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

382 SAILING CANOE MOUNT SKYRING. Jan. 1830. been near enough to Hope Harbour, to see that it was in the Grafton Islands, and was one of the coves examined by Mr. Murray. He then returned as he had been desired ; but made very good use of liis time while away, by collecting materials for the charts. He fell in with a canoe under sail (the sail being a seal-skin) ; the first instance I had then known of a Fueo-ian canoe sailinsc As far as Mr. Stokes could see to the northward, the land was very broken, or rather it was a mass of islands reaching to the base of a range of snowy mountains. " North Cove is large enough to hold any vessel when moored but the passage, in and out, is too narrow and difficult for a ship of more than three or four hundred tons, unless she uses warps. Being on the weather side of high land, but sheltered by low islands, williwaws do not annoy during westerly winds but in a southerly gale I think they would be furious. " My next task was to ascend Mount Skyring. As there was but little snow on it, and the ground quite clear of wood, the ascent was easy ; but when at the summit I could not see far, because of low misty clouds. I had taken only a compass with me, intending to look round, and ascend a second time with my usual companion, a theodolite. After taking a few bearings, I moved the compass off its stand, and placed it on a stone ; when, to my surprise, I found the bearing of a point, I had just been looking at, altered twenty degrees. Suspecting the cause, I put it on another stone, a few feet distant, and found the bearing again altered many degrees. I then examined the stones, and found there was much pyrites in them ;* and that when broken, or struck against one another, they smelt strongly of sulphur. The compass was then replaced on its stand, and bearings of the same point taken from various spots, only a few feet apart, the point being many miles distant, and at each spot the compass gave a different bearing, and was very dull and sluggish, although it was a good Kater's compass, with a light card. Having thus satisfied myself of the very strong local attraction existing, I returned to the ship, intend- * Specimens of the rock at the summit are in the collection at the Geological Society, numbered 184 and 188.