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

428 REPORTED AVRECK. June places so well known as the coasts of Chile, Peru, and other countries often described, it is because I feel bound to avoid mere repetition as far as possible, and because the limits of ray narrative are fixed. For the present, leaving the Beagle to get her stores and provisions on board, I must turn to another scene. 16th June. By the post which arrived from Santiago this morning, an English merchant received a laconic account of the total loss of his Majesty's ship Challenger. This report spread as quickly as bad tidings are wont to do : but no official information arrived during that day, or the ensuing night. Recollecting that a Swedish ship had come lately into Val- paraiso, whose officers had seen what they described as " an American brig " cast away near Mocha ; I found out the ship and questioned the master and mates. T'hey had arrived at Valparaiso on the 25th of May, and all agreed in stating that on the 20th of that month, they saw a large vessel ashore on the coast of the mainland, to the northward and eastward of Mocha. They saw her at daylight, but as they had light airs of wind and a very heavy swell until three in the afternoon, to save themselves from danger they were obliged to make all sail away from the land, and lost sight of the wreck. The vessel looked large, with fore and main masts standing, and top-gallant masts an end until eight o'clock, when the fore- topmast went over the side, or was struck : her fore-topsail yard remained across ; no main-top-gallant yard was seen ; the raain-top-gallant mast was standing all day, and there was a large ensign at the mast-head : white and red were seen, therefore it was thought to be American. Her bow was to seaward, as if she had anchored ; her sails were loose all day people were seen on the after part of what appeared to be a roundhouse painted green. Bulwarks very high — ports very large — no boats on deck or at the quarters — no guns on upper deck. Looking at her end on, Avith the masts nearly in a line — all her upper deck could be seen, though very indistinctly, owing to hazy weather, the additional haze caused by spray thrown up from a furious surf, and their own distance from the wreck : which was never less than four miles.