Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

CHAPTER V. Eastern Pampa Coast — Point Medanos — Mar-chiquito — Ranges of Hills — Direction of Inlets, Shoals, and Rivers — Cape Corrientes — Tosca Coast — Blanco Bay — Mount Hermoso — Port Belgrano — Mr. Harris Ventana Mountain — View — Argentina — Commandant — Major — Situ- ation — Toriano — Indians — Fossils — Animals — Fish — Climate Pumice — Ashes — Conway — Deliberations — Consequent Decision Responsibility incurred — Paz — Liebre — Gale — Hunger — Fossils at Hermoso — Fossils at Point Alta — Express sent to Buenos Ayres Suspicions and absurd alarm— Rodriguez. Aug. 22. From Cape San Antonio (which, though so called, is only a low point) to rather more than half-way towards Cape Corrientes, the sea-coast is sandy and low. Behind the beach are sand-hills, and farther inshore are thickets affording shelter to numbers of jaguars. In sailing along, even with both leads going, we were, for a few minutes, in imminent danger of grounding upon a bank, or ledge, which extends six miles E.S.E. from Point Medanos. The water shoaled so suddenly, and so irregularly, that I could not tell which way to steer and as we had been running directly before the wind, it was impossible to retreat by the safest track (that which we had made in approaching) : however, by persevering in pushing eastward, away from the land, steering one way or another as the water deepened, we at last got clear. We then stood out to gain an offing, rounded the bank, and hauled close inshore again nearly opposite to a large salt lagoon, called Mar- chiquito, which approaches the sea so closely as to have occa- sioned an idea that, by cutting through the narrow strip of land which separates them, a fine port might be formed. Some persons assert that there is always a communication between the lagoon and the sea ; that cattle cannot pass along the isthmus on account of that opening ; and that a boat might swim from one to the other. If this is the case, we were much deceived on board the Beagle ; for when she passed so near the spot that the lagoon was overlooked by the officers at her mast- VOL. II. H