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

WESTERN PATAGONIA, 569 spears. Among others there is one, the wood of which being ex- tremely hard and weighty, answers better than the rest for fuel : the sealers call it ' the red wood,' from its colour. From the great quantity of timber which grows here it would be naturally supposed probably that spars for masts could be easily obtained, or at least wood useful for less important purposes ; but although many trees were found that were sufficiently large at the base, they grew to no great height ; and, in consequence of the moisture of the climate, and the crowded state of the forests preventing the admission of the sun's rays, the wood generally proved to be decayed in the heart ; besides being very apt, even after a long seasoning, to warp and split when exposed to a dry air. Ten miles beyond White-kelp Cove, which is fifty miles within the entrance, the character of the Mesier Channel changes entirely the shore on either side being formed of mountainous and preci- pitous ridges rising abruptly from the water. After this, at Halt Bay, twenty-three miles beyond White-kelp Cove, the channel narrows for a considerable distance, and in three particular places is not more than four hundred yards wide. This part of the channel is called in the chart the English Narrow. It is long and intricate, with many islands strewed throughout; and preserves its tortuous and frequently narrow course to its junction with the Wide Channel, in which the breadth increases to two miles and a half ; and then , running thirty-four miles with a direct and unim- peded course, falls into the Concepcion Strait as above stated. At the point where the Mesier and the Wide Channels unite, a deep sound extends to the N. N. E. for forty-six miles. It was named Sir George Eyre Sound. An extensive glacier sloping into the sea from the summit of a range of high snowy mountains, that are visible from many parts of the IMesier Channel, terminates this sound ; and near the head of it several large icebergs, contain- ing no inconsiderable blocks of granite, were found aground.* * Near Falcon Inlet, seven miles up the eastern side of Sir George Eyre Sound, are some large ' rookeries,' or breeding-haunts, of fur- seal. Many thousands of these animals were congregated together, which probably had been driven from the sea-coast by the activity of the seal-fishers ; and perhaps, for many j'ears, if not ages, have been breeding undisturbed in this hitherto unknown, and therefore safe and quiet recess. Two seals that were killed appeared to be of the same description as the species which frequents the sea-coasts.