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--Argentine--Commandant--Major--Situation
--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 occasioned 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-heads, nothing like an
opening could be detected, though the beach was scrutinized with
good glasses, as well from the deck as by those who looked down upon
it from aloft as we sailed by. I suspect that there has been some
confusion of ideas respecting the little river San Pablo, and a
supposed entrance to the lagoon: but, be this as it may, very great
difficulty would be found in attempting to form a large and permanent
communication at a spot so exposed to heavy south-east gales.
At Port Valdez (in latitude 42° S.) the entrance is sometimes
completely blocked up by shingle and sand, during and after a strong
south-east gale; and I think it probable that such an effect would be
caused here, at times, whether there were a natural or an artificial
opening; and as there is no great rise and fall of tide, I much doubt
whether the opening would be again cleared, as at Port Valdez, by the
mere ebb and flow of water.
In the vicinity of Mar-chiquito, the country (campo) is very fertile,
and well watered. Sheltered to the south by a range of down-like
hills, whence numerous small brooks originate, it gives abundant
pasturage to many thousands of cattle, and is considered by the
Buenos Ayreans to be the finest district of their territory. This
range of hills extends in a west north-west direction for more than
fifty leagues, and varies in name at different places. That part next
to Cape Corrientes is called Sierra Vuūlcan;[1] twenty leagues inland
is the ridge named Tandil, and at the western extreme is a height
called Cayru. Between Tandil and Cayru there are many hills known by
particular names, but they are all part of the range above-mentioned;
and it is a remarkable fact, that not only this range, that nearer to
Buenos Ayres called Cerrillada, and that of which the Sierra Ventana
forms a part, extend nearly in an east-south-east and west-north-west
direction; but that most of the ranges of high land, most of the
rivers, and the greater number of inlets, between the Plata and Cape
Horn, have a similar direction, not varying from it above one point,
or at most two points of the compass. After we became aware of this
peculiarity, it was far easier to avoid shoals, as they all lay in a
similar direction.
On a round-topped hill, near Mar-chiquito, we saw an immense herd of
cattle, collected together in one dark-coloured mass, which covered
many acres of ground. A few men, on horseback, were watching them,
who, seeing us anchor, drove the whole multitude away at a gallop,
and in a few minutes not one was left behind. Probably they suspected
us of marauding inclinations.
Cape Corrientes is a bold, cliffy promontory; off which,
notwithstanding the name, I could not distinguish any remarkable
current. It is said to be hazardous for a boat to go along-shore,
near the high cliffs of that cape, because there are rocks under
water which sometimes cause sudden and extremely dangerous ‘blind
breakers.’ More than one boat’s crew has been lost there, in pursuit
of seals, which are numerous among the rocks and caves at the foot
of those cliffs. Hence to Bahia Blanco is a long and dreary line of
coast, without an opening fit to receive the smallest sailing vessel,
without a remarkable feature, and without a river whose mouth is not
fordable. Even the plan of it, on paper, has such a regular figure,
that an eye accustomed to charts may doubt its accuracy; so rarely
does the outline of an exposed sea-coast extend so far without a
break. A heavy swell always sets upon it; there is no safe anchorage
near the shore; and, as if to complete its uninviting qualities, in
the interior, but verging on this shore, is a desert tract, avoided
even by the Indians, and called, in their language, Huecuvu-mapu
(country of the Devil). In exploring this exposed coast, southerly
winds sometimes obliged us to struggle for an offing; and we lost
several anchors in consequence of letting them go upon ground which
we thought was hard sand lying over clay, but which turned out to
be tosca, slightly covered with sand, and full of holes. The lead
indicated a sandy, though hard bottom; but we found it every where
so perforated and so tough, that, drop an anchor where we might,
it was sure to hook a rock-like lump of tosca, which sometimes was
torn away, but at others broke the anchor. Finding this to be the
case, I had a stout hawser ‘bent’ to the ‘crown’ of the anchor, and
after shortening in cable, tripped the anchor by the hawser, and then
weighed it, uninjured, without much difficulty.
Along this extent of sea-coast, half way between the currents in the
vicinity of the Plata, and those occasioned by strong tides near
Blanco Bay and the river Negro, we found no current. Whether there
was a rise of tide it was not easy to ascertain by the lead-line,
when at anchor, from the bottom being so uneven; and to land was
impossible, on account of a furious surf.
Several kinds of fish were caught at our temporary anchorages, and
noticed carefully by Mr. Darwin. Anchorage is not a word I should
use in this case (where the anchor was only let go for a short time
while the ship’s position could be fixed with accuracy, and our
triangulation carried on in a satisfactory manner), as it might
deceive a stranger to the coast: stopping-place would be better.
While examining the positions nearest to Blanco Bay, we had
occasional alarms--such as the wind shifting and blowing strong
directly towards the land; our soundings shoaling suddenly to three,
or less than three fathoms; or thick weather coming on while a boat
was away sounding;--but these are every-day events in a surveying
vessel actively employed.
Near Blanco Bay we found the water greatly discoloured, and the
soundings were not such as to tempt us onwards; however, it was
necessary to proceed. We steered towards a little hill, which I
fancied must be Mount Hermoso,[2] and soon after sunset, on the 5th,
anchored in what we afterwards found to be the roadstead near that
hillock, at the head of Blanco Bay, close to the entrance of Port
Belgrano, but divided from it by a bank.
As the bad apologies for charts of this place, which we possessed
at our first visit, left us as much at a loss as if we had none, I
set out with the boats next morning to seek for a passage into Port
Belgrano.[3]
Our boats were soon stopped by shoal water, and I found, to my
vexation, that the Beagle was anchored at the head of an inlet,
between the shore and a large bank extending far towards the
south-east, and that before going farther west she must retreat
eastward, and look for another passage. This was an unexpected
dilemma; but our prospect was improved by the appearance of a small
schooner running towards us, from Port Belgrano, with a Buenos Ayrean
(or Argentine) flag flying.
Very soon she came near enough for our boat to reach her, and an
Englishman came on board, who offered to pilot the Beagle to a safe
anchorage within the port. This was Mr. Harris, owner of the little
schooner in which he sailed, (a resident at Del Carmen, on the river
Negro, and trading thence along the coast), with whom we had much
satisfactory intercourse during the next twelvemonth.
By his advice we weighed anchor, stood across the great north bank,
in very little more water than we drew, until we got into a channel
where there was water enough for any ship, and a soft muddy bottom:
there we hauled up west-north-west,[4] by his direction, and with a
fresh wind sailed rapidly into the extensive and excellent, though
then little known harbour, called Port Belgrano; and at dusk anchored
near the wells under Anchorstock Hill (or Point Johnson).
To give an idea of the general appearance, or almost disappearance,
of the very low land around this spacious port, I will mention, that
when the Beagle had crossed the north bank, and hauled up in the
fair way, Mount Hermoso was nearly beneath the horizon; some bushes
on the flat land southward of us (Zuraita Island) could be just
distinguished; and ahead in the north-west quarter, no land could be
made out, except the distant Ventana mountain, which we saw for the
first time on that day.
In consequence of this extent of water being intersected by banks,
and having so few marks, it is very difficult of access; and no place
can offer less that is agreeable to the eye, especially when the tide
is out, and much of the banks shows above water. A more disagreeable
place to survey, or one that would occupy more time, we were not
likely to find, I thought, as I looked around from the mast-head; but
upon questioning Mr. Harris, I learned that a succession of similar
inlets indented a half-drowned coast, extending hence almost to the
Negro; and that, although the dangers were numerous, tides strong,
banks muddy, and the shores every where low, the intervening ports
were so safe, and so likely to be useful, that it was absolutely
necessary to examine them.
Sept. 7. Messrs. Darwin, Rowlett, and Harris set out with me to visit
the Buenos Ayrean settlement, called Argentina. Mr. Harris undertook
to be our guide, but after two hours’ sailing and pulling we found
ourselves near the head of a creek, between two soft mud banks, where
we could neither row nor turn the boat. We could not land because
the mud was too soft to bear our weight, so there we staid till the
tide flowed. About two hours after this stoppage there was water
enough for us to cross a large bank, and gain the right channel,
from which we had deviated, and then, with a flowing tide, we made
rapid progress, until the ‘Guardia’ was announced to us. This was a
small hut near the water side, but to reach it we had to wind along
a tortuous canal, between banks of soft mud: and when we arrived at
the landing-place seven hours had been passed among rushy mud banks,
surrounded by which we were often prevented from seeing any solid
land. The water was every where salt, the tide running strongly, and
the boat often aground.
Waiting to meet us was an assemblage of grotesque figures, which I
shall not easily forget--a painter would have been charmed with
them. A dark visaged Quixotic character, partly in uniform, mounted
on a large lean horse, and attended by several wild looking, but
gaily dressed gauchos,[5] was nearest to us. Behind him, a little
on one side, were a few irregular soldiers, variously armed, and no
two dressed alike, but well mounted, and desperate-looking fellows;
while on the other side, a group of almost naked Indian prisoners sat
devouring the remains of a half roasted horse; and as they scowled
at us savagely, still holding the large bones they had been gnawing,
with their rough hair and scanty substitutes for clothing blown about
by the wind, I thought I had never beheld a more singular group.
The tall man in uniform was the Commandant of the settlement, or
fortress, called Argentina: he and his soldiers had arrived to
welcome us, supposing that we were bringing supplies from Buenos
Ayres for the needy colony. The Indian prisoners had been brought
to work, and assist in carrying the supplies which were expected.
Finding that we were neither Buenos Ayreans, nor traders from
any other place, it was supposed that we must be spies sent to
reconnoitre the place previous to a hostile attack. Neither the
explanations nor assertions of Mr. Harris had any weight, for as
he was our countryman, they naturally concluded he was in league
with us; yet, as the commandant had some idea that we might, by
possibility, be what we maintained we were, he disregarded the
whispers and suggestions of his people, and offered to carry us to
the settlement for a night’s lodging.
Leaving the boat’s crew to bivouac, as usual, I accepted a horse
offered to me, and took the purser up behind; Mr. Darwin and Harris
being also mounted behind two gaucho soldiers, away we went across a
flat plain to the settlement. Mr. Darwin was carried off before the
rest of the party, to be cross-questioned by an old major, who seemed
to be considered the wisest man of the detachment, and he, poor old
soul, thought we were very suspicious characters, especially Mr.
Darwin, whose objects seemed most mysterious.
In consequence, we were watched, though otherwise most hospitably
treated; and when I proposed to return, next morning, to the boat,
trifling excuses were made about the want of horses and fear of
Indians arriving, by which I saw that the commandant wished to detain
us, but was unwilling to do so forcibly; telling him, therefore,
I should walk back, and setting out to do so, I elicited an order
for horses, maugre the fears and advice of his major, who gave him
all sorts of warnings about us. However, he sent an escort with us,
and a troop of gaucho soldiers were that very morning posted upon
the rising grounds nearest to the Beagle, to keep a watch on our
movements.
We afterwards heard, that the old major’s suspicions had been very
much increased by Harris’s explanation of Mr. Darwin’s occupation.
‘Un naturalista’ was a term unheard of by any person in the
settlement, and being unluckily explained by Harris as meaning ‘a man
that knows every thing,’ any further attempt to quiet anxiety was
useless.
As this small settlement has seldom been visited by strangers, I
will describe its primitive state. In the midst of a level country,
watered by several brooks, and much of it thickly covered with a kind
of trefoil, stands a mud-walled erection, dignified with the sounding
appellation of ‘La fortaleza protectora Argentina.’ It is a polygon,
282 yards in diameter, having about twenty-four sides, and surrounded
by a narrow ditch. In some places the walls are almost twenty feet
high, but in others I was reminded of the brothers’ quarrel at the
building of ancient Rome, for there is a mere ditch, over which a man
could jump. It is, however, said by the gauchos, that a ditch six
feet wide will stop a mounted Indian, and that their houses require
no further defence from attacks of the aborigines. How, or why it is
that such excellent horsemen do not teach their horses to leap, I
cannot understand.
Within, and outside the fort, were huts (ranchos) and a few small
houses:--more were not required for the inhabitants, who, including
the garrison, only amounted to four hundred souls. Some half-dozen
brass guns were in a serviceable condition; and two or three other
pieces occupied old carriages, but did not seem to be trustworthy.
The fort was commenced in April 1828, by a French engineer, named
Parchappe. The first commandant was Estomba: his successor, Morel,
was killed, with ninety followers, by a party of Indians under
Chenil, in 1829. Valle and Rojas succeeded, and the latter was
followed by Rodriguez. Placed in the first instance as an advanced
post, at which to watch and check the Indians, rather than as a
colony likely to increase rapidly, Argentina has scarcely made any
progress since its establishment, though it is the beginning of
what may hereafter be a considerable place. Situated favourably
for communicating with Concepcion--by way of the pass through the
Cordillera, near Tucapel--it is also the only port, between 25° S.
and Cape Horn, capable of receiving in security any number of the
largest ships.
There is pasture for cattle near the streams which descend from the
‘Sierra Ventana:’ large salinas (spaces covered with salt) lie within
an easy distance of the settlement: of brushwood for fuel there is
plenty, though there are no large trees: and report says that there
are valuable minerals, including coal and iron,[6] in the Ventana[7]
mountain.
The most serious objection to the locality, as an agricultural,
or even as a mere grazing district, is the want of rain. Two or
three years sometimes pass without more than a slight shower; and
during summer the heat is great. In winter, there are sharp frosts,
sometimes snow; but neither ice nor snow ever lasts through the day.
Good fresh water may be generally obtained, independent of the few
running streams, by digging wells between four and ten feet deep:
and in this way we found no difficulty in obtaining an ample supply.
Three months before our visit to Argentina, a number of Indians had
been surprised and taken prisoners by Rodriguez; and among them
was the famous old cacique, Toriano, whose mere name was a terror
to the frontier settlers. The commandant attacked their ‘tolderia’
(encampment) just before sunrise--when the young men were absent
on an expedition--and made prisoners of the old men, women, and
children. Toriano was shot in cold blood; with another cacique, and
several Indians of inferior note: and his head was afterwards cut
off, and preserved for some time at the fort, in order to convince
his adherents of his death. Toriano was a noble Araucanian, upwards
of seventy years old when surprised asleep and taken prisoner by
his merciless enemies. So high was his acknowledged character as
a warrior, that his followers supposed him invincible; and until
convinced by the melancholy spectacle seen by their spies, they would
not believe him gone.
Perhaps it is not generally known, that many of the most desperate
incursions upon the Buenos Ayrean colonists have been made by
flying troops, or hordes of Indians, whose head-quarters are in
the Cordillera of the Andes, or even on the west coast, between
Concepcion and Valdivia. Mounted upon excellent horses, and
acquainted with every mile of the country, they think lightly of a
predatory or hostile excursion against a place many hundred miles
distant.
We returned to the Beagle without another delay among the mud-banks,
and found the rising grounds (heights they could not be called),
nearest the ship, occupied by the troop of gaucho soldiers. As they
did not interfere with us, our surveying operations were begun, and
carried on as usual. Mr. Darwin, and those who could be spared from
duties afloat, roamed about the country; and a brisk trade was opened
with the soldiers for ostriches and their eggs, for deer, cavies, and
armadilloes.
My friend’s attention was soon attracted to some low cliffs near
Point Alta, where he found some of those huge fossil bones,
described in his work; and notwithstanding our smiles at the cargoes
of apparent rubbish which he frequently brought on board, he and his
servant used their pick-axes in earnest, and brought away what have
since proved to be most interesting and valuable remains of extinct
animals.
The soldiers appointed to watch our movements soon relaxed so far as
to spend nearly all their time in hunting animals for us. Besides
those already mentioned, they one day brought a fine living puma, in
hopes I should offer a good price, and embark it alive; but having no
wish for so troublesome a companion in our crowded little vessel, I
only bargained for its skin. The soldiers made a hearty meal of the
flesh, and asserted that it was good, though inferior to that of a
horse, which I had seen them eating a day or two previously.
Four kinds of armadilloes were described to us by these men, of which
we saw but two: the quiriquincha, with nine bands; the mataca-bola,
which rolls up into a ball; the peludo, which is large and hairy; and
the molito, of which I heard only the name. Mr. Rowlett saw a black
fox, and he was told that there are wolves in the neighbourhood.
Two small burrowing animals are also found: the zorillo, or skunk;
and the tucu-tucu. While speaking of animals, I should say that the
commandant (Rodriguez) told me, that he had once seen, in Paraguay, a
‘gran bestia,’ not many months old, but which then stood about four
feet high. It was very fierce, and secured by a chain. Its shape
resembled that of a hog, but it had talons on its feet instead of
hoofs; the snout was like a hog’s, but much longer. When half-grown,
he was told that it would be capable of seizing and carrying away a
horse or a bullock. I concluded that he must have seen a tapir or
anta; yet as he persisted in asserting that the animal he saw was a
beast of prey,[8] and that it was extremely rare,[8] I here repeat
what he said. (See extract from Falkner.--Appendix--No. 11.)
Abundance--I may well say shoals of fish were caught by our men,
whenever we hauled the nets at a proper time (the beginning of the
flood-tide); and as they were chiefly unknown to naturalists, Mr.
Earle made careful drawings of them, and Mr. Darwin preserved many
in spirits. We procured plenty of good fresh water from wells near
the beach, and small wood for fuel in their immediate neighbourhood.
The climate is delightful, and healthy to the utmost degree,
notwithstanding such extensive flats, half-covered with water, and
so many large mud-banks. Perhaps the tides, which rise from eight
to twelve feet, and run two or three knots an hour, tend to purify
the air; indeed, as the whole inlet is of salt water, there may be
no cause for such effects as would be expected in similar situations
near fresh water.
In our rambles over the country, near Port Belgrano, we every where
found small pieces of pumice-stone; and till Mr. Darwin examined
the Ventana, supposed they had been thrown thence: he has, however,
ascertained that it is not volcanic; and, I believe, concludes that
these fragments came from the Cordillera of the Andes.--(See Vol.
III. by Mr. Darwin.)
Falkner, in whose accounts of what he himself saw I have full faith,
has a curious passage illustrative of this supposition; and it is not
impossible--nor even, I think, improbable--that some of the pumice we
saw fell at the time mentioned in the following extract:--“Being in
the Vuūlcan, below Cape St. Anthony, I was witness to a vast cloud
of ashes being carried by the winds, and darkening the whole sky. It
spread over great part of the jurisdiction of Buenos Ayres, passed
the river of Plata, and scattered its contents on both sides of the
river, insomuch that the grass was covered with ashes. This was
caused by the eruption of a volcano near Mendoza, the winds carrying
the light ashes to the incredible distance of three hundred leagues
or more.”--Falkner, p. 51.
As an indisputable, and very recent instance of the distance to which
volcanic substances are sometimes carried, I might mention the fact
of H.M.S. Conway having passed through quantities of pumice-stone and
ashes, in latitude 7° north, and longitude 105° west, being more than
seven hundred miles from the nearest land, and eleven hundred from
the volcano near Realejo, whence it is supposed that they proceeded;
but as it is possible that those substances might have been thrown
out of a volcano in the Galapagos Islands, and drifted on the surface
of the sea by currents, which near there run from twenty to eighty
miles in twenty-four hours, towards the north-west, one cannot, with
certainty, rely upon that fact as evidence of a distance to which
pumice has been carried by wind.
Captain Eden informed me, that the Conway was surrounded by ashes and
pumice-stone for a day and a half (on the 5th and 6th of May 1835),
and that they were supposed to have been ejected from a volcano near
Realejo, at the time of the great earthquake; and an eruption which
darkened the air during three days.
The aborigines of these regions attach considerable importance to the
Ventana,[9] chiefly on account of its use as a land-mark; for, rising
abruptly to the height of 3,340 feet in a flat country, where there
is not another hill of consequence, it is of no small use to them in
their wanderings. I was told by Mr. Darwin, that he found it to be
chiefly of quartz formation; but I need not risk causing a mistake,
by repeating here the information which he gave me, when it is given
fully in his own words in the accompanying volume.
After a few days’ examination of Port Belgrano, and making inquiries
of Harris, as well as those persons at Argentina who knew something
of the neighbouring waters and shores, I was convinced that the
Beagle alone could not explore them, so far as to make her survey
of any real use, unless she were to sacrifice a great deal more
time than would be admissible, considering the other objects of her
expedition. What then was to be done? Open boats could not explore
the seaward limits of those numerous shoals which lie between Blanco
Bay and the river Negro, because there are dangerous ‘races,’[10]
and often heavy seas. The Beagle herself, no doubt, could do so,
and her boats might explore the inlets; but, the time that such a
proceeding would occupy was alarming to contemplate. I might run
along the outer line of danger in the Beagle, and connect it with
the soundings in the offing; but how could an English ship surveying
a frequented coast overlook six large ports,[11] only because their
examination required time, and was dangerous? At last, after much
anxious deliberation, I decided to hire two small schooners--or
rather decked boats, schooner-rigged--from Mr. Harris, and employ
them in assisting the Beagle and her boats. Mr. Harris was to be
in the larger, as pilot to Lieutenant Wickham--and his friend Mr.
Roberts, also settled at Del Carmen, on the river Negro, was to be
Mr. Stokes’s pilot in the smaller vessel. These small craft, of
fifteen and nine tons respectively, guided by their owners, who had
for years frequented this complication of banks, harbours, and tides,
seemed to me capable of fulfilling the desired object--under command
of such steady and able heads as the officers mentioned--with this
great advantage; that, while the Beagle might be procuring supplies
at Monte Video, going with the Fuegians on her first trip to the
southward, and visiting the Falkland islands, the survey of all those
intricacies between Blanco Bay and San Blas might be carried on
steadily during the finest time of year. One serious difficulty, that
of my not being authorized to hire or purchase assistance on account
of the Government, I did not then dwell upon, for I was anxious and
eager, and, it has proved, too sanguine. I made an agreement with Mr.
Harris,[12] on my own individual responsibility, for such payment as
seemed to be fair compensation for his stipulated services, and I
did hope that if the results of these arrangements should turn out
well, I should stand excused for having presumed to act so freely,
and should be reimbursed for the sum laid out, which I could so ill
spare. However, I foresaw and was willing to run the risk, and now
console myself for this, and other subsequent mortifications, by the
reflection that the service entrusted to me did not suffer.
The formal agreement with Mr. Harris being duly signed, I despatched
him forthwith to the river Negro, in search of his vessels, and sent
the purser with him to ascertain the state of things at Del Carmen,
especially with a view to future supplies.
They went in a small coasting vessel, belonging to another Englishman
(H. Elsegood), settled at Del Carmen; for the schooner, from which
Mr. Harris came to us near to Mount Hermoso, did not delay, but
continued her course towards the river Negro.
Our boats were constantly employed while these arrangements were
pending, and directly they were finished, the Beagle got under sail
to examine the entrance and outer parts of the port. For several
days she was thus engaged, anchoring always at night. In a week the
schooners arrived, bringing our purser and their owners. The Paz, of
about fifteen tons burthen, was as ugly and ill-built a craft as I
ever saw, covered with dirt, and soaked with rancid oil. The Liebre,
of about nine tons burthen, was a frigate’s barge,[13] raised and
decked--oily like the other; but as both had done their owners good
service in procuring seal and sea-elephant oil, I saw no reason
to doubt our being able to make them answer our purpose. Yet the
prospect for those who had so handsomely volunteered to go in any
thing, with or without a deck, could not be otherwise than extremely
unpleasant; for they did not then foresee how soon a thorough
cleansing and complete outfit would be given to both vessels, and how
different they would afterwards appear.
Lieutenant Wickham, with the sailmaker, armourer, cooper, and a small
party, were immediately established under tents, on the banks of a
small creek (Arroyo Pareja). The little schooners were hauled ashore
for examination and a thorough refit; and then, having left them the
stores and other necessaries which they would require, I went with
the Beagle towards Blanco Bay; completed the examination of a narrow
though deep channel, by which any ship may enter Port Belgrano,
passed round the great north bank, and again anchored under Mount
Hermoso. While some officers and men were on shore there, building
a sea-mark on the mount, and otherwise employed for the survey, a
gale of wind came on from S.E., which soon sent so heavy a sea into
the roadstead near the mount, that the Beagle was obliged to strike
topmasts and veer a long scope of cable upon two anchors, besides
having another under foot. Unluckily, our party on shore had only
one day’s provisions, so while the gale lasted their situation was
sufficiently disagreeable; the keen air and hard exercise sharpening
their appetites, while they had nothing to eat after the first day;
and having no guns, they had no prospect of procuring anything. Mr.
Darwin was also on shore, having been searching for fossils, and he
found this trial of hunger quite long enough to satisfy even his love
of adventure. Directly it was possible to put a boat on the water,
one was sent, with provisions secured in a cask which was thrown
overboard at the back of the surf, and soon drifted ashore to the
famishing party. This gale lasted several days, and proved to us not
only how heavy a sea is thrown into this bight (rincon, Sp.), by a
south-east gale; but also, that the holding-ground is sufficiently
good to enable a ship to withstand its effects.
One of our party on shore (who is not likely to forget building a
mark on Mount Hermoso) discovered many curious fossils in some low
cliffs under the mount; and judging from what Mr. Darwin then found,
future collectors may reap a rich harvest there, as well as at Point
Alta.
We next returned to the Wells, and while some assisted the outfit
of Lieutenant Wickham’s little vessels, others explored the upper
parts of the port, quite to its end, and Mr. Darwin took advantage of
the opportunity to make some of those interesting excursions which
he describes in his volume. At this time there were no soldiers to
watch us, neither was there any longer a suspicion of our character;
for it appeared that an express had been sent off to Buenos Ayres,
at our first arrival, giving an exaggerated and rather ludicrous
account of our officers, instruments and guns--to which an answer
had been immediately returned, desiring the commandant to afford
us every facility in his power, and checking the old major rather
sharply for his officious and unnecessary caution. Had we not been
hastily treated in the roads of Buenos Ayres, when I went there
to communicate with the Government, and obtain information, I
should doubtless have carried with me orders, or a letter, to this
commandant, which would have prevented a moment’s suspicion: but, as
it happened, no real delay was occasioned, and no person was much
disturbed except the major, who fancied that our brass guns were
disguised field-pieces, our instruments lately invented engines
of extraordinary power, our numerous boats intended expressly for
disembarking troops; and an assertion of mine, that any number of
line-of-battle ships might enter the port, a sure indication that the
Beagle was sent to find a passage for large ships: which would soon
appear, and take possession of the country. Such was the substance
of his communication to the Government at Buenos Ayres, and as he
acted as secretary--(Rodriguez being a man of action rather than
words)--he had free scope for his disturbed imagination. I shall not
easily forget his countenance, when I first told him--thinking he
would be glad to hear it--that there was a deep channel leading from
Blanco Bay to the Guardia near Argentina, and that a line-of-battle
ship could approach within gunshot of the place where I first met the
commandant. He certainly thought himself almost taken prisoner; and I
really believe that if he had been commanding officer, we should have
been sent in chains to Buenos Ayres, or perhaps still worse treated.
Fortunately, Rodriguez the commandant, being a brave man, and a
gentleman, contemplated no such measures.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] An Indian word, which means ‘opening,’ or ‘having openings.’
[2] Mount Hermoso is but 140 feet above the sea; yet, on this low
coast, it is somewhat remarkable, as being the only peaked hill close
to the water; and having under it a low cliffy point, the only one
thereabouts.
[3] Often erroneously called Bahia Blanco; a name originally given to
the outer bay, in compliment to General Blanco.
[4] So constantly did Mr. Harris give this course, on subsequent
occasions, that it became quite a joke; but it is nevertheless
a strong corroboration of what I stated respecting the general
direction of the inlets, and ridges, or ranges of hills.
[5] Countrymen, employed in keeping and killing cattle, breeding and
training horses, hunting, war, &c.
[6] I believe there is no good foundation for this report. Mr.
Darwin’s opinion is against the supposition.
[7] The name ‘Ventana’ was given because of an opening, at the south
side, resembling a window.
[8] Neither of which remarks apply to the Anta.
[9] The Puel Indians called the Ventana Casu-hati (high hill); and
the Molu-che, Vuta-calel (great bulk.)--Falkner, p. 74.
[10] Tide-races, or ripples.
[11] Blanco Bay and Port Belgrano, False Bay, Green Bay, Brightman
Inlet, Union Bay, and San Blas Bay.
[12] See Appendix.
[13] She had been the barge of the Brazilian frigate Piranga.