrums ”
(the region of equatorial calms), steam was had recourse to.
Under this artificial stimulus we proceeded at a rate of from five
to six knots, a speed unfortunately too great for the use of
the tow-net ; and on this occasion the circumstance was all the
more vexatious, as the surface water seemed peculiarly rich in
animal life. Ultimately, however, determining on sacrificing some
bunting in the cause of science, I put a tow-net over the stern,
and the captain aided me materially by towing from the end of
the lower studding-sail boom a ten-foot trawl-net. Between the
two we succeeded in capturing some water insects of the genus
flalobates, several beautiful large /anthineg, but unfortunately
with their fragile shells partly broken and severed from their
rafts; also a Physalia, a small free-swimming Actinia, some
discophorous Medusz, and several Pteropod Molluscs of the
genus Hyalea. For several consecutive days the surface water
after dusk was thronged with the above-mentioned Medusz, whose
tough gelatinous discs, of three inches diameter, continually
clogged up the meshes of the tow-net. On the 2nd of November
1 4 | 2
18 Crutse of the ‘Alert.’
we obtained some Globigerina forms, several Crustaceans, some
minute Pteropods of the genus Cuvieria, and a host of minute
Conferve, of the kind met with previously to the northward of
Madeira. On the afternoon of the 5th of November, when we
were abovt’a hundred miles from St. Paul’s Rocks, we noticed
that the little petrels, which for. weeks had accompanied us in
great numbers, were now feebly represented, and in the evening
were completely gone. Perhaps they had found out their proxi-
mity to terra firma, and were gone for a run on shore, It is
very strange how these birds, which follow ships over the ocean
for thousands of miles,can manage to time their journeys so as to ©
reach land for their breeding season, That the same individuals
do follow ships for such great distances we have good evidence ;
for Captain King, in his voyage of the Adventure and Beagle,
mentions a case in which the surgeon of a ship, coming home
from Australia, having caught a Cape pigeon (Dafieon capensis),
which had been following the ship, tied a piece of ribbon to it
as a mark, and then set it free. The bird, recognized in this way,
was observed to follow them for a distance of no less than 5,000
miles. Bs
From the last date to the 9th of November, but little of interest
occurred. One day a petrel (Thalassidroma pelagica) had been
caught with a skein of thread; and on opening the body the
crop was found to contain a number of stony particles, bits of
cinders, minute shells, and otolites of fishes. In the tow-net we
caught a number of Rhizopods, of 34 inch diameter, which kept
continually unfolding and shutting up their bodies in telescopic
fashion. When quiescent, the animal is egg-shaped, and about
the size of a mustard seed; but when elongated, it-is twice that
length, and exhibits a tubular sort of proboscis armed with an
irregular circle of vibrating cilia. We also obtained a Pteropod
resembling the Criseis aciculata, an Ianthina, and some hyaline
amcebiform bodies, which were entirely beyond my powers of
recognition. On the following day we got more of the pretty.
Our Dredging Experiments. | 19
violet shells (/anthina fragilis), several Crustaceans, including a
large and perfect Glass-crab (Phyllosoma), and several large Salpe
and Meduse.
On the 12th of November we entered the north limit of our
surveying ground, being in latitude 17° S., and in the vicinity of
the Abrolhos Bank. Here, in latitude 17° 18’ S., longitude 35° 34’
W., we made a cast with Bailie’s deep-sea sounding apparatus ;
reaching bottom in 1,975 fathoms, and finding it to consist of
“Globigerina mud,” of a pasty tenacity, tinged with red, and
containing a great mass of Globigerina tests, whole and frag-
mentary. Later in the day, when in latitude 17° 32' S., longitude
35 46 W., we again sounded, getting bottom in 700 fathoms,
and kLringing up a sort of light-grey ooze. Towards evening we
struck soundings in .thirty-five fathoms, over the Hotspur Bank.
There we made a successful haul of the dredge, finding the bottom
composed of dead coral encrusted with Nullipores, Polyzoa, and
slimy Algz, and containing in its crevices some Crustaceans of
the genera Actza and Corallana, anda few Annelids. The stony
masses of coral which we brought up were pierced in all direc-
tions by boring molluscs; and one specimen of a long elaborately
woven sponge (which has since been described by Mr. S. O.
Ridley, of the British Museum, as a new variety of Cladochalina
armigera) was found attached to a lump of coral.
The next day we sounded in latitude 18° 4’ S., longitude
36° 1 W,, using the Lucas wire sounder. We reached bottom
in 300 fathoms, the bulldog apparatus bringing up fragments of
coral rock encrusted with calcareous Algz.. In the afternoon we
passed into deeper water, sounding over the Globigerina ooze
area, in 1,395 and 2,025 fathoms. The surface water again
_ exhibited the same conferva-like bodies which were so abun-
dantly obtained near Madeira. The Pyrocystis noctiluca was
also largely represented; and in the evening the tow-net was
found to contain small cuttle fish, some dead spirorbis shells,
specimens of the Criseis ariculata, Cleodora pyramidata, and of
20 Cruise of the ‘*‘Alert.”’
a species of Hylea, and a thick fleshy Pteropod, a species of
Pneumodermon, small globe fishes, many long, transparent, stalk-
eyed Crustaceans, and other minute members of the same class
‘of Arthropoda.
On the 14th of November we sounded in latitude 19° 43’ S.,
longitude 36°5’ W., the bottom consisting of a pale chocolate-
coloured tenacious mud. Towards evening we reached the position
of the Montague Bank, which is indicated on the chart as a bank
about three miles long, and in one part covered by only thirty-~
six fathoms of water. We sounded for this bank repeatedly,
but in vain, nowhere getting bottom with 470 fathoms of line.
The ship was now allowed to drift during the night-time, sound-
ings being made from time to time; and towards morning we
filled our sails to a northerly breeze, and stood on for the Victoria
Bank. In the afternoon we met with a large school of sperm whales
(Physeter macrocephalus), displaying to advantage, as usual, their
huge cylindrical snouts, and alternately their great spreading tails;
this circling exercise appearing to be a favourite amusement of theirs,
On reaching the Victoria Bank, we hauled the dredge in thirty-
nine fathoms, but dropping on a rugged coral bottom, the bag
was torn to pieces; however, the tangles contained numbers of an
oval-shaped sponge, varying in length from a quarter of an inch
to an inch, and studded with beautiful glassy spicules (determined
by Mr. Ridley tobe a new species of Chalina), and also numbers
of the genera Vioa, Nardoa, Aphocera, and Grantia. Among
Polyzoa, the genera Canda, Membranipora, Cribrillina, Gigantopora,
Rhyncopora, Smittia, and Cellepora were represented. Our opera-
tions in the Abrolhos region being now at an end, we shaped a
course for Monte Video.
On the 22nd of November, when we were a hundred miles
from the Brazilian coast, and in about the latitude of Rio, great
numbers of moths appeared, hovering about the ship, and settling
on the rigging. The wind was at the time blowing freshly from
the westward; but the moths appeared, strange to say, as if
Vitality of the Sphinx Moth. 21
coming up from the south-eastward. Conspicuous among them
by their great numbers as well as by their formidable appear-
ance, were the Sphinx moths. These large insects seemed gifted
with marvellous powers of flight; for although the wind amounted
to a fresh breeze, I noticed that they were not only able to hold
their own, but even to make headway against it. We concluded,
however, that nearer in shore the wind was much stronger, perhaps
reaching us so as an upper current, and that it had consequently
blown them off the land. Later in the day the Lepidoptera
were represented in still greater variety, so that altogether the
ship exhibited an unusually sportive appearance; men and officers
alike striking out with their caps here and there, as they pursued
the objects of their fancy. In the course of the day I collected
no less than seventeen species, of which fourteen were moths, and
the remainder butterflies. As illustrating the great tenacity of
life of the Sphinx moths, I may mention that, in the case of one
refractory individual, it was only after employing all the deadly
resources at the time at my command, viz., prussic acid, ammonia,
oxalic acid, chloroform, crushing the thorax, etc. that I could
succeed in removing all the ordinary manifestations of life.
However, as, after long incarceration in a bottle filled with the
fumes of chloroform, he at length appeared to have succumbed, I
proceeded to remove the contents of his large fleshy body. This
done, I filled in the body with cotton wadding, and placing the
specimen on one side, proceeded to operate on another. But no
~ sooner had I put down the specimen thus prepared, than it pro-
ceeded to kick about in a most vigorous way, and otherwise gave
unmistakable signs of vitality. On turning it on its legs, it
crawled about, clung to my finger, and seemed to imply that
it could get on just as well with a cotton interior as with the
whole complicated apparatus of intestine and so forth, which it
had given me so much trouble to remove.
It was a strange cuincidence, that among the contents of the
tow-net on this occasion was a large black Chrysalis. It also
22 Cruise of the “Alert.”
contained a great number of little phosphorescent spheres, which,
under a high magnifying power, proved to be similar to the bodies
described by Sir Wyville Thompson, under the term Pyrocystis
noctiluca. On the same day we entered the Albatross region, one
large white bird (Diomedea exulans) and several sooties (Diomedea
fuliginosa) soaring around our ship. Some land birds were also
seen, one of which, a species of finch (?) was captured and
preserved. |
On the 24th of November we approached within eighty miles of
the Brazilian coast, and on getting soundings in forty-eight fathoms,
immediately put the dredge overboard. The hempen tangles con-
tained starfishes of three or four species, and the bag brought up
a mass of bluish tenacious mud, which, on, sifting, was found to
contain some Crustaceans and tube-building Annelids, and many
small shells, living and dead, of the genera Dentalium, Hyalea,
Arca, and others. About the same time a turtle was observed
floating on the water. |
On the forenoon of the 26th, land—the coast of Uruguay—was
_ in view on our starboard beam, a long low line of beach, whose
uniform outline was broken by a conspicuous tall lighthouse, which
stamped the locality as Cape Santa Maria. A few hours later
we obtained a view of Lobos Islands, a bare-looking uninviting
mass of rock, situated just off Maldonado Point; and as we now
fairly entered the estuary of the Plate, a number of large gulls
(apparently of the genus Dominicanus) joined us, eagerly picking
up any offal cast overboard.
We arrived at Monte Video on the 27th of November, and
stayed until the 14th of December, during this time making
several trips into the country.
On one occasion I went by train to a place called Colon,
about ten miles to the N.W. of Monte Video. Starting from the
central station of the Northern Railway, I took my seat in a clean
well-fitted carriage, with two other passengers, one of whom, my
vis-a-vis, might have realized one’s ideas of a Guy Fawkes. In the
We arrive at Monte Video. 23
course of the journey, this individual somewhat surprised me by
diving his hand into a back coat pocket, and producing therefrom
a formidable-looking silver-sheathed dagger, which, however, to
my relief, he quietly laid down beside him on the seat, perhaps
that he might the more conveniently stretch himself out ; possibly
because he thought me a suspicious companion, and wished to
show in time that he was not unprepared in case of an attack.
About Colon the country was open enough, presenting to the eye
a great bare tract of weedy-looking land varied by gently undulat-
ing hills, and studded with oxen innumerable; the farm-houses,
low structures disposed about half a mile apart, hardly breaking
the monotony of the landscape. Here and there a gaily capari-
soned Gaucho cantered about, apparently without any fixed object,
except to enjoy his liberty, and gave a picturesque character to
the scene. These Gauchos are really fine-looking fellows, well
mounted, and most excellent horsemen. They have about them
a certain air of well-fed contentment, which, in spite of their known
ferocity, almost elicits admiration. It is a popular error to apply
the term’ “ Gaucho” indiscriminately to all the horse-riding com-
- munity of the lower classes, for the term is properly only appli-
cable to those homeless wandering horse-riders whose sole worldly
possession consists of a horse and its trappings, who roam about
from place to place, picking up whatever they can appropriate by
fair means or foul, and who, consequently, do not enjoy a very high
reputation among the settled inhabitants. The word “Gaucho” is
looked upon as a term of reproach, and an honest, self-respecting
peasant so addressed would reply, “No, Sefior, no soy Gaucho, soy
Paysano.” By a clever stroke of policy the present dictator of
Uruguay, Sefior Letore, has almost succeeded in putting a stop
to the infamous practice of “cattle lifting,” formerly so common
among the “Gauchos.” Their equipment usually includes a long
strip of hide, ostensibly carried as a tether for the horse, but
frequently turned to account as a lasso.
Description of Channel Fuegians. 49
coasts, and during this season there is a great gathering of natives
about: the “rookeries,” as the sealers call them, so that for a
short portion of the year these unfortunate wretches can luxuriate
upon a diet of fresh meat. - |
They are of low stature, the men averaging 5 ft. 1 in. in height,
while the women are still shorter. Of eight men whom I measured
carefully, the extremes were 4 ft. 10 in. and 5 ft. 3 in.; so that
there is a strong contrast between them and their neighbours
in the same latitude, the Patagonians, whose average stature (I
speak of the men only) is 5 ft. 10 in. Their complexion is
of an ochrey copper colour; the eyes are dark, and placed close
together ; the upper eyelid curving downwards abruptly as it
approaches the nasal side, or inner canthus, in such a way as
to give an appearance of obliquity in the eye, which reminds
one of that feature in the face of a Japanese. The sclerotics,
or so-called “white” of the eye, have a yellow tinge, and in
the adults the conjunctiva is injected or bloodshot, probably from
their habit of sitting over a smoky wood fire. The upper lip is
thin and curved; and when a grimace is made, it tightly embraces
the teeth, so as to communicate a peculiarly wicked expression to
the countenance. The maxilla are broad, and the teeth are of
glistening whiteness. In the female the front teeth present an
even regular line; but in the male adult there is usually a front
tooth missing, as if knocked out designedly. The hair is long,
black, and coarse, and is peculiar in growing sometimes from the
temples, as well as from the scalp, a circumstance from which the
forehead acquires a narrow pyramidal appearance. There are no
whiskers, but on the lips and chin a few scattered hairs are seen.
The upper extremities and trunk are well formed, but the legs
are very poorly developed, so much so as to seem out of pro-
portion to the rest of the body. The skin overlying the kneecaps
is particularly loose, baggy, and wrinkled when the native stands
erect, a circumstance which, in the case of the southern Fuegian,
is very justly attributed (wide Voyage of Adventure and Beagle,
4
50 Cruise of the **Alert.”
p. 176) to the practice of frequently sitting on the heels, with the
legs flexed to a maximum.
Some of the emotions are expressed by very decided contortions
of the features and limbs. Delight, when intense, is shown by a
display of the closed teeth, accompanied by a clucking sound, and
a curious up and down bobbing motion of the body. Eagerness
is expressed by a clucking sound and. a frothing of the lips.
Anger is characterised by a tightening of the upper lip, a pro-
trusion of the lower jaw or mandible, and a slight display of the
upper incisors.
The men are almost entirely naked, sometimes wearing a
square piece of sealskin suspended from the neck, and hanging
over either shoulder. This seems to be intended as a sort of
weather screen ; but, strangely enough, it is one of the first things
parted with when a chance of bartering occurs. Although so
careless about protecting their bodies against the rigour of the
weather, it was nevertheless evident that they were keenly sensible
to the cold; for they were frequently to be seen with their teeth
chattering, and trembling from head to foot, as the rain, wind,
and spray swept over their unprotected skins. The women
generally have a large skin mantle, which they wear with the hair
turned outwards. Those with infants carry the child in a pouch
between the shoulders; but those not so burdened readily part
with their only covering for a plug of tobacco. That these
people should attach any value to tobacco is difficult to under-
stand; for not only are they unprovided with native pipes in
which to smoke it, but, as far as we could judge, they had never
enjoyed sufficient opportunities of doing so to render the process
anything but highly unpleasant, although its anticipation undoubt-
edly afforded them great pleasure. In fact, one or two whiffs of
smoke were sufficient to put a man into the nauseated and giddy
condition familiar to every schoolboy when he makes his first
trial of tobacco,
Although the dress of the women is, as I have mentioned, far
[To face p. 50.
BEACH,
HAULED UP ON
CANOE OF ‘*CHANNEL FUEGIANS”
*
2
er ee) Fie
a
Clothing—Hunting Appliances. 51
from elaborate, they otherwise evinced the usual love of their sex
for articles intended to be ornamental. They commonly wore
round their throats necklaces composed of margarita shells,
porpoise teeth, or fragments of calcareous worm-tubes, strung
together. Their faces, as well as those of the men, were some-
times daubed with black charcoal, and sometimes with a paste
composed of white wood-ashes, but with what precise object we
did not ascertain.
The affection of these savages for their children does not seem
to be of a very stable character; for, by all accounts, they are willing
to part with them for a trifling consideration. A Fuegian boy,
christened Tom Picton, whom we took on board in the Trinidad
Channel, quitted his relations without any manifestation of reluc-
tance; and they, on their part, were readily conciliated by the
gift of a few necklaces and some biscuit. In Byron’s narrative
of the loss of the Wager, there is a most interesting account of
his wanderings among the natives of the Gulf of Pefias. He
mentions that, on one occasion, a savage was so exasperated with
his son, a child of three years, who had accidentally dropped into
the water a basket containing some sea-eggs (Echinz), that he
“caught the boy up in his arms, and dashed him with the utmost
violence against the stones,” the child dying soon afterwards.
Their hunting appliances. are few and simple; the canoe is a
rude structure, but answers its purpose well enough. It is con-
structed of five planks, of which one, about 20 ft. by 2% in width,
forms the bottom, and the other four, each 14 ft. wide, form the
sides. The bottom plank is turned up at the ends, so as to form
a flat bow and stern of nearly similar shape; and to this, as well
as to each other, the side planks are laced by the long flexible
stem of a creeping plant, which is passed through rude squarish
holes, about one inch in area, which are made in an even row
close to the edges of the planks. The material used for the
lacing appeared to be the stem of the Campsidium chilense, a
creeper which grows to a great length, is very abundant, and is
52 Cruise of the ‘* Alert.”
remarkable for its exceeding toughness. Caulking is effected by
stuffing the seams with bark, over which a lacing is carried, and
the squarish holes are finally plugged with some vegetable pulpy
matter, of which moss is the chief constituent. Two oars, with
very large broad blades, are used for propelling the boat, and not
paddles, as in the case of the southern Fuegians. A young
woman, seated in the stern sheets, steers very dexterously with a
short paddle. Such rude boats leak, of course, a good deal, and
hence require constant baling out. This office is performed by
the o/d woman of the party, who, crouching amidships, bales out
the water with a bark bucket.
Spears of two kinds are used, one for fishing, the other for
sealing. The one for sealing, which is rather a harpoon than a
spear, has an arrow-shaped bone head, which is movable, and
is attached by a slack line of hide to the spear shaft. The use of
the loose line is probably to facilitate the capture of the seal, into
which the movable arrow-head has been driven by the impetus
conveyed through the detachable shaft. A harpoon similarly
constructed is used by the Eskimo hunters for a like purpose.
The fish spear is a formidable weapon, having a long bone head
securely fixed to the shaft, and with many deep serrations along
one side. The shafts of both are about eight feet long, and are
made of the young stems of a coniferous tree, the Libocedrus
letragonus.
Every party that we met with was provided with an iron axe
of some kind. The axes are usually made of bits of scrap iron
which have been picked up from wrecks, or obtained by barter
from passing vessels. Sometimes, though rarely, an axe of civi-
lization pattern is seen. In other cases the piece of iron, having
been ground into a rude triangular shape, is fitted into a wooden
handle, as some of the old stone celts are supposed to have been ;
that is to say, the small end. of the axehead is jammed into a
hole made near the end of a stout piece of stick. I may here
mention that, in spite of a most diligent search, I have once, but
—
Llomes of the Channel Fuegians. 53
only once, succeeded in finding a STONE axehead. It was of very
primitive shape—being only in part ground—and was found lying
among the shells of a very old abandoned kitchen-midden.
For holding drinking water they use large cylindrical buckets, |
which are made from the bark of the Drimys winteri; the single
scroll-shaped piece which forms the cylinder and the disc-shaped
bottom being sewn together with rushes. From this same kind
of rush plant, which they use so frequently for making temporary
hitches, they make three-plaited ropes for mooring the canoes,
and also baskets to hold shell fish, The kind of plait used in
fashioning their baskets is a simple network, which must, however,
be tedious to construct, owing to the necessity for frequently
splicing the rushes. :
Their huts somewhat resemble small haycocks in general shape,
but are rather oblong, the floor (which is never excavated, as in
the case of some of the southern Fuegians) usually measuring ten
by twelve feet ; the height in the centre is six feet, so that one
of us could always stand upright when in the middle of the hut.
A skeleton framework is made of boughs, whose thicker ends are
stuck in the ground, while the terminal twigs are made to inter-
lace, and are moreover secured to each other by rush lashings.
The required amount of shelter is obtained by placing leafy
boughs and dried sealskins over the framework of the hut. A
fire is kept burning in the centre; and when the boat is about
to be used, a few burning sticks are transferred to it, and kept
alight on a clay flooring amidships.
I have never seen their appliances for strikirig a light, but
I have no doubt they use iron pyrites, with dried moss or down
for tinder, as do the southern Fuegians, from whom I have ob-
tained these appliances. These materials for obtaining fire are
very judiciously guarded, and are the only articles among the
properties of a canoe which are not submitted for barter. The
“Pecheray” Fuegians keep their stock of tinder in water-tight
pouches, made of the dried intestine of the seal. (?)
54 Cruise of the “Alert.”
Neither stone slings, bows and arrows, nor bolas, are used by
_the Channel Fuegians, so that altogether, with respect to hunting
appliances, they are in a more primitive state than any of the’
southern tribes.
The remains of the deceased, so far as we have known, are
deposited in caves in out-of-the-way localities. During the
voyage of Sarmiento, towards the latter end of the 16th century,
a cave containing human remains was found in a small island
called the “ Roca Partida,” or cleft rock ; and subsequently, when
the shipwrecked crew of the Wager, one of Commodore Anson’s
ships, were wandering about the Gulf of Pefias, Mr. Wilson, the
surgeon, discovered near the seashore a large cave which con-
tained the skeletons of several human beings (vide Byron’s
narrative of the loss of the Wager, Burney’s Voyages). During
the surveying cruise of H.M.S. Nassau, in 1866-9, a diligent
search was made for such burial places, but without success ;
but, on the other hand, no signs were observed of any other
method of disposing of the dead, either by fire, as in the case
of some of the southern tribes, or by covering the bodies with
branches of trees, as described by Fitzroy. However, during
our late survey of the Trinidad Channel, we found a small cave
containing portions of two skeletons in a limestone islet, near
Port Rosario, on the north side of Madre de Dios Island; and
this would seem to have been used as a burial-place, at some
very remote period. The remains have been deposited in the
British Museum.
It has been stated by the late Admiral Fitzroy, on the autho-
rity of Mr. Low, a sealing captain, that during times of great
scarcity of food, these savages do not scruple to resort to canni-
balism, and that for this purpose they select as victims the old
women of the party, killing them by squeezing their throats,
while holding their heads over the smoke of a green wood fire.
Mr. Low’s evidence on this point is so circumstantial, being
derived from a native interpreter who served on board his ship
Treachery of Savages—-Dialects. 55
for fourteen months, that it can hardly be doubted. On this
subject I can only add that we noticed a singularly small pro-
portion of old people, whether male or female, among the parties
of natives with whom we met. This circumstance may support
Mr. Low’s opinion, or it may be the natural consequence of the
short span of life which is allotted to these wretched people.
Regarding the treachery of these savages, there can be no
doubt. Their faces alone indicate it, but unfortunately further
evidence is not wanting. We recently met with a small sealing
schooner, the Anita, of Sandy Point, the master of which—
a Frenchman, named Lamire—gave us a detailed account of an
attack made upon his vessel about two years ago, when he was
“sealing” at the north end of Picton Channel. He lay at anchor
one night in fancied security, when he was surprised by a large
party of natives who came alongside in seven canoes. A dreadful
struggle ensued, in which his crew defended themselves with their
guns against the axes, spears, sticks, and stones, of their savage
assailants. The natives were eventually driven off, but not before
five of the sealers had lost their lives. The sealers are now well
aware of the anxiety of the natives to gain possession of their
vessels, and consequently put no trust in their overtures of
friendship. A white man is feared only so long as his party
is known to be the strongest.
Fitzroy has described six tribes of Fuegians who speak differ-
ent dialects, and also differ somewhat in their habits. These
are (1) the Yacanas, or inhabitants of the north portion of King
Charles’s South Land; (2) the Tekeenicas, who live in south-
eastern Fuegia; (3) the Alikhoolips, who inhabit the South-
Western Islands; (4) the Pecherays, a small tribe of savages
who hover about the middle and western part of the Straits of
Magellan; (5) the Huemuls, so called from the Chilian name
of a deer which has been found about Skyring Water and
Obstruction Sound, the head-quarters of this tribe ; and (6) the
Fuegians who inhabit the shores and islands ot western Pata-
56 Cruise of the “Alert.”
gonia, between the parallels of 47° and 52°, and whom Fitzroy
denominates the Chonos or Channel Fuegians. In Fitzroy’s
account of the Fuegians, he naturally selected as his type the
people with whom he was best acquainted, viz. the Tekcenicas,
who inhabit the shores of the Beagle Channel. These people
build conical wigwams, which are made of large poles leaning
to from a circular base, with their upper ends meeting in a
point. Their canoes are built of bark, and are small and skiff-
shaped. They also use bows and arrows, and stone slings, and
in this respect are considerably in advance of the Channel
Fuegians.
In their methods of disposing of the dead, the Fuegian tribes
differ somewhat strangely. Fitzroy tells us that among the
Tekeenicas, Alikhoolips, and Pechcrays, the bodies of the dead
are carried a long way into the interior of the forest, where they
are placed upon broken timber, and then covered up _ with
branches. On this subject some information has recently been
obtained from the missionaries, who have now for some years
maintained a settlement at a place called Ushuwia, in the
Beagle Channel. We heard, on the authority of these gentlemen,
that a form of cremation is now commonly practised among the
Tekeenicas, and that charred human bones may often be found
among the embers of the funeral pyre. The Fuegians of the
Western Channels, as I have mentioned already, deposit their
dead in caves.
To continue with Tom Bay. The month of January is here
the breeding season with most of the water birds. About the
middle of the month the steamer-ducks (Zachyeres cinereus) and
the kelp geese (Bernicla antarctica) were paddling about with their
young ones; and the oyster-catchers (Hematopus leucopus, and ater),
with their young broods, occupied the small low rocky islets,
where they made themselves conspicuous by their shrill piping
cry. We remarked that the kelp geese, which, as a rule, never
wet their feet, except with the damp seaweed of the fore-shore,
Our Bird Visitors at Tom Bay. 57
take to the water as soon as the young are hatched, being pro-
bably induced to do so in order the better to protect their goslings
from the hawks and rats. The male and female adult birds differ
remarkably in plumage; that of the female being almost black,
with a few white dots and dashes, whereas the feathers of the
male are perfectly white. The sombre colour of the female is
probably intended as a protection during the hatching time, when
she remains almost continuously on the eggs, while the gander
does sentry in some conspicuous position adjacent. Whenever at
this time of the year a solitary gander is seen standing on a
projecting point or headland, it may safely be inferred that his
faithful consort is on her nest somewhere within sixty yards.
Even under these circumstances it is by no means an easy matter
to find the nest ; for the black plumage of the female assimilates
with the dark wind-blown seaweed and rank grass in which her
nest is made, and she lies so close that she will not stir until
almost walked on. While the birds are immature (zz. less than
one year old) the sexes are scarcely distinguishable, the plumage
of both male and female being an almost equal mixture of white
and black colours.
The ashy-headed brent goose (Chloephaga poliocephala), remark-
able for the splendid chestnut colour of its breast, is the only
other goose met with in these western channels, The common
Magellan and Falkland Islands goose (C. A/agellanica) does not,
as a rule, extend its range to the damp western regions.
About the islets adjacent to the Tom Bay anchorage were
great numbers of abandoned huts, and at some the size of the
shell mounds and the compactness of the bottom layers indicated
considerable antiquity. These mounds are principally composed
of mussel and limpet shells, the latter predominating ; and
among the interstices were great numbers of insects and worms.
There was one very old grass-covered mound near our anchorage,
of which we made a thorough examination by digging cross-
section trenches. Besides the usual shells, there were a few seal
58 Cruise of the ‘Alert.’
bones and sterna of birds, and at a depth of four feet from the
surface we found a partly disintegrated bone spear-head, which
was different in shape from any which we saw among the natives
either before or subsequently. Instead of being rounded, it was
flattened from side to side, like a very large arrow-head. In most
of the other shell heaps which we examined, bones of the nutria
(Myopotamus coypu) and of the otter (Lutra felina) were observed.
To the westward of our anchorage (z.¢., in the large island of
Madre de Dios) was a long narrow inlet, partly overhung with
trees, which communicated by a shallow bar with a brackish
lagoon of about thirty acres in extent. At low water there was
only about three feet of water on the bar, and we could then see
that the bottom was covered with huge white sessile barnacles
(the “picos” of the Chilians), growing closely together. During the
ebb and flood tides the current ran fiercely over this bar, so as
to render it an exceedingly difficult matter to pull through the
channel when the tide was adverse. This lagoon was a favourite
haunt of the Magellan sea otter (Lutra felina), which is abundant
in all these waters, but is very difficult to kill without the aid of
dogs. Its “runs” are generally strewn with the shells of a large
spiny crab (the Lzthodes antarctica), which appears to form its
principal food. I have seen an otter rise to the surface with one
of these hideous-crabs in its mouth, as unpalatable a morsel, one:
would think—for it is armed all over with strong spines—as a
“knuckleduster.” In the A/ert, the great feat of sportsmanship
was to shoot and bag an otter; for if the animal be not struck
in the head, and killed outright at the first shot, it is almost
certain to make a long dive, crawl up the beach in the shade of
the overhanging bushes, and escape. |
When exploring in a small boat the winding shores of this lagoon,
we one day came upon a little sequestered cove, where there was
a luxuriant growth of Desfontainea bushes, and on landing on the
shingly beach we saw, by the way in which the larger stones had
been moved aside, that the place had been used by the natives
A Native * Portage.’ 59
for hauling up their canoes. On walking through the long rank
grass, which encroached on the beach, we tripped over some logs
which seemed to have been arranged artificially, and we then
discovered that we were at the extremity of.a “ portage,” intended
for conveying boats overland. On tracing it up, we found a sort
of causeway leading into the forest; and after following it for
about three hundred yards, we ascertained that we had crossed a
narrow isthmus, of whose existence we were previously unaware,
and had reached the shore of an arm of the sea (probably Delgado
Bay), which communicates with the Trinidad Channel not many
miles to the eastward of Port Henry. It was evident that by
means of this “portage” the natives were able to proceed from
Concepcion Channel, wé@ Tom Bay, towards the outer coasts,
without undertaking the much longer and more hazardous journey
through the main channels round Point Brazo, The logs forming
the “portage” were partly imbedded in the ground, and were
arranged parallel to each other, like the sleepers of a railway, and
at a distance of about two feet apart. ‘There was, however, no
appearance of the natives having recently visited the place. We
had reason to believe that these “ portages” were of frequent
occurrence, and were largely used by the natives, and that it was
owing to the facilities thus afforded them for crossing isthmuses
and the necks of promontories that they were enabled to surprise
sailing vessels at anchor, approaching them unobserved from the
landlocked side of bays and inlets at a time when the attention of
the sailors on “look-out” was naturally only directed towards the
entrance of the harbour which had previously seemed to them to
be untenanted. The “portages” are so concealed by a luxuriant
growth of grass and brushwood that they readily escape observation,
The brackish lagoons, which are fed continuously by fresh-
water streams, and receive an influx of sea water while the flood
tide is making, are a peculiar feature of this Patagonian archi-
pelago, and we usually found that the outlets were excellent places
for catching fish. Our fishing parties were in the habit of placing
60 Cruise of the “Alert.”
a “trammel” net across the outlet while the tide was ebbing, and
in this way entrapped great quantities of mullet and mackerel ;
sometimes upwards of eighty, ranging in weight from two to
eleven pounds per fish, being taken at one haul.
I collected some green flocculent matter from the surface of
one of these lagoons, and found it to consist almost entirely of
diatoms.
One fine day in April we noticed a great concourse of gulls
and shags, attracted by a shoal of fish, in the pursuit of which
they ventured unusually close to the ship. This gave us an
opportunity of observing that the common brown gull of the
channels, the female of ZL. Dominicanus, behaves towards the male
bird in many respects like a skua. No sooner would one of the
“black-backed” (male) birds capture a fish, and rise from the
surface, than he would be attacked by one of the brown birds,
and chased vigorously about the harbour; the predatory bird not
desisting from the pursuit until the coveted prize had been dropped
by its rightful owner. This I noticed on more occasions than one.
As a rule, however, the female was content to fish for herself.
Several Dominican gulls in immature plumage were seen amongst
the crowd, and were easily distinguished from the adults by the
mottled brown plumage, and by the colour of the mandibles being
green instead of orange, as in the males, and black as in the
females. Now and then the whole flock of gulls and shags would
rise on the wing, as they lost the run of the shoal of fish.
They would then be directed to the new position of the shoal by
the success of some straggling bird, when a general rush would
be made to the new hunting ground. It was most amusing to
witness the widely different fishing powers of the shags and gulls,
and the consequently unequal competition in the struggle for food.
The shag in flight, on observing a fish beneath him, at once
checks himself by presenting the concave side of his wings to the
direction in which he has been moving, and then, flapping legs
foremost into the water, turns and dives; whereas the gull has
[To face p. 60,
OVERLAND,
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CANOES
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Flabits of Gulls and Shags— Steamer-ducks.” 61
first to settle himself carefully as he alights on the water, and has
then to trust to the chance of some unsophisticated fish coming
within reach of his bill. It was impossible to avoid noticing the
mortified appearance of the poor gulls as they looked eagerly
about, but yet caught only an odd fish, whilst their comrades, the
shags, were enjoying abundant sport.
It is odd that the silly gull manages at all to survive in the
struggle for existence. Here is another instance of his incapacity.
A piece of meat, weighing a few ounces, drifted astern of the
ship one day, and for its possession a struggle took place between
a dominican gull and a brown hawk. The gull had picked up
the meat, and was flying away with it in his bill, when he was
pursued by the hawk—a much smaller bird—who made him
drop it. Again the gull picked it up, and for a second time
was compelled by the hawk to relinquish it. The latter now
swooped down upon the tempting morsel, as it floated on the
water, and seizing it with his claws, flew off rapidly into an
adjoining thicket, to the edge of which he was followed by the
disappointed gull.
Steamer-ducks (TZachyeres cinereus) are very abundant at Tom
Bay, as indeed they are throughout all the western channels.
Their English name, “ steamer-duck,” has reference to their habit
of moving rapidly along the surface of the water by means ofa
paddling motion of the wings, and leaving a wake of foam which
resembles, on a small scale, that of a paddle-steamer. A great
deal has been written about these remarkable birds, and I shall
not therefore attempt any general description, which at the best
would only involve useless repetition. There are a few remarks
about them, however, which I should like to make. Although
aware of the careful investigations made by Dr. Cunningham in
1866-9, and his conclusion as to their being but one species, I
have yet some reason to believe that the fliers and the non-
flying birds which I have seen belong to two distinct species,
and my impression is—though I am by no means sure—that
62 Cruise of the “Alert.”
the volant species frequents the fresh waters in the intcrior of
Patagonia, and in the western channels is only represented by
an odd straggler. Mr. Cox, of Talcahuano, who has travelled
in Araucania and central Patagonia, mentions in his narrative,
that in the fresh-water lakes of the latter district there are two
different species of ‘steamer-ducks, one of which possesses the
power of flight. Immature specimens, although differing in the
colour of the bill, and somewhat in plumage, from the adult
birds, need not be confounded with a second species. The largest
steamer-duck which I have come across weighed only 14 Ibs.
and although text books assign a much greater weight as the
extreme limit, I think I am right in saying that few heavier
birds are met with either in the Straits of Magellan or in the
western channels. The female forms a low, oval-shaped nest of
twigs, lined with a thick coating of down, and deposits therein
six large cream-coloured eggs, 32 in. long; by 2} in width. The
nest is usually placed on the ground, at the foot of an old tree,
some few yards from the beach, but in a place where the bush is
almost impenetrable to a human being.
Land shells must be exceedingly scarce. I met with repre-
sentatives of only four species, of which one, a specimen of Helix,
I found on the frond of a Hymenophyllum at Tom Bay. Two
others of the same genus were taken from the rotten trunk of
a tree in the same locality. At Port Henry, in the Trinidad
Channel, and other parts in the neighbourhood, I collected several
specimens of a species of Szccinea, which clings to dead leaves
and decayed pieces of driftwood lying on the shore just above
high-water mark. These four species of shells have since been
described by Mr. Edgar Smith, of the British Museum, as new
to science. In a fresh-water lake, where I made some casts
of a light dredge, I obtained from the bottom of stinking mud
several examples of a large Unio shell, and some small shells
of the genus C/ilinia. I afterwards found species of Unio in
a stream issuing from the lake. North of the English Narrows,
fresh-water Fish. 63
many pond snails of the genus C%i/inia were also found abun-
dantly in the stream beds.
I have found only two species of fresh-water fish, Haplochiton
zebra, and a small Ga/axias; and they inhabit most of the upland
lakes which are of any considerable extent. The former is a
smooth-skinned fish, with the general shape and fin arrangement
of a grayling, but with a dark scaleless skin. It averages half
a pound in weight, ranging up to three-quarters; and although
it rose like a trout, we could not succeed in making it take
the artificial fly, but caught it readily with worm-bait. These
fish were also met with in mountain lakes far removed from
the sea, whither their ova were probably, in the first instance,
conveyed by cormorants. On one occasion Sir George Nares
caught a specimen of this fish in a brackish lagoon, which com-
municated with the sea at high tide, so that it may have been
derived from a marine progenitor which possessed the power of
adapting itself to a fresh-water existence,
In the course of our survey of Concepcion Strait, we stopped
for six days, in the month of March, at Portland Bay, an anchor-
age on the east side of the strait, and nearly opposite to Tom
Bay. On the forenoon of our third day, a party of natives
pulled in from the westward, with their canoe well- provisioned
with shell-fish, as if they were about making a long voyage.
There were three men, four women, three children, and four
dogs. They were provided with a good iron axe, bone-pointed
spears, a boat-rope made of plaited rushes, and other rude
implements. It was evident that this party had previously met
with some friendly vessel, for they readily came on board, and
poked about the ship. Two of us went on a visit to their
camp on the following day, but were received very ungraciously
by a villainous-looking old hag armed with a club, who depre-
cated any attempt at landing on our part. We could only
examine the canoe, which we found to be twenty-two feet long,
four feet in beam amidships, and in other respects of the usual
64 Cruise of the “Alert.”
construction. On the next day we pulled over again, but only
to find the hut deserted, and the party gone. We inferred,
from various circumstances connected with their disappearance,
that they must have penetrated up the Bay to the eastward,
where there are unexplored channels which are supposed to
extend towards the base of the Cordillera.
On the next day (March 24), a strong westerly breeze, with
occasional rain-squalls, induced most of us to remain on board,
and we were not a little surprised when, about IO a.m., a boat
under sail was reported standing across the Strait towards our
anchorage. On nearer approach it turned out to be a native
canoe, with a large sealskin hoisted in the forepart of the boat,
so as to form a sort of square sail. As the natives came along-
side to beg for biscuit and tobacco, we found that the wretched-
looking boat contained three men, five women, eleven children
(mostly very young), and five dogs. They had shipped a good
deal of water on the passage, as might be expected, and all the
wretched creatures looked as wet as fishes; indeed, to say that
they were wet to the skin would be simply a truism in the case
of the Fuegians. We had not previously noticed so prolific a
family, the proportion of children being usually one for each
woman. I use the word “family,” because each of these canoe
parties appears to constitute a sort of complicated family. One
young mother did not appear to be more than sixteen years
of age. I now inclined to the opinion, which subsequent expe-
rience gave me no reason to alter, that the Channel Fuegians are
a migratory tribe, passing the summer months about the outer
islands, where at that time of the year they may get seals, and
the eggs and young of sea-birds, and in the autumn migrating
up some of the fiords of the mainland, when the deer, driven
down the hills by the winter snows, would be within their reach.
There is no doubt that deer (probably the Cervus chilensis) have
been seen from time to time on this coast. A few years ago
the officers of one of the German steamers of the “Kosmos”
LVative Canoes under Sail. 65
line, stopping at Puerto Bueno about mid-winter, captured three
or four in the immediate vicinity of the anchorage. We our-
selves never met with any, although we saw doubtful indications
of their presence; but further south we obtained portions of
a deer from a native canoe. I was led to form the above-
mentioned idea from comparing the great number of deserted
wigwams which we encountered in our wanderings about these
channels, with the small number of natives actually seen. The
huts alluded to, moreover, bore indications of having been in
use not many months previously, when they were probably
inhabited temporarily by parties of natives on their way to
the outer coasts. Fitzroy would seem to have entertained the
same belief with reference to tribes about Smyth’s Channel,
from the fact that a party of men from his ship, when survey-
ing Obstruction Sound in the swmmer-time, discovered a large
deserted encampment containing many huts and canoes, and
showing signs of its being the site of a great periodical gathering
of the clans.
FUEGIANS OFFERING THEIR CHILDREN FOR BARTER (/. 74).
CHAPTER WE
EXPLORATIONS IN THE TRINIDAD CHANNEL,
N prosecuting the survey of the Trinidad Channel, we anchored,
| for short periods each time, at a great many ports on its
northern and southern shores ; and in crossing and re-crossing the
channel we ran lines of soundings which enabled us to ascertain
roughly the general conformation of its bed. Across the seaward
entrance of the channel, zz. from Cape Gamboa on the north to
Port Henry on the south, the soundings gave a mean depth of
thirty fathoms, showing the existence of a sort of bar, while one
mile inside of this the depth increased to two and three hundred
fathoms. This was just as we expected; the bar across the
entrance representing the terminal moraine of the huge glacier
which originally gouged out the channel, and whose denuding
action is abundantly recorded in the scorings, planings, and stria-
tions so »alpable on all the hard rocks of these inhospitable shores,
At Port Henry, on the southern side of the entrance to the
channel, we anchored several times. The scenery here is very
erand. A clay-slate rock enters largely into the formation of
the hills, its highly inclined strata forming jagged peaks and
ridges of great height ; while the low-lying rock about the coast
is a friable syenite traversed with dikes of greenstone. Imme-
diately to the south of our anchorage was a lofty ridge of
clay-slate hills, terminating above in a multitude of vertical
columns of rock, which from our position on board reminded
us of a cluster of organ pipes, and suggested the name which
Fuegians at Port FTenry. 67
now appears on the chart, of the “Organ-pipe Range.” The
aspect of the vegetation is also different from that of other
ports in these waters, owing to the abundance of a veronica
(V. decussata), which forms large glossy-green bushes, covered
with a profusion of snow-white flowers, and so varies the other-
wise monotonously green appearance of the beech forest.
Only one party of natives was here seen. They at first
approached us very stealthily, paddling between the small islands
off the eastern entrance of the harbour, and after the usual
interchange of signals (waving of green boughs and caps), they
came alongside. The boat was similar in construction and size
to those already examined at Tom Bay and elsewhere; but we
were now greatly struck at perceiving what a load it could
accommodate ; for there were in it sixteen natives and six dogs,
besides provisions, weapons, and camp furniture. The party
consisted of three men, five women, and eight children; and
although they pulled only three oars (the women never taking
part in this work), yet they managed to get along at a fair
pace. On their arrival they were partially clad in seal skins;
but in their eagerness to barter with our seamen, for knives,
tobacco, and such treasures, they soon divested themselves of
all artificial garb, and appeared in a state of nature. It was
noticed that the males, who conducted the barter, compelled
the women to give up their scanty covering. In the way of
provisions, the boat contained a supply of large trumpet shells
(Concholepas) in rush baskets, and the drinking water was carried
in little bark buckets. They encamped near us for the night,
but disappeared unaccountably the next day. )
On our exploring the islets just mentioned, we found a large
deserted encampment, in which we counted the remains of nine
native huts. The refuse-heaps contained a good many seal and
whale bones, besides echinoderms, limpet and trumpet shells,
the latter shell here taking the place of the mussel. The
trumpet shell (Coxcholepas) is found about the entrance of the
68 Cruise of the ‘Alert.’
Trinidad Channel, inhabiting rocky places immediately below
low water mark on the weather (ze. the west) side of islets
which are exposed to the heavy wash of the outer ocean.
I have not seen the shell south of this latitude. The brown
duck (Anas cristata) was here tolerably abundant, and with the
ashy-headed Brent goose, and the two species of oyster-catcher,
were in great request with our sportsmen, being the only edible
birds worth mentioning in the western channels.
From Port Henry we shifted our base of operations to Wolsey
Sound, the next inlet to the eastward. Here we anchored in
an apparently well-sheltered cove, surrounded by lofty hills, but
which we soon found to our cost to be a sort of aerial maelstrom.
A strong westerly gale was blowing over the hilltops, as we
could see by the fast-flying clouds ; while below at the anchorage
we experienced a succession of fierce squalls (williwaws) from
various quarters, with intervals of complete calm; so that the
ship kept swinging to and fro, and circling round her anchors
in a most erratic manner. Eventually one of the cables parted ;
but with the other, aided by steam, we managed to ride out
the gale, and to thoroughly satisfy ourselves that Wolsey Sound
was not one of the anchorages to be recommended to passing
vessels, From the translation given in “ Burney’s Voyages,”
(vol. ii, p. 10), of the journal of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa,
who discovered the Trinidad Channel in the year 1580, it
would appear that this is the same anchorage which his sailors
named “Cache Diablo” (devil’s box-on-the-ear), from the boister-
ous nature of the reception which they experienced.
On the east side of Wolsey Sound the rock of the mountain
masses is for the most part a hard grey unfossiliferous limestone,
irregularly stratified, but sometimes showing a dip of 10° or 15°
to the westward. The most striking peculiarity of this rock
consists in its solubility under the influence of both fresh and
salt water, and it is this property that so often causes it to
present a jagged honey-combed appearance. I noticed that in
2 ———
Native Burtal-place. 69
many places fresh water streams, running over bare patches of
this rock, had eaten away narrow gutter channels, and that in
other places where a broad sheet of water flowed slowly—as
from a turf bank—over a long gently-sloping table of rock,
an incrustation of hard calcareous matter had been deposited,
presenting a sort of “ripple-marked” appearance, and reminding
one of the effect produced when a film of slowly-moving water
is submitted to the influence of intense cold. When viewed
from a distance, the limestone hills presented a whitish bleached
appearance, which contrasted strangely with the sombre hues
of the other greenstone and syenite hills. Of this description
was “Silvertop,” a lofty and conspicuous mountain on -the south
side of the Trinidad Channel, which was frequently used by our
surveyors as a landmark.
The next port to the eastward is Rosario Bay. It was named
by Sarmiento “Puerto de Nuestra Sefiora Del Rosario.” The
rock formation here is limestone, and of the kind above men-
tioned, but the effects of frequent rain in washing away the
more soluble parts of the rock were not only manifested by
the honeycombed appearance of exposed surfaces, but. also by
the prevalence of caves of most irregular shape. Soon after
we had anchored, Sub-lieutenant Beresford and I, who had
gone away in the skiff, were paddling around an islet with
lofty and precipitous sides, when we noticed in the face of a
bare rocky cliff a suspicious-looking dark opening, partly blocked
up with stones, and situated about thirty: feet above the sea
level We ran the boat alongside the rocks, and Beresford
kept her from bumping while I climbed up the cliff to recon-
noitre. On clearing away a heap of stones and rubbish, I laid
bare a sort of niche in the rock, in which were portions of a
human skeleton, the long bones lying together in a compact
bundle, as if they had been so placed there when in the dried
state. Not many yards from this crevice we soon discovered
a small cave in the rock, and partly imbedded in the soil
70 Crutse of the ‘*Alert.”
which formed its floor were a human jaw-bone and fragments
of smaller bones. On excavating the floor of the cave we
found it to consist of a stiff pasty greyish-white -marlclay,
abounding in small shells, amongst which were species of the
genera Patella, Fissurella, Chiton, and Calyptrea. On reaching
a depth of about one foot, we came upon a nearly complete
human skull of immature age, an otter skull with bones of
the same, and the tooth of an Echinus. The human bones
obtained were part of the skeletons of two individuals, one of
whom must have been young, for the epithyses of the long
bones were not quite cemented to the shafts. I noticed that
the skull presented a completely ossified frontal suture, although,
from the nature of the teeth and alveoli, the person to whom
it belonged could not have lived for more than twelve years
or thereabouts. A tibia found in the first depdt bore marks
of having been chopped by some sharp cutting instrument.
From the fact of these bones being found interbedded with
marine deposits, coupled with what we know of these islands
having been elevated within recent times—I here refer to the
evidence afforded by raised beaches and old highwater marks
in the faces of cliffs—there is reason to believe that these
bones were deposited in the cave at a time when it was under
water, that they thus became surrounded by and imbedded in
an ordinary marine shallow water deposit, and that eventually, on
the island being elevated so as to raise the cave to its present
position—thirty feet above sea level—the surface deposit was
reinforced by the percolation of lime-charged water from the
rock above, thus resulting in the formation of the marlclay
surface-layer above mentioned.
We made different attempts at dredging, but as the bottom
was everywhere very rocky and the dredge in consequence con-
tinually getting foul, we were not successful in obtaining many
objects of interest. However, among them there were specimens
of a hydroid stony coral representing two species of the genus
Dredging in the Trinidad Channel. 71
Labiopora—one of which Mr. Stuart Ridley of the British Museum
has ascertained to be a species new to science—and a fine orange-
coloured Astrophyton of a new species, recently described by Mr.
F. J. Bell as A. Lymani. |
On the north side of the Trinidad Channel we stopped for a
time at an anchorage near Cape Gamboa, which forms the north
headland of the entrance. At Cape Gamboa the rock is a clay-
slate showing distinct stratification, containing concretions of a
whitish sandstone, and dipping to the N. E. at an angle of about 45°.
To the eastward of Cape Gamboa is a limestone similar to that
of the south shore. We did some dredging here on a smooth
sandy bottom, the principal results of which were specimens of
the Chimera (Callorhynchus australis), and some curious Isopod
Crustaceans of the genus Sevolis. Another day (March 28th)
when sounding across the entrance of the Channel, we made a
heave of the trawl in thirty fathoms with most fruitful results,
obtaining a magnificent specimen of the orange-coloured Astro-
phyton (A. Zymanz), several small rays and flat fish, large Actinza,
a new Crustacean of the genus Avcturus, starfishes, and a
Cephalopod Mollusc of the genus Rossia. On the evening of this
day we were fortunate enough to witness a most beautiful sunset
effect. As the sun disappeared from a western olive-tinted sky it
seemed to be followed in its descent by several horizontal bands
of delicate rose-tinted stratus clouds, which extended themselves
in parallel lines over an arc of 45°, and finally tapered away into
the most delicate threads of silvery light. In the east the dark
purple-tinted clouds melted upwards into the grey gloom of
approaching night, and foreshadowed to us the advent of another
day of sunshine in this the only really fine and summer month in
these western channels.
At the head of Francisco Bay—which was the name subse-
quently given to this anchorage—at the outlet of a small river, we
one day made a very large “take” of fish in a somewhat singular
manner. A trammel net had been placed across the mouth of the
72 Cruise of the *‘Alert.”
stream at high tide, and on the tide falling had been examined
and found to contain a fair number of fish (mackerel). Some
hours later two of our people were wading up the river, and on
coming to a depression in its bed, which was at about the limit
to which the tidal salt-water reached, they found an immense
collection of half-dead and living mackerel in a pool, in which—
the tide being then rather low—the water was almost entirely
fresh. Here they caught, with their hands, fish enough to fill a
boat, amounting to a gross weight of 4 cwt. The probable
explanation of this lucky “take” seems to be that the fish entered
the mouth of the river with the flood tide—as is their wont—and
on attempting to retreat with the ebb found their return to the
sea barred by our net, and instead of endeavouring to pass
through the meshes preferred to move back into the brackish water
of the river. Here, as the tide fell still further and laid bare
banks of sand stretching across the stream, they became shut off
altogether from the sea, and at dead low tide the flow of fresh
water so predominated over the salt as to render them helplessly
stupid, so that they fell an easy prey to our sailors,
On the shores of this bay I came across a magnificent Winter’s
bark tree, the largest which I have ever seen in the channels. Its
smooth and almost cylindrical stem was nine feet in circumference,
and ran up without branching to a height of thirty feet from the
ground.
In cruising to and fro about the channel we frequently came
across whales, They were usually either “finners” or “sperms”;
more commonly the former. I saw only one one “right” whale
during the many months which we spent in these waters. On
the 17th of February we steamed by a school of about twenty
“finner” whales, and shortly after we passed through a shoal of
small red shrimps (Ga/atheas), which were so densely clustered
together as to give the water quite a scarlet appearance. This
accounted for the great gathering of Cetaceans. Skeletons of
whales in a very imperfect state were abundant about the shores
Exploration of the Picton Channel. 3
of this channel, and many were of large size. On the shore of
Francisco Bay I saw lower jaw bones which measured eleven feet
from condyle to symphysis. I looked, but in vain, for remains of
the Ziphioid Whales.
Some few miles to the eastward of Francisco Bay a. deep inlet
pierced Wellington Island in a northerly direction. We were
anxious to explore it, as we thought it not unlikely that it might
prove to be a navigable passage, connecting Trinidad Channel
with the Gulf of Pefias. At length an opportunity occurred, and
ona fine morning in the month of March we steamed into this un-
surveyed inlet. On fairly passing the southern entrance, we found
ourselves traversing a lane of water of such glassy smoothness,
and bordered by such straight running shores, which were not
more than half-a-mile apart, as to seem more like an inland canal
than (which it eventually proved to be) a strait leading through a
nest of breakers to an inhospitable ocean. Its eastern shore
exhibited the kind of scenery prevailing about the Guia Narrows;
viz., round-topped hills with great bare patches of rain-worn rock
extending from the summits toa talus, which was covered with an
uniform mantle of evergreen forest, the latter encroaching upon the
sea-beach. But the country to the west presented a more pleasing
variety, being composed of low undulating slopes of grassy-looking ©
land, with here and there fissures or landslips exhibiting what
seemed to us, as we scrutinized them with our glasses, to be
sections of a sedimentary formation. We had hitherto scen
nothing like this anywhere among the western channels, and
consequently I for one was extremely anxious to land. However,
the captain had to make the most of daylight for the surveying
work in hand, so that our conjectures as to the nature of this
formation remained unverified. When we had attained a distance
of twenty-five miles from the southern entrance of the Strait, the
western shore was found to be broken up into a chain of low islets,
which in time dwindled away into a great arc of submerged rocks,
over which the swell of the broad Pacific broke with great fury.
74 Cruise of the “Alert.”
This then was the end of what is now known as the Picton
Channel, and bold would be the mariner who would attempt to
traverse it, and thread his way through such a maze of reefs and
breakers. Among the islets at this, its northern extremity, we
found an anchorage, where we decided on stopping for the night.
As we cast anchor, a native boat approached, carrying no less
than twenty-three inmates, most of whom were males, and of a
most savage and treacherous appearance. They had with them
several young fur seals, recently killed, which they were glad to
barter for tobacco or biscuit. After stopping alongside for about
half-an-hour, they paddled away and were seen no more. On the
following day we steamed back.
The rocky shores and islets of the Trinidad Channel bear
abundant indications of old ice action. These marks are not
very apparent on the coarse-grained friable syenite which is the
common rock of the district, but on the dikes of hard green-
stone, with which the syenite is frequently intersected, scorings
and striations of typical character may be seen. Close to the
anchorage in Port Charrua, on the north side of the channel,
there is a broad band of greenstone on which I observed very
perfect examples of “crosshatchings,” where the prevailing east
to west stria were intersected by those of another system at
an angle of about 40°. These rock erosions, coupled with
what we know from the sounding-lead as to the contour of
the sea-bottom, lead us to infer that the Trinidad Channel
was at some remote period the bed of a huge glacier, which
flowed westward from the Cordillera. That most, indeed, of
the other straits and channels of Western Patagonia were also
at one time occupied by glaciers is clearly testified by the
markings on the rocks,
There is a peculiar form of syenite rock not uncommon in
exposed situations on the hilltops, which is composed of quartz,
felspar, and hornblende, the quartz occurring in crystals of
about the size of large peas. The felspar, being of a very
** Hatlstone’’ Rock. 75
friable nature, rapidly succumbs to the disintegrating influence
of the weather, and crumbles away, taking with it the small
particles of hornblende, so that the big quartz crystals, when
in the last stage prior to being dislodged, are seen standing
out in bold relief from the matrix. When this rock is seen
projecting in round bosses, through the turfy soil of a hilltop,
it looks at a short distance as if strewn with hailstones; and
the illusion is heightened on .observing on its leeward side
heaps of loose quartz crystals, which have been completely
weathered out from the parent rock, and have been drifted by
the wind into this comparatively sheltered situation, as would
be the case with hailstones under similar circumstances.
But the most characteristic feature in the scenery of the
western shores of Patagonia is owing to the phenomenon of
“soil motion,” an occurrence which is here in a great measure
due to the exceptionally wet nature of the climate. This
slippage of the soilcap seems in this region to be continually
taking place wherever the basement rock presents a moderately
inclined surface. Some of the effects of this “soil motion” are
apt to be confounded with those due to glacial action, for the
soilcap takes with it in its downward progress not only its
clothing of trees, ferns, and mosses, but also a “moraine pro-
fonde” of rock, stones, and stems of dead trees great and
small, whereby the hills are being denuded, and the valleys,
lakes, and channels gradually filled up. When we first entered
the Western Channels my attention was at once directed to this
subject on noticing that the lower branches of trees growing
in immediate proximity to the sea-shore were in many places
withering from immersion in the salt water, and that in some
cases entire trees had perished prematurely, from their roots
having become entirely submerged. On looking more closely
into the matter, I noticed that sodden snags of dead trees,
mingled with stones, were often to be seen on the bottom of
the inshore waters, and that the beds of fresh water lakes were
“6 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.”’
plentifully strewn with similar fragments of wood, the remains
of bygone forests which had perished prematurely. These cir-
cumstances are fully explained by the occurrence of soil motion,
for as the soilcap by its sliding motion, imparted by gravi-
tation, and aided by expansion and contraction of the spongy
mass, reaches the water’s edge, the soluble portions are re-
moved, while its more durable contents are left to accumulate
at the foot of the incline. In.this way rocks and stones may
sometimes be seen balanced in odd situations near the sea
beach, simulating the “roches perchées” which are dropped by
a melting iceberg or a receding glacier. These circumstances
are all the more interesting from their occurring in a region
where the effects of old and recent glacial action are exhibited
to a marked degree. Planings, scorings, striations, and “roches
moutonnées” may, one or other, be almost invariably found
wherever the rock is sufficiently impervious to the disintegrating
action of the weather to retain these impressions. Thus they
are nowhere to be seen on the coarse-grained friable syenite,
which is the common rock of the district; but where this rock
is intersected by dikes of the more durable greenstone, the
above-mentioned signs of former glacial action may be seen
well developed. I speak now of old glacial action, because
we have not found any glacier existing in the neighbourhood
of the Trinidad Channel, from whence they seem to have
entirely receded; but they are yet to be seen in the fiords
of the mainland further north; and in the main Straits of
Magellan we had opportunities of studying fine examples of
complete and incomplete glaciers, exhibiting in all its grandeur
that wonderful denuding power which these ponderous masses
of ice exercise as they move silently over their rocky beds.
There are, therefore, in this region, ample opportunities of
comparing and differentiating phenomena, which have resulted
from former glacial action, and those which are due to soil-
motion—a force now in operation.
Sotl Motion here and in the Falklands. 77
Sir Wyville Thompson (vide “ Voyage of Challenger,” vol. ii,
p. 245) attributes the origin of the celebrated “Stone Runs” of
the Falkland Islands to the transporting action of the soilcap,
which among other causes derives its motion from alternate
expansion and contraction of the spongy mass of peat, due to
varying conditions of moisture and comparative dryness; and
this hypothesis is to a certain extent supported by the occur-
rences which I now endeavour to describe. Here, in Western
Patagonia, an evergreen arboreal forest, rising through a dense
undergrowth of brushwood and mosses, clothes the hill-sides to
a height of about 1,000 feet, and this mass of vegetation, with
its subjacent peaty, swampy soil, resting—as it frequently does
—upon a hill-side already planed by old ice action, naturally
tends, under the influence of gravitation, combined with that of
expansion and contraction of the soil, to slide gradually down-
wards until it meets the sea, lake, or valley, as the case may
be. In the two former cases the free edge of the mass is
removed by the action of the water, in a manner somewhat
analogous to the wasting of the submerged snout of a -“com-
plete glacier” in the summer time; whereas in the last instance
a chaotic accumulation of all: the constituents of the transported
mass gradually takes place, thereby tending to an eventual ob-
literation of the valley. It appears to me that the conditions
which are said to have resulted in the formation of the “Stone
Runs” of the Falklands here exist in equal if not greater
force. There is a thick spongy vegetable mass covering the
hill-sides, and acted on by varying conditions of extreme
moisture and comparative dryness; there are the loose blocks
of disintegrating syenite to be transported ; and there are moun-
tain torrents, lakes, and sea-channels to remove the soil. That
motion of the soilcap does actually take place we have at least
strong presumptive evidence; but anything resembling a “stone
run” remains yet to be discovered. It would naturally suggest
itself to the reader that the above phenomenon attributed to
78 Cruise of the Alert.”
soil motion might be accounted for by a slow and gradual
depression of the: land, and I have carefully sought for evidence
favouring this view, but have found no reliable sign whatever
of subsidence ; while on the other hand one sees raised beaches
and stones testifying to the ravages of stone-boring molluscs
at heights above the present high-water marks, which indicate
that even elevation of the land has taken place.
On May 6th, the winter season having then fairly set in, we bade
adieu for a while to our surveying ground, and commenced our
northern voyage to Valparaiso. Our course lay first through the
sheltered channels which separate Wellington Island from the main-
land. As we rounded Topar Islands and entered Wide Channel,
the heavy mist which had been hanging around us all the morning,
almost concealing the land from sight, lifted at intervals like a
veil, and exposed to view the noble cliffs of bare greenstone
rock which hemmed us in on either side,—here and there streaked
down their faces by long slender cascades of water, extending
from summit to base, and seeming to hang over us like
glistening threads of silver. On passing the southern outlet
of Icy Reach, we saw shining in the distance the sloping
tongue-shaped extremity of one of the Eyre Sound glaciers,
whose bergs float out through Icy Reach in the winter time
and sometimes prove a serious obstruction to navigation in these
gloomy and mysterious channels. In Chasm Reach, which we
next traversed, the hills on either side rose nearly perpendicularly
to a height of 1,500 feet, their snow-capped summits contrasting
grandly with the sombre tints of their rocky sides; so scantily
clad with vegetation as to seem at a distance mere sloping walls
of rock.
In the narrowest part of this “ reach,” where the width was only
about half-a-mile, three native huts were seen established on low
projecting shelves of rock, and situated about a mile apart. To these
our attention was attracted by the long curling wreaths of grey
smoke ascending from their fires. As darkness was coming on,
The English Narrows. 79
we did not stop to examine them, but steamed on towards Port
Grappler, where we anchored for the night.
We got under way early in the morning of the following day,
and. proceeded through the channel as far as Hoskyn Cove, an
anchorage just to the northward of the famous English Narrows.
The morning had been hazy and showery, but towards noon the
mist cleared away, and as we passed the English Narrows, a
burst of sunshine completed the dispersion of the hazy vapour and
lighted up a scene of surpassing splendour. The scenery here
contrasted strangely with that of Chasm Reach, for the steep
hillsides now were richly clothed with a luxuriant growth of
primeval forest, and rising to a greater altitude, had their summits
capped with a broad mantle of snow, which showed to great
advantage against the deep blue of the sky. In the narrowest
part of the channel, where the flood tide was making southward
in a rapid stream, numbers of fur seals were gambolling in the
water, and the energetic movements of the cormorants testified
to the abundance of the fish.
Formerly the vessels of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company
were in the habit of running.through these “Narrows,” but of
late years the practice has been discontinued, on account of
the difficulty of managing the long vessels which are now
in vogue. Therefore, excepting an occasional man-of-war, the
only vessels which at the present day make use of the channels
leading to the Gulf of Pefias are the steamers of the German
“Kosmos” line. The deciduous beech (Fagus antarctica) here
formed a great proportion of the forest growth, and as _ its
leaves were now withering, their autumn tints gave a variegated
character to the wooded scenery, a feature not observed farther
south, where the evergreen beech (Fagus betuloides) predominates.
The Campsidium chilense, a large trailing plant, was abundant
and in full bloom, its flowering branches usually depending in
1ather inaccessible places from the upper parts of the trees to
which it clung ; and here we obtained for the first time specimens
80 Cruise of the “Alert.”
of the loveliest of South American ferns, the Hymenophyllum
cruentum.
The morning of the 8th May broke wet and gloomy as we got
under way and initiated the next stage on our journey. All day
long the rain fell in torrents, and a fresh northerly breeze, blowing
right in our teeth, raised a heavy, chopping sea, which made the
old ship heave uneasily, and gave us a sort of foretaste of what we
should have to encounter next day on emerging from the Gulf of
Pefias into the troubled waters of the Pacific. Steaming thus
against wind and sea, we made such slow progress that night had
fairly come on us when we crept under shelter of the lofty hills
which overshadow Island Harbour.
On the following morning we entered the open sea, and steered ~
for Valparaiso.
CHAPTER .IV,
ON THE COAST OF CHILI.
“\,N anchoring at Valparaiso on the 16th May, the first news
we heard was that the country was in a great state of
excitement, anent the war in which Chili was then engaged with
Peru and Bolivia. All the available troops and men-of-war
had been despatched to the seat of war in the north, leaving the
capital in almost a defenceless condition, so that great fears were
entertained lest one of the Peruvian cruisers should take advan-
tage of this to bombard the town. The last detachment sent off
consisted of the town police, and at the time of our visit the
maintenance of order in the streets, and the manning of the guns
of the forts, had been entrusted to the corps of “Bomberos” (fire
brigade),
The principal part of the town is built on a plateau about ten
feet above high-water mark, which forms a margin to the curving
shore of the bay, and reaches inland for a few hundred yards.
Beyond this the outskirts of the town are disposed irregularly
over a number of steep ridges, which converge radially on the
town from the mountain range behind. There was one principal
street running more or less parallel with the shore, and containing
fine-looking shops well supplied with everything needful, but the
second-rate ones were very dingy in comparison. Owing to the
great stagnation of trade brought about by the war, and the
6
82 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.”
consequent scarcity of money amongst consumers, the prices of
provisions were very moderate, although under normal conditions
Valparaiso is famous among Europeans for its high prices, Fruit
also and vegetables were in great abundance, and large bunches
of delicious grapes were to be had for almost a nominal price.
One remarkable feature of Valparaiso is that within the pre-
cincts of the town a considerable number of people of the very
lowest grade live in a sort of gipsy encampment. The buildings
which they here occupy are filthy nondescript hovels, constructed
out of a patchwork of mud, bits of tin, old planks, discarded doors,
pieces of sackcloth, etc., all stuck up together anyhow. Even in
the respectable quarter of the town these filthy dens were some-
times to be seen occupying blind alleys, or the site of razed
buildings.
Sir George Nares left us here to return home by mail-steamer,
on appointment to the Marine and Harbour Department of the
Board of Trade, and was relieved in command of the Art by
Captain J. F. L. P. Maclear.
After wishing him good-bye on the 18th of May, we got under
way and steered for Coquimbo. On gaining an offing of about
ten miles, and looking in towards the Chilian coast, to which we
were then pursuing a parallel course, we saw the lowlands partially
veiled in a thin stratum of mist, above which towered magnificently
the snowy summit of Aconcagua, 23,220 feet in height. As we
approached the Bay of Coquimbo, we passed through immense
shoals of fishes, which sheered off in great confusion to either side
of our bows with the parting waves. On subsequently hauling
in the “patent log,” it was found that the revolving blades had
disappeared, the towing-line having been chopped in two just
above its attachment. This was probably the work of some
hungry and indiscriminating shark, whose stomach must have been
put to a severe trial in endeavouring to digest this angular and
unwholesome piece of metal.
The port of Coquimbo, where we stayed from the 19th of May
Coguimbo Copper Trade—Shell Terraces. 83
to the 16th of July, derives whatever importance it has got from
being one of the best (if not the very best) of the anchorages on
the Chilian coast, and from its connection with the copper trade.
It is brought into communication with the mines and smelting
works by means of a line of railway, which, independently of its
collateral branches, pierces the copper-producing country to a
distance of sixty miles. The copper, either in the form of ingots,
bars, or regulus, is shipped to Europe—principally to England—
in steamers or sailing vessels. The country, as far as the eye
can reach from the anchorage, is a mere sandy desert, dotted here
and there with an odd oasis of cultivated land, which has been
rendered productive by means of artificial irrigation. Trees are
rare; but within the last few years the eucalyptus has been intro-
duced, and with great success. In properly irrigated localities
it thrives and grows with great rapidity—in half-a-dozen years
rising to a height of sixty feet,—and forming masses of foliage,
which, by the shade it affords, increases the productiveness of
the neighbouring soil.
Coquimbo has been rendered celebrated for its shell terraces
by the writings of Darwin, Basil Hall, and others. These are
long plateaux of variable size, sometimes a couple of hundred
yards, sometimes a mile in width, with their sharply-defined free
margins running more or less parallel to the curved outline of
the sea beach, and extending inland by a series of gradations,
like the tiers of boxes in a theatre. There are five or six of
these terraces ; that furthest inland being about 250 fect above
the sea-level, and its free margin being about six miles from the
beach. They are of entirely marine origin, and abound in shells
of existing species, and they testify to the different periods of
elevation to which this part of the continent has been subjected,
On the night of the 2nd of June we felt a slight shock of
earthquake. The cable rattled in the hawse-pipe as if it were
being violently shaken below by some giant who had got hold
of the other end; and the ship vibrated and surged up and down
84 Cruise of the “Alert.”
as if she had been struck by a wave coming vertically from the
bottom of the sea. The shock lasted about ten seconds, and
then all was again silent. Earthquakes of this magnitude are
of common occurrence in Chili.
One day a large party of us went on a shooting excursion to
Las Cardas, an estate occupying a mountain valley thirty-six miles
from Coquimbo, and belonging to Mr. Lambert, an English
gentleman. For this trip we were indebted to Mr. Weir, the
courteous manager of Mr. Lambert’s mines, smelting works, and
estate, who not only provided a special train to convey us to the
shooting ground, but entertained us there most sumptuously. The
estate of “Las Cardas” lies at the termination of the southern-
most part of the two valleys which open into the Bay of Coquimbo,
and beyond this station the railway pursues its further course
over the brow of a hill called the “ Cuesta,” which it ascends by
a series of zigzags. Although its route here appears, at first
sight, circuitous enough, the gradient of the incline is an average
of one in thirty feet, ranging as high as one in twenty-five. We
found it interesting to stop for a while at the station and watch
our departing train trailing along its zigzag course up the hillside,
as it steamed on towards the inland terminus of the line, viz.,
“Rio Grande,” which was some thirty miles further on. The
“Rio Grande” station is 2,000 feet above the level of the Coquimbo
terminus at the other end.
In the bed of a broad valley, and in the gullies communicating
with it laterally from the hills, we expected to get a good many
partridges; but owing to the thickness of the brushwood, and
the absence of dogs, we saw very few, and shot fewer still.
However, we were assured that the birds were there, and only
wanted proper stirring up to make them visible; so that as we
were every minute expecting that the next moment a great covey
would start up from the bushes, and consequently kept our guns
ready for action, we managed to keep up the requisite amount
of excitement for several hours without materially violating the
ae —
Birds at Las Cardas—Island of St. Ambrose. 85
spirit of the regulations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society. |
In the evening we assembled at a clump of trees, which seemed
to be a favourite roosting-place for doves; and as the birds
came down from the hills to take up their quarters for the night,
they afforded us some very nice shooting while the daylight
lasted. The most interesting birds which I noticed in the valley
were two species of pteroptochus, the smaller of which was almost
identical in general character with the stapfacola of Coquimbo,
where it inhabits the low rocky hills, and attracts attention by
its barking noise, and by the odd manner in which it erects its
tail. Although the barking noise is heard frequently, and some-
times within a few yards of one, yet the bird itself is seen
comparatively rarely. The bird of Las Cardas, however, might
with a little care be seen, whilst uttering its odd programme of
noises, as it stood under the overhanging branches of some large
bush. On being startled it makes off in a peculiar manner,
taking long strides rather than hops, and moving in a series of
sharp curves in and out among the bushes. In adapting itself
to these curves, the body of the bird is inclined considerably to
the inner side, so that in this position, with its long legs and
great clumsy tail, it forms a truly grotesque object. Examples
of the larger species of pteroptochus (P. albicollis) were generally
to be seen in pairs, perched on the summit of a tall bush, the
white throat and white stripes over the eye showing conspicuously.
We sailed from Coquimbo on the 16th of July, and shaped our
course for the Islands Felix and Ambrose, which lie about five
hundred miles to the north-west of Coquimbo. The object of this
cruise was to take some deep-sea soundings between the mainland
and the above-mentioned islands. The weather was, for the most
part, very unfavourable, the ship rolling and kicking diabolically,
and making our lives very miserable. On the afternoon of the
20th, St. Ambrose, the eastward island of the two, hove in sight,
but as the day was too far advanced to admit of our, landing, we
£6 Cruise of the “Alert.”
“lay-to” about six miles to windward of it. - Viewing the island
at this distance from the eastward, it presented the appearance of
a roughly cubical flat-topped mass of rock, leaning slightly to the
northward, and bounded—so far as one could see—by perpen-
dicular cliffs of a gloomy and forbidding aspect, which rose to an
altitude of 1,500 feet. As we approached the island on the fol-
lowing morning its appearance by no means improved, and nowhere
could be seen any break in the rampart of lofty cliffs, which seemed
to forbid our disturbing their solitude. We looked in vain for the
“ sheltered cove,” where, as the sailing instructions say, “ there is
good landing for boats at all times of the year.” After making
the circuit of the island, we “lay-to” about a mile from the N.E.
cliff, and two boats were sent to reconnoitre, in one of which I
took passage. After pulling a considerable distance along the
foot of the cliffs, we at length succeeded, though with great diffi-
culty, in landing at the foot of a spur of basaltic rock, which
sloped down from the cliffs at a high angle. The first thing that
attracted our attention was a grotesque-looking crab (Grapsus
variegatus), of a reddish-brown colour, mottled on the carapace
with yellow spots. It scuttled about in a most independent way,
and seemed quite indifferent as to whether it trotted over the bot-
toms of the rock pools, or ran up the steep face of the rock to a
height of forty feet above the water-line. Sea-birds innumerable
flew about us in all directions, but on careful inspection we could
only muster up three different species; viz., a large white-winged
gannet(Sz/a), a plump dark-coloured petrel (Aestrelata defilippiana),
and a slender white and grey tern (Azows).* The petrels were
nesting in the rock crevices. The nest consisted of a few withered
twigs and dirty feathers, forming a very scanty bed on the hard
rock, and containing a solitary white egg. The birds stuck bravely
to their nests, and would not relinquish their charge until, with
bill and claws, they had given an account of themselves, calculated
* These and other birds collected during the cruise have been described and determined
by Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, the distinguished ornithologist of the British Museum.
Geologic Structure—Habits of Petrels. 87
to rather astonish an incautious intruder. Nevertheless, I subse-
quently ascertained, by dissection of specimens taken from the
nests, that both male and female birds take part in the duty of
hatching. The rock in this locality was almost completely sterile;
only three or four plants (stunted undershrubs) were found, which
eked out a miserable existence among fragments of crumbling
rock.
The island is of volcanic formation. The cliffs which we
examined displayed a section, fully 1,000 feet deep, of various
layers of tuff, laterite, and scoriz, which, for the most part, stretched
out horizontally, and were intersected in every conceivable direc-
tion by dykes of basalt. In some places ridges or spurs of rock
projected like buttresses from the. vertical cliff; and where we
landed the spur was composed of a vertical dyke of basalt flanked
by a crumbling scoriaceous rock, which latter was being worn away
by the action of waves and weather much more rapidly than its core
of basalt. The columnar blocks of which the basalt was composed
were bedded horizontally ; z¢., at right angles to the plane of the
dyke, so that the appearance of the whole was strikingly suggestive
of an immense stone staircase. After a stay of an hour and a
half we were signalled to return on board, as Captain Maclear was
obliged to get under way, and accordingly at half-past twelve
we were sailing away to the southward, leaving this comparatively
unknown island as a prize for future explorers.
In the course of this cruise we were followed by great numbers
of petrels, among which were the giant petrel (Ossifraga gigantea),
the Cape pigeon (Daption capensis), and two species of Thalassi-
droma (I think 7. leucogaster and T. Wilsoni). I noticed on this,
as on several subsequent occasions, that the little storm petrel is
in the habit of kicking the water with one leg when it is skimming
the surface in searching for its food. This movement is usually
seen most clearly when the sea presents a slightly undulating
surface ; and when the bird strikes the water in performing a
slight curve in its flight, one can see that it is invariably the outer
88 Cruise of the “Alert.”
leg that is used. The object of this manceuvre seems to be to give
the body sufficient upward impulse to prevent the wings from
becoming wetted in rising from near the surface. I have often
observed the Atlantic storm petrels steady themselves on the
water with both legs together, but have never seen them perform
this one-legged “kick,” like their congeners of the Pacific. There
are contradictory statements in natural history works as to whether
petrels do or do not follow ships during the night time. Those
who adopt the negative view of the question maintain that the
-birds’rest on the waves during the night and pick up the ship
next morning by following her wake. For a long time I was in
doubt as to which was the correct view to take, although I had
often on dark nights, when sitting on the taffrail of the ship, fancied
I had heard the chirp of the small petrels. At length I became
provoked that after having spent so many years at sea I should
still be in doubt about such a matter as this, so I began to make
systematic observations, in which I was assisted by the offi
watches and quartermasters, who were also interested in the matter.
The result is that I am now quite certain that the storm pctrel
and Cape pigeon do follow the ship by night as well as by day,
and that, moreover, the night is the best time for catching them.
Every night, for a time, I used to tow a long. light thread from
the stern of the ship; it was about sixty yards long, and fitted at
the end with an anchor-shaped piece of bottle wire, which just
skimmed along the surface of the water and yet allowed the thread
to float freely in the air. I found this device a great improve-
ment on the old-fashioned method of using severa] unarmed threads,
and in this way I caught at night-time, and even on the darkest
nights, both storm petrels and Cape pigeons; the latter, however,
usually breaking my thread and escaping. If I sat down quietly
and held the line lightly between my finger and thumb, I would feel
every now and then a vibration as a bird collided with it. On
moonlight nights, moreover, one could always, by watching care-
fully, see the big Cape pigeons flitting about the stern of the ship.
cers of
flight of the Albatross. 89
My experience of petrels and albatrosses is that whenever they
are having a really good meal, they invariably sit down on the
water. This is especially noticeable about noon, when mess
garbage is thrown overboard, and in perfectly calm weather I
have even seen a flock of storm petrels settle down on the surface
as if meaning to rest themselves, and remain as still as ducks on
a pond, basking inthe sunshine. One day also in moderately fine
weather I thought I saw a Cape pigeon dive. This surprised me
so that I watched, and saw the manceuvre repeated again and again.
Some refuse had been cast overboard which scarcely floated, and
this petrel, being desirous of possessing some morsels of food
which were submerged, dived bodily down, apparently without the
least inconvenience.
Before quitting this subject, I shall say a few words on a
somewhat hackneyed but still open question, viz.—‘*the flight
of the albatross.” Ihave had many opportunities of watching the
yellow-billed species (D. Mlelanophrys), and I have noticed that
it sometimes uses its wings to raise or propel itself in such a
manner that to a superficial observer it would then appear to
be only soaring with wings stationary. It does not “flap” them,
but depresses them rapidly towards the breast, so that it seems
as if the body were being raised at the expense of the wings,
whereas, in reality, the entire bird is elevated. The movement
does not resemble a flap, simply because the return of the wings
to the horizontal position is accomplished by a comparatively
slow movement. By resorting to this manceuvre occasionally, it
is able to maintain a soaring flight for periods which, without
its aid, might be considered extraordinarily long. Of course,
when it wants to gain a fresh stock of buoyancy and momentum,
it gives three or four flaps like any other bird.
During our return stay at Valparaiso from the rst to the 21st
of August, I made a trip to Santiago, the capital of Chili.
Santiago is built on the great plateau which lies between the coast
range of hills and the Cordillera, and is 1,500 feet above the sea
go Cruise of the “Alert.”
level, The distance by rail from Valparaiso is about 120 miles,
but as the railroad makes the greater part of the ascent within a
distance of 50 miles, the average gradient of the incline is con-
siderable. The train follows the line of the seashore for a distance
of about 3 miles to the northward of Valparaiso, when it reaches
the mouth of a wide valley running inland, the windings of whose
right bank it follows until a station called Llallai (pronounced
“Yayai”) is reached. It then makes a steep ascent along the
side of a mountain, and here on one side a precipitous wall of con-
glomerate rock faces the carriage windows, while on the other the
eye gazes into the depths of an ever-receding valley, above which
the train seems poised as if by magic. While one is still lost in
contemplation of this abyss, a short tunnel in a buttress of the
mountain is traversed, and the train suddenly sweeps round a
sharp corner, and crossing the valley by a light iron bridge which
here spans a part of it, constricted to a narrow chasm, enters a
highland defile on the opposite side. This place is known as the
“Mequin Paso.” The train now pursues a meandering track among >
the hills of Montenegro, where the summit level of the railway
is reached, and then inclines gradually downwards to the great
plain of Santiago,
After establishing ourselves in the Oddo Hotel, which is situated
in the middle of the city, close to the “Plaza De Armas,” we
commenced our explorations, and first proceeded to the Natural
History Museum. It lies on the outskirts of the town and occu-
pies a spacious building which was originally constructed for the
Exhibition of 1875, and to which the Natural History collections
were transferred in 1877. Favoured by a letter of introduction,
we were here fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of Dr.
Phillipi, the distinguished naturalist, who has for many years had
charge of the museum ; and to whose courtesy and goud nature
we were much indebted. The collections illustrative of South
American ornithology and ethnology were particularly fine. The
herbarium seemed to be very extensive, and was so excellently
Santa Lucia. gI
arranged as to afford ready access to any groups of specimens,
In the spacious hall devoted to this department, we saw a section
of a beech tree from Magellan which was more than seven fect
in diameter, and the silicified trunk of a tree fifty centimetres in
diameter, which had been found near Santa Barbara. -The mam-
malian collection included two specimens of the Huemul (Cervus
Chilensis), one of which was said to be the original figured by
Gay in his “Historia Physica y Politica de Chilé.”” Among the
human crania were some very curious specimens illustrating the
extremes. of dolicocephaly and brachycephaly. It is to be
regretted that the subsidy voted by the Chilian government for
the maintenance of this admirable museum does not exceed £100
a year, and Dr. Phillipi may well be congratulated on the results
of his self-sacrificing labours.
About the centre of the town of Santiago is a remarkable hill
called Santa Lucia, whose summit affords a very extended view.
It is a mass of columnar basalt rising abruptly from the plain to
a height of about 300 feet, and presenting on all sides boldly
scarped faces in which several flights of stone steps have been
ingeniously cut,so as to lead by various labyrinthine routes to the
summit. We made the ascent towards the close of day, and were
well repaid for our trouble by the really magnificent view. The
town lay extended at our feet with its various buildings and
monuments standing up in bold relief. As we raised our eyes, its
outskirts dwindled into the broad plain of Santiago valley, which
here seemed te form an immense amphitheatre, surrounded in the
distance by a chain.of lofty hills whose snowcapped summits were
at this hour illumined with the lovely roseate colours so charac-
teristic of sunset in the Cordilleras.
On the following day we visited the site of the church of La
Compania, where the fire took place in the year 1863, when some
2,000 people, mostly women, were burnt to death. The church
was never rebuilt, but in its place now stands a handsome bronze
monument to commemorate the victims of this dreadful calamity,
92 | - Crutse of the “Alert.”
-
Immediately adjoining are the splendid buildings in which the
sittings of congress are held.
The morning of our return was cold and frosty, and the plain -
of Santiago was enveloped in a dense mist, from which we did
not emerge until the train had entered the mountain valleys,
through which it wound towards the heights of Montenegro. Here
we rose above the gloomy mists, and were gladdened by the
bright and warm rays of a sun whose beams were as yet screened
from the lowlands. Wild ducks were to be seen in the marshes
near the railways, scarcely disturbed by the passage of the train ;
flocks of doves rose from the bushes here and there; owls hovered
about in a scared sort of way, as if ashamed of being seen out in
the honest sunlight; and on many a tree top was perched a
solitary buzzard or vulture. Later in the forenoon small flocks of
the military starlings were frequently sighted, their brilliant scarlet
plumage showing to great advantage against the pale green bushes
of the hill sides. After passing the summit level we rattled down
the incline towards Llallai, at what seemed to me to be a very
high speed. I kept looking out of the window at first, watching
the engine disappearing from sight as it suddenly swept round an
abrupt curve and entered a cutting, and admiring the wriggling
of the train as it swiftly threaded its way in and out among the
hills, Sometimes our route would seem to lead us into a cud-de-
sac of the hills, and when apparently almost at the end of it, the
engine would abruptly alter her course and sweep away in a
direction nearly at right angles to its former course, dragging the
docile and flexible chain of carriages away with it. I had missed
all this on the upward journey—I suppose because our slower
speed then made curves and cuttings look less alarming. After
a while, I began to reflect on the probable consequences of our
suddenly coming upon a flock of heavy cattle in one of these
nasty cuttings, and the more I pondered. the more I became
convinced that although the cow-catcher of our engine was well
able to cope with a single bullock or even two, yet that in the
.
—— oe
fioral Fly-traps—Mines of Brillador. 93
case of our colliding with a flock of half-a-dozen or so, something
unpleasant must surely happen. This was not a cheering subject
of thought, so I turned away from the window and tried to
interest myself in the contents of a Chilian newspaper. A few days
previously, I heard that a single bullock had been met with on
this same incline, and had been satisfactorily accounted for by the
“cow-catcher.” The body was smashed to picces and thrown off
the track, but the people in the train (one of whom was my
informant) experienced only a very slight shock. At Llallai station
we stopped for breakfast, for which the cold air of the morning
had sufficiently prepared us, and in the afternoon we arrived
comfortably at Valparaiso.
We again stayed at Coquimbo from the 23rd to the 30th of
August, having been obliged to return there on account of a
court-martial. The appearance of the country had changed very
much since our previous visit. Bare tracts of sand had given
place to an uniform coating of verdure, and a great variety of
flowering plants were visible in full bloom. There was a species
of Aristolochia very common on the rocky hills, whose large
pitcher-shaped perianth frequently imprisoned a number of flies
of different species, and I found that I could add materially to
my entomological collection by examining these plants, and
despoiling them of their living prey, for most of the pitchers
contained living flies, and some of them the remains of insects
apparently in a half-digested state. This flower constitutes a
very effectual fly-trap; and I once noticed a great bluebottle-
fly endeavouring in vain to work his way over the “chevaux-
de-frise” of white hairs, which, with their ends pointing inwards,
studded the interior of the tube.
During this stay I made a trip to the copper mines of
Brillador, which are worked in connection with the smelting
houses at Compafiia. Both establishments are the property
of Mr. Lambert, an English gentleman residing at Swansea,
whose Chilian manager is Mr. Weir, to whom I have already
94 | Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.””
alluded. I went by train to Compafiia, which is the terminus
of that branch of the line, and spent the night at the resi-
dence of Mr. Weir, by whose kind invitation I was enabled to
make this interesting excursion. On the following morning we
started on horseback, and rode over the hills to Brillador. The
mines are eight miles distant from Compafiia, and are situated
at an elevation of 1,500 feet above the sea level. Here we
put ourselves under the guidance of Mr. Richards, the courteous
engineer, who clothed us in canvas mining suits, and supplied
each of us with an oil lamp hung on gimbals at the extremity
of along stick; and thus equipped we entered one of the adit
levels opening on to a steep hillside, and bade adieu for some
hours to the friendly daylight. One of the peculiarities of a
Chilian mine is that the ordinary ladder of civilization is replaced
by a notched pole, and that, by means of a succession of these
poles, the descent and ascent of the shaft of the mine is accom-
plished. Another is that the ore is conveyed from the works
at the bottom of the shaft in sacks of hide, each man thus
carrying on his shoulders the enormous weight of 200 lbs. The
miners whom I saw employed in this work were naked to the
waist, and exhibited splendid muscular development of chest
and arm. I examined one of the sacks of ore, and found that
I could barely raise it off the ground. These fine athletic
fellows are fed principally upon maize, figs, and bread, few of
them eating meat. Three kinds of copper ore are found in
this mine. Near the surface is a light green carbonate of copper
which is easily smelted, and when rich in metal (ze. free from
extraneous mineral matter) is in much request; but even when
of low percentage it can be advantageously used for the manu-
facture of sulphate of copper. Next in order of depth is found
a purple ore, which is a double sulphide of copper and iron;
and at the bottom of the lode is the yellow sulphide of copper,
commonly known in Chili as “bronce.” Here we saw a most
ingenious “rock drill,” working at the end of a new level cutting.
A Rock-Drill. 95
The apparatus, which is simple and most effective, consists of
a solid piston working in a very strong cylinder and driven to
and fro by compressed air, whose action is regulated by a slide
valve. The drill is fitted directly into the end of the piston
_rod, and by an ingenious arrangement it is made to perform a
partial movement of rotation during each backward motion, so
‘that it may strike the rock in a new direction each time. The
working pressure of air was 50 lbs. per square inch. We noted
the time while a boring was being made, and found that it took
exactly nine minutes to make a hole nine inches deep, through
the hard rock. The power is originated by a double-acting
steam-engine, situated at the inner extremity of the main adit
level, from whence a supply of compressed air is conveyed in
flexible pipes along the various tunnels in which boring is being
done. In subsequently blasting the rock, gunpowder is used in
preference to dynamite or other explosives, I believe on account
of the toughness of the ore, which therefore yields more satis-
factorily to a comparatively gradual explosive. In the evening
we rode back to Mr. Weir’s residence at Compafiia, and on the
following day I returned on board the ship, which weighed anchor
the same afternoon, and proceeded southward towards Talcahuano.
Talcahuano, where we lay from the 4th of September to the
4th of October, is the most important seaport in southern Chili,
and possesses an excellent and roomy anchorage. It is situated
in a fertile and picturesque country; and it is in direct com-
munication by rail, not only with Concepcion and all the more
important towns of the south and central provinces, but also by
branch line with an extensive grain-producing territory bordering
on Araucania, whose produce it receives. Concepcion, which
takes rank as the third city.in the Republic, is nine miles from
Talcahuano, and lies on the bank of the Bio Bio, a broad, shallow,
and sluggish river. The houses and public buildings there have
the appearance of considerable antiquity, although in reality the
greater number must have been rebuilt since the great earthquake
96 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”’
of 1835, when the city was reduced to ruins. Penco, the old
Spanish capital of the province of Concepcion, was situated in
the eastern extremity of the Bay of Concepcion; but when it
was destroyed by a tidal wave in 1730, the people moved inland
and established themselves near the site of the present city.
However, by the cataclysm of 1751, the newly-founded city of
Concepcion shared the fate of Penco, but was soon rebuilt, as it
was again, in great part, after the earthquake of 1835.
We had intended to make only a short stay at Talcahuano,
but on the day preceding our arrival there, a case of smallpox
appeared among the crew, followed by a second and third, and
we were therefore obliged to remain in this harbour until our
patients should be sufficiently well to return on board,
There was a long, low, sandy island (Isla de los Reyes) lying
across the head of Talcahuano Bay, and inhabited only by a
couple of shepherds who were looking after a herd of cattle
and horses. There being no available hospital to which our
patients could be sent, we obtained leave from the Chilian autho-
rities to establish a temporary quarantine station on the island.
Accordingly, on the day of our arrival we set up tents on an
unfrequented and particularly airy part of the island, and having |
supplied them with provisions and all the necessary appliances,
we installed our patients in their new quarters. They made
good recoveries. My medical duties required me to make
frequent visits to this little establishment, and I found it con-
venient to make it the centre of my afternoon rambles. On
the mainland immediately adjoining the island, I found a great
marshy plain of many miles in extent, and intersected in various
directions by deep muddy ditches which communicated with the
sea, and at high tide brought supplies of sea water to a chain of
broad, shallow lagoons, the home of multitudes of waterfowl.
Pintail ducks, widgeon, herons, curlew, flamingoes, turkey-buz-
zards, gulls, lapwings, and sandpipers found here a congenial
home. The shrill, harsh cry of the spur-winged lapwing (the
TTome of the Water-Birds—The “* Coypo.”’ 97
“terotero” of the Pampas so graphically described by Darwin)
was -for ever scaring the other peacefully-disposed birds, and at
the same time invoking maledictions from the sportsman. The
plumage of this bird is very handsome, and the bright crimson
colour of the iris and eyelid during life gave it a strange fasci-
nating appearance, which can hardly be realized from a stuffed
specimen.
When the first ebb of the tide left bare the mudbanks in the
lagoons, the gulls and curlews collected in vast numbers for
their diurnal meal. Of the gulls only three kinds were seen,
viz., L. Dominicanus, L. Glaucodes,and L. Maculipennis. The latter
were in various conditions of plumage ; some birds having a deep
black hood, and others with a head almost entirely white, while
between these two extremes, there was every gradation. The
turkey-buzzards derived a plentiful supply of food from the
bodies of fish stranded on the beach. For some reason or other
dogfish were constantly coming to grief in this way, bodies of
fish, two and three feet long, being met with sometimes, all along
the beach, at average distances of about one hundred yards
apart.
One day we made an excursion up the river Andalien, which
flows into Talcahuano Bay, near the village of Penco, and which
at high tide is navigable for boats to a distance of seven miles
from its mouth. Our main object was to see something of the
nutria—a large rodent (AZyopotamus coypu), which is common in
some of the rivers of southern Chili, and which the natives call
_“Coypo.” In a deep, narrow, ditch-like tributary of the Andalien,
we came across several of these animals, swimming and diving
about, some half-immersed clumps of bushes, At first sight their
manner of swimming and diving would lead one to imagine that
they were -otters, but on closer inspection the broad. muzzle with
- its long bristly whiskers, and foxy-red hair, reveal their true cha-
racter. The “coypo” is distinguished from its northern ally, the
beaver, in having the scaly tail round instead of flat, and from the
7
98 Cruise of the ‘‘ Alert.”
Chilian river otter, the “huillin” (Latra hutdobrio), it is easily
known by its dental characters as well as by its tail and feet.
The hind feet are webbed as in the beaver. I dissected one
which we shot, and found the stomach full of green vegetable
matter, and in the abdominal cavity, which was a good deal
injured by the shot, were fragments of a large tapeworm. This
specimen weighed Io lbs.,and measured 2 ft. 10 in. from snout
to extremity of tail. ,
Some days subsequently I accompanied Captain Maclear on
a railway trip up the country, Mr. Lawrence, the superintendent
of the line, having, with the courtesy so characteristic of English
residents in Chili, invited the captain and one other officer to
join him in a tour of inspection which he was about to make
along. the Angol branch of the South Chilian railway. We
started from Concepcion at 9 a.m., on a small locomotive which
was set apart for the use of the superintendent. It was a lightly
built affair, partly “housed in” and partly open, and was fitted
to accommodate two or three passengers besides the driver and
fireman, so that it afforded us an exceedingly pleasant method of
seeing something of the country. This swift little vehicle was
called the “Quillapan,” in commemoration of a distinguished native —
chief of that name. Our driver was a most intelligent and well-
informed Englishman named Clark, who had lost his foot about
three years previously in a railway accident, at which I understood
that Lady Brassey, of the Sunbeam, had been present; and he
spoke gratefully of the kind attention which she paid to him. His
wooden leg did not seem to be much impediment to his engine-
driving, for he rattled us along round curves and down inclines at
a speed which, while possessing all the charms of novelty, had also
in no small degree the excitement of danger. However, we soon
got used to this, as well as to the jumping and jolting of the light
little engine. |
For the first ten miles after leaving Concepcion, our route lay
along the right or northerly bank of the Bio Bio river, Here
The Banks of the LBio-Li0. 99
most of the railway cuttings were through a clayslate rock, which
alternated with bands of black shale, and occasionally exhibited
thin seams of coal. Further on, and throughout the rest of the
journey to Angol, the cuttings were through banks of sand exhi-
biting horizontal stratification, and being apparently of fluviatile
origin. A run cf two hours brought us to the junction station
of San Rosendo, from whence the northerly line to Chillan,
Talca, and Santiago, and the S.E. line to Angol diverge. Here
we breakfasted, and stretched our legs by a stroll. Immediately
on resuming our journey we crossed the Lara,—a tributary ot
the Bio Bio,—and then continued our course along the right
bank of the main river, until we had just passed the station ot
Santa Fé. Here the line made a short semicircular sweep, and
crossed the Bio Bio by a low wooden bridge of about two hundred
yards in length. Clark, the driver, told us that during freshets the
water rose about fifteen feet above this bridge, completely stopping
the traffic. On asking him why they did not build.a strong
high level bridge, he replied that a rude wooden structure such
as the present one cost little, and when swept away could be
readily and cheaply replaced ; but that a bridge of durable style
would take too long to pay the cost of its own construction.
This explanation may not at first sight seem very lucid, but it
is worthy of consideration, for the principle which it involves is,
I fancy, applicable to many of the affairs of Chili. .
We had now entered the great central valley of the country,
a broad plateau interposed between the coast range and the
Cordillera, and extending in one unbroken sheet of tertile land
from here to Santiago. Before us now, as far as the eye could
penetrate, lay a straight level track, so Mr. Clark turned the
steam full on, and the “Quillapan” responded to the tune of forty-
five miles an hour. When about a mile or two from a desolate
station called “ Robleria,’ we were rapidly approaching a long
wooden bridge, when we saw a man appear on the track just
on our side of the bridge, and step leisurely from sleeper to
100 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.””
sleeper. On hearing our whistle he looked round in a startled
attitude; but to our astonishment, instead of jumping to one
side of the line, he lost his head, and passing on to the bridge
made frantic efforts to cross. before our engine came up. The
bridge was an open framework, consisting simply of wooden piles,
-spanbeams, and sleepers, and was so narrow that.there was no
room for a foot-passenger at either side of a passing train. The
wretched man’s misery must have been extreme, for as he crossed
the bridge he had to jump continually from sleeper to sleeper,
and could not of course look back again behind him to see how
things were going on. It was a moment of intense suspense to
us also, for it was now too late to stop the engine, Clark not
having calculated on the man attempting to cross before us.
However, he gained the off buttress of the bridge just in time
to throw himself.down a bank on one side of the line, while the
“ Quillapan” sped on like a whirlwind. |
We reached the Angol terminus at 1.30 p.m., and on coming
to a standstill, found ourselves the centre of a small admiring
crowd, consisting of Chilian peasants and Araucanian Indians,
The latter wore very scanty clothing, in which the only dis-
tinctive feature which I noticed was a band of red cloth tied
round the forehead and occiput. In stature and regular features
they somewhat resembled the Chilians, but their distinctly coppery
colour marked them out at once. Angol is now one of the
frontier settlements established recently by the Chilian Govern-
ment in Araucanian territory, and it is fortified against the maraud-
ing expeditions of these hardy warriors by a chain of forts which
overlook the settlement, and are garrisoned by regular Chilian
troops. The district is of great value, on account of the richness
of the soil and its suitability for the cultivation of wheat, which
has now become the staple article of commerce in the southern
provinces of the Republic. Our stay at Angol was, unfortunately,
very short, as the station-master told us that a train due at Angol
that afternoon was even then telegraphed as waiting at one of the
Bullocks on the Line. IOI
upper stations until our return, when the line would be clear for
it to move on.
On our journey back we narrowly escaped colliding seriously with
a herd of bullocks. We had just passed Robleria, when we noticed
some distance ahead of us a solitary bullock standing quietly on
the line. On the whistle being sounded he at once left the track,
so that the steam, which had been momentarily turned off, was
again put on, and the engine resumed her usual speed. We had
now approached to within forty yards of the place where the
animal had been, when suddenly from a dense clump of bushes
to the right there emerged a herd of half-a-dozen ‘bullocks, who
with one accord began leisurely to cross the line. Quick as thought
Clark with one hand turned on the whistle, while with the other
he reversed the engine, leaving the steam valve wide open; and
immediately there was a great rattle of machinery below the
platform, and the engine checked her way considerably. And
now at.the last moment, and when the cattle seemed to be almost
under the buffers of the engine, they, suddenly coming to a sense
of their danger, scattered, and sheered off ; but not quickly enough
to prevent one unlucky animal being caught by the hind quarters
and chucked off like a football, its body rolling down the embank-
ment to the left in a cloud of dust as we whirled by. Clark
coolly replaced the reversing lever, and let the engine rush ahead
again as if nothing had happened. He remarked that if he had
been on one of the regular big engines he would not have bothered
himself about the beasts at all, but that half-a-dozen bullocks were
rather too much for the little “ Quillapan.”
Another trip which we made was to the Island of Quiriquina,
which lies in the entrance of the bay at about five miles’ distance
from the anchorage of Talcahuano. An hour’s run in the steam
cutter brought us near the northern extremity of the island, where
we landed with difficulty in the Bay of Las Tablas, This name
has reference to the tabular form of the blocks of sandstone which
have fallen from the face of the cliffs and lie strewn on the beach,
102 Cruise of the ‘Alert.’
in which position they resembled the blocks of concrete which one
often sees near a pier or breakwater in course of construction.
Close to where we landed we found portions of the silicified trunk of
a tree, resting on the débris at the foot of the cliff, its fractured ends
exhibiting a jagged appearance, as if the fragment had not long
previously been broken from the parent stem. It was two and a half
feet long by a foot in diameter, and presented well-marked sections
of the concentric rings of growth. In one of the rock pools closely
adjoining we found also a smaller water-worn fragment, which we
were able to annex as a specimen. The sandstone cliff above us
exhibited well-marked lines of stratification, dipping to the south-
ward at an angle of about 15°, and in the talus at its base were
several large globular masses, which consisted almost entirely of
fossil shells, bound together by a matrix of soft clayey sandstone.
Conspicuous among these shells were examples of the genera
Baculites and Cardium. While the lowest. rock in the series of
strata was a hard grey sandstone, full of fossil shells, and forming
a kind of level terrace skirting the beach, and a wash at high tide,
on the north side of the bay this last-mentioned rock was con-
tinuous with another horizontal terrace, which ran at a somewhat
higher level, as if introduced there by a fault in the strata. It
was a coarse, unfossiliferous conglomerate, composed of angular
pieces of shingle bound together by a hard but very scanty matrix.
GHAPTER -V,
OUR SECOND SEASON IN PATAGONIAN WATERS.
N the evening of the 4th October, our small-pox patients
() being then sufficiently well to return on board, we sailed
from Talcahuano, and proceeded to the southward in order to
resume our surveying work in the Trinidad and Concepcion
channels. 7
We entered the Gulf of Pefias on the afternoon of the gth
October, and as it was a clear, bright, sunshiny day, we had a
good view of Cape Tres Montes, which forms the northern horn
of the gulf, while ahead of us, and towards the S.E. bight, lay the
Sombrero, Wager, and Byron Islands, the first of which marks
the entrance of the Messier Channel. When we had got fairly
inside this channel, a Fuegian canoe of the customary pattern
was seen approaching from the western shore. We stopped to
allow her to communicate with us, and, of course, the usual barter-
ing of skins for knives and tobacco took place between the natives
and our seamen. There were about twelve persons in the canoe,
all of whom looked more than usually plump in regard to their
bodies, but had the characteristically stunted legs of this wandering
race. On leaving us they appeared to be quite sold out, and were
almost entirely naked, some of them completely so; however, they
seemed well pleased with the bit of traffic which they had ac-
complished.
104 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert.”
We anchored for the night in Island Harbours On the follow-
ing morning we got under way at an early hour, and s‘eamed
down the Messier Channel and through the English Narrows,
reaching Eden Harbour about dusk,
We passed several small icebergs, which had probably reached
the channels from a glacier in Iceberg Sound. The largest was
about twenty yards across, and projected about six feet above the
surface. Most of the hills in this latitude were snow-clad as far
as the 1,000 feet line.
On the evening of the next day, the 11th October we reached
the Trinidad Channel, and established ourselves for a time at
Cockle Cove, an anchorage on the south shore of this channel,
of which the survey was as yet incomplete.
It was now spring time on the west coast of Patagonia, but the
weather was as chilly and wet as it had been in the autumn of the
previous year, when we were moving north towards our winter
quarters ; indeed, from the accounts furnished to us by the sealers,
as well as from our own experience, I am inclined to think that
there are no marked seasonal changes in the weather on the
west coast, whither the constant westerly winds are continually
delivering the burden of aqueous vapour which they accumulate
in their passage over the Southern Ocean. On the other hand,
the condition of the fauna and flora indicate the natural two-fold
division of the year as decisively as it is observed in the same
latitude in the northern hemisphere.
In the month of October at Cockle Cove the kelp geese and
steamer-ducks were preparing their nests, and the cormorants were
assembling at their rookeries ; the holly-leaved berberry (Berberis
ilictfolia) was already displaying its gorgeous clusters of globular
orange: flowers, and the giant creeper (Campsidium chilense) was
also in bloom, its scarlet bell-shaped flowers peeping from aloft
among the branches of the beech-trees, where they appear to seek
a position in which they may flourish safe from intrusion. Many
of the mosses. and jumgermannie were also now in full fruit.
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Gephyrean. 105
We dredged several times at Cockle Cove. The bottom was
muddy, and abounded in a species of M/actra, which the men were
fond of eating; and as they commonly called these shells “cockles,”
the anchorage was given a name which would recall’ the memory
of these much-esteemed comestibles.
We also obtained numbers of a pale rose-coloured Gephyrean
On placing one of these creatures in a globe of fresh sea-water it
seemed to feel quite at home, protruding its tentacles and puffing
out its worm-like body until it looked like a tiny jam-roll with a
star-fish attached to one end. ‘These tentacles, which are eight in.
number and surround the mouth, are each one provided with from
eight to ten finger-like processes. When there is only the former
number, the organ looks remarkably like a hand, and the resem-
blance is rendered more striking when the tentacle is extended,
and grasps some minute particles in the water, which to all ap-
pearance it conveys to its mouth. The usual shape assumed by
this protean animal is that of a long cylinder with rounded ends,
but it sometimes shows an annular construction about the middle
of the body, and sometimes the whole anterior half of the body
is retracted so as to give the animal a telescopic appearance.
These changes of shape are produced by the action of two distinct
systems of contractile fibres, transverse and longitudinal, the fibres
of the former being disposed closely together like minute hoops,
and girding the body from end to end, while the longitudinal fibres
are arranged in five broad and well-marked equidistant bands,
which extend uninterruptedly from one end of the cylindrical
body to the other.
One night a small petrel flew on board, into one of the hoisted-
up boats, where it was found by one of the seamen in the usual
apparently helpless state. It is odd that some species of the
family of petrels should find such difficulty about rising on the
wing from a ship’s deck. A freshly-caught Cape pigeon, placed
on its legs on the deck, seems to forget utterly that it possesses
the power of flight, and does not even attempt to use its wings,
106 Cruise of the *‘Alert.”
but waddles about like an old farmyard duck. The petrel above
referred to was the little diver (Pelecanotdes urinatrix), a bird not
uncommon in the channels, but yet very difficult to obtain.
During the previows season on the surveying ground, Sir George
Nares, who was the first to notice it, reported one day that he
had seen one of his old arctic friends, the “little auk,’ which
indeed in its habits it strongly resembles. It usually (at all
events during the daytime) sits on the surface of the water, and
on the least sign of danger takes a long dive like a grebe, and
on rising to the surface again flies away some few hundred yards,
keeping all the while close to the surface. Its flight is like that
of the grebe, but more feeble. In the Falkland Islands the
habits of this bird are somewhat different. The bill is peculiarly.
broad and of a dark horn colour, the breast and belly of a dull.
grey, and the upper parts black; the tarsi and feet lavender.
The body is short and plump, and is provided with dispropor-
. tionately short wings. Speaking of this bird, Mr. Darwin says
that it “offers an example of those extraordinary cases of a bird
evidently belonging to one well-marked family, yet both in its
habits and its structure allied to a very distant tribe.”
There was a “rookery” of the red-cered cormorant (Phala-
crocorax magellanicus) near Cockle Cove, but the nests were
placed on almost inaccessible ledges in the face of the rocky
cliff, which was streaked all over with vertical white lines from
the droppings of the birds. This species of cormorant is very
abundant throughout all the channels. A second species, a jet
black bird (Phlacrocorax imperialis), builds its nest in trees;
and there was a characteristic “rookery” of this tree cormorant
at Port Bermejo, where we anchored in the month of November.
It was in a quiet sequestered place, where two old and leafless
beech trees overhung the margin of an inland pond. | The nests
were constructed of dried grass, and were placed among the
terminal branches of the trees. These funereal-looking birds,
sitting on or perching by their scraggy nests on the bare
flabits of Cormorants—A Kingfisher. 107
superannuated trees, formed a truly dismal spectacle. They uttered,
too, a peculiar cawing sound, which was not cheerful, and so
remarkably like the grunting of a pig, that before I saw the
rookery I was for some time peeping through the bushes and
looking for tracks, imagining myself in the neighbourhood of
some new pachydermatous animal. It seemed as if the birds
took the grunting business by turns, only one at a time giving
tongue.
I was surprised to see how neatly they alighted on the branches,
There was none of the awkward shuffling motion of wings and
feet which they exhibit when alighting on the ground or on the
water; but, on the contrary, each fresh arrival soared on to its
perching place as smoothly and cleverly as a hawk, and grasped
the branch firmly with its claws. At another tree rookery in
Swallow Bay I noticed that when some of the birds on flying
in observed my presence, they would rise high above the tree, and
remain soaring around in circles till I had gone away. The
method of soaring was to all appearance as smooth, steady, and’
devoid of effort as that of a vulture. And yet the cormorant is a
heavy short-winged bird, that rises from the ground with difficulty,
and whose ordinary method of flight is most laborious.
The handsomest bird in this region is the kingfisher (Ceryle
stellata). It is commonly to be seen perched on some withered
branches overhanging the water, where it will remain in a
huddled-up sleeping attitude, its head turned sideways, but with
an eye all the time fixed intently on the water beneath,. until
it espies a fish, when it drops like a stone, cleaving the water
with a short sharp splash, and a moment afterwards emerges
with an upward impulse, which raises it clear of the water, and
enables it to fly away at once without any preliminary shaking
or fluttering. It is an exceedingly unsuspicious and fearless
bird, and when perched on its place of observation, will often
allow one in a boat to approach within arm’s reach of it. Mossy
banks overhanging low sea cliffs are its usue! nesting places,
108 | Cruise of the “Alert.”
and there it excavates a tunnel through the soft moss and turfy
soil, and at a distance of more than two feet from the aperture
forms its nest.
There is a very peculiar and constant feature in the scenery
of the woodlands about the summits of the low hills, which has
given rise to.much speculation amongst us. It is that many of
the rounded bosses of syenite rock, which project for a few feet
above the level of the swampy land, exhibit on their highest
parts isolated mossy tufts, which look at a little distance like
small piles of rubbish placed artificially in prominent places as
landmarks, or like the marks which mountain climbers are so
fond of setting up on rocky pinnacles as records of their feats.
The usual shape is that of a cylinder about eighteen inches high,
and ten inches in diameter, with a rounded top; and it adheres to
the rock by a well-defined base of matted fibres, It is composed
of a very compact moss (Zetraplodon mntiotdes), which is of a
rich green colour on the summit of the tuft when it is in a
‘flourishing condition, and whose decaying remains, converted into
a peaty mould entangled in a fibrous network of roots, form the
body and base of the tuft. When this moss is in fruit, its long
spore-bearing stalks, which rise to a height of three inches above
its surface, are of a dark-red colour where they emerge from the
green surface, this colour gradually changing into a beautiful
golden-yellow above, where the spore-cases are supported. It
is then an exceedingly pretty object. If one of these tufts be
_ torn away from its rocky foundation, which is very easily done,
and is a most tempting work of destruction, a white scar is left
on the rock which will catch the eye at the distance of a mile,
and which strongly resembles the small white-washed marks
set up on the coasts by our surveyors for shooting theodolite
angles at. Now the question is, why does the moss establish
itself in this peculiar position, on the otherwise bare and exposed
rock? It is all the same whether the rock be dome-shaped, as
it most commonly is on the low hill-tops, or pyramidal, or wedge-
———E——
Curious Moss and Strange Bushes. 109
shaped, the tuft—if there is one present—is invariably to be
found perched on the highest’ part of it. I can only attribute
this to the peculiar habit of growth of the moss, adapting it
specially to this shape and this situation; a situation to which
moreover it gives a decided preference, for I have not observed
it growing elsewhere. Sometimes on climbing a rocky mountain
hereabouts, one sees from afar off one of these tufts perched on
a commanding pinnacle at the summit; then one thinks that
surely this must be a cairn erected by some desolate traveller, and
it is only on approaching closely that the delusion vanishes. It
will then, perhaps, be found that the tuft stands alone, surrounded
in all directions by a sloping surface of bare rock which isolates
it by a radius of forty yards from all other vegetation ; the little
tuft bearing itself up bravely as if in obstinate defiance of. the
wind and rain, which one is at first inclined to think must have
swept away an old uniform mantle of vegetation from the rocky
surface, leaving the mossy tuft on the summit the sole survivor.
There is another peculiar form of vegetable growth which is a
characteristic of the landscape in certain parts of this region, and
which I have not noticed to the same extent elsewhere. It is this.
Whenever a mass of bushes happens to be exposed to the prevail-
ing westerly wind, as in the case of promontories which receive
the unbroken blast on one of their sides, or of exposed islets in
mid-channel, it will be seen that the bushes not only lean away
permanently from the direction of the prevailing wind (as is usual
everywhere), but that their summits are cut off evenly to a com-
mon plane which slopes gently upwards, and thus presents as
trim an appearance as if the bushes had been carefully clipped to
that shape with a gardening shears. Our surveying parties have
sometimes been disappointed at finding that a headland, which
seemed from a short distance to be covered with an inviting mantle
of short grass, and which therefore looked a convenient place on
‘which to establish an observing station, was in reality defended by
a dense growth of bushes, which exhibited the phenomenon in
110 Cruise of the *\Alert.”
question, and over, under, or through which it was almost impos-
sible to get. .Sometimes one could get over these bushes by
lying down at full length and rolling sideways down the inclinc;
but this method was objectionable, for it was sometimes ten or
fifteen feet from the surface to the hard ground beneath. The
reason of this curious growth is obvious enough. Each aspiring
leafy twig that happens by a too luxuriant growth to shoot
above its fellows, is cut down by the relentless blast before it
can acquire strength enough to make good its footing; and
those branches alone survive in the struggle which grow uniformly
with their neighbours, and which thus present a sufficiently compact
surface to withstand the blighting influence of the westerly gales,
One day, when we were lying at our old anchorage in Tom
Bay, I saw a cormorant rise to the surface with a large fish in its
mouth, which, for several minutes, it vainly attempted to swallow.
I noticed it chucking the fish about until it had got hold of it by
the head, but even then it seemed unable to “strike down” the
savoury morsel.
flardships of Seal-fLunting. 115
to effect a landing, so that, to make sure of it, a sealing master
usually arranges his cruise so that he may reach the vicinity of
the rookery about a month before the breeding time. He then
takes advantage of the first fine day to land a party of men on
the rock with fuel, camping arrangements, and a large supply of
provisions. The latter is essential, for it may be two or three
months after the season is over before he can get a favourable
day for embarking the men and the stock of skins. Cases have
occurred where men have been weather-bound on the rocks for
months, and reduced to the brink of starvation, although making
use of seal-flesh and shell-fish as long as they could get them. The
different sealing captains are, of course, very careful to conceal
from each other the position of the “ rookeries” of which they
know ; and they have got so much into the habit of deceiving
each other in this respect, that it may be laid down as a safe rule,
that if a sealing master says he has landed his men on some rocks
to the northward, it is more than probable that the real locality is
somewhere in a southerly direction. After the camping parties
have been established at the “ rookeries,” the sealing vessel with
the crew, now reduced to a very small number, is employed for
the next month or two in cruising in search of new hunting-
grounds. In this pursuit they sometimes wander for hundreds ot
miles from the place where the men have been landed, traversing
unsurveyed channels and islets, trusting confidently that at night
time they can always find some sheltered place where they can
either anchor close in shore, or, if the water be too deep, as it
generally is, make fast to a tree. When cruising in this way,
they kill numbers of the Magellan sea-otter (Lutra felina), an
- animal which they include in their line of business, although not
at all to the same extent as the fur seal. The fur of the otter
when dressed is of great beauty ; but as it is not now in fashion
in Europe, it commands a very small price in the market, the
salted skins, on delivery in England, only realizing about 2s. apiece.
When the long brown hairs which form the animal’s apparent coat
116 Cruise of the “Alert.”
have been removed, the underlying fur is seen to be of a beautiful
golden yellow colour. The otters are obtained by sealers in a
great measure by bartering with native canoes (the Fuegians
catching them with dogs), and also by shooting them, as they
swim through the kelp close to the beach. Both the otter and
seal-skin are salted dry,—that is to say, each skin is spread out
flat, salt is sprinkled plentifully over the inside, and the skin is
then rolled up with the hair outside, and tied up into a round
bundle. The old fur seals are killed just as they are met with,
and without any regard to the preservation of the stock. The
sealers commonly call the females “claphatches,” and the males
“wigs ;” the skin of the former is much the more valuable of the
two. The sea lions (another species of seal) are seldom meddled
with; but occasionally a sealer, in default of the regular article,
will kill them for the sake of the oil, and take some of the
hides, for which there is a certain demand for making “ machine
belting.” .
Buckley, the master of the Fe/zs, told us that he had observed |
that in the case of the fur seal there was an interval of only
one or two weeks between the date of parturition and that of
coupling, and that, in the case of the “hair seal,’ coupling took
place almost immediately after the young were brought forth.
If this be true, the period of gestation cannot be less than eleven
months, 75 |
Buckley presented the captain with a young fur seal—a male,
six weeks old—which had been caught on the rocks, and nursed
carefully by one of his crew, an Italian seaman, who had been
‘bottle-feeding” it with milk, and had taught it to answer to the
‘call of a whistle. It trotted about our decks in a most lively
manner, its hind feet, when trotting or walking, being turned
forwards and outwards in the manner peculiar to seals of its
genus. On whistling to it, it uttered a strange cry—half wail,
half bark—and came to the call like a dog. When taken up in
the arms and petted like a child, it lay quite still, closed its eyes
Experiment with Conaor. 117
and seemed to go off into a gentle sleep. It, unfortunately, died
on the following day—perhaps through fretting for its Italian
nurse—and its body then came into my hands as a zoological
specimen.
Dr. Fenton, whose acquaintance we had made on our first visit
just a year previously, was still residing at Sandy Point as medical
officer of the settlement, and, with great good nature, put his
house and horses at our disposal. He told me of an experiment
he had been trying on the flying powers of a condor, which
had been caught alive. Fe perforated the quills of the wing °
and tail feathers, so as to allow the ingress and egress of air,
and on then throwing the bird up in the air found that it could
neither fly nor soar. The inference is that the bird derives its
buoyancy in a great measure from the formation of a vacuum
in the quills of these feathers, and consequently, on air being
admitted, the flapping of the wings, unaided by the buoyancy
derived from the rarefied air, was insufficient either to raise
or support the bird’s weight. If this theory be correct, it is
probable that the mechanism by which this vacuum is produced
is actuated by the wing muscles, which thus discharge a twofold
office. 7 ;
From the 13th of January to the 25th of March, after leaving
Sandy Point, we proceeded to the western part of Magellan
Straits, where we were for about nine weeks, occupied in making
‘additions to the old surveys, principally in the narrow and tortuous
part of the Strait which is called the “Crooked Reach.” The
scenery here is remarkably fine, and on a dry clear day—an event,
however, of rare occurrence—onrie can fully realize the truth of old
Pigafetta’s remark, that “there is not in the world a more beautiful
country, or better strait, than this one.”
We made several stays, each of a day’s duration, at Tilly Bay,
a small land-locked anchorage on the north shore. of Santa Ines
Island, and immediately opposite to the mouth of the Jerome
Channel, which leads into the Otway water. At the head of the
118 Cruise of the ‘‘Alcrt.”
bay a stretch of open moorland, dotted here and there with
clumps of cedar trees, led by a gentle ascent to a sort of upland
plateau, formed of moss-covered undulating land with sheets of
still water occupying the hollows. Not a trace of a bird was
to be seen, and I was never more struck with the extreme
paucity of animal life in the interior of these islands than when
standing on the shore of one of these desolate lakes in Santa
Ines Island.
We frequently noticed, in the deep spongy moss over which we
walked, the nests of a Trap-door Spider. They appeared externally
as round apertures in the surface of the moss, about an inch and
a half in diameter, which were covered over with a closely woven
disc of web. On removing the cover from one of them, and
clearing away the surrounding moss, I found that the burrow
descended vertically for a distance of about eight inches, and was
lined throughout with a silky network of spider web, so that the
entire web structure, z.c., the tube and lid combined, resembled in
general shape some of the commoner forms of Asfergillum. At
the bottom of the hole lay a great spider, embracing with its legs
a spherical cocoon, three-eighths of an inch in diameter, which it -
seemed resolved on defending to the last extremity. I examined
other nests with similar results.
While we were at Tilly Bay, a small party of Fuegians came
in and took up their quarters in an old camping place close to
the ship. They were a comparatively friendly lot, and had no
hesitation about coming on board, especially about our meal hours,
which they very soon got to understand. The party consisted of one
adult man, a boy aged about seventeen, a woman about nineteen,
with four small children, and two or three dogs of the usual kind.
The canoe was made of planks, and was of the same build as those
which we had seen about the Trinidad Channel. Lying in the
bottom of the canoe were the putrid remains of two seals, a sea
lion, and a fur-seal, whose heads I obtained. We got on such inti-
mate terms with this family, that little by little we induced them
Fuegians at Tilly Bay. 11g
to show us all their properties, even to the much-cherished
materials for producing fire. These were kept in a wooden box
somewhat of the shape of a small band-box, and made of Winter’s
bark sewn together roughly with strips of hide. The tinder,
which seemed to consist of dried moss, was stowed away carefully
in little bags formed of dried seal’s intestines tied up at the
ends.
I also obtained by barter two very dirty bits of iron pyrites
which they used for igniting the tinder, and on striking them
together they certainly emitted showers of sparks. The box also
contained glass arrow-heads, glass spear-heads, bone harpoon-
heads, a noose made of a strip of baleen and apparently
intended for trapping otters, and a very strong net made out
of seal-hide, which the old man gave us to understand was
used for catching seals. The net was nearly square, measuring
about six feet both ways, and the meshes were about eight
inches across, This last was evidently considered a great work
of art, for as the old man displayed it his eyes glittered with
pride, and he assumed an air of importance, as if to imply—
“See that and die!”
Subsequently two more canoes turned up, bringing a large party
of natives, and as I was curious to ascertain the method by which
they fashioned their glass implements, I visited the encampment
one day, bringing with me an empty pickle bottle, and intimated
by signs that I wished to have it broken up and to see a spear-
head or arrow-head made. They understood readily enough what
was required, and one of the men, coming forward, took hold of the.
bottle, smashed it against the stones, and selecting a suitable
fragment, set to work at it. He held the piece of glass firmly in
his left hand, protecting the fingers with a bit of cloth, while, with
his right, he grasped a chipping tool, which consisted of a large
blunt-pointed iron nail fixed in a stout wooden handle, serving the
double purpose of a chipping tool and a means of calking the
seams of the canoe. Holding it with the iron point directed
120 Cruise of the *‘Alert.”
towards his waist, he made steady pressure against the fractured
edge of the glass, so as to make small chips flake off from the’
edge towards the smooth side surface. In effecting this he was
able to use great force, because, while the left hand, which held
the glass, was supported rigidly against his chest, the manner in
which he held the fashioning tool enabled him to bring the whole
strength of his wrist to bear upon the edge of the glass. After
having bevelled off one side of the edge, he turned the glass round
and bevelled the other side in a similar manner. Having once
imparted a double bevel to the edge, he was easily able, by operat-
ing on each side alternately, to reduce the substance of the margin
in any one place until the glass had assumed the outline required.
Proceeding in this way, the formation of the barbs and the recess-
ing of the base for the ligature which would secure it to the shaft,
were effected to all appearance with the greatest facility. The
most difficult part of the business was now the formation of the
fine point, as the chipping and flaking had to be conducted with
the greatest nicety. However, after half-an-hour’s steady work,
he triumphantly produced a spear-head two and a half inches long,
and of the form shown in the annexed sketch. The arrow-heads
are made in the same way, and are about one inch in length.
We had the chipping operation repeated on many subsequent
occasions, and by various individuals, and found that all adopted
the same method; the essential feature of which was that the
fashioning of the glass was effected entirely by pressure, and that
no striking implement was used. I induced one of the men to
try an old flat file, instead of his own chipping instrument, but he
soon discarded it; however he found a blunt-edged ship’s knife
very convenient for giving the finishing touches to the point of
the spear-head. With the experience gained from the Fuegians,
I soon learnt to turn out very fair imitations of their work ; and
after practising on various kinds of glass, I found that the easiest
to work with was black bottle-glass, and the most difficult plate-
glass. Green pickle bottle-glass is about a mean between the
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Fuegian Vocabulary. 121
two, and as it is tolerably thick the natives prefer it for their
spear-heads; but for the arrow-heads they use the black glass.
Crown-glass was easy to work, but flaked off in rather short
pieces. I also experimented with some black flint, which happened
to be on board, and found it could be worked in precisely the
same way as the glass, but was certainly more difficult to fashion
into shape. Then I tried different kinds of working tools, and
soon found, to my surprise, that hard steel was the worst of all,
for it scratched and slipped off the edge of the glass without
chipping it at all; whereas soft iron, which was much preferable,
could be manipulated so that it would bite only the extreme edge
of the glass, and by this means very thin and broad flakes could
be detached. Even an old bone harpoon-head answered very
well indeed, but of course was worn away more rapidly than the
soft iron.
One day, when the old man of the first canoe party was on
board, and in an amiable mood, I succeeded in getting some
Fuegian words from him, a matter often previously attempted in
vain. Asa rule, they merely repeat—and that most accurately—
the gestures or ejaculations which one makes in drawing their
attention to any particular object. I brought this old fellow into
-my workshop, and pointed out to him several objects which I had
collected in the straits, and which were sure to be familiar to him.
After some time he got fairly hold of the idca, and then became
very communicative, eventually giving me the names for all the
familiar objects which I could at the time command. I subse-
quently checked the vocabulary thus obtained, by reversing the
process and repeating the words to him, and making him indicate
their meaning, and in this way I made certain that my list, small
though it was, had at all events the merit of being accurate. In
fact, I tested some of the words afterwards on another party of
natives, whom we met at Port Gallant, and found that they went
off all right.
122
Cruise of the Alert,”
VOCABULARY OF FUEGIAN WORDS. -
Obtained from natives at Tilly Bay, Straits of Magellan.
Basket (netted) = cheebass. Mussel _ = chaloux.
», (plaited) ,, dawyer. Necklace », heskouna.
Beard »» port. Nose ». 108;
Bottle », kushki. Nutria-skull », theerkusthads.
Breast 3) poan. Otter-skin ,», lalthers.
Calf »» kutchoice. Paddle », chetarias.
Canoe -y, ayoux. Paroquet ») Parabas.
Crab ,, karabous-kalpers. | Sea-egg »» Kawotchi.
Deer », halchun. Seal-skull ») arougsis.
Dog »» sharkiss. Ship’s boat », sherroux.
Ear », hawish. Skin of seal », harkusis-hushkei
Eye », sthole. Spear (for fish) ,, kip-thatharsh ~
Eyebrow », theseoux. Spear (for seals) ,, udakutsh.
Eyelash ;y thesseriss. Starfish », hiapparoux.
Fingers ,», Sthoen. Steamer-duck __,, karawus-poug.
Finger-nails », tharsh. Stomach », kutshiss.
Fish », areous-areersh. Stone axe », Kesaoux.
Flint »» kosil. Teeth », pathers.
Foot », kadthakous. Thigh », athursh.
Hair », therkous. Tongue »» lekiss.
Hand », therrawaus. Tooth (of seal) _,, sheriquish.
Head »» lakalus. Trumpetshell », tharagskar.
Ironstone ;, iuksthaads. Upland Goose __,, harrawaloux.
Limpet », ithashaquash. Volute shell », tharaquakorass.
Mouse », akraceps. Water »» nupp.
NAMES OF FUEGIAN CIIILDREN AT TILLY BAY.
Alkeress. Gounaco.
Ilchabesakodotis. Gounaco Chikachikis.
Kelchuarkuss.
We anchored at Port Gallant for three days in the latter end
of January, and while we were there a bark canoe came alongside.
It was of the kind which King describes as peculiar to the tribe
inhabiting the western part of the Magellan Straits, and to whom
he assigned the name “ Pecherai,” from their habit of frequently
using that word. The canoe was much smaller and lighter than
the plank canoes of the western channels, and was propelled
entirely by paddles instead of oars. Two old women, who sat in
FPecherat Luegians—A Sleamer in Distress. 123
the stern end, wore cloaks of deer skin, and were very noisy and
talkative, so that we did not encourage them to come on board.
The basket, in which they carried their stock of shellfish, was
much more elaborately plaited than were those of the “ Channel
Fuegians.” We did not observe any difference in their hunting
implements, except that bows and arrows were more abundant
with them.
On the 25th, a large iron steamship, the A7aranhense, came in
from the westward and anchored near us. It appcared that about
six months previously she had come out from Antwerp, bringing
a cargo of arms for the Chilian Government, and that she was
now homeward bound, carrying a general cargo. As she was
coming down the Messier Channel, she had touched the ground
in the English Narrows, and been so much injured in the bows
that her collision compartment was full of water. Captain
Leadbetter came on board to solicit the services of our diver,
which were of course granted; and on an examination being
made, it was found that there was a hole in her bows big enough
for a man to crawl through. For several days subsequently
ineffectual attempts were made to stop it up, and on the 30th of
January both vessels moved up to Sandy Point. Here we met
a German man-of-war, the /reia, whose crew rendered further
assistance to the disabled vesscl, but all in vain. At length, our
diver was sent down to make a complete examination of her
bottom, and he came up with the unpleasant news that there
was another great hole in her bottom, 7} feet in length, under
the after-hold, that the iron skin and part of the keel had been
torn away, and that the cement alone, with which her bottom was
lined, prevented the water from coming in. In view now of the
possibility of the cement suddenly giving way, and the vessel
sinking, steam was got up, the anchor was raised, and she was
moved into shallower water further inshore, so that in the event
of her sinking, the hull might not be entirely submerged. The
master of the JZaranhense now decided on sending to Monte
124 Cruse of the “Alert.”
Video for artificers and material to repair the bottom, and for a
new crank-shaft for her engines, which had also recently come to
grief,
On the goth of February we bade good-bye to the officers of
the Maranhense, and steamed back to Port Gallant. ;
Some days subsequently we moved westward to Playa Parda
Cove in Crooked Reach, our boats having been meanwhile engaged
in charting the coastline.
On February 18th a small party of us made a trip in the steam
cutter from Playa Parda Cove to visit a glacier which is situated
about six miles to the eastward. We steamed round to the inlet,
which is marked on the chart as Glacier Bay, and moored the
cutter under a lofty cliff near the head of the bay. The land
here was low and flat, covered with a dense forest, and bounded
on either side by precipitous lofty cliffs, whose smooth faces
exhibited planings and scorings due to the abrading action of old
glaciers. I landed about the middle of the low muddy beach,
which extended from cliff to cliff, and proceeded to penetrate the
forest in the direction of the glacier. Here I at first found some
difficulty in advancing, for after tearing my way through a dense
prickly scrub of barberry bushes, I came upon an even more
serious obstacle, in the shape of a broad and rapid torrent of
mud-coloured water, which it was absolutely necessary to cross.
This was one of the streams which flowed from under the glacier. ©
Cautiously feeling my way, and steadying myseli against the
rushing water, I just managed to get across, finding the process
rather cold; and now, after traversing a belt of forest, which was
only half a mile in width, but which gave me forty-five minutes
hard work, I emerged all at once from the gloomy shade of the
beech trees to find my eyes dazzled by a glare of white light, and
the foot of the glacier straight before me. The line of trees was
separated irom the snout of the glacier by a freshly-accumulating
terminal moraine, of about one hundred yards in width; and
where this moraine adjoined the sharply-defined edge of the forest,
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A Magellan Glacier. 125
its advancing condition was evident from the piles of rubble which
were in places shot in among the green trees, and from the over-
turned condition of many of those on the margin of the forest, as
they gave way bcfore the advancing piles of rubbish. It was a
strange sight, standing in the middle of this terminal moraine, to
see, on the one hand, a fresh evergreen forest abounding in the
most delicate ferns and mosses; and, on the other, a huge mass
of cold blue-veined ice, which was slowly and irresistibly gouging
its passage downwards to the sea. The stones of the moraine
were composed of syenite and grecnstone, the former predomi-
nating, and mixed up with them I saw many trunks of trees,
which were crushed, torn, and distorted out of all shape. These
were probably the remains of a portion of the forest, which had
at one time extended further up the valley, and which had been
annihilated by the advance of the glacier; and this circumstance,
with the other which I have mentioned, showed clearly that the
glacier was now extending its limits and approaching the sea. A
few days afterwards, we paid a second visit to Glacier Bay, when
a good photo was obtaincd.
We stayed for a fortnight at Swallow Day, a port in Crooked
Reach, a few miles to the westward of Tilly Bay. It would seem
that this locality had been greatly resorted to by the natives
for catching fish, for we found several of their “stone weirs,”
in a more or less perfect state. The places selected for these
weirs were usually small smooth-bottomed coves, and the weir,
which consists of a sort of dam built of loose stones about three
feet high, is placed across the mouth of one of these coves in
such a manner, that when it is complcte, any fish which may
be inside it will be imprisoned. When it is low water, and the
cove is almost dry, a gap is left in the centre of the weir through
which the fish may enter with the rising tide; at high tide the
gap is closed up, so that when the water flows away through
the interstices of the dam with the falling tide, the fish remain
imprisoned in a shallow pool where they can easily be caught,
126 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”’
These shallow mud-bottomed coves are the favourite haunts of
the grey mullets, who collect there in great numbers, and who
sometimes on bright fine days may be seen resting on the mud
with only a few inches of water over them, as they lie apparently
basking in the sunshine.
Here, at Swallow Bay, a party of our men captured and
brought to me a male specimen of the Magellan nutria, an
animal which is abundant throughout the straits and western
channels, but which is nevertheless very rarely seen. We had’
often previously seen its bores in the Fuegian midden heaps,
- where its. skull, with the long curved orange-coloured incisors,
was a conspicuous object ; but this was the first recent specimen
we succeeded in getting hold of. It was started from the brush-
wood by a retriever dog belonging to the ship, and on taking
to the water was killed after a most exciting chase on the part
of our bluejackets. It proved to be identical with the Chilian
species, AZ; ofotamus Coypu.
CHAPTER VI,
EXPLORATIONS IN SKYRING WATER.
N the occasion of our last visit to Sandy Point, the captain
received despatches from the Admiralty, which authorised
him to proceed to Skyring Water in order to investigate the nature
of the coal which was then being worked on the north-east of that
basin, and to ascertain if it could be made available for the use
of men-of-war or merchant vessels, passing through the Straits
of Magellan. A favourable opportunity occurring on March 5th,
the Alert accordingly got under way from her anchorage at
Tilly Bay, and steaming northwards across the Strait, entered the
Jerome Channel. Here we experienced a strong current from
the northward, which was attributed by Mr. Petley, our navi-
gating officer, to the ebb tide flowing from the Otway Water.
This channel is twenty miles in length, from its southern opening
opposite Tilly Bay to its northern extremity abreast of Corona
Island, where it dilates into the wide expanse of Otway Water.
Its shores are lined by precipitous mountains of an average
height of 1,000 feet, and clothed to their summits with the
dense evergreen forest which characterizes. the scenery of the
western half of the Magellan Straits. Behind, and_ towering
above this coast range, were hills of a still greater altitude,
whose summits were clothed with a mantle of snow and ice—
the source of the glaciers flowing to the southward into the main
straits. As we entered Otway Water, we saw on our starboard
128 Cruise of the ‘* Alert.”’
hand a broad expanse of rippling water, limited in the distance
by a coastline of comparatively low land, while on our port side
there was a marked transition from the lofty mountains of the
Cordillera to an upland plain of undulating hills covered with
forest, and sloping gradually downwards into low flat land as it
extended to the eastward. In fact, we had passed through the
backbone of the Cordillera, and were now approaching the
alluvial plains of Patagonia; and it was also clear to us that
we were crossing the line of demarcation between two climatic
zones, for we found that we were exchanging the cloudy sky of
the Magellan region for brilliant sunshine and a clear blue sky,
a change only to be fully appreciated by those who have spent
many months in the damp, cloud-collecting region of the Western
Straits.
The north shore of Otway Water was low and shelving,
presenting a glistening margin of sandy beach, and fringed by
a wide belt of very shallow water. In the afternoon we entered
the Canal of Fitzroy, where we encountered a strong current from —
the northward (Ze. from Skyring Water), which considerably
impeded our progress. Indeed, at 4 p.m. we grounded on a
sandbank, getting off, however, without much difficulty, and in
an hour afterwards we dropped anchor in a bight where an
S-shaped curvature in the canal afforded us shelter from the
current.
Both shores of the canal are low, and formed of alluvial soil,
of which the crumbling banks in places exhibited good sections.
Well-marked terrace-levels bore testimony to the fact that the
land must have been subjected to upheaval, with reference to the
sea-level, at some period in the world’s history. The country
on the western side of the canal is covered with thick scrubby
bush, while that on the eastern side, where we landed for a few
hours, was a sort of open park-land disposed in undulating hills,
covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and studded here and
there with isolated clumps of trees and bushes, among which we
er
Canal of Fitzroy. 129
noticed the antarctic beech, an embothrium, a barberry, and a
cheilobothrium. The ground in the middle of these clumps was
worn bare from having been used as a resting-place by the wild
cattle. Herbaceous composite plants grew in great profusion, and
many specimens of a lychnis were seen, but unfortunately the
season was too far advanced for our obtaining useful specimens
of flowering plants. I was surprised at the great variety of
grasses which flourished on the dark loamy soil. We saw count-
less tracks of wild cattle and horses, and a few deer tracks, but
in the course of our ramble failed to meet with any of these
animals. The existence of a species of Ctenomys was evident
from the way in which the ground was in many places so
riddled with holes as to be-exceedingly dangerous for incautious
horsemen ; and while walking through the long grass I stumbled
over the skull of a puma. We did not see many species of birds.
Finches were abundant, and some flocks of the black starling,
and also of the military starling, were seen. I got a specimen of
a pteroptochus, which resembled the tapacola of Chili, but differed
from it in having a red iris; and on the beach I shot a cinclodes,
which seemed to be of a different species from the common kelp-
bird of the straits. A fine buzzard (I think Buteo erythronotus)
soared above my head, but out of range; and the tiny wren of
Magellan (7vaglodytes), completed the list of birds which we saw.
During our absence great numbers of black-necked swans and
brown ducks were seen in the vicinity of the ship.
The western shore of Fitzroy Channel consisted of a low plain,
rising gradually towards the westward, covered with a dense
scrub of tall bushes, and contrasting strikingly with the open
moorland on the eastern shore.
At five o'clock on the following morning, we got under way and
continued our course through the Canal of Fitzroy, steaming for
hours through a dense interminable flock of black-necked swans,
that paddled lazily to either side as we advanced, as yet in happy
ignorance of the thirst for blood which characterizes the British
9
130 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”’
sportsman. As we emerged from the canal, and skirted along
the eastern shore of Skyring Water, we noticed two men on foot,
walking along the beach. We afterwards learned that they had
a day or two previously left the coal mine where they had been
employed, and were now attempting the precarious task of travel-
ling on foot to the Chilian settlement, Punta Arenas, in the Straits
of Magellan, a distance of ninety miles.
At 10.30 am. we reached the bay of the mines (Rada de las
Minas), and came to an anchor about half-a-mile from the shore.
The settlement was larger than we had expected, and exhibited
fair signs of activity, several shingle-built houses, large store sheds,
and a steam sawmill, showing out conspicuously against the dark
background of forest which spreads for a few miles to either side,
and is seen extending inland to near the summit of Mount
Rogers, a hill to the northward which reaches an elevation of
1,000 feet.
For information concerning Skyring Water, we are mainly
indebted to Fitzroy’s account of the short survey he made in the
year 1829, when in command of H.M.S. Beagle (which account
comprises information obtained from a sealer named Low, who
visited these waters in pursuit of his trade), and to some papers
published by the Chilian Government in the Anuario HHydrografico,
detailing the results of two visits made by Chilian men-of-war.
In November 1877 the Chilian gun-boat J/agellanes visited Sky-
ring Water, making a stay of three weeks, during which time her
boats were mainly employed in making a survey of the eastern
part of the basin. The results of this survey, so far as it went,
favoured the idea of there being a channel connecting Skyring
Water with Smyth’s Channel to the westward. It was brought to
an abrupt termination by the terrible mutiny which took place at
Sandy Point in November 1877; however, in the months of
December 1878, and January and February 1879,Captain Latorre,
of the corvette Magellanes, made a second incomplete examina-
tion of Skyring Water. One of his boat parties penetrated a
The Skyring Coal-Mines. 131
considerable distance to the westward, where the basin is con-
tinuous with a number of long, narrow, winding inlets or channels,
which enter the hills of the coast range. Here they met with a
party of Fuegians, who were in all respects similar to those of the
western channels, possessing the usual canoe and hunting imple-
ments. They also found numerous traces of Fuegians in all the
sheltered coves which they examined among the inlets towards
the western part of Skyring Water. This would seem to indicate
a direct water communication with Smyth’s Channel, but on the
other hand, the range of tide being found to be exceedingly small,
would tend to prove that its connection with the ocean was at all
_ eventsremote. This survey was brought to a close in a most
unsatisfactory way when almost on the eve of clearing up the
- doubtful question as to the existence of through communication ;
the Magellanes having been ordered north on the outbreak of the
war between Chili and Peru.
The Skyring coal-mines were originally started in the year
1877 by an enterprising German named Haase, who opened the
seam, extracted some coal, and erected sheds, but soon afterwards
(I believe through want of funds) abandoned the undertaking, so
that when the Chilian corvette Wagellanes arrived here in October
1877, the settlement was found to be in a deserted condition.
Captain Latorre then made a trial of some coal which he found
lying in a heap near the pit’s mouth, and after executing a partial
survey of Skyring Water was recalled to Sandy Point, on receiving
news of a disastrous mutiny in that colony.
The settlement remained uninhabited from a few months before
the Magellanes’ first visit until the 15th of November, 1879,
when the mine was reopened by Mr. Haase, provided with money,
furnished by a company which had been formed at Buenos Ayres.
Since that time the work has progressed steadily, so that the
mine and adjoining works are now in a tolerably efficient state.
At the time of our visit, the mines and the settlement were in
charge of Monsieur Arnaud, a French engineer, Mr. Haase having
132 Cruise of the *‘ Alert.”
some days previously gone on a trip to Buenos Ayres, The
people numbered about twenty altogether; but as there were as
yet no customers to buy the coal, and as consequently no wages
had been paid for a long time back, the miners were gradually
deserting and making tracks for Sandy Point.
The edge of the coal seam, which is now being worked, was
visible in the face of a low cliff on the north-west promontory
south of the bay of the mines. The outcrop of the seam is in a
north and south direction, and it dips to the south-east at an
angle of about 45°. From a cursory examination which I made
of sections afforded by the cliffs adjoining the mines, I ascertained
that the coal was overlain by a bed of clayey sandstone, overlying
which was a stratum of hard limestone containing fossil shells,
among which large Ostroeas were the most conspicuous. Above
this, and lying conformably to it, was a layer of soft sandstone
containing numerous comminuted fragments of shells in a subfossil
state. The coal seam itself was about twelve feet thick.
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Nature of the Coral Bank. P22
fathoms, and as each line of soundings reached the central de-
pressed area of the bank, a depth of about thirty fathoms. The
islands were for the most part situated near the margin of the
bank, and were in every case surrounded by a zone of shallow
water. Hence it is obvious that if the entire structure were
suddenly to undergo an elevation of about fourteen fathoms, or
eighty-four feet, it would present the appearance of an atoll
studded with comparatively lofty islets, and enclosing a lagoon
of still water sixteen fathoms in depth.
The outer edge of the bank was exceedingly abrupt, for within
a ship’s length the soundings changed from ten or fourteen fathoms
on the margin, to no bottom with one hundred fathoms of line
immediately outside the edge. This precipitous character of the
reef-edge was found to be the same throughout its entire extent.
At various points over this area growing corals were obtained at
depths ranging from twelve to twenty-two fathoms, the latter
being somewhat greater than the limit in depth at which it is
generally agreed that reef-forming corals can live. It therefore
- follows, that if the entire bank were now to subside bodily at a
faster rate than the corals can by their growth raise the surface
upwards, these organisms would soon be immersed below their
natural limit, and would consequently die. But we have no
evidence of a subsidence having occurred, beyond the fact that
the bank, as a whole, bears a resemblance to a submerged atoll,
while on the other hand there are some positive evidences of
elevation to be seen in the overlying islands. At Eagle Island,
the general surface—that is to say, all the land within the inner,
or coral-drift beach—is level, and consists of dead coral 2” sztu ;
so that if denuded of its present covering of low vegetable growth,
it would present much the same appearance that a broad plat-
form of fringing reef might, if elevated above high-water mark
and allowed to remain exposed to the weather for a few years.
The same is the case as regards the greater part of one of the
African Islands which we visited ; while its northern extrémity
228 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”’
was composed of upraised coral sandstone, standing zw sztu, and
exhibiting excavated grottoes and jagged pinnacles, resulting from
old marine degradation. It may therefore be inferred that these
two islands have been subjected to a movement of elevation to
the extent of at least a few feet at some period subsequent to
the formation of their present reef-coral surfaces. Again, at Isle
des Roches, which, however, it should be remembered lies on a
separate, although adjacent bank, there were along its south-
eastern margin stratified beds of hard coral sandstone occupying
a position above high-water mark, and presenting to seaward an
abrupt eroded face of hard rock which was undergoing degrada-
tion, and was being undermined by the action of the waves on a soft —
subjacent stratum. As regards the other islands of the group, I
have seen no evidence of elevation beyond the fact that they are
higher than either African or Eagle Island; one of the most
southerly being as much as fifteen feet above high-water mark.
I may add that the absence of “barrier reefs” throughout the
group militates against the probability of subsidence having taken
place. There is, therefore, reason to believe that the entire group
have undergone elevation rather than subsidence; and if the
forces which produced this condition be still in operation, and
continue so until a further elevation of fourteen fathoms has been
effected, there will result an atoll over eighty miles long by twenty
in width, and studded with lofty coral islands, somewhat resem-
bling the high islands of the south-eastern Paumotus, such as
Elizabeth Island, which Dana describes as being eighty feet in
height. |
The Amirante Group furnishes an illustration of the generally
accepted position that corals grow more luxuriantly on the
weather than on the lee side of banks and reefs. In this region,
a wind, varying in direction between east and south-east, prevails
throughout ten months of the year, and consequently gives rise
to a proportionately constant surface current; and, on looking
at the grouping of the islets, we find that of the eight which rest
| Weather and Lee Sides contrasted. | 229
a 2 upon the same bank, six are situated on or about its eastern
_ margin, while the remaining two, which are placed on its south-
western side, are “comparatively insignificant sand-cays. Again,
¥ Isle des Roches, which rests on a bank to the eastward of the
5 Be - Amirantes, from which it is separated by a deep-water channel
~ eleven. miles wide, is situated on the eastern, or weather margin
a its 0 own srs oral a partially-submerged atoll.
CHAPTER XII,
CONCLUSION.
Ee)" completing our surveying work at the Amirante Group
_ we steamed back to Port Mahé, Seychelles, in order to
replenish our stock of coals. After a stay of a few days we
again got under way (17th of April), and shaped a course for
Alphonse Island, which occupies an isolated position sixty
miles south-west-by-south of the southern extremity of the
Amirante bank. MW
We reached Alphonse Island on the 19th of April, about mid-
day, and saw that in shape, and general appearance, it much re-
sembled one of the Amirantes—for instance, Poivre ; but, however, “
in one important characteristic was different. It possessed a sort
of barrier reef little less than a wash, and sufficiently indicated
by a long line of heavy breakers. We steamed round the island, __
holding a course parallel to the line of breakers, and within a few _ ¥
ships’ lengths of it, but we got no soundings with fifty fathoms of
line. On attaining a position opposite to the southern extremity __
of the island, we saw a canoe approaching, the occupants of which,
an elderly white man and some negroes, soon afterwards boarded _
us. The information which they gave us confirmed our im- a
pression as to there being no anchorage suitable for a large ship
anywhere near the island. We learned that it was the property
of a Frenchman named Baudon, who resides in Europe, and that — 7
the population consisted of twenty-eight, six being whites—viz.,
ny
Pear l-shell Fishery. 231
John Hickey, the manager, with his wife and children—and the
remainder, mulattoes and negroes. The island seemed to us
to be covered with cocoa-nut trees, but we were told that only
a small number were old enough to bear nuts, The produce
consisted of copra, green turtle, hawk’s-bill turtle, and pearl-shell.
Of the latter, two thousand shells had been exported within the
previous two years; and we also learned from Hickey that he
then had nine hundred in store awaiting shipment. The shells,
which are much smaller than those of Torres Straits, and have a
black internal margin like those of Ceylon, are obtained by negro
swimming-divers. They are found in the still-water pools, inside
the barrier reef, where they lie in four or five fathoms of water ;
and on account of the danger from sharks they are only sought
for in these enclosed pools. Although a good many pearls of
small size are met with, the commercial value of the fishery
depends on the mother-of-pearl of the shells.
Fish are caught in great abundance, and as poultry thrive well,
a large stock of them are kept and allowed to run wild. Fresh
water being also plentiful, the inhabitants are not on the whole
badly off for the necessaries of life. 3
After a long interview with old Hickey, who most generously
presented us with some turkeys and ducks, we bade him a long
good-bye, and steamed away towards Providence Island.
We anchored off the west side of this island on the forenoon
of the 21st of April, and lay about a mile from the land, and a
quarter of a mile outside a long fringing reef, over the raised
outer edge of which the sea broke heavily, forming an almost
continuous line of rollers.
Providence Island lics two hundred and forty miles from the
Amirante Islands, in a south-west-by-south direction, and is two
hundred miles north-east-by-north from the northern extremity
of Madagascar. It is entirely of coral formation, is low and flat,
and measures two miles in length by one-third of a mile in width.
It is surrounded with broad submerged fringing reefs, which at
232 Cruise of the Alert.”
the southern extremity of the island are continuous with a long
reef, extending in a southerly direction for a distance of sixteen
miles, and partially dry at low tide. At its southern termination
are three small islets, or rather sand-cays, which are termed
collectively Cerf Islands. |
Providence Island belongs to two Seychelle gentlemen; viz.,
Mr. Dupuys and Dr. Brookes, for whom it is managed by an
elderly Frenchman named Hoyaeux. The population consists
of Hoyaeux, with his wife and nephew, and a gang of negroes,
male and female, amounting in all to thirty-four. The houses of
the settlement are situated on either side of a broad avenue which
traverses the middle of the island from east to west. The only
landing-place is at the western end of this avenue, opposite to
which we were anchored ; and even here it was always somewhat
dangerous, and in bad weather quite impracticable to effect a
landing, on account of the rollers which broke over the outer edge
ef the fringing reef. The latter forms the nearest approach to a
“barrier reef” which I have yet seen in these waters; excepting
that at Alphonse Island, which we had not time to examine
carefully. The depth of water over its general surface is not
more than a fathom at low tide; while at its outer edge, which
is marked by the line of breakers, the depth is only a foot or
so less.
The produce of the island consists of cocoa-nut oil and green
turtle. The greater part of the island is covered with cocoa-nut
plantations, young and old, for which the soil seems admirably
suited. I noticed that here the cocoa-nuts had been planted in
the surface soil, and not in pits as at Poivre and Des Roches ; and
on my making a remark to that effect, Monsieur Hoyaeux, the
manager, explained to me the reason. It has been found by
experience that cocoa-nuts will not thrive on any of these islands
unless they are so planted that the roots may be enabled to reach
the bed of coral into which the sea-water penetrates. Hence it
follows that when nuts are planted on any but very low coral
Edible Turtle—Common Plants. ~ 233
islands it has been found advisable to put them at the bottom of
basin-shaped excavations some three or four feet in depth, so that
the roots may have a chance of reaching the moist coral beneath.
Providence Island being sufficiently low by nature, it was not
necessary to make these excavations,
Green turtle are captured in great numbers during the month
of April, when the females come up on the beaches to deposit
their eggs. A turtle pond near the settlement contained, at the
time of our visit, no less than eighty, all of large size. In con-
nection with this pond a portion of the sandy inner beach was.
_ wattled in, so as to serve as a hatching-ground for the captured
turtle. As soon as the young ones have become sufficiently
strong to take care of themselves, they are turned adrift into the
open sea. In this way the young turtle escape the danger, which
they are otherwise exposed to when of a tender age, of being
destroyed by predatory sea-birds; and thus the maintenance of
the stock is favoured, It is a curious thing that young turtle
seem to have a difficulty about, or a strong disinclination to,
diving beneath the surface of the water. One almost always sees
them floating in the ponds, instead of groping about the bottom
as the adults do.
The indigenous fauna and flora were almost identical with those
of the Amirantes, except that there were no land-birds as at Isle
des Roches. Monsieur Hoyaeux very kindly supplied me with
the creole names of the trees, shrubs, and one or two herbaceous
plants. Among these were the “ Bois Blanc” (/ernandia peltata),
“Sauve Souris” (a low tree with long dark green leaves), “ Bois
Cu Cu” (a tree with drupaceous fruit, having a curved hook at
the apex), “Veloutier Tabac” (Zournefortia argentea, a seaside
bush of the family Afocynacee, the leaves of which are sometimes
smoked instead of tobacco), and the “ Veloutier Blanc” (Scevola
Kenigii, a very common seaside bush of the family Goodenzaceg).
Some of the bushes and Casuarina trees (called “Cedre” by the
creoles) were overrun with a parasitic creeping plant, Cassytha
234 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”
filiformis, which they use for making a sort of tea, and to which
they give the name “ Liane sans feuilles,”
The huge land-tortoises of Aldabra have been imported, and
seem to find a congenial home in the island. There was a herd
of seven roaming about among the bushes, one of which was said
to be able to carry two men on its back.
Among the introduced plants and vegetables we saw the
papaw, custard-apple, pepper, sweet potato, onions, lettuce,
capsicum, etc. :
Pearl-shell is collected on the reefs, but not as yet in sufficient
quantities to establish a lucrative industry. In this respect the
island is not so fortunate as Alphonse, for there are no sheltered
rock-pools in which the shell can be collected by swimming-
divers without danger from the sharks ; the sea everywhere flow-
ing in over the outer edge of the broad fringing reef, and the
great reef to the southward only drying in patches at low tide.
Small water-worn fragments of precious coral (C. rubrum) are
from time to time picked up on the reef, but we could not glean
any information as to its precise habitat. We met with none in
our dredgings, which ranged up to a depth of twenty-two fathoms.
It probably inhabits the deeper water on the outer slope of the
bank. Madame Hoyaeux, who was most kind and hospitable,
presented me with some fragments which had been picked up on
the reef, and which resembled the Corallium rubrum of the
Mediterranean.
There are many wells on the island, but in all the water has a
saline taste. It is serviceable enough for washing and cooking
purposes; but for drinking, the inhabitants rely upon the rain-
water which they collect.
On the forenoon of the 28th of April we anchored about a mile
and a half to the westward of three small islets, which rest on the
southern extremity of the Providence Reef. I then accompanied
the captain on a boat-trip to the islets, visiting the two which lay
nearest. The most northerly of these we found to be a low and
Si
Cerf Islets. 235
almost barren sand-cay, crescentic in outline, about two hundred
yards in greatest length, and thirty yards in width. Near the
eastern extremity were two rude fishing-huts which seemed to
have been recently inhabited. They contained a turtle-spear and
some other fishing appliances, a hatchet, a bag of salt, a tinder-
box, and some other small bags which were closed up, and which
_a delicate regard for the sacred rights of private property deterred
us from examining. A few pearl-shells of the species peculiar -
to these islands lay in a heap near one of the huts. I appropriated,
without any scruple, some specimens of these, leaving, however, in
exchange, a big lump of tobacco, which I deposited in one of the
bags hanging from the rafters of the hut.
Close to the concave margin of the islet was a small turtle-
pond, composed of stakes driven vertically into the soft sand, and
lashed together so as to form a circular- enclosure through which
the shallow water flowed freely at all times of the tide. It con-
tained six large turtle.
The only plants growing on the islet were a very young cocoa-
nut, scarcely six inches high, and a weed, without flowers, some-
_ what resembling a Mesembryanthemum, and evidently growing
wild. The latter may, I think, be considered to be the only
indigenous plant on the islet. In strolling over the piled-up
sand and broken coral, of which the surface of the islet was
composed, I came across-three fruits of the widely-distributed
Barringtonia speciosa, which had evidently drifted on to the beach,
and had then been blown up above tide mark.
We subsequently visited a second islet which lay about a mile
to the westward of the above, with which it was connected by a
shallow reef, probably laid bare at low tide. This second islet
proved to be utterly devoid of vegetation, and showed no signs
of having ever been inhabited. Strewn over its surface were
great quantities of dead shells, among which I saw examples of the
genera Harpa, Dolium, Bulla, Cyprea, Littorina, Voluta, Conus, etc.
From here we obtained a good view of the third islet, and could
236 Cruise of the ‘‘Alert,”
see on it two large huts and several clumps of bushes, but nothing
in the shape of a human being. (One of our boats visited this islet
on the following day and reported that the huts were uninhabited,
although showing signs of having recently been in use.) There were -
three plants ; viz., the Veloutier Tabac (Zournefortia argentea), the
Bois D’aimanthe (Swriana maritima), a bush with lanceolate woody
leaves, and a small herbaceous plant. After a good deal of groping
and wading about the shores of the islet, we returned at about 5 p.m.
to the place where we had left our boat, but found, to our dismay,
that the tide had fallen so low since we had landed, that the boat
was now hard and fast on the bare reef, and after repeated efforts
to drag it over to the reef-edge, a distance of nearly half a mile,
we were obliged to make up our minds to wait for the rising tide.
As we were unfortunately without any provisions, our position was
not the most agreeable, especially as the boat was not floated off
till near midnight. )
On the morning of the Ist of May we weighed anchor and
steamed over to the island of St. Pierre, which lies about ten
miles to the south-west of our last position. We spent some
hours sounding off the island in deep water, and as it was
reported that there was no safe -anchorage, the captain did not
attempt to land. Seen from a distance of about half a mile—the
nearest we approached to it—St. Pierre appeared to be of a very
different character from the islands recently visited. It was some-
what circular in outline, and was covered by a dense growth of
scrubby bushes, above which appeared the crowns of three or four
isolated palm trees. The mean level of its surface was about
thirty feet above the water, so that it was three or four times as
high as Providence, or the Amirante Islands. It presented all
round a precipitous rock-bound coast worn into jagged pinnacles
above, and undermined below by the wear and tear of the heavy
ocean swell, which thundered against it and testified to its eroding
power by the jets of spray which we saw shot upwards from blow-
holes through the upper surface of the rock.
ie | ree
t
Du Lise Island—Fiora. 237
On the 3rd of May we anchored off Du Lise Island, the most
northern of the three islets which compose the Glorioso Group.
These islets lie about two hundred and seventy miles to the
south-west of Providence Island, and one hundred and twenty
miles in a west-by-north direction from the northern extremity
of Madagascar.
Du Lise Island is of a very irregular shape, both as to its
surface and outline, and measures about a quarter of a mile
across in various directions. It seems to be formed entirely of
coral sandstone, conglomerate, and breccia, and presents to the
sea on its north-west side low jagged cliffs of consolidated coral
breccia, and on the opposite side a sloping beach composed of
hard coral sandstone arranged in gently inclined slabs; while its
surface is in one place raised into a large mound about thirty feet
in height, covered with trees and rank grass, and probably com-
posed of blown coral sand. Among the tufts of grass on the
sloping sides of this mound were great numbers of S/iru/a-shells
in a tolerably perfect condition. Many of them lay in sheltered
places where they could hardly have been deposited by the agency
of the wind alone, and yet if they had been dropped by birds after
the latter had devoured the soft body of the mollusc, one would
expect to have found the fragile shells in a more or less mutilated
state, which was not the case. The circumstance is, therefore,
a rather puzzling one to account for satisfactorily. |
The flora was more abundant in species than at any of the
coral islands to the northward. There were, moreover, no signs
of the island having been inhabited ; and consequently we saw
no palms, for the cocoa-nut does not seem to be zudizgenous at
any of the islands recently visited. The prevailing tree was a
good-sized banyan, of which many examples appeared to be very
old. There were also several Hibiscus trees. As to bushes, there.
were a few isolated examples of the “ Veloutier blanc,” while the
low central part of the island, into which the seawater penetrated
so as to form a filthy salt-marsh, was covered with a dense im-
238 | Cruise of the ‘*Alert.””
penetrable thicket of “ Bois d’Aimanthe.” Herbaceous plants were
numerous, and comprised species of the families Solanacege, Mal-
vace@, Eupharbiace@, and Granuicee.
The fauna, which was not extensive, included a brown rat,
which was to be seen climbing along the upper branches of the
trees, apparently in search of small birds or their eggs ; a lizard;
a large brown cove, pronounced by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe to be a
new species of Turtur; a Zosterops, and a sun-bird, a large crab
of the genus Lzrvgus ; terrestrial hermit-crabs, and many spiders.
We did not find any fresh water. The soil on the upper parts
of the island was a dark loam; and although sea-birds in the
shape of gannets and frigate-birds were abundant and bred on
the island, I saw very little guano.
I spent the forenoon of the following day in examining the
broad fringing reef, a great extent of which was laid bare by the
low-water spring-tide. It was composed of coral sandstone and
coral breccia, and presented a rather sterile appearance, being
entirely devoid of living corals, and containing very few zoophytes
in its rock pools. I was, however, interested at finding on the
- surface of this reef a few isolated rounded stones which were quite
foreign to the surrounding formation, and whose source remains
a mystery difficult of solution. One was an oblong block of hard
black basalt, about a foot long, by four inches in width, while the
other was a lump of clear quartz the size of an orange, and much
worn by attrition. Darwin, in his “Journal of a Naturalist,”
mentions a similar occurrence at the Keeling Islands; and in
endeavouring to account for it, inclines to the belief that such
stones have been transported by floating trees, in whose roots
they were originally entangled, and from whence they have become
detached after the stranding of the dead tree.
Irom the rock-pools we picked up some large Cone-shells, as
well as a few Murices, Littorinas, and Turbos. Wealso saw some
Ophiurids, and one Holothurian.
We got under way again on the 5th of May, and, after spending
Glorioso Island. 239
_—
several hours in taking soundings, came to an anchor in eleven
fathoms, about two miles to the northward of Glorioso Island.
This is the largest island of the three which constitute the
Glorioso Group (Vert Island is very small indéed), and is some-
what squarish in shape, measuring a mile and a half each way.
It consists of a central depressed plateau, in which the wells yield
only brackish water, enclosed by two lines of circumvallation,
which are composed of sand hills forming continuous ridges, and
ranging from thirty to forty feet in height above the level of the
sea.. The outer of these two ridges is about forty yards from
highwater mark on the beach, and is separated from the inner
ridge by a broad and deep furrow, which sustains a luxuriant
growth of “Veloutier” and “Bois d’Aimanthe” bushes. Near
the centre of the island we saw the muddy bed of a marsh, now
dry, which one of the negroes informed me was at certain times
of the year full of salt water.
Glorioso Island is the property of a Frenchman named Carltot,
who, at the time of our visit, was away somewhere in Madagascar.
The population consisted of the manager—an old Frenchman—
one other white man, and fifteen negro labourers ; who, with their
wives and families, amounted in all to twenty-seven. They were
endeavouring to cultivate cocoa-nuts, but so far as we could judge,
without much success ; for the number of these trees bearing fruit
scarcely amounted to twenty. The poor people were in great
distress for want of clothes and provisions, not having seen any
vessel for ten months before our arrival. They had latterly been
subsisting wholly on turtle and fish, without vegetables, meal, or
bread of any kind. The island was so infested with rats that it
was found almost impossible to raise any vegetables. In fact,
commercially, it has proved a failure, so that the wretched in-
habitants were only awaiting the first opportunity for quitting it
and returning to Mahé.
The flora resembled that of Du Lise. The banyan tree, called
“Fouce” by the creoles, was conspicuous, and in many instances
240 Cruise of the ‘*Alert.”
seemed to be of great antiquity. I noticed the same land-birds
as at Du Lise, but there was an addition in the occurrence of the
Madagascar crow. Frigate-birds were numerous all over the
island, and, strange to say, were frequently to be seen perch-
ing on the branches of tall forest trees. In using the word
“forest” for the first time whilst speaking of these islands, I should
add that a great ‘portion of Glorioso was covered with a dense
growth of virgin forest, upon which the clearing operations of
the colonists had made comparatively feeble inroads. I need
scarcely add that our proximity to the great island of Madagascar
was rendered apparent by the above-mentioned novelties as to
fauna and flora which we encountered on our voyage southward.
The greater portion of the circumference of the island is fringed
by a broad reef of dead coral and coral sandstone, on which rests
in many places a thin coating of mud or sand. This platform
of reef, and also the sandy beach proper, together exhibited
examples of a good many shells, most of which, however, were
dead specimens. We saw representatives of the genera Conus,
Turbinella, Fusus, Cyprea, Trivia, Nassa, Natica, Neritina, Halitis,
Dolium, and Oliva. Besides these shells there was little else to
be seen, except fragments of organpipe coral (Zubipora musica),
and the bleached tests of an Echinus, a species of Hemiaster (?).
On the morning of the 8th of May we were again under way
and sailing for Mozambique Island, which is about five hundred
miles from Glorioso. On the evening of the roth we passed
within a few miles of Mayotta, one of the Comoro Islands, and
had a fine view of its high volcanic hills—a sight peculiarly
grateful to eyes now for some time accustomed to seeing land
only in the shape of low coral islands. As we passed to the
eastward, the shadow cast by the western declining sun on the
face of the island brought out the outline of its hills in the form
of a bold. silhouette.
May 12th, about midday, looking to the westward we saw a
great flat-topped hill appearing above the horizon. This was our
oA |
Table Mountain—Mozambique Island. 241
first view of the east coast of Africa, and proved to be Table
Mountain, a hill two thousand feet high, and situated some twelve
or fifteen miles inland. Being of such a height it was visible to
us from a distance of fifty miles, when nothing was to be seen
of the coast itself or of the intervening lowlands. Shortly before
dusk we steamed up to the north side of Mozambique Island,
and anchored for the night in an open roadstead, whence, on the
following morning, we moved into the inner anchorage.
Mozambique Island has been in the possession of the Portuguese
since the middle of the fifteenth century. About the year 1505
they commenced to build a large fort on the northern extremity
of the island. It was designed on a scale of great magnitude,
and although constructed entirely of stone, and entailing an
immense amount of labour, was completed within a period of
about seven years. Having then by means of this stronghold
_ established themselves securely and made this island a base of
operations for further conquests, they began to annex nominally
a great extent of territory along the neighbouring coast of Eastern
Africa. For the next two hundred years, or thereabouts, most
of the trade of the coast passed through Mozambique, and the
position was therefore of great importance, both in a commercial
and political point of view. _ The produce consisted of ivory,
cocoa-nut oil, india-rubber, gold, amber, and calumba root. Of
late years Zanzibar has monopolized most of the East African
trade, and, consequently, Mozambique has been losing its impor-
tance, and has now almost ceased to be a centre of commercial
industry. Indeed, the only African export of any moment which
now passes through Mozambique is india-rubber, which is said to
be of good quality, and of which large supplies are forthcoming.
The coast tribes have never properly fraternized with the
* Portuguese, and although a large force of troops is maintained
at the fort, the few colonists who now reside on the mainland are
practically at the mercy of the natives. At present, a large tribe,
the Macolos, hostile to the Portuguese, and numbering about
16
242 Crutse of the *‘Alert.”
fifteen thousand, were encamped in the neighbourhood of Pau
Mountain, a hill which we could see from the ship, and which is
only twenty miles distant. The Macolo dialect is the same as
that used by the black natives of the island.
Mozambique Island is a mile and a half long by a quarter of a
mile in width, and is separated from the mainland by a shallow
channel one mile broad, through which the ebb and flood tides
run with great velocity. Considering the small area of the place
the population is dense, amounting altogether to seven thousand.
It is composed of African blacks, Banyans from Kutch and
Gudjerat in Hindostan, Portuguese, Arabs, and English. There
are only five of the latter nationality ; viz., the British Consul,
Mr. O’Niel (late Lieut. R.N.); Mr. Cassidy, superintendent of the
telegraph cables; Mr. Parlett, agent for the British India Steamers;
and two telegraph operators. The number of Portuguese forming
the garrison of the island amounts to two hundred and fifty ; and,
besides these, there is a detachment of sixty soldiers stationed on
the adjoining shore of the mainland.
There is a local trade in an intoxicating liquor called “ Caju,”
which is made from the fermented juice of the soft part of the
cashew fruit, by distillation. It is said that a tablespoonful of
this liquor is sufficient to intoxigate an ordinary man, and to
give him a fearful headache as well.
I spent several hours, while the tide served, in exploring the
neighbouring reefs for shells and other marine specimens. Among
the former were three species of cowries, C. 7igris, C. Mauritiana,
and C. Moneta; a large Fusus, a Haliotis,a Volute ; an Ostrea,
a Conus, a Tridacna, and a Pinna ; while on the beach we found
Naticas, Neritinas, and Pinnas. Several Echinoderms were also
seen, comprising four Ophiurids, and three or four Asterias. Of
the latter, there was one huge species of a blood-red colour on
the upper surface, and gaudily variegated with round blotches of
yellow. Among Crustaceans, the most common form was a
Calappa. Grapsus was also represented, and a few JZazozd species
ee.
Fauna of the Reefs—We proceed Homeward. 243
were also captured. On opening a couple of clam-shells some
curious commensal crabs were found inside, two in each shell ;
they seemed to be very reluctant to leave their old quarters.
Fringing the adjoining shore of the mainland was a large
extent of reef covered with fine sand, and bearing a luxuriant
crop of short green sea-wracks (Zostera). Under shelter of this
weed we found a great number and variety of Holothurians. A
long Synapta, unpleasant to handle on account of the pricking
sensation which its spicules imparted to the skin, was here obtained,
and a small conger eel dwelt in burrows projecting downwards
from the bottom of small pits in the sand, where it might be seen
protruding its head on the look-out for its prey.
The most frequent shell on this part of the reef was a species
of Pinna about eight inches long, which, in numbers of three or
four together, was generally to be seen anchored vertically in the
sand by means of its long byssus. The lips of the shell were so
very fragile, and the byssal attachment was so firm, that it was no
easy matter to root up an uninjured specimen. About the roots
of the green sea-wrack nestled in great numbers a tiny cowrie, the
collection, of which gives occupation to great numbers of women
and children, who may be seen scattered over the reefs every day
at low tide. Great quantities of these shells are exported to the
west coast of Africa for the benefit of the negro tribes there, who
" still make use of them as the current coin of the country.
With our arrival at Mozambique terminated the surveying
operations of the Ari, so that it only remained for us now, on
receiving our mails, to make the best of our way to England. We
accordingly sailed on the 22nd of May, and proceeded on our
voyage towards the Cape of Good Hope, which we expected to
reach in about a fortnight’s time. However, the weather proved
to be most unfavourable, for on passing to the southward of
Madagascar, where we had calculated on meeting with the south-
easterly trade wind, we encountered instead a westerly breeze,
244 . Cruise of the ‘Alert.’
accompanied by a rather heavy sea, so that our progress for the
time was far from satisfactory. On reaching the latitude of Algoa
Bay, on the east coast of Africa, it was decided on running in
there for coal, which we accordingly did, anchoring off the town
of Port Elizabeth on the 9th of June, and remaining there until
the morning of the 11th, when we resumed our voyage to the
Cape.
We arrived at Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the 14th
of June, and made a stay of fourteen days, which was necessary
in order to enable us to refit and revictual the ship, and otherwise
prepare for the homeward voyage through the Atlantic.
On one of the few days which I here spent on shore, I made
the acquaintance of a Mr. Black, a fine hale old man, a shipwright
by trade, who supplemented his regular work by collecting and
preparing for sale various curiosities of natural history, especially
the skins and horns of many South African animals of the antelope
family. His latest trophy was a very large specimen of the egg
of the Epiornis of Madagascar, a gigantic bird which would seem
to have become extinct almost within the historic period. He had
purchased this egg, as a commercial speculation, from the super-
cargo of a trading schooner, and hoped to realize a considerable
profit by disposing of it to one of the European museums. It was
indeed of enormous proportions—although not actually the largest
on record—for it measured eleven and three-quarter inches in length
and eight and a half inches in breadth, while it had a capacity of
about eight quarts. The shell was one-eighth of an inch in thick-
ness, as I ascertained. by measuring it at the smaller end, where
there was an aperture large enough to admit the thumb. He
could not give me any information as to the conditions under
which it was found, and although he had paid a large sum for it
seemed to be unaware of the fact that somewhat similar specimens
existed. It appeared to be in a sub-fossil condition, and was
dotted over externally with fine pits, so that its surface somewhat
resembled that of an old half-decayed human skull. About one-
i eee oe
drpinal Flome. | 245
ae ‘third of its wisice was stained uniformly of an earthy colour,
"suggesting the idea that it must have remained for a long time
partially imbedded in the ground.
zz c ete direct homeward voyage: we stopped for a few days at
- Plymouth Sound on the 3rd of September, 1882, after an absence
_ from England of poeey four years.
GENERAL
INDEX.
Aborigines, Australian, 185, 188, 204, 205.
Abrolhos Bank, 18.
Aconcagua, 82,
Adelaide, 201.
Admiralty, 1.
** Adventure,” H.M.S., 1.
Adzes, stone, 163.
Africa, 2; coast of, in sight, 241.
African Islands, 218, aoe.
Albany Island, 193.
Albatrosses, 22; flight of, 89, 141.
Aldabra Island, 215.
‘* Alert,” H.M.S., 2.
Algoa Bay, 244.
Alikhoolips, 55.
Allen, Captain, 183.
Almirante Cochrane, 41.
Alphonse Island, 230, 232.
Altamirano Bay, 134.
Amadtha, 164.
America, South, 1.
Amirante Islands, 2, 218, 225.
Andalien River, 97.
-Angol, 99, 100.
Angona, 163.
Annita, attacked by Fuegians, 55.
‘Anson, Commodore, 54.
Ant-Thrush, habits of, 142.
Anuario Hydrografico, 130.
Apparatus Boats, 197.
Arabs, 242.
Araucania, 95.
Araucanians, 29.
Arctic Expedition, 2.°
Arnaud, Mons., 131, 135.
Atoll, 227,, 229.
Australia, 1, 180.
Axes, Fuegian, 52.
Azores, 245.
Bahia de la gente, old colony at, 35.
Bailie’s Sounding Apparatus, 18.
Baker, Mr., of Tonga, 170.
Bakola, 162.
Ball at Tahiti, 151.
Balsam Bog, 31.
Bandurria, 36.
Banka Island, 210.
Banks’ Group, 179.
Banyans, 242.
Butcher Bird, 85.
Baron Collinson, 13.
Barrier Reef, Great, 184.
Barrier reefs, 226, 228, 232.
Basil Hall, Captain, 83.
Batteries, crushing, 203.
Bau, 160, 162.
Baudon, Mons., 230.
Bea, town of, 170, 173.
Beagle Channel, 56.
“ Beagle,” H.M.S., I, 130.
Beche-de-mer, 190.
Beech-trees, deciduous and evergreen, 36,
80
Bell, Mr. F. J., 71.
Bellavista, 24.
Bethell, Lieut. G. R., 3.
Berberry plants, 35, 38, 41, 104.
Beresford, Sub-Lieut. C., 4, 69.
Bertaut, Mons., 222.
Biobio River, 95, 98, 99.
Bird Island, Australia, 192.
Bird Island, Seychelles, 211—219.
Birds of Amirantes, 223, 224.
»,» Peckett Harbour, 38.
»» Port Darwin, 207.
»» Seychelles, 212, 213.
3, St. Ambrose, 86.
99° Lahiti, 150.
»» Torres Straits, 200, 201.
Black, Mr., 244. -
Black police, 185.
Bligh, Lieutenant, 168.
Bois Blanc, 233.
5» Car Ca, 233;
;, D’aimanthe, 222, 236.
Bolsa, 31.
Bomberos, 81.
Bonitoes, 13.
Booby Island, 199.
General Index.
Boomerangs, 186, 189, 206.
Borja Bay, 40.
Boudeuse, frigate, 145.
” Island, 225, 226.
Bougainville, Mons. de, 145.
Bounty, H.M.S., 168.
Bowen, town of, 188.
Boyd, Mr., 178.
Brazen Head, ro.
Brazo del Norte, 111.
Brazo Point, 59.
Brenchley, 173.
Bridges, Mr., 113.
Brillador, mines of, 93, 94.
British Museum, 54.
Brodie, Mr., 214, 215.
Brooks, Dr., 216, 232.
Buckets, bark, 53.
_ Buckley, the sealer, 113, 116.
Buenos Ayres, 13, 28, 29.
Bullock, collision with, 1or.
Bure Kalou, 162, 166.
Buréta, village of, 166.
Burial of Fuegians, 56.
Burmeister, Dr., 29.
Burney’s voyages, 54, 68.
Bushes, wind-swept, 109.
Butcher bird, 183.
Byron, Commodore, 51.
Byron Island, 103.
Cache Diablo, 68.
Cacobau, King of Fiji, 159, 160, 165.
Caju, 242.
Calamary, 139.
Calandria, 26.
Callaghan, Governor, 31.
Canal of Fitzroy, 128, 136.
Canary Islands, 12.
Canoe, Fijian, 163.
», Fuegian, 43, 51, 64.
Cape Bowling Green, 190.
», de Verdes, 15.
», Gamboa, 66, 71.
», Gregory, 34.
», Of Good Hope, 2, 244.
9, Santa Maria, 21.
», Tres Montes, 103.
», Virgins, 34.
»» Pigeon, 18, 105, 141.
Carouru, 38.
Carpincho, 26.
Casimiro, 29.
Cassidy, Mr., 242.
Catholic mission, 169.
Cave at Port Rosario, 69.
+ Tongatabu, 176.
Cedar, 42.
Cedre, 233.
Cerf Islets, 232.
Cetaceans, 72.
Ceylon, 210.
Chacabuco, 41.
Challenger, voyage of, 77.
247
Channel Fuegians, 42, 48, 56, 103, 123.
Chasm Reach, 79.
Chickens, gone wild, 220.
Chili at war, 81.
Chillan, 99.
Chinamen, 203.
Chrysalis at sea, 21.
Clack Island, 191.
Clairemont Islands, 192.
Clark, Mr., 98—101.
Climate of West Patagonia, 45.
Coal apparatus at St. Vincent, 15.
Coalmines, Skyring, 131.
Cockatoos, white, 185.
Cockle Cove, 104.
Coco-de-mer, 214, 215.
Cocoa-nuts, method of planting, 232.
Ne at Seychelles, 215.
: ” »» 170.
Colombo, 210.
Colon, trip to, 22.
Comoro Islands, 240.
Compaifiia smelting works, 93, 94.
Concepcion Channel, 59, 103, 112.
” town of, 95, 96, 141.
Conferva, oceanic, 13, 177. —
Cook, Captain, 145, 168, 173.
» Mr. William, 4.
Cooktown, 190,
Copigue, 46.
Copper trade at Coquimbo, 83.
Coppinger, Dr. R. W., 4.
Copra, 147.
Copra-mill, 216—217.
Coquimbo, 82, 93, 142.
Coral on ship’s bottom, 151.
Corals, distribution of, 221.
Coral, red, 234.
Cordillera, 64, 75, 89, 99, 128, 135.
Corea, steamship, 194, 198
Cormorants, 42, 106, 107, I10, III.
Covadonga Islands, 137, 139.
Corona Island, 127.
Cox, Mr., of Talcahuano, 62.
Coypo of Magellan, 48.
Crabs at African Island, 219.
Crania, 179.
Croker, Captain, 170.
Crooked Reach, 117, 124.
Crosshatchings, 75.
Culebras bank, 177.
Cunningham, Mr., of Beagle, 191.
Cunningham, Dr., of Nassau, 61.
Curagoa, voyage of, 173,
248 General Index.
Currant-bush, 134.
Danger Islands, 154.
Darros Island, 221, 225, 226.
Darwin, Mr., 27, 31, 83, 97, 100.
Davita, our guide, 171.
Dayot sloop, 146, 151, 152.
Dean Island, 185, 186.
Deedes, Lieutenant James, 3.
Deer, in West Patagonia, 64.
Delgado Bay, 59.
D’Entrecasteaux, 168.
Des Neufs Island, 225, 226.
Diadem Peak, 146.
Diddle-dee, 31, 41.
Dido, H.M.S., 159.
Dinwoodie, Mr. John, 4
Dolphin, 144.
Drawings by aborigines, 191.
Dredging at St. Vincent, 16.
ta Madeira, 1o—II.
5 Hotspur Bank, 18.
Victoria Bank, 19.
“s Port Molle, 187.
* other, 193, 207, 217, 221.
Drongo, 207.
Duck, crested, 38, 68.
Du Lise Island, 237.
Dungeness Point, 34.
Dunsmuir, Mr., 37.
Dupuys, Mr., 232.
Durazno, trip to, 24.
Eagle Island, 220, 225, 226, 227.
Earthquake at Coquimbo, 83.
East, Sub-Lieut. W., 4.
Eastern Archipelago, 209.
Eastlake, Mr., 181.
Eden Harbour, 104.
Edwards, Captain, 168.
Edye, Mr., of Durazno, 27.
Eels, voracious, 219.
Egg of Epiornis, 244.
Eighth-Degree Channel, 210.
Elevation of land, 83, 128, 134, 138, 171,
175, 201, 227, 228.
Elizabeth Island, Paumotus, 228.
” Magellan, 38.
Ellis, "the missionary, 145.
Elton, Mr., 141.
England, return to, 243.
English Narrows, 79, 104, 123, 139.
Etoile Island, 225, 226.
Equatorial current, 7.
Evans, Sir Frederick, a,
Eyre Sound, glacier at, 79, 137.
Fakaata or Bowditch Island, 154, 158.
Falkland Islands, 77, 31.
Fallos Channel, 111.
favorite, H.M.S., 170.
Fayal, 245.
Felis, sealing vessel, 113.
Fenton, Dr., of Sandy Point, 36, 117.
Ferns, 200
», of Amirantes, 223.
9 Patagonian Channels, 46.
Fiji, 2, 159, 167.
Finisterre, Cape, 5.
Fire, Fuegian, 44, 53.
Firestone, Fuegian, 119, 120, 121.
Finow, Tonga chief, 168.
Fish, 63, 218.
Fish-weirs, Fuegian, 125.
Fitzroy, ‘Admiral, 48, EC 55, 65, 130.
a Island, 190, 198.
Flinders Island, 192.
Flint-flaking, 119.
Flora of Amirantes, 222, 223.
»» Du Lise Island, 237.
»» Providence Island, 233.
Flowering plants, Patagonian Channels
46, 80.
Flycatchers, 183. -
Flying fish, 12.
Flytrap plant, 93.
Fox of Falklands, 33.
Foxbats, 173.
Francisco Bay, 71, 72.
Freia, German vessel, 123.
Friendly Islanders, 175.
Fringing reefs, 226.
Fuegians, Channel, 49.
Funchal, Madeira, 8, 9, 10, 11.
Fur-seal of Magellan, 114.
Garajas, Point, ro.
Gatcombe Head, 180.
Gates at Tongatabu, 169.
Gaucho, 23.
George, King of Tonga, 172.
Giant’s Causeway, 15.
Glacier, marks of old, 66, 74.
Glacier at Glacier Bay, 124, 125.
Gladstone, town of, 182.
Glasgow Bank, failure of, 13
Globigerina ooze, 18.
Glorioso Group, 237.
Godeffroy & Co., 169.
Goldfields of North Australia, 203.
Goldmines at Sandy Point, 36.
Goode Island, 198.
Goose, Brent, 57.
»» Kelp, §6, 57, 104.
» Upland, 38, 39.
Gordon, Sir Arthur, 164.
Gott, Mr., 208.
Grabham, Dr., 11.
poy (ee
General Index. 249
Grallina, 183.
Grasstrees, 181.
Graves of Fuegians, 54:
Gray Harbour, 139.
Grebe, 38.
Greenstone, 74, 77.
Grenfell, Lieutenant, 4.
Guanacoes, 34.
Guia Narrows, 73.
Gulf Stream, 7.
Gulf-weed, 7.
Gulls, habits of, 60.
is », of Talcahuano, 97.
Gunn, Lieutenant Gordon, 4, 27.
Giinther, Dr., 137, 139.
Haase, Mr., 131.
Hailstone rock, 75.
Hale Cove, 140.
Halicott, Mr., 153.
Hammond Island, 198.
Hanslip, Mr., 175.
Hapai Islands, 168, 169.
Haswell, Mr., 180, 183, 185, 191, 200.
Hawk, 15.
Hawksworth’s voyages, 144.
Henderson & Co., 157.
Hermit crabs, 221.
Hickey, John, 231.
Hifo, village of, 173, 175.
Hinchinbrock Island, 190.
Hindostan, 242.
Holloway, Mr., II.
Honey-eater, 183.
Horn Island, 198.
Horses of Sandy Point, 37.
Hoskyn Cove, 79.
Hotel Universal, at Buenos Ayres, 28.
», Oddo, at Santiago, go.
Hoyaeux, Mons., 232, 235.
- Huemul, 55, 91. ;
Huillin, 98.
Huts of Fuegians, 53.
Hydroid coral, 71.
Iceberg Sound, 104.
Icebergs in Messier Channel, 104.
Icy Inlet, 137.
», Reach, 79.
Independencia, rock at, 24
Indian Reach, 137.
India-rubber trade, 241.
Inocentes Channel, 112.
Isabella, \abour vessel, 181.
Isla de los Reyes, 96.
Island harbour, 80, 104.
Isle des Roches, 223, 225, 226, 229.
Isthmus Bay, 41.
Ivi tree, 172.
Jerome Channel, 117, 127, 136.
Joashim Suarez, 26.
Joe, Ratu, 159, 160, 163.
Kaicolos, 165, 166.
Kanakas, 196.
Kava, 174.
King Charles South Land, 56.
Kingfisher, 107.
King George’s Island, 144.
Kitchen-middens at Tom Bay, 57.
Kite, Australian, 207.
Komba Island, 209.
Kosmos Line, 35, 64.
La Compania, 91.
», Rance Bank, 177.
»» Sagittaria, 144.
», Venus, frigate, 145.
Labour vessels, 155, 181.
Lagoon at Tom Bay, 58.
Lalis, 161.
Lalla Rookh Bank, 158.
Lambert, Mr., 84, 93.
Lamiré, sealer, 55, 74.
Land-crab, 200.
Landshells, 62, 200.
Larikias, 204.
Latitude Cove, 112.
Las Cardas, trip to, 84.
», Piedras, 25.
», Tablas, Bay of, rot.
Lasikaus, 162.
Latorre, Captain, 130, 131.
Laughing jackass, 183.
Lawrence, Mr., of Concepcion, 98.
Leadbetter, Captain, 123.
Letore, Senor, of Uruguay, 23.
Levuka, Fiji, 159, 160, 165, 178.
Lifonga, 168.
Limestone, ‘‘ ripple-marked,” 68.
Limpets, 48, 67. .
Lisbon, 6
Livoni, 165.
», River, 166.
Lizards, 199, 220.
Lizard Island, 190.
Llallai, 90, 92.
Lobos Island, 21.
London Missionary Society, 158.
Long Island, 184.
Loo Rock, 9.
Low, Mr., 54.
Lucas sounding machine, 7.
Maafu, 172.
Machico, 9.
Maclear, Captain John, 3, 82, 98, 173,
174, 191.
250
Macolos, 241.
Madagascar, 231, 237, 243.
Madeira, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12.
Madre de Dios Island, 47.
Madura Island, 209.
Magellan, Straits of, 1, 34, 112, 117, 127.
Magellanes, Chilian vessel, gunboat or cor-
vette, 40, 130.
Mahé, 211, 213, 214, 218.
Malacca, Straits of, 2, 210.
Malay Archipelago, 2.
Maldive Islands, 210.
Maldonado Point, 21.
Mallicollo, New Hebrides, 179.
Manga Reva Island, 152.
Mariner of Tonga, 168, 169.
Martin, Dr. John, 169.
Maranhense, s.s., 123, 124.
Marie Louise Island, 225, 226.
Matavai Bay, 144.
Maté drinking, 28.
Maurelle, 168.
Mauritius, 214.
Mayne, Adam, 157.
»» Harbour, 42.
Mayotte Island, 240.
Mc Corkill, Mr., 165.
Megalithic structure, 173.
Mendaiia, 144.
Merilava, 179.
Mequin Pass, 90.
Messier Channel, 103, 104, III, 123.
Miers, Mr. E. J., 11.
Moa, town of, 173.
Monsoons, 206.
Montague Bank, 20.
Monte, 27.
Montenegro, 90, 92.
Monte Video, 22, 124.
Moraine profonde, 76.
Moreno, Senor, 30.
Morice, Dr., 204.
Morne, Captain, 166.
Moseley, Mr., 166.
Moss, curious growth of, 108.
Moths on the ocean, 20.
Mound bird, 201.
Mozambique, 2.
Mee Island, 240, 241, 242.
Mulhall, Mr., 30.
Museums at Buenos Ayres, 28, 29.
Mussels, 48, 67.
Nares, Sir George, 2, 3, 11, 63, 82, 106.
Narrows, English, 62.
ae First, 34.
*s Guia.
Nassau, H.M.S., I, 54.
‘s Island, 152.
General Index.
Natives of West Patagonia, 48.
New Hebrides, 179.
North, Mr. Frederick, 4, 43.
Nouvelle Cythére, 145.
Nukualofa, 169, 170, 175.
Nukunono Island, 154, 158.
Nutria, 58, 97, 126.
Oatafu Island, 154, 155.
Obstruction Sound, 55, 65.
| O'Neil, Mr.,; 242.
Oranges, 148.
Orchids, 199.
Ores of copper, 94.
Organ-pipe Range, 67.
Ostriches of Uruguay, 26.
Otaheite, 145.
Otter of Magellan, 48, 58.
Otway Water, 117, 127, 128.
Ovalau, 159, 160, 165, 166.
Oyster-catcher, 39, 55, 68.
Pachuros, 142.
Palmas, 12.
Palmerston, town of, 201, 202.
Pampas, 97.
Pandora, 168.
Paofai, 151.
Papiéte, 146.
Paraquay tea or “‘ yerba,” 29,
Parlett, Mr., 242.
Paroquets, 183.
Parr, Mr., of Fiji, 165, 166.
Parrayon, Mons., 151.
Partridge, red-legged, 220.
Patagonia, 128, 136.
Patent Log injured by sharks, 82,
Pau Mountain, 242.
Paumotus, 228.
Payne, Mr. Alfred, 4.
Pearls, 198.
Pearl-shell of Alphonse Island, 231.
Pearl-shelling, 194, 196, 197.
Peat avalanche, 31.
Pecherays, 55, 123.
Peckett Harbour, 38.
‘* Peeter,” 156.
Pelagic animals, 17, 168, 179.
Pefias, gulf of, 48, 51, 73, 80, 103.
Penco, 95, 96, 99.
Percy Islands, 183.
Petrels, 13, 17, 87, 88, 89, 105.
Petley, Lieutenant W. H., 4, 185.
Philippi, Dr., 9o.
Phosphorescence, 8.
Picton Channel, 73, 74.
ss town, 5I.
Pigafetta, 140.
Pilot fish, 13.
General Index.
Pinery at Madeira, 11.
Plate River, 21, 112.
Playa Farda Cove, 41, 124.
Plaza de Armas, 90.
»» Vittoria, 30.
Plymouth, sail from, 5.
oe return to, 245.
Point Venus, 149.
Poivre Island, 222, 226.
Pomare, King, 146.
»» _ Queen, 145.
Porpoises, 14.
Port Albany, 193.
3, au-Prince, 168.
», Charua, 75.
», Curtis, 180,
Darwin, 201, 202, 204, 206.
», Denison, 188, 189.
Elizabeth, 244.
», Famine, 35.
», Gallant, 122.
», Grappler, 79.
», Henry, 59, 62, 66, 67, 68.
», Molle, 184, 185, 186.
~ Riofrio, 137.
», Rosario, 47, 69.
i Lamar. 1,
Portage for canoes, 42, 59.
Portland Bay, 63.
Porto Santo, 7, 15.
. Portuguese, 241, 242.
Possession Island, 198.
Praslin Island, 214.
Prince of Wales Channel, 194.
. bs Island, 198.
Protectorate, French, 146.
Providence Island, 231, 232, 237.
P.S.N.C, (Pacific Steam Navigation Com-
pany), 35.
Puerto Bueno, 137.
Punta Wallichii, 29.
Queensland, 180.
Quillapan, 98, 99, 100, 101.
Quiriquina Island, Io.
Quiros, Pedro de, 144.
Rada de las Minas, 130.
Railway at Coquimbo, 83.
Rainfall in W. Patagonia, 45.
Raised beach, 138.
Rat, white-tailed, 184.
Ratu, 159.
Rescue, sealing vessel, 112.
Rewa River, 16§.
Richards, Mr., 94.
Ridley, Mr. S. O., 18, 71.
Rio Grande, 84.
Rio Negro, 26.
251
Robleria, bridge at 1or.
Roca Partida, 54. ake
Roches moutonnées, 76.
an rchées, 76.
Rock of W. Patagonia, 47.
Rock-drill at work, 94, 95.
Rookery, seal, 49, 136.
Rooper, Lieut. G., 3, 139.
Root-of-war, 160,
San Antonio, 15.
» Rosendo, 99.
Sandy Point, 35, 36, 37, 112, 113.
Santa Cruz River, 29.
” Fé, 99.
» Ines Island, 117.
» Lucia de Santiago, grt.
» 99. de Uruguay, 25.
Santiago de Chilé, 89, 90, 91, 99.
Sapodie Island, 209.
Sargasso Sea, 8.
Sarmiento, 35, 68.
a Channel, 41.
Sauve Souris, 233.
Sea lion, 44.
Seals, breeding time of, 48.
Seal-hunting, hardships of, 115.
Sealskins, value of, 114.
Seal trade in Magellan Waters, '114.
Sea-water, discoloured, 13, 141, 177
Seychelle Islands, 2, 210, 214, 230.
Shark, 13, 158.
Shell Terraces of Coquimbo, 83.
Shrikes, 183.
Silvertop Mountain, 69.
Simon’s Bay, 244.
Singapore, 2, 209, 210.
Skua, Antarctic, 110, 141.
Skull of Fuegian, 70.
Skyring Water, 55, 127, 128, 130.
Small-pox, 141, 206.
Smith, Mr. Edgar, 62, 139.
Smyth’s Channel, 130, 137.
Snipe, Magellan, 137.
Soil-Motion, 75.
Soilcap, structure of, 47.
Solomon Islands, 181.
Sombrero Island, 103.
Somerset, settlement of, 193.
Southport, 203, 204.
Sparrowhawk, 5.
Spears of Channel Fuegians, 52.
Sphynx Moths, 20.
Spider, Trapdoor, 118.
St. Ambrose Island, 85, 86, 87.
, Felix Island, 85.
, Helena, 245.
», Pierre, 236.
», Vincent, 15.
ad
4
252
Staffa Columns, 15.
Stanley Harbour, 31.
Starling, soldier, 38.
Steamer ducks, 39, 55, 61, 62, 104.
Stole, John, 112. ~
Stone Runs of Falklands, 32, 77, 78.
Straits of Magellan, 1.
Strangers’ Club, 29.
Structure of Amirantes, 226, 227.
»» 9; Oceanic Islands, 218.
Submarine cable, 202.
Sumatra, 210.
Sumbawa, 209.
Suva, 167, 179.
Swallow at sea, 7.
Swallow Bay, 125, 136.
Swan, black-necked, 112, 129, 136.
Swift at sea, 209.
Swifts in cave, 176.
Sydney, 166, 167, 180..
Syenite, 74, 76.
Symonds, Mr., 175.
Table Mountain, 241.
Tahiti, 144.
Talca, 99.
Talcahuano, 95, 96, IOI, 141.
Tamitao, 150.
Tanjon Paggar, 210.
Tapa, 162.
Tapacola, 85.
Tasman, 168.
Tea-plant, 31.
Tehuelches, 30.
Tekeenicas, 55.
Tema Reef, 153.
Terotero, 97.
Thompson, Sir William, 7.
0 » Wyville, 21, 32, 77.
Thouars, Admiral du Petit, 145.
Thrush of Magellan, 37.
Thursday Island, 194, 196.
Tierra del Fuego, 34, 112.
Tilly Bay, 118, 125, 127, 136, 117.
Timor Island, 209.
Tom Bay, 42, 43, 56, 57, 60, 61, III, 112.
Tonga Islands, 168, 169.
Tonga, Mr. David, 173.
Tongatabu, 167, 169.
Torres Straits, 194, 195, 180, 201.
Tortoise of Aldabra, 215.
Totoonga Valley, 165.
Topar Island, 78.
Tower at Funchal, 9.
Trammel net, 60.
Treachery of Fuegians, 112.
General Index.
Tree silicified, 102.
Trees of W. Patagonia, 46.
Trepangs, 190.
Tribes of Fuegians, 55.
Trinidad Channel, 54, 68, 71, 73, 75, 103,
104, III.
Trumpet-shells, 67. ;
Tucker, Captain, 198. .
Tucutuco, 26, 27, 35, 38.
Turtle, 21, 219, 231, 233.
Uea, 175.
‘Union Group, 154.
Uruguay, 22.
Ushuwia, mission station, 56, I12.
Valparaiso, 3, 78, 80, 82, 89, 90, 93.
Vanilla, 148, 216, 223.
Vavau, 169
Veloutier Blanc, 233, 237.
oo Labac, 233, 236.
Venus, transit of, 145.
Vereker, Lieut. the Hon., 3, 10.
Veronica, 67.
Victoria Bank, 20.
Victorieuse, ironclad, 146.
Vines at Madeira, 12.
Viti Levu, 162, 165, 160, 167.
Vocabulary of Fuegian words, 122.
Vunivalu, 160.
Wager Island, 103. +
»» Loss of, 51.
Waidou, 179.
Wallis, Captain, 144.
War canoes, 148.
Ware, Mr., of Durazno, 27.
Water-kite, 6, 7.
Watts, Dr., 32.
Weir, Mr., of Compania, 84, 93, 94, 95.
Wellington Island, 73, 78, 111, 138.
” Gnu, 172, 173.
Wesleyan Missionaries, 169.
West Island, 198.
Wetter Island, 209.
Whales and shrimps, 72.
Wide Channel, 78, 137.
Wilkes, Captain, 149.
Wilson, Mr., 29.
Winter’s Bark Tree, 36.
Wolsey Sound, 68.
Woomerahs, 205.
Yacanas, 55.
Yi, River, 27.
Yoronha, 147.
INDEX OF NATURAL HISTORY TERMS.
ZOOLOGICAL.
MAMMALS, genera and species of :-— BiRDs, genera, etc., of (continued ):—
Arctocephalus Falklandicus, 114. Diomedea exulans, 22.
Cervus Chilensis, 64, 91. ne fuliginosa, 22, 141.
Chlamydophorus retusus, 30. i melanophrys, 89, 141.
Ctenomys, 27, 35, 38, 129, 142,143. . Donacola, 201.
Epiodon, 30. , castaneothorax, 207.
aac 29. Epiornis, 244.
_ Hy ere 184. Erythrauchena, 201.
Lutra felina, 58, 115, 137. Foudia Madagascarensis, 224.
» Huidobrio, 98. Gallinago Stricklandi, 137.
Machairodon, 29. ' Gallinula, 209.
Mylodon, 29. Geopelia, 201.
Myopotamus coypu, 58, 97, 126, 137. »» placida, 207.
Otaria jubata, 44, 114. Grallina, 201, 207.
Physeter macrocephalus, 20. nA picata, 183.
Pteropus Keraudrenii, 173. Graucalus, 183, 201.
Toxodon, 29. Hoematopus, 201.
a ater, 56.
BIRDs, gee and species of :— 99 leucopus, 56.
f¥gialitis, 201. ' Halcyon, 201.
Anas cristata, 38, 39, 68, 136. gi sanctus, 201.
Anous, 186, Haliaster, 207.
Anseranas melanoleuca, 208. Halicetus leucogaster, 181.
Artamus, 200, ~ Larus Dominicanus, 60, 97.
Bernicla antarctica, 56. » glaucodes, 97.
Bruchigavia, 201. » maculipennis, 97.
Buteo erythronotus, 129. - Lestris antarctica, 141.
Campephaga, 200. Megapodius, 201.
Centrites niger, 37, 38. » tumulus, 201.
Centropus, 201. Merops, 201.
Ceryle stellata, 107. Mimeta, 201, 208.
Cheetura, 209. Myiagra, 201.
Chalcophaps, 201. F plumbea, 201.
Chibia, 201. Myzantha garrula, 183.
— bracteata, 207. Myzomela, 200.
Chloephaga magellanica, 38, 57. | Nectarinia, 200.
ia poliocephala, 57. a Australis, 201.
Cinclodes, 39, 129, 133. Nycticorax, 201.
Climacteris, 201. os Caledonicus, 201.
Collocalia spodiopygia, 176. Oceanites grallaria=T. gracilis, 141.
Cygnus nigricollis, 112, 136. CEdicnemus, 201.
»» _ coscoroba, 136. (Estrelata defilippiani, 86, ror.
Dacelo, 201. Ossifraga gigantea, 87.
» gigas, 183. Pachycephala, 200. —
Daption Capensis, 18, 87, 141. Pelecanoides urinatrix, 106,
Dicceum, 200. Pelicanus, 201,
254 Special Index—Zoological.
BIRDS, genera, etc., of (continued ):—
Phalacrocorax magellanicus, 106.
imperialis, 106.
Piezorhynchus nitidus, 207.
Plictolophus, 201.
Porphyrio melanotus, 201.
Pteroptochus, 85, 129,
ue albicollis, 85.
Ptilinopus, 201.
ae superbus, 201.
oe Swainsoni, 201,
Ptilotis, 184, 200.
Sauloprocta, 201,
Stercorarius chilensis=L. antarctica, TIO.
Sterna, 201.
Sphecotheres, 201,
Sula, 86
Tachyeres cinereus, 56, 61.
Thalassidroma leucogaster, 87.
ne Leachii, 5.
ee pelagica, 5, 13, 18.
i Wilsoni, 87.
Trichoglossus, 200.
+ chrysocolla, 183.
nm Nove Hollandicz,
208.
- rubitorquis, 183, 208.
Troglodytes, 129.
Tropidorhynchus, 201.
Tropidorhynchus, corniculatus, 183.
Turtur, 238.
Upucerthia, 142.
dumetoria, 142.
Zosterops, 201, 207, 238.
REPTILES, genus and species of :—
Monitor, 199.
Sphargis, coriacea, 30.
BATRACHIANS, genus of :—
Cacotus, 139.
FISHES, genera and species of :—
Callorhynchus antarcticus, 71.
Exocetus volitans, 12.
Galaxias, 63.
Haplochiton zebra, 63.
Myxine, 35.
Naucrates ductor, 13.
Neophrynicthys latus, 137.
Periophthalmus, 166, 218.
Platycephalus, 193-
Squalus glaucus, 13.
Thinnus pelamis, 13..
MOLLUSCS, genera, etc., of :-—
Arca, 16, 22, 39, 187, 217.
Atlanta, 179.
Baculites, 102.
183,
MOLLUSCS, genera, etc., of (continued ):—
Bulimus Beddomei, 200,
Bulla, 235.
Calyptroea, 70.
Cardium, 10, 16, 102.
Chilinia, 62, 63, 139.
Chiton, 70. -
Cleodora pyramidata, 19.
Concholepas, 67, 68.
Conus, 235, 240.
Criseis aciculata, 6, 18, 19.
Cuvieria, 18.
Cyproea, 10, 187, 255, 240.
» mauritiana, 242. -
» Moneta, 240.
». _ Upris, 242;
Dentalium, 10, 22.
Dolium, 235, 240.
Eurybia Gaudichaudi, 168, 179.
Fissurella, 70.
Fusus, 240, 242.
Haliotis, 240, 242.
Harpa, 16, 235.
Helicina reticulata, 200.
Helix, 62.
» Buxtoni, 200,
» Delessertiana, 200,
» Kreffti, 200.
» spaldingi, 200.
Hippopus, 187,
Hyalea, 17, 19, 22.
Ianthina, 17, 18.
Lima, 187.
Littorina, 16, 235.
Mactra, 105.
Melo, 192.
Mytilus, 39.
Nassa, 240.
Natica, 240, 242.
Nerita, 185.
Neritina, 221, 240, 242.
Oliva, 10, 240.
Onychoteuthis inogens, 139.
Ostreea, 132, 185, 242.
Patella, 16, 39, 70.
Pecten, Io.
Pinna, 187, 242.
Pneumodermon, 19.
Ranella, 207.
Rossia, 71.
Siliquaria, 185.
Spirula, 16, 237.
Stilifer, 188.
Strombus, 16.
Succinea, 62. : é
Terebra, 185.
Teredo, 202.
Tridacna, 187, 242.
Trivia, 240.
Special I, ndex—Zoological. 255
MOLLUSCS, genera, etc., of (continued) :— CRUSTACEA, genera, etc., of (continued) :—
Trochus, 39. Ozius, 182.
Trophon, 39. Parampelia saxicola, 191.
Turbinella, 240. ; Phlyxia, 191, 207.
Unio, 62. Phyllosoma, 18, 179.
Voluta, 39, 235, 242. Pinnotheres, 187.
: Porcellana, 171, 218.
POLYz0A, genera of — Remites scutellatus, 16.
Amathea, 187. Scilla, 218, ?
2 Bein, 187, ¢ Serolis, 71.
Canda, 20. :
Squilla, 187.
Thalamites, 217.
Thalassina, 182.
Cellepora, 20, 207, 187, 222.
Cribrillina, 20.
Crisia, 182, 187, 207, 222.
Eschara, 18, 187, 207, 222. ANNELIDA, family, etc., of :—,
Gigantopora, 20. Amphinomidz,- 187.
Lepralia, 207, 222. Nereis, 10,
Idmonea, 207. Polynée, 187.
Membranipora, 8, 20. Sagitta, 179.
Myriozoum, 187, 222. Spirorbis, 8, 13, 14, 19.
Retepora, 187, 207, 222. Tomopteris, 142.
Rhyncopora, 20..
Gating a ie a, 187. page bicaratie pe etc., of —
Scrupocellaria, 187. psairsan pane Ta
Asterias, 242.
Astrophyton, 182, 187, 188.
Lymani, 71.
Smittia, 20.
TUNICATA, genera of :—
bh)
P m : Cidaris, 11.
Sulbe: 18. i Comatula, 187, 193.
Echinus, 10, 70.
INSECTS, genera, étc., of :— Gephyrea, 40, 105.
Halobates, 17. Goniocidaris, 187, 193.
Phylloxera vastatrix, 12. . Hemiaster, 240.
Holothuria, 187.
CRUSTACEA, genera, etc., of :— ' Moliria, 222.
Actzea, 19. Ophiuridea,*187.
Alpheus, 182, 187, 193, 218. Pentaceros, 193.
Arcturus, 71. Peronella, 189.
Atergitus, 218, Salmacis, 187.
Birgus, 238. Spatangus, 191:
Corallana, 19. | Synapta, 193, 222.
Calappa, 242.
Egeria, 193. ; CALENTERATA :—
Galathea, 173, 217. Actinia, 17, 71.
Gelasimus, 172, 182, 218. Astrea, 187.
Geograpsus, 200. Caryophyllia, 187.
Glaucothée, 9. Corallium rubrum, 234.
Goniograpsus, 187. Fungia, 152.
Grapsus, 191, 218, 242. Gorgonia, 182, 187,193.
09 variegatus, 86, 187, 219. Labiopora, 71.
Hiastemis, 187, 207. Meandrina, 187.
Huenia, 187. — Medusa, 17.
Lambris, 187, 207. Orbicella, 187. :
Leucosia, I9I. . Physalia, 17.
Lithodes antarctica, 58. Plumularia, 187.
Macrophthalmus, 189, 218. ‘| Porites, 187.
Matuta, 189. ares Sertularia, 187, 222.
Mycteris, 189. Tubipora, 187.
Myra, 187, 207. Pr musica, 240,
Ocypoda, 218, 219. Virgularia, 207..:
PROTOZOA :— PROTOZOA (continued ) :—
Aphrocera, 20.
- Aspergillum, 118.
Chalina, 20.
Cladochalina, 19.
Globigerina, 14, 17.
Grantia, 20.
Nardoa, 20.
Orbitolites, 6, 218.
Pyrocystis, 8, 19, 22, 179.
Thalassicolla, 179.
Vioa, 20.
BOTANICAL.
Aleurites, 172.
Alsophila, 140.
Apocynacez, 233.
Aristolochia, 93.
Barringtonia, 219.
5 speciosa, 235.
Berberis, 134.
4, +empetrifolia, 46.
» ilicifolia, 42, 46, 104.
Bougainvillea, 12.
Calceolaria, 35.
Campsidium chilense, 44, 51, 80, 104.
Cassytha filiformis, 233.
Casuarina, 212, 221, 222, 233.
Cheilobothrium, 129, 134.
Cinchonacez, 223.
Conferva, 13, 14, 18.
Convolvulaceze, 223.
Dendrobium, 199.
Desfontainea Hookeri, 46.
Drimys Winteri, 44, 46, 53.
Echium, 24.
Embothrium, 46, 129, 134.
Escallonia, 134.
Fagus antarctica, 46, 80.
» betuloides, 46, 80.
Ficus, 222, 223.
Fuchsia magellanica, 42.
Gaultheria antarctica, 42.
Goodeniacez, 233.
Graminez, 238.
Hepaticze, 46.
Hernandia peltata, 233.
Hibiscus, 237.
Hymenophyllum, 46, 62.
Hymenophyllum cruentum, 80, 138.
Ilex Paraguayensis, 27.
Jungermanniz, 104.
Lapageria rosea, 46.
Libocedus tetragonus, 42, 44, 46, 52.
Lindsaya ensifolia, 200.
Lychnis, 129.
Lygodium scandens, 200.
Macrocystis, 40.
Malvaceze, 223, 238.
Mesembryanthemum, 235.
Mitraria coccinea, 138.
Myrtus nummularia, 35.
Nephrolepis acuta, 200.
* exaltata, 223.
Panax, 134.
Pandanus, 199.
Philesia buxifolia, 41, 42, 46.
Polypodium quercifolium, 200,
-Pulcea nitida, 200.
Ribes magellanica, 134.
Sargassum bacciferum, 7.
Sceevola Keenigii, 223, 233.
Solanaceze, 223, 238
Spondias dulcis, 173
Suriana maritima, 222, 236.
Tetraplodon mnioides, 108, 138.
Tournefortia, 212, 222, 236.
” argentea, 233.
Vacciniacez, 140.
Veronica decussata, 67.
Weinmannia trichosperma, 138.
Xanthorrea, 181,
Zostera, 243.
256 Special Index— Botanical. |
Coppinger, Richard William
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