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

370 NATIVES — BIRD-CATCHING. DeC. 1829. advantage of their weak state to beat the coxswain and take away some of his clothes ; therefore after my return I went in search of them. They had however taken the alarm, and were all gone away. This party consisted of about twenty persons, eight of whom were men, and the rest women and children. When some of our officers went to their wigwams they appeared armed with clubs, spears, and swords, which seemed to have been made out of iron hoops, or else were old cutlasses worn very thin by frequent cleaning. They must have obtained these, and many trifles we noticed, from sealing vessels. By the visits of those vessels, I suppose, they have been taught to hide their furs and other skins, and have learned the effects of fire-arms. The chief part of their subsistence on this island appeared to be penguins, seal, young birds, and petrel whicli they take in a curious way. Having caught a small bird they tie a string to its leg and put it into a hole where blue petrels lay eggs. Several old birds instantly fasten upon the intruder, and are drawn out with him by the string. " We weighed and worked out of the bay, increasing our depth of water very gradually as we left the shore, but having always the same bottom, fine speckled sand. I can safely recom- mend this bay as a good anchorage for shipping, and two cable"'s lengths N.N.W. of the Beagle's berth as the best place. Wood and water are not to be found so close to the anchorage as in other Fuegian harbours, but they may be obtained with very little trouble, and in any quantity, by going up the passage (between the islands) to one of many streams which run from the high land. There is plenty of water also very near the best berth, on the south side, but frequently a surf breaks on that beach. Two particular advantages which this roadstead * possesses, consist in the ease with which a vessel can enter or leave it, during any wind ; and in its situation being well pointed out by a remarkable headland, named Cape Inman (in compliment to the Professor), which is high, with perpendicular cliffs, and almost detached from other land ; so that a vessel, • A small vessel may moor between the islands, instead of Ij'ing in the outer road.