Great
Black Clouds Were Rolling Across The Heavens, And Squalls
Of Rain, With Hail, Swept By Us With Such Extreme Violence,
That The Captain Determined To Run Into Wigwam Cove.
This Is A Snug Little Harbour, Not Far From Cape Horn; And
Here, At Christmas-Eve, We Anchored In Smooth Water.
The
only thing which reminded us of the gale outside, was every
now and then a puff from the mountains, which made the
ship surge at her anchors.
December 25th. - Close by the Cove, a pointed hill, called
Kater's Peak, rises to the height of 1700 feet. The surrounding
islands all consist of conical masses of greenstone,
associated sometimes with less regular hills of baked and
altered clay-slate. This part of Tierra del Fuego may be
considered as the extremity of the submerged chain of
mountains already alluded to. The cove takes its name of
"Wigwam" from some of the Fuegian habitations; but every
bay in the neighbourhood might be so called with equal
propriety. The inhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are
obliged constantly to change their place of residence; but
they return at intervals to the same spots, as is evident from
the piles of old shells, which must often amount to many
tons in freight. These heaps can be distinguished at a long
distance by the bright green colour of certain plants, which
invariably grow on them. Among these may be enumerated
the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable plants,
the use of which has not been discovered by the natives.
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