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

May 1828. isthmus — south sea — c. kapek. 171 leaf at rest, combined witli the stillness around to give the scene a singular air of undisturbed repose. We reached the extremity of the inlet, which we found was about six miles from its mouth ; and thinking that it was the inner shore of an isthmus, of no great width, curiosity prompted us to endeavour to see its outer shore : so we secured the boat, and accompanied by five of the boafs crew, with hatchets and knives to cut their way, and mark the trees to guide us on our way back, we plunged into the forest, which was scarcely pervious on account of its entangled growtli, and the obstrvictions presented by trunks and branches of fallen trees. " Our only guide was an occasional glimpse, from the top of a tree, of the ranges of mountains, by which we steered our course. However, two hours of this sort of work were rewarded by finding ourselves in sight of the great South Sea. It would be vain to attempt describing adequately the contrast to the late quiet scene exhibited by the view we had on emerging from this dark wood. The inlet where we left our boat resembled a calm and sequestered mountain lake, without a ripple on its waters : the shore on which we now stood was that of a horrid rock-bound coast, lashed by the awful surf of a boundless ocean, impelled by almost unceasing west winds " Our view of the coast was limited on each side by rocky mountainous promontories : off the northernmost, which I called Cape Raper, were rocks and breakers, extending nearly a mile to seaward. Havinsj taken the few bearing-s our situation enabled us to obtain, we retraced our steps to the boat, and by aid of the marks we had left on the trees, reached her in an hour and forty-three minutes. " Some of the beech-trees of this wood were fifteen feet in circumference ; but I noticed none differing in their kind from those already observed about Port Otway. A few wrens were the only living creatures we saw ; not even an insect was found in our walk. In the beds of some of the streams inter- secting the woods was a singularly sparkling sand, which had so much the appearance of gold, that some of our party carried