' {m I {
unless, indeeil, they trade witli the Patagonian Indians : but
such is the poverty of the Fuegians, they can scarcely possess
any thing of value sufficient to exchange with the goods of their
northern neighbours, unless it be iron pyrites, which I think
is not found in the open country inhabited by the Patagonian
Indians, and, from the facility with which it yields sparks of
fire, must be an object of importance.
W e were not a little amused b y th e surprise which these
natives showed at the things in ou r possession, and by the
effect produced in their countenances when they saiv any th in g
extraordinary ; the expression was not th at of jo y or surprise,
b u t a sort of vacant, stupified, stare a t each other. T h ey must
have been very suspicious of our intentions, or very much
excited b y ivhat they had seen during the day, as throughout
the n ight an incessant chattering of voices was heard on shore,
interrupted only by the bark in g of their dogs.
Looking doAvn the Magdalen In le t, we saw two openings,
which, while the hills were enveloped in mist, had the appearance
of being channels. W e proceeded for some distance
into the more westerly o f the two, b u t found th a t it was merely
a sound, terminated by high land. T h e boat was then steered
under a steep mass of black mountainous land,* the summit
o f Avhich is divided into three peaks, which Sarmiento called
‘ E l P a n de Azúcar de los Boquerones’ (the Sugar-loaf o f the
Openings). W e ran southward, fifteen miles down this sound,
and reached the L ab y rin th Is la n d s ; b u t finding there no suitable
anchorage, resumed our course toivards the bottom of what Ave
th o u g h t another sound, terminated b y mountains. A t noon,
the fu rthest point, on the Avest shore, Avhicli Ave called Cape
T u rn , Avas within three miles of us, and Av-e should soon have
discovered the continuation of the channel (as it has since been
pro v ed ); b u t a breeze set in from the S .W ., and in a short time
it bleAv so strong as to oblige us to tu rn back. ‘ AVilliwaAvs’
and baffling eddy Avinds k ept us seven hours under Mount
Boquerón. These squalls Avere at first alarming, b u t by taking
in all sail, before they passed, we sustained no injury. A t sun-
• Mount Boquerón.
set we were abreast of Hope Harbour, in wliich we ])ur-
posed taking shelter from the gale. Our late neighbours, the
Indians, had lighted a fire at the entrance to invite our return ;
hut Avind and tide were against us, and as Ave kncAA- of no port
to leeward, our only resource Avas to run out of the sound.
Furious squalls carried us into the true, or steady, Avind,
Avhich Av-e found very strong; and as Port San Antonio Avas
on the lee-how, Ave had to carry such a press of sail, that our
excellent boat had nearly half the lee side of her deck under
Avater. By daylight Ave got into smooth Avater, and, Avith less
Avind and better Aveather, steered for Port Famine. The
smoother AA-ater enabled us to light a fire and cook a meal, not
an unimportant affair, asAve had eaten nothing since six o’clock
on the preceding morning.
In our absence Mr. GraA-es had surveyed Lomas Bay, and,
after his return, Mr. AinsAvorth had crossed the Strait Avith the
gig and cutter to survey Port San Antonio. They were victualled
for five days; the gig was manned by my OAvn boat’s creAV, and
the cutter by volunteers : but although they had not come back,
Ave felt no anxiety about their safety, being assured that Mr.
Ainsworth Avould not run the risk of crossing the Strait during
bad weather. The tempestuous state of the tAvo folloAA-ing days,
hoAvever, made us uneasy, and on the third morning, Avhen the
Avind moderated much, Ave looked out anxiously for their
arrival. In the evening the cutter returned ; but, alas ! with
the melancholy information of the loss of Mr. Ainsworth, and
two seamen, drowned by the upsetting of the gig. One of the
latter Avas my excellent coxswain, John Corkhill. The remainder
of the gig’s crew Avere only rescued from droAvning by the
strenuous exertions of those in the cutter.
Mr. Ainsworth, anxious to re tu rn to the ship, th ought too
little o f the difficulty and danger of crossing the Strait du rin g
unsettled weather. H e set out from P o rt San Antonio under
sail, and, Avhile sheltered b y the land, did very Avell; b u t as
soon as they got into the offing, both Avind and sea increased
so much th a t the gig Avas in great danger, although under only
a small close-reefed sail.