Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle Part 7

The tempestuous state of the two following days, however, made us uneasy, and on the third morning, when the wind moderated much, we 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 was my excellent c.o.xswain, John Corkhill. The remainder of the gig's crew were only rescued from drowning by the strenuous exertions of those in the cutter.

Mr. Ainsworth, anxious to return to the s.h.i.+p, thought too little of the difficulty and danger of crossing the Strait during unsettled weather. He set out from Port San Antonio under sail, and, while sheltered by the land, did very well; but as soon as they got into the offing, both wind and sea increased so much that the gig was in great danger, although under only a small close-reefed sail.

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The people in the cutter were anxiously watching her labouring movements, when she disappeared! They hastened to the spot--saved three men; but the other two had gone down. Poor Ainsworth was still clinging to the gig's gunwale when his s.h.i.+pmates eagerly approached; but letting go his hold from extreme exhaustion, and being heavily clothed, he sunk from their sight to rise no more.

He had been cheering the drowning crew, and trying to save his companions, till the moment his grasp relaxed. Just before Ainsworth himself let go, Mr. Hodgskin lost his hold, exclaiming, Ainsworth, save me! when, exhausted as he was, with one hand he rescued his friend, and, directly afterwards, his strength failing, sunk.

This addition of three people to the already loaded cutter, made her cargo more than was safe, therefore Mr. Williams, who commanded her, very prudently bore up for the first convenient landing-place, and happily succeeded in reaching the only part of the beach, between Lomas Bay and Cape Valentyn, where a boat could land.

The following morning, the weather being more favourable, they crossed under sail to Freshwater Bay, and thence pulled to Port Famine.

This melancholy disaster was much felt by every one. Ainsworth was a deserving officer, and highly esteemed. Corkhill was captain of the forecastle, and had served in the Polar voyages under Sir Edward Parry. On the Sunday following, the colours were hoisted half-mast high, and the funeral service was read after morning prayers: for although to recover the bodies was impossible, their watery grave was before our eyes; and the performance of this last sad duty was a melancholy satisfaction.

"Ours are the tears, tho' few, sincerely shed, When ocean shrouds and sepulchres our dead."

A tablet was subsequently erected, on Point St. Anna, to record this fatal accident.

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CHAPTER V.

Lieutenant Sholl arrives--Beagle returns--Loss of the Saxe Cobourg sealer--Captain Stokes goes to Fury Harbour to save her crew--Beagle's proceedings--Bougainville's memorial--Cordova's memorial--Beagle's danger--Difficulties--Captain Stokes's boat-cruize--Pa.s.sages--Natives-- Dangerous service--Western entrance of the Strait of Magalhaens--Hope's cruize--Prepare to return to Monte Video.

The Beagle's time of absence had expired on the 1st of April, and our anxiety, more excited by our recent loss, was becoming painful. I detained the Hope from going upon a service for which she was prepared, in case she might be required to search for our consort: but on the 6th a strange whale-boat was descried pulling towards us from the southward, in which we soon distinguished Lieut. Sholl. His appearance, under such circ.u.mstances, of course raised fears for the Beagle's safety; but, on approaching, his gratifying shout, "all's well!" at once removed anxiety.

Mr. Sholl informed me, that the Beagle had picked up a boat, belonging to the schooner 'Prince of Saxe Cobourg,' wrecked in Fury Harbour, at the south entrance of the Barbara Channel; and that she had put into Port Gallant, whence Captain Stokes had gone with the boats to a.s.sist the Sealers, leaving Lieut. Skyring on board.

The safety of the Beagle being established, I despatched Mr. Graves, in the Hope, to examine some openings between the Magdalen Channel and the Dos Hermanos of Bougainville.

Several days earlier than I expected, the Beagle made her appearance, and Captain Stokes soon gave me the agreeable intelligence of having succeeded in saving the Prince of Saxe Cobourg's crew. Favoured by the weather, though delayed by his guide having forgotten the way, Captain Stokes reached Fury Harbour in two days, and embarked the master and {66} crew of the wrecked vessel, with all their personal property, and the greater part of the seal-skins which they had cured. He reached Port Gallant again on the fourth day; sailed immediately in the Beagle, and two days afterwards anch.o.r.ed in Port Famine.

The Prince of Saxe Cobourg, belonging to Mr. Weddel (whose voyage towards the South Pole is so well known), and commanded by Mr. Matthew Brisbane, who accompanied Weddel on that occasion, sailed from England in the summer of 1826, on a sealing voyage. At South Shetland she encountered a continuance of bad weather, was beset by a large body of ice for several days, and received so much damage as to oblige her to run for the Fuegian coast, and anchor in Fury Harbour, at the entrance of the Barbara Channel.

There (December 16th, 1826) she was driven on sh.o.r.e by the furious strength of the williwaws, and wrecked. The crew were, however, enabled to save most of the provisions and stores, as well as their three boats. Having made tents, and established themselves on sh.o.r.e, they remained in anxious expectation of the arrival of some vessel which might relieve them; day after day however pa.s.sed, without succour.

Two boats were despatched to look for any sealing vessel that might be in the vicinity, but after fifteen days' absence they returned unsuccessful.

In this interval one of the crew, who had long been sickly, died; and another, in carelessly discharging a musket, exploded twenty pounds of gunpowder, by which he was very much burned. Three of the people being mutinous, were punished by being sent, each to a different island, with only a week's provisions.

Soon afterwards another boat was sent away, which reached Hope Harbour, but found no vessel there. Seven of the people then obtained permission from the master (who kept up a very proper state of discipline), to take the largest whale-boat, and go towards the River Negro. Previous to their departure they drew up articles of agreement for their general conduct, a breach of which was to be punished by the offender being left upon the coast, wherever they might happen to {67} be. The boat eventually arrived safely at the place of her destination, and the crew entered as volunteers on board of the Buenos Ayrean squadron, at that time engaged in the war with Brazil.

Again a boat was despatched, directed to go westward through the Strait in search of vessels. She had only reached as far as Playa Parda, when the Beagle fell in with her (March 3d, 1827). While pa.s.sing through the small channels, before entering the Strait, she met several canoes, with Indians, who endeavoured to stop her, and shot arrows at the crew; but, happily, without doing any mischief.

After the last boat's departure, Mr. Brisbane began to build a small vessel, and, while so employed, was visited by a party of natives, who conducted themselves very peaceably, and went away. Their visit, however, gave the s.h.i.+pwrecked people, now much reduced in number,[57] reason to apprehend the return of a larger body, who might try to possess themselves of the property which was lying about on the sh.o.r.e; they therefore buried a great deal, and took means to preserve the rest by making preparations to repel attack. When Captain Stokes appeared with his two boats, the Sealers flew to their arms, calling out "the Indians, the Indians!" but in a very few minutes excess of joy succeeded to their sudden alarm.

Captain Stokes found the vessel lying on the rocks, bilged, and an utter wreck. The master and crew were extremely anxious to get away, he therefore embarked them, with as much of the property as could be carried, and succeeded (after another night in the boats, and a long pull of eighty miles,) in conveying them safely to the Beagle.

The following is an abstract of Captain Stokes's journal of his cruise to the western entrance of the Strait.

The Beagle sailed from Port Famine on the 15th of January, to explore the Strait westward of Cape Froward, and to fix particularly the positions of Cape Pillar, the rock called {68} Westminster Hall, and the Islands of Direction, at the western entrance of the Strait.

For the first night Captain Stokes anch.o.r.ed in San Nicolas Bay, and in the evening examined a harbour[58] behind Na.s.sau Island, which Bougainville, in the year 1765, visited for the purpose of procuring wood for the French settlement at the Falkland Islands.

On the second night, after a day nearly calm, the Beagle was anch.o.r.ed in a cove to the eastward of Cape Froward, and the next day (17th) pa.s.sed round the Cape, carrying a heavy press of sail against a dead foul wind. Captain Stokes's account of this day's beat to windward will give the reader an idea of the sort of navigation.

"Our little bay had screened us so completely from the wind, that though, when (at five A.M.) we weighed, the breeze was so light as scarcely to enable us, with all sail set, to clear its entrance; no sooner were we outside, than we were obliged to treble reef the topsails. We continued to beat to windward under a heavy press of sail; our object being to double Cape Froward, and secure, if possible, an anchorage ere night-fall under Cape Holland, six leagues further to the westward. At first we made 'boards' right across the Straits to within a third of a mile of each sh.o.r.e, gaining, however, but little. We then tried whether, by confining our tacks to either coast, we could discover a tide by which we might profit; and for that purpose I began with the north sh.o.r.e, for though we were there more exposed to violent squalls which came down the valleys, I thought it advisable to avoid the indraught of various channels intersecting the Fuegian coast; but having made several boards without any perceptible advantage, we tried the south sh.o.r.e, with such success that I was induced to keep on that side during the remainder of the day.

"And here let me remark, that in consequence of the westerly winds which blow through the western parts of the Straits of Magalhaens, with almost the constancy (as regards {69} direction, not force) of a trade-wind; a current setting to the eastward, commonly at the rate of a knot and three quarters an hour, will be found in mid-channel. The tides exert scarcely any influence, except near either sh.o.r.e; and sometimes appear to set, up one side of the Straits, and down the other: the weather tide is generally shown by a rippling.(c)

"Heavy squalls off Cape Froward repeatedly obliged us to clew all up. By day their approach is announced, in time for the necessary precautions, by their curling up and covering with foam the surface of the water, and driving the spray in clouds before them.

"At last we doubled Cape Froward. This Cape (called by the Spaniards El Morro de Santa Agueda), the southernmost point of all America, is a bold promontory, composed of dark coloured slaty rock; its outer face is nearly perpendicular, and whether coming from the eastward or westward, it 'makes'

as a high round-topped bluff hill ('Morro').

"Bougainville observes, that 'Cape Froward has always been much dreaded by navigators.'[59] To double it, and gain an anchorage under Cape Holland, certainly cost the Beagle as tough a sixteen hours' beat as I have ever witnessed: we made thirty-one tacks, which, with the squalls, kept us constantly on the alert, and scarcely allowed the crew to have the ropes out of their hands throughout the day. But what there is to inspire a navigator with 'dread' I cannot tell, for the coast on both sides is perfectly clear, and a vessel may work from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e."

From Cape Holland, the Beagle proceeded to Port Gallant, and during her stay there, Mr. Bowen ascended the Mountain de la Cruz. Upon the summit he found some remains of a gla.s.s bottle, and a roll of papers, which proved to be the memorials stated to have been left by Don Antonio de Cordova, {70} and a copy of a doc.u.ment that had previously been deposited there by M. de Bougainville. With these papers was found a Spanish two-rial piece of Carlos III., which had been bent to admit of its being put into the bottle.

It was with considerable difficulty that any of the writing could be decyphered, for the papers, having been doubled up, were torn, and the words defaced at the foldings, and edges.

Bougainville's memorial was in Latin. Cordova's, besides a doc.u.ment in Latin, was accompanied by an account of his voyage, written in four languages, Spanish, French, Italian, and English. The legible part of the former was as follows:--

Viatori Benevolo salus ........

........ que a periculose admodum naviga ......

........ Brasilie Bonarve et insularum ..........

.......... incertis freti Magellanici portubus ....

...................... historia astronomia ....

.... Boug .................................

.... Boug .... Duclos et de la Giranda 2 navium ..

.............. Primaris .... Comerson .... Doct med naturalista Regio accu .... m. Veron astronomo de Romainville hidrographio .......... a rege Christianissimo demandans .......... Landais Lavan Fontaine navium Loco tenentibus et Vexillariis ........

........ itineris locus DD Dervi Lemoyne ....

............ Riouffe voluntariis.

................ vives .......... scriba Anno MDCCLXVI.

The Latin inscription of Cordova was as follows:--

Benevolo Navigatori Salutem Anno Domini MDCCLx.x.xVIII Vir celeberrimus DD Antonius de Cordova Laso de Vega navibus duabus (_quarum_ nomina SS Casilda et Eulalia _erant ad scrutamen_ Magellanici freti subsequendum _unaque_ littorum, portuum aliorumque notabilium .................... iter iterum fecit.

.... e Gadibus cla.s.sis tertio nonas Octobris habenas _immitt.i.t_ quarto idus _ejusdem Nova_ ...... vidit {71} A Boreali ad Austra ...... _miserium_ postridie Kalendae Novembris emigravit.

Decimo quarto Kalendas Januarii Patagonicis recognitis litoribus ad ostium appulit freti.

Tandem ingentibus periculis et horroribus tam in mari quam in freto magnanime et constanter super_atis_ et omnibus portubus atque navium _fundamentis_ utriusque litoris correctissime cognitis ad hunc portum Divini Jose vel Galante septimo idu Januarii pervenit ubi ad perpetuam rei memoriam in monte sanctissimae crucis hoc monumentum reliquit.

Tertio et excelso Carolo regnante potente Regali jussu facta fuere suo.