Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle Part 11

[Ill.u.s.tration: A. Earle T. Hair

MOLE, PALACE AND CATHEDRAL, RIO DE JANEIRO.

Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838]

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After a tedious voyage of nineteen days from St. Catherine's, I arrived at Monte Video, and there received intelligence that the long-wished permission from the Lord High Admiral, to procure a tender, had been obtained. I accordingly purchased a schooner, which I named the Adelaide, and appointed Lieutenant Graves to the command. Five months' additional provisions for both vessels were purchased, and put into her; and on the 23d December, after running up the river to complete our water, we sailed out by the southern entrance, pa.s.sing to the westward of the Archimedes'

Shoal, and proceeded without farther detention to the southward.

On the 1st of January (in lat.i.tude 43 17' and long. 61 9'), I was informed that we were close to a rock. Upon going on deck, I saw the object; but in a very short time I perceived it was a dead whale, upon whose half-putrid body large flocks of birds were feeding. Many on board were, however, sceptical, until, on pa.s.sing to leeward, the strong odour testified the fact. Its appearance certainly was very like the summit of a dark brown rock, covered with weeds and barnacles, and the myriads of birds which surrounded it added to the deception. It could, however, be distinguished by its buoyancy; for the water did not break over it, as of course it would have done had it been a fixed body. Such is probably the origin of half the 'vigias' that are found on the charts. Whales, when struck by the fishers, frequently escape and perish; the carca.s.s then floats on the surface of the sea, until decomposed or eaten by birds and fishes. A small vessel striking against such a ma.s.s, would probably be severely injured; and at night, the {108} body, from its buoyancy and the sea not breaking against it, would not be readily seen.

On the 4th, being about one hundred miles to the N.E. of Cape Blanco, I communicated with Captain Stokes, and gave him directions to proceed to Port Desire for chronometrical observations, and then follow me immediately to Cape Fairweather or Cape Virgins. We had light winds during the night, so that the Beagle made very little progress. In the afternoon, Cape Blanco, a long level-topped ridge, came in sight, of which good views are given in Lord Anson's voyage. We steered towards the land, and at six o'clock were in eighteen fathoms, the rocky hill at the extremity of the Cape bearing S. 10 E. thirteen miles; at seven o'clock, the same hill was six miles and a half off, bearing S. 3 E., when we observed a line of rippling water, extending from east to as far as we could see on the south horizon. The depth was seventeen fathoms, but as we proceeded it gradually decreased to twelve and ten, and soon afterwards to seven fathoms, when the Beagle was observed to be firing guns; but whether they were intended to warn us of danger, or as signals of her own distress, we could not determine, and I hauled to the wind to cross where the ripple appeared least violent. In pa.s.sing through it we had not less than seven fathoms, and then it deepened to twelve and fifteen fathoms. We had now leisure to attend to the Beagle, and soon saw that her signals were only to warn us, for she had resumed her course under a press of sail.

After steering four miles to the S.E., we again found ourselves in the midst of ripplings, in which the water shoaled to six fathoms. It being then dark, and not knowing how to proceed, we shortened sail and brought to the wind, in order that if the s.h.i.+p struck it might be with less force; but happily we pa.s.sed on without any further decrease of soundings. In going through the ripple, the Adelaide, though deeply laden, behaved well.

Commodore Byron pa.s.sed over these shoals, which he describes as lying at a greater distance from the sh.o.r.e: it was to avoid them that we pa.s.sed so near the land.

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During the following evening there was a very heavy dew, the never-failing prognostic of a northerly wind; the horizon, also, was very hazy, and the water perfectly smooth. We were not more than ten miles off sh.o.r.e, yet the land was completely distorted in appearance by mirage.

Next morning we were very close to the position a.s.signed to the Bellaco, or St. Estevan's Shoal, the existence of which has been very much doubted. It was discovered by the Nodales, and in the diary of their voyage is thus described: "At five o'clock, or later in the evening, we discovered a rock a-wash ('una baxa que lababa la mar en ella') about five leagues from the sh.o.r.e, more or less. It is a very deceitful rock ('Es muy bellaco baxo'), because it is under water, over which, in fine weather and smooth water, the sea breaks. We sounded near it, and found twenty-six fathoms stony bottom. Its lat.i.tude is 48, according to our noon observation, and the course and distance we have since run."[89]

The late Don Felipe Bauza, one of the companions of Malespina, informed me, that on the voyage of the Descubierta and Atrevida, their boats were sent to look for it, but were unsuccessful.

At noon we were in lat. 48 40' S., long. 66 6', depth forty-two fathoms, but without any signs of the Bellaco. Sailing on, the coast was seen in the neighbourhood of Beachy Head (so named from its resemblance to the well-known promontory). Afterwards, Cape Fairweather came in sight, and on the 10th Cape Virgins, which we pa.s.sed in the evening, and, half an hour afterwards, rounding Dungeness, we again entered the Strait of Magalhaens; and anch.o.r.ed near the northern sh.o.r.e.

In Possession Bay we were detained several days, although repeated attempts to pa.s.s the First Narrow were anxiously made.

One evening, clouds gathered, and the weather a.s.sumed such a threatening appearance, that I expected to be obliged to run to sea; but to our surprise, when the cloudy ma.s.s seemed on {110} the point of bursting over us with a deluge of rain, it suddenly vanished, and was succeeded by a beautifully clear and fine night. This favourable appearance gave us hopes of being able to make good our entrance on the following day; but a fresh gale set in, and kept us at our anchorage.

Early on the 14th we made another fruitless attempt to pa.s.s the First Narrow. As the Adelaide sailed under our stern, Lieutenant Graves informed me that he had lost an anchor, and had only one left, to which he had bent his chain-cable; and that she had s.h.i.+pped so much water in attempting to beat through, that he was on the point of asking permission to bear up when we ourselves gave up the attempt. It blew too hard to give any a.s.sistance to the Adelaide, but next morning, when the weather was more moderate, I seized an opportunity of sending our two kedge anchors; and in the afternoon we supplied her with some water and other necessaries, so that she was comparatively well off, and my anxiety on her account much relieved.

Fires on the Fuegian side had been kept up since our arrival, but we could not distinguish any inhabitants; on the Patagonian sh.o.r.es we saw a great number of guanacoes feeding quietly, a proof of there being no Indians near them.

On the 16th, the weather appearing favourable, our anchor was weighed, and, with the Adelaide, we soon entered the sluice of the Narrow, proceeding rapidly, though the wind blew hard against us. The tide carried us to an anchorage, about four miles beyond the western entrance, and it was slack water when the anchor was dropped; but, no sooner had the stream turned, than we found ourselves in the midst of a 'race,' and during the whole tide, the water broke furiously over the s.h.i.+p. At slack water we got underweigh, but the Adelaide not being able (from the strength of the tide), to purchase her anchor, was obliged to slip the cable: it was fortunate that we had supplied her with our kedges, or she would then have been without an anchor. The night was tempestuous, and although we reached a much quieter birth, the Adelaide drifted considerably; had she remained at the morning's anchorage, {111} in order to save her anchor and cable, we should probably never have seen her again.

The succeeding morning, after a hard beat to windward, both vessels anch.o.r.ed in Gregory Bay. No Indians were in the neighbourhood, or we should have seen their fires. In the afternoon the wind moderated, and as there was every appearance of fine weather, I remained to survey the coast.

On the summit of the land, about half a mile northward of the extremity of the Cape, while Lieutenant Graves and I were taking bearings, and making observations, two guanacoes came up and stood neighing at us; the observation, however, was of consequence, and as they were not disturbed, they remained watching us for some minutes before they took alarm and fled.

Lieutenant Wickham and Mr. Tarn made an excursion to the summit of the Table Land, previously described as extending from the low land behind the Second Narrow to the N.E., in the direction of Mount Aymond, and were amply repaid for a fatiguing walk, with the thermometer at 81, by a magnificent view: Cape Possession to the eastward, and to the south the mountains near Mount Tarn, eighty miles distant, were plainly distinguished. The view to the westward, stretching over a large extent of gra.s.sy plains, was bounded by lofty ranges of snow-capped mountains; but to the north it was intercepted by another summit of the mountain upon which they stood. The country they pa.s.sed over was covered with short gra.s.s, through which a ma.s.s of granite occasionally protruded. Neither trees nor shrubs were observed, excepting a few herbaceous plants, and the berberis; a goose, some ducks, snipe, and plovers were shot; and guanacoes were seen at a distance, but no ostriches, nor did they meet any Indians. Large fires were, however, kindled on both sh.o.r.es of the Strait, in answer to the fire which they made for cooking. In consequence of those on the Patagonian coast appearing so close to us, we expected a visit from the natives before night, but none made their appearance.

Next morning, Mr. Graves accompanied me in a boat to a {112} station three miles within the Second Narrow on the north side, and in our way we found the geological structure of the cliffs to be of a decomposed clay-slate, arranged in strata, much distorted by the violent action of the water, and dispersed in vertical and inclined directions in very thin laminae.

These cliffs are about one hundred feet high, the soil a sandy alluvium, of a sterile character, scantily covered with a wiry, stunted gra.s.s, and here and there a berberis bush, loaded with ripe fruit, which, from the poverty of the soil, was tasteless and dry; the ground was also, in many parts, over-run to a considerable extent with an insipid cranberry, scarcely worth the trouble of gathering.

We struck across the country, with the view of examining the place where the Indians were residing at our last visit, and the tomb which had then been erected. Gra.s.s had grown up, and effaced the traces of feet; but the tomb had suffered no farther alteration than the weather might have effected. We found that the place had been recently visited by the natives, for within a few yards of the entrance were strewed the ashes of a large fire, containing vestiges of the former decorations of the tomb, and the end of one of the flag-staffs, with the unburnt corner of one of the banners. Amongst the ashes, also, we found calcined bones; but whether they were human or not, we could not ascertain.

The discovery of the bones impressed us with the idea that the body had been burnt, and determined me to examine the tomb. The bushes that filled up the entrance appeared to be placed exactly as when we first saw them, and indeed the whole pile seemed to have remained quite undisturbed; but there was no appearance of the bra.s.s ornaments, or of the effigies of the horses.

Having effected an opening in the bushes, we found an inner covering, made of horse-skins. Having cut two holes opposite each other, for the admission of light, we saw nothing but two parallel rows of stones, three in each row, probably intended as a bier for the body or a covering for the grave; but the ground around and between them bore no appearance {113} of having been disturbed for burial.[90] As we hourly expected the Indians would arrive (the place being in the direct line of their journey to the s.h.i.+ps), and were unwilling to let them know we had disturbed the sanctuaries of their dead, we restored the former appearance of the tomb; and it was fortunate we did so, for three women on horseback, carrying their children in cradles, with a quant.i.ty of skins, provisions, and other merchandise, evidently the harbingers of the tribe, made their appearance, and immediately began to erect their tents.

When we next went on sh.o.r.e we found several Indians arrived, and divided into three groups, with mantles, ostrich-feathers, skins, and joints of guanaco meat displayed for sale.

As the meat appeared fresh, it is probable that, on seeing us, the women were despatched to place the toldos, while the men set out to provide guanaco meat, for they knew our partiality for this excellent food. When we landed, an active barter began.

From the haste and avidity shown in offering their goods, and closing the bargains, it seemed as if they were anxious to monopolize our articles of barter before the rest of their party, or tribe arrived. One old man attempted to cheat; but my interdiction of all farther traffic with him brought him to a sense of his error, and I then made him a present of some tobacco and allowed him to trade, which he afterwards did, with cheerfulness and honesty.

One of the party was the Fuegian chief, whom I previously noticed, as a squalid, meagre-looking man; but he was now enlarged to Patagonian dimensions, by his improved diet and more cheerful mode of life. The appearance of bad weather obliged us to suspend the barter and get on board. After we had reached the s.h.i.+p, successive parties of the tribe arrived, {114} and formed the encampment. Among them, mounted on her white horse, was Maria, who, duly escorted, paraded on the beach to challenge our recognition. In the centre of the encampment, a large flag suspended from a pole was a signal to us, and showed the position of her toldo.

The next morning being fine, we landed near the encampment, and were most cordially received. Maria was particularly attentive, and embraced me closely, while her companions chaunted in chorus a song of delight at our arrival.

When we reached her toldo, a mat was spread out for me to sit on. Maria and her family placed themselves in front of me, while the rest sat round.

Almost the first question was an inquiry for my son Philip, whom they called Felipe,[91] and two or three skins were given to me for him. They then asked for our pilot on the former voyage, and were much disappointed to find he had left the s.h.i.+p. After a short conversation I returned the two bags (which I had so unwillingly carried away at our last visit), having filled them with flour and sugar, and then proceeded to deliver our presents. As each article was delivered into her hands, she repeated, in Spanish, I'll pay for this; but upon a bit for her horse being presented, a general burst of admiration followed, and it was handed round the tents, whilst each individual, as it pa.s.sed on, looked, I thought, anxious to be its possessor.

Maria then began to consider what adequate requital she could possibly make me. The result was, a present of two mantles, one new, of guanaco skin, and the other well worn, of zorillo skin, besides two or three skins of the puma. She then produced a piece of paper, carefully wrapped up in canvas, containing a letter, or memorandum, left by Mr. Low, master of the Uxbridge sealer, addressed to any s.h.i.+pmaster pa.s.sing through the Strait, apprising him "of the friendly disposition of the Indians, and impressing him with the necessity of treating them well, and not deceiving them; for they had good memories, and would seriously resent it."

The advice, no doubt, was good; but I think the fear of {115} forfeiting advantages and comforts to be derived from traffic would induce them to restrain their resentment.

I brought no spirits; for which, after a short time, Maria asked, complaining that she was very ill, and had sore eyes, and for some time past had nothing but water to drink, and wood to smoke. Her illness was evidently a.s.sumed, but her eyes seemed highly inflamed; and no wonder, for the upper part of her face was smeared over with an ochrous red pigment, even to the very edge of her eyelids: indeed, the whole tribe had ornamented themselves similarly, in compliment, I suppose, to our visit.

As I prepared to return on board, Maria's importunity induced me to allow her to accompany me; upon which she began to muster up all her empty bags, old mantles, and skins, and, attended by her husband, her brother-in-law, his wife and daughter, got into the boat. While going on board, the spray washed the painted countenances of our visitors, much to their regret.

Upon reaching the s.h.i.+p, I ordered them to be regaled with meat and biscuit, of which they partook very sparingly, but took care to put what remained into their bags. Some spirits and water, too, which I thought would be soon dispatched, and which had been plentifully diluted to prevent their being made tipsy, they emptied into bottles to take on sh.o.r.e "for the evening,"

when, as Maria said, they would be "very drunk."

Among various things shown to amuse them was a musical snuff-box, which I had procured for the express purpose of exciting their astonishment; but I was surprised to find, that a penny-whistle produced a ten-fold greater effect upon their senses. This indifference to musical sounds I should not have suspected, because they frequently sing, though certainly in a monotonous manner.

As soon as their repast was concluded, the party, except Maria and the girls, commenced bartering their mantles and skins, and, by the time their stock was expended, they had ama.s.sed a large quant.i.ty of biscuit, and a bundle of various {116} trifles, some of which they had attempted to get by pilfering. They made themselves so contented, that it was not without much difficulty we could persuade them to go on sh.o.r.e. Maria had made her mind up to pa.s.s the night on board, and so anxious were they all to remain, that it was only by giving Maria two bottles of spirits (which had been well diluted) that they were induced to get into the boat, and accompany me ash.o.r.e. Being a lee-tide, and low water, the boat grounded at a considerable distance from the beach; seeing this, some of the Indians rode into the water, and taking us up behind them, conveyed us to the encampment, my place being behind Maria, the smell of whose zorillo-skin mantle was hardly bearable; but it was necessary to conceal our dislike of our companions as much as possible, for they are very sensitive, and easily offended.

While waiting for the tide, we witnessed a drunken scene at Maria's toldo.

Fifteen persons, seated around her, shared the spirits she had obtained on board, until all were intoxicated. Some were screaming, others laughing, some stupified, and some bellowing. The uproar drew all the other Indians round the tent, who tendered their a.s.sistance to compose their friends, and we returned to the s.h.i.+p. When we visited them the next day, they were quite recovered, and gave us some guanaco meat, which had been brought in that morning. On communicating my intention of proceeding on the voyage, Maria wished to know when we should finish our "seal-killing," and come back. I told her "in five moons," upon which she endeavoured to persuade me to return in four, because she would then have plenty of skins to barter.

I wrote a few lines to Captain Stokes, who, I expected, would arrive in a day or two, communicating my desire that he should follow, as soon as possible, to Port Famine, and committed the letter to Maria's care, who promised to deliver it to him; then, taking leave of her and her companions, I embarked, and proceeded through the Second Narrow to an anchorage off Cape Negro.

Our visit to Gregory Bay, and communication with the {117} Indians, furnished us with many additions to our zoological collection; among them was a tiger-cat, which seemed, from the description, to be the _Felis pajaros_ of the Encyclopedie Methodique (the "Chat de Pampa" of D'Azara).

Maria gave me a very large bezoar stone, that was taken from the stomach of a guanaco. It is used medicinally by the Indians, as a remedy for bowel complaints.[92]

Whilst we were at the anchorage before Cape Negro, Mr. Tarn and Mr. Wickham visited the lake at the back of Laredo Bay, and saw two swans, which, from the colour of their plumage, seemed to be the black-necked swan of the River Plata and of the Falkland Islands[93] (Dom Pernettey, ii. p. 148).

They brought on board with them a new species of duck, which is described in the proceedings of the Zoological Society as _Anas specularis_ (n.o.b.), and a small burrowing animal, of the rat tribe, that, from the character of its teeth, is probably of a genus not hitherto noted: it approaches nearest to F. Cuvier's _Helamys_.

We next anch.o.r.ed in Port Famine, where the tents, &c. were replaced in their former positions, the s.h.i.+p was unrigged and secured for the winter, and all hands set to work, preparing the Adelaide for service.