Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle Part 14

Winter advanced rapidly; the ground was constantly covered with snow, from one to two feet deep, and every night more fell. In the early part of June we had a gale of wind from the N.W., which flooded the low ground upon which our tents stood; but fortunately the large tent had been accidentally placed on a higher part, and escaped. This flood filled, and, of course, spoiled the water in all the ponds about the tents; and we had afterwards to procure our supplies from a considerable distance.

On the 8th of June much lightning was observed to the northward, and repeated rumbling noises were heard, which continued for long periods; one lasted distinctly for the s.p.a.ce of twenty minutes. At first, they were thought to be eruptions of some distant volcano; but, from the frequent lightning, they were probably echoes of thunder, reverberating through the deep ravines that intersect the rocky ridges of the Cordillera, from which we were distant at least one hundred and fifty miles.

A succession of bad weather followed, during which the barometer fluctuated rapidly. On the 14th, the mercury fell to 28. 17. inches, after which it gradually rose, with fine settled weather, until it reached 30. 50., when bad weather again set in. The people at the tents experienced another inundation. Had the water risen six inches more, it would have carried every thing away; and as the wind was blowing dead upon the sh.o.r.e, while a heavy surf was beating upon the beach, we could have rendered them very little a.s.sistance from the ship.

The severity of the weather brought a most disagreeable accompaniment.

Scurvy appeared, and increased; while the accidental death of a seaman, occasioned by falling down a hatchway, followed by the decease of two others, and also of Mr. Low, of the Adeona, whose body was brought to me for burial, tended to create a despondency amongst the crew that I could in no way check. The monotony of their occupations, the chilling and gloomy appearance of the country, and the severity of the climate, all tended to increase the number of the {145} sick, as well as the unfavourable symptoms of their disease. The Beagle's term of absence was, however, drawing to a close, and I caused a rumour to be spread, that upon her appearance we should quit Port Famine. To give a semblance of reality to this report, the topmasts were ordered to be fidded, and the ship otherwise prepared for sea, which had a manifest effect upon the s...o...b..tic, of whom several were in a bad stage of that horrid disease, and many others were just attacked.

We found ourselves now, too, thrown on our own resources for fresh food: scarcely a fish was taken with the hook, and the seine, although frequently shot, never caught anything. Of birds, only a few hawks and small finches were procured, which were all reserved for the sick, the greater number of whom lived on sh.o.r.e, at the tents, where they might walk about, and amuse themselves as they pleased.

The Adelaide returned from Bougainville Harbour on the 18th of June, having succeeded in the object for which she was sent. The extremity of Cape Froward, a bluff head, over which is a round-topped hill (precisely the French 'Morre') is what Sarmiento called the Morro de Santa Agueda. Any name given by this excellent old navigator is too cla.s.sical and valuable to be omitted; therefore, while the extremity itself may retain the modern appellation of Cape Froward, the mountain by which it is formed may still be allowed to keep his distinction. Behind it, the land rises to a higher ridge, the edge of which is remarkably serrated, and probably of a slaty character.

The specimens procured from the Cape were clay-slate, much intermixed with iron pyrites, and crossed by small veins of white quartz. Of the anchorages examined by Mr. Graves, Bougainville Harbour, better known to sealers by the name of Jack's Cove, or Harbour, is the most sheltered.

It is surrounded on all sides by high precipitous hills, thickly clothed with trees. The depth is moderate, and the water so beautifully clear, that the anchors, and even sh.e.l.ls and stones, were distinctly seen upon the bottom. It was here that Bougainville procured wood for the use of the settlement {146} at the Falkland Islands. Captain Stokes says of this place: "After seeing the abundant supplies of timber which Freshwater Bay and Port Famine afford, I had shared in the surprise which Byron expresses, that any one should have come so far up the Strait to get it; but on examining the spot, I found that a happier selection could not have been made. It is a little cove, just round the eastern point of the Bay of San Nicolas, about a hundred yards wide and three times as long. Here, moored to the sh.o.r.e, a ship may lie in eight fathoms, perfectly sheltered from any wind, the water as smooth as in a wet-dock. Shapely trees, of all dimensions, are growing within a few yards of the sh.o.r.e; and the wood, when felled, may be hoisted on board from the beach, by tackles from the yard-arms. Here, too, with very little trouble, a supply of water may be got from the many streams that make their way through the underwood which skirts the cove. As we pulled up this sequestered nook, the unusual sound of our oars and voices put to flight mult.i.tudes of birds, and the surface of the water was broken by the jumping of fine fish. Some very eatable geese were shot. Our stay was too short to admit of hauling the seine; but my boat's crew contrived to half-fill the boat with excellent muscles and limpets, which are found here in great plenty."

The geological character of the coast between Cape St. Isidro and San Nicolas Bay is clay-slate; near the beach, however, this rock is not visible, since it is there covered with a kind of breccia of rounded pebbles, in an indurated sandy rock, of green colour. The pebbles are princ.i.p.ally of slate; but some were found to be of granite and other quartzose rock, perhaps greenstone.

One of the headlands, called by M. Bougainville Cape Remarquable, was examined by Mr. Graves for fossil sh.e.l.ls, of which the French navigator speaks. Half the rock was beaten to pieces, without detecting anything like organic remains. Living sh.e.l.ls were in the greatest abundance about the base of the Cape, but that is the case every where. The species generally found are limpets and muscles, but with little variety and no novelty.

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On the 21st of June, after a heavy north-east gale, we had an unusually fine day. The hills at the bottom of Magdalen Channel were more distinct than we had ever noticed them, and Mount Sarmiento was particularly clear; indeed its outline was so sharply defined, that the distance did not appear to be more than ten miles. This extraordinary transparency of the air was at first considered a presage of wet weather; yet the clear and sharp appearance of the distant land was unlike that which usually precedes a fall of rain. The long series of rainy weather we had experienced made us look for a good result from such an unusual atmosphere, and we were not deceived. The following day our hopes were still further confirmed by seeing three Indian canoes, coming across the Strait, towards us, from Lomas Bay, which they would not have attempted had they not been sure of its continuing fine; for their canoes are ill adapted to encounter the short cross sea found during bad weather in mid-channel of the Strait.

Although the presence of the natives did not in general please me, because it naturally put a stop to all work; yet, on this occasion it was agreeable, as it tended in some measure to enliven the monotonous manner in which we pa.s.sed our days.

Upon reaching the bay, the Indians did not approach the ship, but paddled into the coves under Point Santa Anna, where our boat was employed watering. Mr. Graves went to them, to prevent mischief, and found they were the same party who had before visited us. When our boats returned, they paddled over to the wigwam at the head of the port, about a quarter of a mile beyond our tents, and began to repair it, and by sunset were housed and sheltered for the night. We had, however, so lately experienced their treacherous disposition, that no confidence was placed in appearances.

Sentinels were posted at the tents, to give the alarm, should any of them approach; and at eight o'clock a volley of musketry was fired, by way of intimidation, and to impress them with the idea that we kept a watch upon their movements, and were prepared.

While the wigwams were repairing, a few of the Indians visited our tents; but were not allowed to pa.s.s within a rope {148} that, by my orders, was stretched around our property, a restriction which they did not attempt to evade. At sunset all were told to go away, and they immediately, as well as cheerfully, complied.

The next morning, and indeed throughout the whole day, the neighbourhood of the wigwams exhibited the appearance of a fair. I visited them, and found that they had not only repaired an old wigwam, but erected another. Both together contained the whole party, consisting of twenty-six individuals, among whom were an old man, and two old women. They had brought over a collection of baskets, bows and arrows, stone heads of knives, &c. to sell to our people, who had always shown eagerness to possess these curiosities.

The knife-heads were made generally of pitch-stone; but the greater number were of broken gla.s.s bottles, which they had collected when they visited us last year. A few strings of beads purchased all their riches; after which they sold their dogs, and Mr. Graves procured one of them for a knife and a string of beads. It was a remarkably fine animal, and showed great reluctance to be handled by our people, several of whom were bitten in their attempts to take him to the boat.

At night one of the canoes was despatched to collect sh.e.l.l-fish, probably sea-eggs, from the reef of Rocky Bay. The following morning all their goods were embarked, and then they paddled their canoes to the beach, near the tents, where some of their men landed. They had nothing to offer in exchange for several things which tempted them, and were beginning to grow troublesome. One of them, the individual who threw a stone at the sergeant, persisting to pa.s.s the boundary that was marked upon the ground, which no one of them had before presumed to do, was pushed back by the sentinel; upon which he ran to his canoe and took out several spears, doubtless intending to try to force a pa.s.sage; but the appearance of two or three muskets brought him to his senses, and the spears were returned to the canoe; after which he became familiar, and apparently friendly. This affair, however, was soon followed by their departure, which gave me much {149} satisfaction. They went southward, landing for the night in Voces Bay, and the following day went to the Adeona, in Bougainville Harbour, where they remained some days.

The day after the Indians left us, a boat came from the Adeona, to acquaint us that, in a day or two, she and her companions, the Uxbridge and Mercury, intended to leave the Strait for the Falkland Islands; upon which I prepared letters for England, and a report of my proceedings for the Secretary of the Admiralty. The ships pa.s.sed by on the 30th, and took my letters.

This last month (June) set in with snow or rain, which continued until the 11th, when the weather a.s.sumed a very threatening appearance. On the 14th the barometer fell to 29. 27, and the wind blew a hard gale from N.E.; but in the afternoon it veered round to S.W., and the mercury rose rapidly. A gale from S.W. followed, and then to the end of the month we had a series of moderate weather, but much snow. The mean temperature for June was 32,97 the range being between 19,2 and 48,7.

July commenced with an unusually low temperature and a high barometer; the former, on the 4th was 12,2, and the latter, at the same time, at 30,5 inches, having risen since the 14th of June 1.82 of an inch. After this we had a few mild and fine days, but paid dearly for them; a northerly gale set in, bringing with it unwholesome damp weather, in which the temperature rose to between 35 and 42, and melted much of the snow that had covered the ground, quite to the water's edge, during the last two months. Our sick-list, particularly of cases of scurvy, increased so much, during this damp, trying weather, that I determined upon sending the Adelaide to the northward, to procure a supply of fresh meat from the Patagonians; and, at the same time, to survey that part of the Strait lying between Cape Negro and the Second Narrow.

Lieutenants Graves and Wickham, and Mr. Tarn, went upon this service, the latter being most anxious to procure some change of diet for the sick under his care, for some of whom he was much alarmed. The appearance and severity of this {150} disease, although every precaution had been used, and subsequent attention paid to their diet, are not easy to account for: fresh provisions, bread baked on board, pickles, cranberries, large quant.i.ties of wild celery, preserved meats and soups, had been abundantly supplied; the decks were kept well-aired, dry, and warm, but all to no purpose; these precautions, perhaps, checked the disease for a time; but did not prevent it, as had been fully expected.

The Adelaide sailed on the 16th of July, with every prospect of fine weather. The same evening, an American sealing schooner anch.o.r.ed near us, on her way to Staten Land. She had entered the Straits by Cutler and Smyth Channels, and in forty-eight hours arrived at Port Famine. After obtaining some trifling a.s.sistance from our forge, she sailed.

On the 25th, three new cases of scurvy appeared, one being the a.s.sistant-surgeon, which increased our sick-list to fourteen. Feeling the necessity of doing something, I ordered the hands to be turned up, 'Prepare ship for sea!' No sooner had the words escaped the boatswain's lips, than all was life, energy, and delight. The preliminary preparations were made, and every one looked forward with pleasure to the change, except myself. I had hoped to pa.s.s the twelve months at Port Famine, with the intention of completing a meteorological journal, for which this place afforded peculiar advantages. My plan was, on the Beagle's return, to despatch her and the schooner along the West Coast, and join them in the Adventure at Chiloe.

As our departure was now supposed to depend on the Beagle's arrival, every eye was on the stretch to watch for her, and every morning some one of our party ascended the heights, to look out. On the 27th she was seen, beating up from the southward; but as the wind was contrary, she did not anchor in the bay until the evening. Her return was greeted with three most hearty cheers; but on pa.s.sing under our stern, Lieutenant Skyring informed me that Captain Stokes was confined to his cabin by illness, and could not wait on me. I therefore went to the Beagle, and found Captain Stokes looking very ill, and in low spirits. He expressed himself much distressed by the {151} hardships the officers and crew under him had suffered; and I was alarmed at the desponding tone of his conversation. He told me that the Beagle had been up the western coast as high as Cape Tres Montes, in lat.i.tude 47, had surveyed the Gulf of Penas and other portions of the coast, particularly Port Henry, at Cape Three Points, the entrance of the Gulf of Trinidad, and Port Santa Barbara, at the north end of Campana Island.

During the survey of the Gulf of Penas they had experienced very severe weather, both stormy and wet, during which the Beagle's crew were incessantly employed, and had consequently suffered greatly. Captain Stokes seemed not to have spared himself. He appeared much gratified by my visiting him, and before we parted he was for a time restored to his usual energy, detailing the circ.u.mstances of the voyage, and conversing upon the plan of our future operations with considerable animation.

The return of the Beagle cheered our ship's company, and on the 30th the Adelaide came back, with a large quant.i.ty of guanaco meat, which had been procured from the Patagonian Indians at Peckett's Harbour.

When the Adelaide anch.o.r.ed there, about thirty natives appeared on the sh.o.r.e. Mr. Tarn landed, and communicated our wants, saying that he would give tobacco and knives for as much guanaco meat as they could procure; with them was the Fuegian, who seemed to be a leading man, and to have become one of the most active of the party. He was the princ.i.p.al spokesman, and upon commencing the hunt he pointed to the snow upon the ground, and called it 'bueno' (good), because it would show the traces of the animals, and the direction they had taken. Mr. Wickham thus described to me the manner in which they hunted: Two men ascended a hill, placed themselves one at each end of its summit, and stood motionless for some time, on the look-out. As soon as guanacoes were seen, their position and movements were communicated, by signs, to the men in the valley, who were thus enabled to approach their game unawares. The guanacoes are taken with the bolas, which entangle their legs and throw them down. As soon as they are killed, {152} they are skinned and cut up. The first night seven hundred pounds of meat were brought, and two thousand and forty-six pounds were obtained in a few days.

This ample change of diet inspired me with the hope that our sick, at least those affected by scurvy, would recover, and that after another large supply, which we now knew how to obtain, we might be enabled to prosecute our voyage as was first intended. All hands were therefore allowed fresh meat for a week, and the residue was placed at the disposal of the surgeon, for the use of the sick, but all ineffectually; the list still increased, and Lieutenant Wickham, with a violent cold, and Mr. Rowlett, with scurvy, were added to it. The a.s.sistant-surgeon's became the worst case of scurvy on board; and our people, finding that the preparations for quitting the place were not going on, began to despond again. Captain Stokes was anxious to prepare his vessel for another cruize, being very averse to giving up our plans and returning to Monte Video, since he thought the crews, from utter disgust at the privations and hardships they had endured, would not be persuaded to go on another voyage; but that if they were to go to Chiloe or Valparaiso, to refresh, they might recover their strength and spirits, and be willing to renew the survey; which, however, he himself seemed to dread, for he never mentioned the subject without a shudder. He was evidently much excited, and suspicions arose in my mind that all was not quite right with him. I endeavoured to prevail on him to give his people a longer rest, but he was the more anxious to make preparations. On the 31st July he sent an application for provisions, and in the evening I received a note from him, which was written in his former usual flow of spirits. The officers, however, knew more of the diseased state of his mind than I did; and it was owing to a hint given to me, that I desired Mr. Tarn to communicate with Mr. Bynoe, and report to me whether Captain Stokes's health was sufficiently restored to enable him to commence another cruize.

This was on the 1st of August. The provisions had been sent, in compliance with his application, and the surgeons were on board the Adventure, {153} considering upon their report, which was, as I afterwards found, very unfavourable, when a boat came from the Beagle, with the dreadful intelligence that Captain Stokes, in a momentary fit of despondency, had shot himself.

The surgeons instantly repaired on board, and finding him alive, had recourse to every means in their power, but without hope of saving his life. During the delirium that ensued, and lasted four days, his mind wandered to many of the circ.u.mstances, and hair-breadth escapes, of the Beagle's cruize. The following three days he recovered so much as to be able to see me frequently; and hopes were entertained by himself, but by no one else, that he would recover. He then became gradually worse, and after lingering in most intense pain, expired on the morning of the 12th.

Thus shockingly and prematurely perished an active, intelligent, and most energetic officer, in the prime of life. The severe hardships of the cruize, the dreadful weather experienced, and the dangerous situations in which they were so constantly exposed--caused, as I was afterwards informed, such intense anxiety in his excitable mind, that it became at times so disordered, as to cause the greatest apprehension for the consequences. On the return of the Beagle he got better; and the officers were so sanguine in hoping for his complete restoration to health, on account of his progressive recovery, that nothing which had transpired was communicated to me until after his decease.

His remains were interred at our burial-ground, with the honours due to his rank, and a tablet was subsequently erected to his memory.

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CHAPTER X.

Account of the Beagle's cruize--Borja Bay--Cape Quod--Stuart Bay--Cape Notch--Remarks on weather, and errors of Chart--Evangelists--Santa Lucia--Madre de Dios--Gulf of Trinidad--Port Henry--Puma's track-- Humming-birds--Very bad weather--Campana Island--Dangers--Gale--Wet-- Sick--Santa Barbara--Wager's beam--Wigwams--Guaianeco Islands--Cape Tres Montes--St. Paul's--Port Otway--Hoppner Sound--Cape Raper.

The following account of the Beagle's cruize is drawn up from Captain Stokes's unfinished journal, and from detached memoranda, which were found amongst his papers.

It will be recollected that, on my departure from Port Famine, in the Adelaide, in the month of March, to survey portions of the southern side of the Strait, I left instructions with Captain Stokes to proceed in the execution of his orders as soon as the Beagle was ready. The details of those orders it is unnecessary to repeat here, as they were performed to my entire satisfaction; it will be merely requisite, as briefly as possible, to follow him through a most arduous and distressing service. It is the sequel that embitters the record.

"On the 18th of March, I sailed from Port Famine, and next day reached Port Gallant.

"On the 23d, we anch.o.r.ed in the little cove called Borja Bay, which, though very confined, and rather difficult of access, suited our purpose extremely well. (See Sailing Directions). While there we measured the height of one of the princ.i.p.al hills in the neighbourhood, and found it 1,800 feet.

"Bad weather detained us until the 26th, when we pa.s.sed Cape Quod, and reached Stuart Bay. Many places were left unexamined, because my object was to hasten westward before the year was farther advanced.

"(27th.) We left Stuart Bay, and continued our progress to the westward, with westerly winds, thick weather, and rain. {155} The sh.o.r.es of the Straits were seldom visible to us, from a thick mist with which they were clouded: it is, however, a bold coast on each side, otherwise the Strait would be utterly unnavigable in such weather. Near Cape Notch the mountains spire up into peaks of great height, singularly serrated, and connected by barren ridges. About their bases there are generally some green patches of jungle; but, upon the whole, nothing can be more sterile and repulsive than the view. This afternoon we pa.s.sed Playa Parda, and in the evening anch.o.r.ed in Marian Cove.

"In the course of the next day the wind freshened to a strong and squally gale from the W.N.W., with much rain; the weather was so thick that we could scarcely make out the coast. In this kind of weather, the lower parts of the sh.o.r.e are screened from view by mist, and the upper ones are seen looming through it in lofty ma.s.ses, in a manner which would lead a stranger to believe that the ship was completely environed with islands.

"In the evening we anch.o.r.ed in the little cove called Half Port Bay, and next morning resumed our daily struggle against wind, tide, and weather.

"We crossed the mouth of a deep sound on the north sh.o.r.e,[103] where no tide or current was remarked: the delineation of the coast about this point is particularly defective in the old charts; fortunately, however, for the navigator, he has here to deal with sh.o.r.es where the omission of a whole island, or even the addition of a few that do not exist, is of less consequence to his safety than the exact limit of one sand-bank in other parts of the world. This night we anch.o.r.ed in Upright Bay, which, though affording excellent shelter from the prevailing winds, is bad with a southerly one; as, from the steepness of the bottom requiring a vessel to anchor close to the sh.o.r.e, sufficient scope is not left for veering cable.

"Sheltered by the high land under which we were anch.o.r.ed, {156} with the exception of occasional gusts down the ravines and sounds, we had the wind light at W.S.W.; but the rapid travelling of the scud over-head showed that the usual weather prevailed. We weighed early next morning (30th), and by noon had reached so far to the westward that the easternmost of the round islands in Cape Tamar Bight bore north about two miles. By nightfall we were off Cape Cortado; but the weather seeming settled and the wind drawing to the southward, I resolved to keep under weigh, and try to get out to sea that night. Circ.u.mstances favoured us; the weather was fine, the moon remained unclouded, and the wind held at S.S.W. An hour after midnight Cape Pillar bore W.S.W., distant about two miles, and thence we shaped our course for the Evangelists, which we pa.s.sed at the distance of a mile.

"The Evangelists, as they are called by the early Spanish voyagers, or as they were afterwards named (1670) by Sir John Narborough, the Isles of Direction,[104] are a group of four rocky islets, and some detached rocks and breakers, occupying altogether a s.p.a.ce of three miles; they are exceedingly rugged and barren, and suited only to afford a resting-place for seals and oceanic birds. From the heavy sea prevalent there, and the raging surf that generally breaks around, landing on them can be rarely practicable; yet sealers effect it. The mate of a sealing vessel told me that he had landed on the largest in a whale-boat, and killed several thousand seals. The Evangelists are of sufficient height to be seen in clear weather from a ship's deck, at the distance of six or seven leagues, but the superior elevation of the coast on both sides will usually render it visible, before these islands can be observed.

"Immediately on rounding the Evangelists a cape was distinguished, appearing to terminate the northern coast line, which we made out to be 'Cape Isabel' of the Spanish charts. It is a steep, rocky promontory of great height, having at its base some detached columnar ma.s.ses of rock, and at its summit a peak, and a serrated ridge; off it is a steep-sided island, {157} which proved to be that (Beagle Island) of which Lieut. Skyring and I took the bearing last year, when we were on the summit of Cape Victory.

"Northward of Cape Victory the land forms a deep bight, of which Cape Santa Lucia is the north-eastern headland. The coast in the interval is exceedingly rugged and mountainous. Cape Santa Lucia may be distinguished by a portion of flat table-land, about one-third of the alt.i.tude of the mountain from which it proceeds, and terminating at its outer face with a perpendicular precipice.