[2] One Day, Off The East Coast Of Tierra Del Fuego, We Saw A Grand Sight In Several Spermaceti Whales

Jumping upright quite out of the water, with the exception of their tail-fins. As they fell down sideways, they

Splashed the water high up, and the sound reverberated like a distant broadside.

[3] Captain Sulivan, who, since his voyage in the Beagle, has been employed on the survey of the Falkland Islands, heard from a sealer in (1842?), that when in the western part of the Strait of Magellan, he was astonished by a native woman coming on board, who could talk some English. Without doubt this was Fuega Basket. She lived (I fear the term probably bears a double interpretation) some days on board.

CHAPTER XI

STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. - CLIMATE OF THE SOUTHERN COASTS

Strait of Magellan - Port Famine - Ascent of Mount Tarn - Forests - Edible Fungus - Zoology - Great Sea-weed - Leave Tierra del Fuego - Climate - Fruit-trees and Productions of the Southern Coasts - Height of Snow-line on the Cordillera - Descent of Glaciers to the Sea - Icebergs formed - Transportal of Boulders - Climate and Productions of the Antarctic Islands - Preservation of Frozen Carcasses - Recapitulation.

IN THE end of May, 1834, we entered for a second time the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan. The country on both sides of this part of the Strait consists of nearly level plains, like those of Patagonia. Cape Negro, a little within the second Narrows, may be considered as the point where the land begins to assume the marked features of Tierra del Fuego. On the east coast, south of the Strait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these two countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every feature. It is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles such a change in the landscape. If we take a rather greater distance, as between Port Famine and Gregory Bay, that is about sixty miles, the difference is still more wonderful. At the former place, we have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests, which are drenched with the rain, brought by an endless succession of gales; while at Cape Gregory, there is a clear and bright blue sky over the dry and sterile plains. The atmospheric currents, [1] although rapid, turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits, yet seem to follow, like a river in its bed, a regularly determined course.

During our previous visit (in January), we had an interview at Cape Gregory with the famous so-called gigantic Patagonians, who gave us a cordial reception. Their height appears greater than it really is, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair, and general figure: on an average, their height is about six feet, with some men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we anywhere saw. In features they strikingly resemble the more northern Indians whom I saw with Rosas, but they have a wilder and more formidable appearance:

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