The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-14 00:00:00

EVENINrG EDITION.

LITERATURE.

YA GES OF THE
ADVENTURE AND

BEAGLE. 3 Vols. Colburn, London, 1839.
These volumes contain a narrative of the survey-
ing voyages of the Adventure and Beagle along the
Southern shores of South America, between the
years 1826 and 1836. The expedition was under-
taken by order of the Lords of the Admiralty, and
the command of it was entrusted to Captain King,
who hoisted his flag on board the Adventure, a
roomy ship of three hundred and thirty tons burthen,
without guns, and lightly, but strongly, rigged and
built. With him was associated Captain Pringle
Stokes of the Beagle, on whose death the command
was given to Captain Fitzroy, the author of the
volumes before us. The vessels sailed from Ply-
mouth in the year 1826 ; and in their way to Rio
de Janeiro, called successively at Madeira, Tene-
rifre, and St. Jago. On leaving the former place,
they set out for Monte Video, where they remained
a short time, and then departed for the Southern
coasts of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego, including
the Straits of Magellan. They found the climate
here nearly, if not quite, as inhospitable as it has
been described, and made the passage of the first.
" narrow," as it is called, of the Straits with some
difficulty, arising from the prevalence of stormy
weather, and the shoals in which the water abounds.
In the neighbourhood of Port Famine, where they
east anchor, they met with that rare and singular
bird the steamer duck, of which we have this curious
account :

" Before steam-boats were in general use, this bird
was denominated, from its swiftness in skimming over
the surface of the water, the '' race-horse.' It is a
gigantic duck, the largest I have met with. It has the
lobated hind-toe, legs placed far backwards, and other
characteristics of the oceanic ducks. Its principal pecu-
liarity is the shortness and remarkably small size of the
wings, which, not having sufficient power to raise the
body, serve only to propel it along, rather than through,
the water, and are used like the paddles of a steam-
vessel. Aided by these, and its strong broad-webbed
feet, it moves with astonishing velocity. It would not
be an exaggeration to state its speed at from twelve to
fifteen miles an hour. It possesses the power of re-
maining a considerable length of time under water.
The largest we found measured forty inches, from the
1 extremity of the bill to that of the tail, and weighed
thirteen pounds ; but Captain Cooke mentions in his
second voyage that the weight of one was twenty-nine
Pounds- It is very difficult to kill them, on account of
their wariness and thick coat of feathers, which is impe-
netrable by anything smaller than swan-shot. The fla-
vour of their flesh is so strong and fishy, that at first
we killed them solely for specimens. Five or six
months, however, on salt provisions taught many to
think such food palatable, and the seamen never lost an
opportunity of eating them."
While the Adventure lay at anchor at Port
Famine, some of the crew made several excursions
inland; and on one occasion ascended the summit
of Mount Tarn, a barren, wind-swept mountain,
about eighteen hundred and forty-five feet above
the level of the sea. Now and then they amused
themselves by fishing, in which they were fre-
quently very fortunate, and once caught mulct
enough to serve the crews of both the Adventure
and the Beagle for three days ; while on another
day they caught, at one haul of the seive, sixteen
hundred weight of smelts, some weighing two
pounds, and measuring twenty inches in length—
a prodigious haul, almost realizing the " miraculous
draught of fishes" in the sea of Galilee I In shoot-
ing they were nearly equally successful ; obtained
as much wild fawl as they could desire, but found
no quadrupeds fit for food, and indeed scarcely saw
any, with the exception of a few foxes and wild cats.
Of the whirlwinds that are of such frequent occur-
rence along this desolate tract of sea-coast, Captain
Fitzroy speaks as follows :
" On the north shore we saw some extraordinary
effects of the whirlwinds which so frequently occur in
Terra del Fuego. The crews of sealing vessels call
them ' williwaws' or ' hurricane-squalls,' and they are
most violent. The south-west gales which blow upon
the coast with extreme fury, are pent up and impeded
in passing over the high lands ; when, increasing in
power, they rush violently over the edges of precipices,
expand, as it were, and descending perpendicularly,
destroy everything moveable.. The surface of the
water, when struck by these gusts, is so agi-
tated
as to be covered with foam, which is taken
up by them, and flies before their fury until dispersed in
vapour. Ships at anchor under high land are some-
times suddenly thrown over on their beam. ends, and
the next moment recover their equilibrium, as if nothing
had occurred. Again, a squall strikes them, perhaps on
the other side, and over they heel before its rage.
Everything that offers a stiff resistance must suffer
from the fury of these blasts. In many parts of the 1,
country trees are torn up by the roots, or rent asunder
by the wind ; and in the Gabriel Channel the williwaws
bursting over the mountainous ridge, which forms the
south side of the channel, descend, and striking against
the base of the opposite side of the shore, rush up the
steep, and carry all before them. I know of nothing
to which I can better compare the bared track left by
one of these squalls, than to a bad broad road. After
having made such an opening, the wind frequently
sweeping through, prevents all vegetation."
These sportive and gentle-natured zephyrs, so
singularly like those which, as Milton tells us,
lulled Adam to sleep in Paradise, play off their
'agaries in all parts of the Straits of Slagellai! ;
but are by no means its only striking characteristic.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the coast, within
an extent of nine or ten miles, there are, it seems,
upwards of a hundred and fifty waterfalls, dashing
into the Gabriel Channel, from a height of fifteen
hundred or two thousand feet. The course of
many is concealed at first by intervening trees, and,
When half-way down the descent, they burst upon
the view, leaping, as it were, out of the wood.
Some unite as they fall, and together are precipi-
tated into the sea in a cloud of foam ; so varied
indeed are the forms of these cascades, and so
great their contrast with the dark foliage of the
trees, " that it is impossible," says Capt. Fitzroy,
" adequately to describe the scene. .1 have ni.t
with nothing exceeding the picturesque grandeur
of this part of the Straits." Of the natives of this
quarter of the globe, the Fuegian Indians, we have
the following account :
" As might be expected from the unkindly climate in
which they dwell, the personal appearance of the Indians
does not exhibit, either in male or female, any indica-
tions of activity or strength. Their average height is
five feet five inches ; their habit of body is spare ; the
limbs are badly turned, and deficient in muscle ; the
hair of their head is black, straight., and coarse ; their
1 beards, whiskers, and eyebrows, naturally exceedingly
scanty, are carefully plucked out ; their forehead is low,
the nose rather prominent, with dilated nostrils ; their
eyes are dark, and of a moderate size ; the mouth is
large, and the under lip thick ; their teeth are small :nd
regular, but of bad colour. They are of a dirty copper
colour ; their countenance is dull. and devoid of ex-
teresrion. For protection against the rigours of these
inclement regions their clothing is miserably suited,
being only the skin of a seal, or sea-otter, thrown over
the shoulders, with the hairy side outward. Their co.nb
is a portion of the jaw of a porpoise, and they anoint
their hair with seal or whale blubber ; for removing the
beard and eyebrows they employ a very primitive kind of
tweezers, namely, two muscle-shells. They daub their
bodies with a red earth, like the ruddle used in Eng-
land for marking sheep. The women and children
wear necklaces formed of small shells, neatly attache:4.l
by a plaiting of the fine fibres of seal's intestines.
The tracts they inhabit are altogether destitute of
I four-footed animals. They have not domesticated the
geese and ducks which abound here ; of tillage, they
are' utterly ignorant, and the only vegetable produc-
tion,a they eat, are a few wild berries and a kind of
sea-weed. Their principal food consists of muscles,
limpets, and sea-eggs, and as often as possible of seal,
sea-otter, porpoise, and whale. They swallow the
most offensive offal, such as decaying seal-skins,rancid
seal, and whale blubber. When on board shi
they ate or drank greedily whatever was offered mythem')
.'alt beef, salt pork, preserved meat, pudding, pensot soup,
coffee, wine or brandy—nothing came amiss. One,
to A,
little instance, however, happened, which shows 1 what
they oreferred. As they were going ashore, a lump of
the saieew used for arming the lead, was given to there,
and recei'v'ed with particular delight. It was scrupu-
lously divided and placed in the little baskets which they
form of rushes, to be reserved for eating last, as the
richest treat. Their wigwams, or dwellings, are formed
of about a couple of dozen branches, pointed at the
larger ends, and stuck into the ground round a circular
or elliptical space, about ten feet by six ; the upper
ends are brought together and secured by tyers of
grass, over which is thrown a thatching of grass and
seal skins, a hole being left at the side as a door, and
i another at the top as a vent for the smoke. A fire
is kept burning within, over which the natives are con-
stantly cowering ; hence, when seen abroad, instead of
appearing to be hardy savages, inured to wet and cold,
you see wretched creatures shivering at every breeze.
I never met people so sensible of cold as these Foe-
-0" Indians. The nature of their domestic ties we had'
no opportunity of discovering ; their manner towards
their children is affectionate and caressing. Their only
articles of traffic, besides such implements and weapons
1 as they use, sre seal and otter skins."
Shortly after quitting Port Famine, the Adven-
ture, in sailing past the second narrow of the
Straits of Magellan, saw on a hill close to the
coast some Patagonian Indians standing
and their horses feeding
close to them. together,
Four of