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

218 APPENDIX. to the westward. The southerly swell rolls into the mouth of the port, but on the south shore it is smooth, and the landing pretty- good : there is a dangerous breaker about a quarter of a mile to the south-west of the south extreme point, which only shows when there is much swell. The best anchorage is about half way up the cove, near the south shore, in five fathoms : near the head it is very flat. We found a cargo of copper ore ready to be shipped here, but no vessel had ever been in the port : there is no water within two miles, and there it is very bad indeed. The name of Pajonal was told to us by a young man who was getting the ore down, but he appeared to know scarcely anything of the coast, and there were no inhabitants near the place. About a mUe and a half to the northward of the island before mentioned, there is another point, with an island and several rocks off it ; both the islands may be passed M^thin half a mile, but there is no passage mside them. To the northward of the northernmost island, the coast runs to the eastward, forming a large and deep bay, which at a distance looks very inviting; but before we were within a mile of the depth of it, we were in three fathoms, with rocks all round us, some above and others a little below water. From the bay being well sheltered from the southward, they do not show till close to, except two patches which are off the north point, and are always uncovered. A mile to the northward of these rocks there is' another bay, which is quite clear of danger ; and in the south corner of it, a small cove, there is good anchorage in seven fathoms, well sheltered from southerly winds, but very open to northerly. The water is perfectly smooth vidth a southerly wind, and no swell could ever reach it imless it blew from the northward. There is a small bay, half a mile to the northward of this, where a vessel may anchor, but it is not so well sheltered ; there were no signs of inha- bitants, nor the least appearances of water in the valleys. The land at the back of the bay is low, but to the northward of the north bay it rises to a ridge of sand hills, nmning east and west, and ter- minating in a steep rocky point, with a cluster of steep rocky islets off it. To the northward of this point the coast is rocky and broken, Avith rocks a short distance from the shore for about four miles, where there is a rugged point with a very high, sharp-topped hill a little in-shore, which from the southward shews a double peak ; directly to tlie northward of this point, there is a deep rocky