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

1834. VIEWS— PORT SAN JULIAN. , 319 such an extent as this we never either before or afterwards wit- nessed an error arising wholly from the state of the atmosphere near the horizon ; causing the visible water-line to be apparently raised several minutes of a degree. On these occasions we always used the mean of the two results, which agreed closely with the latitude resulting from triangular connection with points on the shore, whose latitude we knew by observations made with the artificial horizon.* 7th. Mr. Stokes and I landed some leagues northward of Port San Julian, near Cape Look-out, and ascended a level- topped range of hills about 300 feet above the sea. The view we obtained was similar to those so tiresomely common in eastern Patagonia. Level, arid, desert-like plains extended to the horizon : a few irregular hills were seen in the distance; some ffuanacoes and a few ostriches were here and there dis- cerned ; a fox crossed our path, and a condor wheeled over- head ; nothing more was noticed. We returned to the low ground near the sea, and there we found plenty of small wood, stunted shrubby trees, fit for fuel ; as well as several ponds of fresh-water. The rise of tide on the shore was considerably more than twenty feet, but we had not time to ascertain it accurately. 9th. Mount Wood,t that excellent land-mark for Port San Julian, was seen at daylight : and about noon the Beagle anchored ofi" the bar of the harbour. Mr. Stokes went with rae to examine the passage, and before evening our ship was safely moored in the port. This was one, among numerous instances I could mention, where the good qualities of the Beagle, as to sailing and working, saved us days of delay, trouble, and anxiety. All hands immediately set-to about the plan of the port, and such efficient officers as were with me made short work of it. One day Mr. Darwin and I under, took an excursion in search of fresh- water, to the head of the inlet, and towards a place marked in an old Spanish plan, * Bellaco rocks are the same as Estevan shoal. There are at least two distinct masses of rock. A ship may pass between them, t Nine hundred and fifty feet high.