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

52 PORT. WATEUFALL. Feb. 1827. by a magnificent cascade formed by the union of two tor- rents. All the plants of the Strait grow here : a sweet-scented Cal- lixene (C marginata, Lam^.) filled the air with its odour ; and a beautiful flower we had not previously seen, was found by Mr. Graves : it was pendulous, tubular, about two inches long (Class. Hexand. Monog. Cal. 2. Pet. 3. pointed), and of a rich carnation colour. The trees are small and stunted ; they are of the usual species. Beech and Winter' s-bark. Here we first noticed a large fern,* having a stem two or three feet long, and five or six inches in diameter, very similar to the Zamia of New Hol- land. We saw very few birds, and no quadrupeds. Among the former was a king-fisher, which at the time was new to us but it is distributed over a large tract of South America, and I have since seen a specimen said to have been shot at Rio de Janeiro. Fitton Harbour is a deep inlet, surrounded on all sides by precipitous land, rising to the height of three, or four thousand feet, and terminated by peaks, of most fantastic shape, covered with ice and snow. Between Fitton Harbour and Cape Rowlett are high moun- tains, two of which, more conspicuous than the rest, we called ^ Mount Sherrard,' and ' Curious Peak.' Card Point proved to be clay-slate, and I think the pro- jection of Cape Rowlett, and the mountains, are also of this rock. While crossing over towards Cape Rowlett, (the south head of a deep sound, trending to the S.E., which it was my intention to examine), we were met by three canoes, containing, together, about twenty-four people, and ten or twelve dogs. Mr. Wick- ham recognised them to be the same party who had visited the Hope on her last cruize ; the thief, however, was not amongst them, fearing probably he might be known. These natives conducted themselves very quietly, and, except one of the women, who wished to keep a tin-pot in which some • This fern we found at the island of Juan Fernandez also.