Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-01-14
Mistellaneolls 8eadin9.
STRAITS NO TERROR.
Fleet Can Go Through With Ease,
SAYS Old Sea Captain.

TRANSPORTATION of stout-hearted men,
who had given up everything in the
desire for the precious metal that lay
in the hills of the west coast"
It was in those days that the pilot
boats and smaller schooners braved the
Straits Of Magellan (many charts now
set the passage down as Magellan
Strait, often to their utter discomfit-
ure Anchorages are few, and the cap
tain OF the sailing vessel leaving Punta
Arenas and bucking through Famine
Reach to Forward Reach must be GER
tain that neither wind nor fog nor spook
shall hold him up before good bottom
for a mudhook is found. And this may
be fifty or one hundred and twenty
miles. The current and lack OF anchor
ages and disagreeable weather condi-
tions have always interposed obstacles
which the master Of square rigger
would never think Of attempting; and
the great gaunt cliff, seen through the
whirling snow, which tells him that
Cape Horn is but two or three miles
away, presents problems vastly more
simple than does the passage of the
east entrance to the straits.
Steamships Do It Easily.
Steamships, of course, are not vital
Iy affected in currents, adverse winds
and the like, and so Cape Horn is ig-
nored by them, and the passage Of the
straits which separate Terre del Fue-
go from the rest Of the South American
continent is not regarded as an espe-
cially narrowing experience. Captains
of South American vessels coming into
this port every other week or so have
made the passage thirty or forty times.
and are not inclined to regard their
record with any special pride.
One captain Of q steamship, having
gone through the straits fully fifty
times, says there is no more reason, so
far as he can see, why the battleships
should not go through the passage
without difficulty than that they should
fail to steam safely down the East
river around Governors Island, and
through the Narrows.
Upon approaching Cape Virgins
from sea, the land appears like the
coast Of England-white clay cliffs,
perhaps hundred or so feet high, and
covered with a short grass. There are
no trees. 1t is good grazing land, and
on the hills you will see thousands OF
sheep. The water Is good and wide
and not difficult to navigate This graz
ing land extends as far west as Punta
Arenas. The course from the east en-
trance runs westward thirty-five miles
to Cape Possession. where you enter
the First Narrows These narrows are
two miles wide, and the current runs
through at a rate of from six to eight
knots, which, let me tell you, is mighty
swift.
Nearing Punta Arenas.
After clearing the First Narrows,
which are ten miles long, you have
clear run of twenty-five miles to the
Second Narrows. These are three
miles wide and fifteen miles long. The
current is not so strong as in the First
Narrows. but it is strong enough.
Passing out of the Second Narrows,
the boat enters Famine Reach, where,
after steamng thirty miles, Punta
Arenas Is made. This Is the southern
most town in the world. 1t has about
900 inhabitants, and is a depot for
the sheep stations nearby. 1t is light
ed with electricity. There are stores
and a theatre. Altogether I do not
think the jackies will be bored while
the fleet is coaling there.
Putting out from Punta Arenas, one
sees the aspect of the country change
from comparatively low grazing lands
to a severe mountainous region. The
mountains rise 5000 feet, almost sheer
from the waters edge. They are COW
cred with scrub to the snow line, which
in summer is 115 feet up and in winter
comes down to the water line.
After leaving Punta Arenas the ves-
sells will have fifty miles of steaming
through Famine Reach before they get
to Forward Reach. This reach is thirty
miles long, and then comes Crooked
Reach, fifteen miles long. There is then
a straight run of 100 miles through
Long Reach and Sea Reach to Cape
Pillar. Upon passing this you are out
Of the straits.
Change In Weather.
Beyond Cape Forward, west of Pun
Ia Arenas. the climatic conditions
change with the topography. East OF
Punta Arenas the weather is clear and
dry, but Immediately upon passing For
ward one finds the change-rain and
generally disagreeable weather from
there until the Pacific is reached.
"As to trouble for the fleet in max
ing the passage. l look for none at all.
While the lights are not any too fire.
quent. such as are there are sufflclent
to keep you Alright. There are lights-to
name them all-at Cape Virgin, at cape
Possession, at DelGada Point, at the
Magdalene Islands, at Punta Arenas,
at San Isidro at Felix Point and at
Evangelist rocks, which are twenty
miles west Of Cape Pillar.
"All in all, the straits may be said 10
be well surveyed, but I can say TINS
emphatically: The distance from cape
Virgin to Punta Arenas requires day
light, and any master who attempts the
trip in the dark is a born fool. You
could anchor at the Virgins in the
darkness, or in Possession bay, but no
farther must you go when the skies are
shrOuded.
No Darkness Now.
"One good thing is that at the pres
ent time of year there is no darkness
over the straits. except between the
hours of 10 p. m. and . a. m, and even
then. if the weather be fair, there Is
daylight in the skies all night. This
will benefit the fleet. and so VIII the
fact that January and February are the
summer months in the straits, cores
ponding to July and August here. so
you see the vessels will have mild
f,-;n Tho