painted, to be fixed on shore, as a record of our
visit; and as soon as the anchor was down we all landed, the gentlemen
with their guns, and the crew fully armed with pistols and rifles, in
case of accident. The water was quite deep close to the shore, and we
had no difficulty in landing, near a small waterfall. To penetrate far
inland, however, was not so easy, owing to the denseness of the
vegetation. Large trees had fallen, and, rotting where they lay, under
the influence of the humid atmosphere, had become the birthplace of
thousands of other trees, shrubs, plants, ferns, mosses, and lichens.
In fact, in some places we might almost be said to be walking on the
tops of the trees, and first one and then another of the party found
his feet suddenly slipping through into unknown depths below. Under
these circumstances we were contented with a very short ramble, and
having filled our baskets with a varied collection of mosses and
ferns, we returned to the shore, where we found many curious shells
and some excellent mussels. While we had been thus engaged, the
carpenter and some of the crew were employed in nailing up our board
on a tree we had selected for the purpose. It was in company with the
names of many good ships, a portion of which only were still legible,
many of the boards having fallen to the ground and become quite
rotten.

Near the beach we found the remains of a recent fire, and in the
course of the night the watch on deck, which was doubled and
well-armed, heard shouts and hoots proceeding from the neighbourhood
of the shore. Towards morning, too, the fire was relighted, from which
it was evident that the natives were not far off, though they did not
actually put in an appearance. I suppose they think there is a
probability of making something out of us by fair means, and that,
unlike a sealing schooner, with only four or five hands on board, and
no motive power but her sails, we are rather too formidable to attack.

_Monday, October 9th_.--We are indeed most fortunate in having another
fine day. At 6 a.m. the anchor was weighed, and we resumed our
journey. It was very cold; but that was not to be wondered at,
surrounded as we are on every side by magnificent snow-clad mountains
and superb glaciers. First we passed Snowy Sound, in Tierra del Fuego,
at the head of which is an immense blue glacier. Then came Cape Notch,
so called from its looking as if it had had a piece chopped out of it.
Within a few ya