constantly so near Terra del Fuego that we
could make out every bush with the naked eye. We could have reached
the land in an hour, without retarding our voyage in the least, for
we were frequently becalmed; but the captain would not consent, as
the wind might spring up every instant.

The coast appeared rather steep, but not high; the foreground was
composed of meagre pasture alternating with tracts of sand, and in
the background were ranges of woody hills, beyond which rose snow-
covered mountains. On the whole, the country struck me as being
much more inhabitable than the Island of Iceland, which I had
visited a year and a half previously. The temperature, too, must
here be higher, as even at sea we had 54 degrees 5' and 59 degrees
Fah.

I saw three kinds of sea-tangle, but could only obtain a specimen of
one, resembling that which I had seen in 44 degrees South lat. The
second kind was not very different, and it was only the third that
had pointed leaves, several of which together formed a sort of fan
several feet long and broad.

On the 30th of January we passed very near the Staten Islands, lying
between 56 and 57 degrees South lat. They are composed of bare high
mountains, and separated from Terra del Fuego by an arm of the sea,
called Le Maire, only seven miles long and about the same distance
across.

The captain told us, seaman-like, that on one occasion of his
sailing through these Straits, his ship had got into a strong
current, and regularly danced, turning round during the passage at
least a thousand times! I had already lost a great deal of
confidence in the captain's tales, but I kept my eye steadily fixed
upon a Hamburgh brig, that happened to be sailing ahead, to see
whether she would dance; but neither she nor our own bark was so
obliging. Neither vessels turned even once, and the only
circumstance worthy of remark was the heaving and foaming of the
waves in the Strait, while at both ends the sea lay majestically
calm before our eyes. We had passed the Strait in an hour, and I
took the liberty of asking the captain why our ship had not danced,
to which he replied that it was because we had had both wind and
current with us. It is, perhaps, possible that under other
circumstances the vessel might have turned round once or twice, but
I strongly doubt its doing so a thousand times. This was, however,
a favourite number with our worthy captain. One of the gentlemen
once asked him some qu