appearance
of the surrounding country may briefly be described: ridges and peaks of
grey quartz rock of moderate elevation form boundaries to shallow
valleys, or become the summits of slopes extending with gentle declivity
towards the shore. The ground almost everywhere, even on the hills, is
boggy, with numerous swamps, rivulets and pools. The peat in some places
is as much as six feet in thickness; it forms the only fuel on the
island, for not a single tree occurs to diversify the landscape, and few
of the bushes exceed a foot in height. The general tint of the grass and
other herbage at this season is a dull brownish-green. Bays and long
winding arms of the sea intersect the country in a singular manner, and
the shores are everywhere margined by a wide belt of long wavy seaweed or
kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) which on the exposed coasts often forms
immense beds of various species, some of which attain to gigantic
dimensions.

On my first walk I was surprised at the extraordinary tameness of the
smaller landbirds: a thrush (Turdus magellanicus) almost allowed me to
knock it down with my cap, and some other birds were quite as familiar as
our robin in winter--a pair of loggerhead ducks (Brachypterus
micropterus) were quietly pluming themselves on the jetty at government
house, and others were swimming along shore within pistol shot of a
public road; at first I thought they were domesticated, and refrained
from firing. The loggerhead is a large and heavy bird for a duck: one
which I shot weighed eighteen pounds, and it has been recorded as
sometimes weighing as much as twenty-nine pounds. From the
disproportionate smallness of its wings it is incapable of flight, but
employs these members as paddles in hurrying along the surface of the
water when alarmed, using its feet at the same time with much splashing
and apparent awkwardness, leaving a broad wake behind it on the
water--hence the not inappropriate name of steamer which is sometimes
applied to it. Not being fit to eat, and moreover from its strength and
the closeness of its plumage difficult to kill, it is not much molested
by sportsmen. Another bird very likely to attract attention is the kelp
goose (Bernicla antarctica) generally seen in pairs along the rocky
coasts: the plumage of the male is of a beautiful white, that of the
female is dark and glossy, variously speckled and barred.

July 24th.

We sailed from Port Stanley yesterday at daylight, and after ente