Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.1): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

PREFACE. In this Work, the result of nine years' voyaging, partly on coasts little known, an attempt has been made to combine giving general information with the paramount object — that of fulfilling a duty to the Admiralty, for the benefit of Seamen. Details, purely technical, have been avoided in the narrative more than I could have wished ; but some are added in the Appendix to each volume : and in a nautical memoir, drawn up for the Admiralty, those which are here omitted will be found. There are a few words used frequently in the following pages, which may not at first sight be familiar to every reader, therefore I need hardly apologize for saying that, although the great Portuguese navigator's name was Magalhaens — it is generally pronounced as if written Magellan : — that the natives of Tierra del Fuego are commonly called Fuegians; and that Childe is thus accented for reasons given in page 384 of the second volume. In the absence of Captain King, who has entrusted to me the care of publishing his share of this work, I may have overlooked errors which he would have detected. Being hurried, and unwell, while attending to the printing of his volume, I was not able to do it justice.