The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-07-18
THROUGH THE MAGELLAN.
A Long Sail In the Southern Waters-Sea
SOundinGs-The Strait of MageIIan-The
Rio De La Plata-Spanish American
Scenes.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE

OuT COuISe ldy dlOuB buo iOibJ J-SiS w
parallel of latitude, in order to catch the
westerly winds that sweep over the ocean,
but adverse storms compelled us to
changvtte route further toward tn south.
The long days and short nights followed
each other in close succession, for it was
nearing the end of the year. Several
terrific storms aud gales caught the ship
in their embrace, the westerly winds
often failed US, and heavy seas, fire.
quently forty to fifty feet high, rolled
across our path, and kept the vessel bob
bing up and down to such an extent that
craft, quarter of a mile away, would
have passed unseen. We crossed the
iS0th meridian on Monday, and the fol
lowing day was Monday also, a day of
forty y-eight hours, as compensation to
Father Time, aud an offset for the loss
of day in turning our clocks ahead
when we came into this part of the world,
A line of sea soundings was run along
the course at intervals of less thau
twenty-four hours, during which it was
necessary to come 10 standstili from
one to two hours, in order to make a
plummet line. Ffty-seven soundings
were made, and an average depth of
twenly-seven hundred fathoms, or over
three miles, was found. Many marine
specimens, shells, corals and weeds,
were brought in from these great depths.
In the act of sounding, the lines, which
are made Of pano-string wire, are opera
ted by properly adjusted machinery run
by steam power, and the measurements
are taken with great accuracy. The
greatest depth reached in any of the seas,
in which our lines were dropped, was in
the Southern Atlantic, where a depres-
sion of fifty.two hundred fathoms, or
alb u. six IN les, was found
Our ship entered the strait of Mdgel-
Ian at cape Pillar, where lofty rocks, on
each side of passage less than mile
wide, form a gateway from the open
Pacific. Through its entire length of
three hundred and fifty miles, the width
of the strait varies from one to fifteen
miles. Near its center, the shores be
come precipitOus, conveying the impress
sion that, once joined together, they
have been torn asunder by some great
convulsion of nature. Ranging from a
few feet to many hundred feet in height,
with towering mountains behind them
on the north and round topped hills on
the south, the Jagged shore-lines mark
the separation of TERRA del Fuego from
the continent. At its eastern extremity
the lands become low and sandy, where
stormy gulf unites the strait with
the open sea. Along its course chang
ing panorama is presented, and scenes
of picturesque and alpine beauty are re-
vealed in the lofty snow-covered noun
tain ranges, in the high cloven peaks, in
great icy glaciers, and in the valleys OF
somber forests, which glide away in the
view Of the passing steamer.
| Midway in the strait, lying on the
northern shore, is the little Chilan town
of Sandy Point, the only settlement OF
white people in this land, trading post
with the natives and stopping place
| for vessels, where we made brief land.
ing Here is penal colony of the Chill
ian government, and to the west is Port
Famine, which was the scene OF sad
tragedy of starvation few centuries
ago. The archipelago of TERRA del Fue-
go, or Land of Fire, lies to the south, a
group of irregular, wild and desolate
lands, with broken and stormy coasts,
with volcanic mountains and lmpenetra-
BILE forests, and with rivers of ice creep
ing down from the heights to mingle
with the waters of the two oceans, which
meet in contention at the lower point of
the Americas. At the remotest extrem-
ity of these islands is Cape Horn, in
rounding which the distance is six hun
dred miles greater than by the strait, a
route that is safer for sailing vessels than
that of Magellan with its fOgs and rocks
and sudden squalls.
The people OF these south lands, separ-
ated by the strait, are widely different
in appearance and in modes of life. The
Fuegans are short in stature and repul-
sive in looks, with black hair and rust
colored skin, who live in mud hu.s with
dogs az companions and with wives
and children as menlals, aDd subsist on
fish and oysters. Polygamy is common
among them. for one woman Is not con
sidered competent to provide for hus'
band in becoming manner, who loun-
ges by the wigwum fire while the wives
are gathering fuel and procuring food
for the family. The children OF house
hold are many, but by reason of expos
ure and neglect in infancy less than half
of them reach adult years. Bows, arrows
and lances are their weapons of war and
chase, which, together with their house
hold and fishing implements, are OF the
rudest kind. The natives OF Patagonia
north of the strait are of large size and
of better form, and occupy a little high
er plane of life.
Leaving Sandy Point. with all the
savagery of its surroundings, suggestive
of the very dawn of civilization, with
something of the feeling of having been
transported back to prehistoric ages of
the world, with the,damp of the glac-
ill epoch upon us, we passed out into
the waters of the Atlantic and directed
the course of the ship northward up the
great ocean, with ninety-six degrees OF
latitude, or nearly seven thousand miles,
between us and home. In the mouth of
the Rio de la Plata, which has a width
of sixty miles, we dropped anchor be-
fore the capital of Uruguay that lies on
the left bank and looks out upon the
broad expanse of the river, hundred
miles or more across which, and little
above, is Bueous Ayres. The city of
Montevideo, although without any har-
Dor of note, is as favorably located as
any place in the world. Situated on a
narrow tongue or rock, with the ocean
on one side and the great river on the
other, il reaches out from the coast, and
presents a long water front. The streets
rise in terraces one above another, Civ
ing superior drainage and furnishing
almost every residence with magniti-
cent view of the sea From the river it has
picturesque look, although compare
lively low. IN keeping with the country
in the backgrounds.
The city has population of about one
h., md Ia
every evidence of prosperity, Electric
lights turn the night into day, and street
cars run through all the thoroughfares.
for the people never walk when they
can ride. Beautifully and costly resi-
dences and fine business blocks line the
principal avenues, and on the curve of
the bay fronting the river are many
charming villas, that are built in the an
cient Italian style and surrounded with
gardens of fruit and flowers, summer
and winter alike, that give to the place
the appearance of perpetual spring. The
walls of the dwellings are of brick, and
of great thickness as protection against
heat and moisture, some of which are
painted in the most fantastic aud gay
colors. The government buildings are
Inferior structures of two stories, with
out any architectural adoTnments. The
cathedral is magnificent edifice, and
the theaters, Libraries and public build
ings will compare favorably with those
of any modern city. The cemetery,
overlooking the sea. contains many cost.
ly and beautiful tombs, monuments and
memorials, and is one of the finest in
all OF the Americas, The climate Is salu-
brious, and moderate temperature
always prevails.
The people of the cities show their