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C H A P T E R I I .
E n te r the Straits of Magalhaens (or Magellan), and anchor off Cape
Possession _ F irst Narrow—Gregory Bay — Patagonian Indians—
Second N a rrow— Elizabeth Island — F reshwater B a y— Fuegian
Indians—Arrival a t P o rt Famine.
A CONTRARY tide and light winds detained us at anchor
near Cape Virgins until four o’clock in the afternoon, when,
with the turn of the tide, a light air carried us past Dungeness
Point, aptly named by Wallis from its resemblance to that in
the English Channel. A great number of seals were huddled
together upon the bank, above the wash of the tide, whilst
others were sporting about in the surf. Cape Possession was
in sight, and with the wind and tide in our favour we proceeded
until ten o’clock, when the anchor was dropped. At
daylight we found ourselves six miles to the eastward of the
cape. The anchor was then weighed, and was again dropped
at three miles from the cape until the afternoon, when we
made another attempt; but lost ground, and anchored a third
time. Before night a fourth attempt was made, but the tide
prevented our making any advance, and we again anchored.
Mount Aymond* and “ his four sons,” or (according to the
old quaint nomenclature) the Asses’ Ears, had been in sight all
day, as well as a small hummock of land on the S.W. horizon,
which afterwards proved to be the peaked hillock upon Cape
Orange, at the south side of the entrance to the First Narrow.
At this anchorage the tide fell thirty feet, but the strength
of the current, compared with the rate at which we afterwards
found it to run, was inconsiderable Here we first experienced
* A hill on the north shore o f Possession Bay, having near it, to the
westward, four rocky summits, w hich, from a particular point of view, boar
a strong resemblance to the cropped ears of a horse or ass. These are
described less briefly in the Sailing Directions.
Dec. 1826. S E A -W E E D OR KE LP . 13
the peculiar tides of which former navigators have written.
During the first half of the flood* or westward tide, the depth
decreased, and then, after a short interval, increased until three
hours after the stream of tide had begun to run to the eastward.
The following morning (21st) we gained a little ground.
Our glasses were directed to the shore in search of inhabitants,
for it was hereabouts that Byron, and Wallis, and some of the
Spanish navigators held communication with the Patagonian
Indians ; but we saw none. Masses of large sea-weed,-f drifting
with the tide, floated past the ship. A description of this
remarkable plant, although it has often been given before, may
not be irrelevant here. It is rooted upon rocks or stones at
the bottom of the sea, and rises to the surface, even from great
depths. We have found it firmly fixed to the ground more
than twenty fathoms under water, yet trailing along the surface
for forty or fifty feet. When firmly rooted it shows the
set of the tide or current. It has also the advantage of indicating
rocky ground: for wherever there are rocks under
water, their situation is, as it were, buoyed by a mass of seaweed
( on the surface of the sea, of larger extent than that of
the danger below. In many instances perhaps it causes unnecessary
alarm, since it often grows in deep water; but it
should not be entered without its vicinity having been sounded,
especially if seen in masses, with the extremities of the stems
trailing along the surface. If there he no tide, or if the wind
and tide are the same way, the plant lies smoothly upon the
water, but if the wind be against the tide, the leaves curl up
and are visible at a distance, giving a rough, rippling appearance
to the surface of the water.
During the last two days the dredge had furnished us with
a few specimens of Infundibulum of Sowerby (Patella
trocld-formis, Lin.), and some dead shells {Murex Magellani-
cus) were brought up by the sounding-lead.
We made another attempt next morning, but again lost
* Flowing' into the s tra it from the east towards the west.
t Fucus g'iganteus.
X Usually called by seamen ‘ kelp.’
11'