so when the boat was recovered they
were still to the good all right--with the exception of their being
thoroughly soaked in sea water, which an exposure before Pat Doolan's
fire, and a hang-out in the fresh breezy air, soon remedied.

It was now the month of August, about the coldest time of the year on
the coast of Tierra del Fuego, or "The Land of Fire," as this portion of
the South American Continent was somewhat inappropriately christened by
its original discoverer, the veteran navigator Magalhaens. He called it
so, when he sailed round it in 1520, from the fact of the natives
lighting watch-fires in every direction as soon as his ship was
perceived nearing any of the channels transecting the archipelago, as if
to give warning of his approach, a practice still pursued by the Tierra
del Fuegans up to the time present, as all voyagers round Cape Horn well
know.

However, in spite of the inclemency of the season, we made ourselves
pretty comfortable. We had lost the greater portion of the three
months' stock of provisions we had taken with us; but still we had
enough to last for three or four weeks, and Captain Billings hoped to
spin out our store by the aid of the different species of wild fowl
which frequented the islands, in addition to the abundant supply of fish
that the southern waters contain--that is, until, as we hoped, some
passing ship should pick us up and convey our little party to more
civilised regions.

But, while the snowstorm lasted, we all suffered more or less from the
severity of the weather, many of the men having their feet and hands
frostbitten, and poor Mr Macdougall almost losing his nose!

"I say," said Sails to Pat Doolan, on seeing that worthy shivering while
trying to re-light the fire--which an avalanche of snow, descending from
a precipitous rise above the site of our tent, had suddenly buried,
along with the cook's pots and pans, just as he was preparing our
morning meal, on the fourth day of the storm--"how about that Manilla
guernsey o' yourn now, old flick? Guess it would come in handy, eh!"

"Be jabers, an' it would that," replied the Irishman, with much
heartiness; "I only wish I had it across me back now, and I was aboard
that schooner ag'in; an' faix, I'd die happy!"

Pat's fire was soon lighted again; but the fall of snow from above,
without any previous warning, might have caused serious injury to some
of us if it had come down in the night. It quite broke down our t