The Sun.
London, England, 1827-09-13 00:00:00

SINGULAR MISTAKE.

A coal-merchant named Jones was indicted for
having assaulted a Coal-meter in the execution of his
duty.--Convicted, and fined Is. and discharged.

As soon as the last-mentioned case terminated,
Aldermen Tnone and Luens, upon looking towards
the Jurymen, said, " Why, we have been trying all
this while with no more than eleven Jurymen."
All eyes were then directed to the Jury-box, and
certainly a twelfth Juryman was wanting. There
was a general laugh in the Court when the discovery
was made known to the public.
The RECORDER asked Mr. Clarke, the Clerk of
the Arraigns, how it
.happened that the Jury was
not full ? Mr. Clarke replied, that twelve gentle-
men had answered to their names, and he concluded
that they had all been sworn. '
The Swearing Officer stated, that he took it for
wanted, when he administered the oath, that all
the 12 had stood up to be sworn, as every one of
them answered to his'name.
A Jury Man said, that one of the gentlemen sum-
moned was Mr. Bennet. That gentleman had an-
swered to his name, bitt he sat at the other side of
the Court, and probably did not think he was re-
quired, and therefore ret►red.
Mr. BOLLAND said, that the 1.1 had done the
business in a very satisfactory manner, and did not
require a 12th.--(A laugh.) '
The mistake arose from two causes. The Court
was held in a very small room (the Exchequer
Chamber), where jury, attornies, w►tnesses, and de-
fendant were all huddled together, so that it was
very difficult to ascertain who were, or who were
not, the Jury. The keeper of Whitecross-street
prison, who attended in a case of assault, happened
to take, upon entering the Court, a vacant seat
close to the Jury, and he was considered by the
Jurymen as one of themselves. 'When he rose as a
prosecutor, the eleven found that they had been all
in the, wrong.

A person named Maltby was convicted of having
assaulted Mr. Spencer, tha keeper of Whitecross-
street prison. The keeper had pardoned the defen-
dant as an individual, but the Court sentenced
Maltby to imprisonment in the House of Correction
for one month,

One of their horses was caparisoned in a style
very superior to that in which the generality of
the horses, even at Monte Video, are dressed
out ; the bridle and saddle were evidently of
Spanish manufacture, and probably had been
procured from the Rio Negro. The studs and
ornaments of the saddle were of brass, and well
polished ; and altogether, the newness and good
condition of the whole furniture would have done
credit to the steed of an Hidalgo. The young
damsel who rode this horse wore large brass
spurs, similar to those in common use in the
neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres.
The caparisons of the other horses were of a
more rude construction ; the bits, however, were
generally of iron, and the reins a strip of hide ;
the saddle was wood, made to fit the horse's
back, in the pummel of which was a hole, pro-
bably intended to receive the bridle through, to
answer the purpose of a martingal. This wooden
frame, or saddle, is covered with skins, and forms
a soft and easy seat.

The English were received and treated by the
Patagonians in the most friendly manner; through-
out their entire communication with them, they
rode their horses, visited their encampments, and
no signs of want of confidence or distrust were
exhibited. Indeed, three of the natives pro-
ceeded in the Adventure to Elizabeth Island,
whilst the rest of the tribe travelled overland to
meet the ship. These poor fellows, however,
were miserably sea-sick the greater part of the
time they were on board, and seemed very un-
happy at not being able to return to their friends,
to the smoke of whose fires they continually
pointed. But when the sea sickness went off,
they resumed their former good-humour, and ap-
peared quite contented.
One of these, named Aighen, who was the
tallest Patagonian seen, measured only six feet in
height ; the others were not more than five feet
ten. They were not well prop ortloned, for, when
seated, the gigantic size of their bodies and heads
rendered them apparently much taller than ordi-
nary men.

On another occasion, at Gregory Bay, three
Patagomans came on board the Adventure to
pass the night : two of these were men, the other
a woman, and no less a personage than the
Cacique Maria. She was apparently about
forty, and spoke tolerable Spanish, in which
language she was very communicative. During
the evening she smoked tobacco, drank as much
grog as she could get, and made herself quite at
home. A place had been provided for her and
the men to sleep on the lower deck, which for
some time they occupied very contentedly; but
sing and make a
deck, where
iaisoitsheeyt
h‘evye, raedjnoout
eetrimtiott etpdb
et to
pp e r
they passed the remainder of the night.
One of the men had lost his daughter a day
or two before, and his grief, when the grog he
had drank began to operate, was expressed by
the most dismal howlings, to the great annoyance
of all on board who wished to sleep.
Upon applying to Maria to use her influence
in quieting him, her constant reply was, " Pov-
recito ! su hijo morio esta manana ; nor did
she attempt to use her authority in stopping
him, saying, at the same time, "'Es boracho..
(Poor fellow, his child died this morning—he is
drunk 01. and then turned the cmyeratio, by

The intercourse of Capt. stokes was chiefly
with the Fuegians or. Indians. Neither, male nor
female exhibited indicatiOns of strength, activity,
or beauty. Their average height was under five
feet and a half; their habit of body in general
spare, with limbs badly turned ; and they daubed
themselves, after no particular mode or pattern,
with red earth. The hair of the head is black,
straight, and ekarse, which they comb with the
jaw-bone of the, porpoise, and anoint with seal,
whale, or porpoise-blubber. The beard and
whiskers, naturally scanty, ,are carefully plucked
out by a very primitive kind, ;of tweezers, namely,
two muscle shells.. The,eyes dark, and of a mo-
derate size ; nose inclining to be prominent, with
dilated nostrils ; mouth large,. the under . lip
thick, the teeth small and regular, but of a bad
colour. Their complexion is a dirty copper
colour, and the whole countenance chill and void,
of expressio4. . ,
At Cape Gallant some papers were discover-
ed by Captain Stokes, on the top of one of the
lofty mountains which surround the harbour ;
fragments of a glass bottle, in which they had
been originally deposited, were lying on the spot
where they were found, which had been most
likely burst by the frost. The papers had suf-
fered somewhat from the weather, but were le-
gible, and proved, to be two latin inscriptions,
one by Bougainville,, in 1767, the other by Cor-
doba*, in 1783, stating the objects of their re-
spective voyages, and the names of the principal
officers of the ships.
Between St. Jerome's Channel and Cape
Gallant, the northern Shore of the Strait presents
a very agreeable landscape. In the distance Are
lofty peaks and craggy mountains, covered with
snow : in the foreground are pleasing combina-
tions of mountains, hills, and valleys, with green
sloping sides, well grassed plains, woods, and
copses, water falls, rivers, and little streams.--
This part affords goed anchorages, and seems to
be the favourite haunt of the various water-fowl
of the Straits. But this description only applies
to the northern. shore ; for the opposite coasts,
and in general devoidnf verdure.
Generally: as well as islandsthesp
brief e
ngthaot
descriptionsl
d lie
are
sr between,arehijgohhlyn characte-
ristic hNamraarcbektoey-_,
rriosutigch;' so one occasion he writes, " a cursed
rocky land this."
The weather which the Beagle experienced.
was exceedingly tempestuous, with heavy and
continued rains. On Captain Stokes's arrival
in the Pacific Ocean, vast numbers of the blaclf;
whale were seen ; and the labyrinth of isl-ands
and rocks situated on the western sido of the
Straits of Magellan were completely covered
with the fur seal and Brant goon, apparently in
very friendly joint occupancy.

Cordoba commanded two expeditions, at different pe-
riods, for the survey of the Straits, in neither of which did
he ever reach the westward of Cape Gallant.
According to Captain Stokes's observations, the. eastern-
most point of Cape Gallant is in lat. M. 42. 11. South,
and in long. 1. 05. 05. West of Cape Virgin Mary, the
north-easternmost headland of the Straits. Variation of
the compass, 33. 35. easterly.

ANDrse STRENGTH OF AMERICAN
nzericaanfteGr
's A
BIRDS.—In
Doctor, speaking of the light-house at Cape
SAGACITYMO
aotrttilayctiVe i 5 the light to
the
e glasswinged at
tribe,night ;y
thatet ssoh
work, in order to prevent birds from breaking
Henlopen, says—" There is a sti-aonzigetstitreeoereetr? net-
work, in
birds of different-kinds were found dead
one morning, and a duck, in particular,
flew against it with such force, as to penetrate
through both the-wire and glass,and
was fo,und
dead in the lantern. Since the above accident,
few similar ones have occurred, and the birds
have become more wary,"