_EXPLORATIONS IN SKYRING WATER._
On the occasion of our last visit to Sandy Point, the captain received
despatches from the Admiralty, which authorised him to proceed to
Skyring Water in order to investigate the nature of the coal which was
then being worked on the north-east of that basin, and to ascertain
if it could be made available for the use of men-of-war or merchant
vessels, passing through the Straits of Magellan. A favourable
opportunity occurring on March 5th, the _Alert_ accordingly got under
way from her anchorage at Tilly Bay, and steaming northwards across
the Strait, entered the Jerome Channel. Here we experienced a strong
current from the northward, which was attributed by Mr. Petley, our
navigating officer, to the ebb tide flowing from the Otway Water.
This channel is twenty miles in length, from its southern opening
opposite Tilly Bay to its northern extremity abreast of Corona Island,
where it dilates into the wide expanse of Otway Water. Its shores are
lined by precipitous mountains of an average height of 1,000 feet,
and clothed to their summits with the dense evergreen forest which
characterizes the scenery of the western half of the Magellan Straits.
Behind, and towering above this coast range, were hills of a still
greater altitude, whose summits were clothed with a mantle of snow and
ice--the source of the glaciers flowing to the southward into the main
straits. As we entered Otway Water, we saw on our starboard hand a
broad expanse of rippling water, limited in the distance by a coastline
of comparatively low land, while on our port side there was a marked
transition from the lofty mountains of the Cordillera to an upland
plain of undulating hills covered with forest, and sloping gradually
downwards into low flat land as it extended to the eastward. In fact,
we had passed through the backbone of the Cordillera, and were now
approaching the alluvial plains of Patagonia; and it was also clear to
us that we were crossing the line of demarcation between two climatic
zones, for we found that we were exchanging the cloudy sky of the
Magellan region for brilliant sunshine and a clear blue sky, a change
only to be fully appreciated by those who have spent many months in the
damp, cloud-collecting region of the Western Straits.
The north shore of Otway Water was low and shelving, presenting a
glistening margin of sandy beach, and fringed by a wide belt of very
shallow water. In the afternoon we entered the Canal of Fitzroy, where
we encountered a strong current from the northward (_i.e._, from
Skyring Water), which considerably impeded our progress. Indeed, at
4 p.m. we grounded on a sandbank, getting off, however, without much
difficulty, and in an hour afterwards we dropped anchor in a bight
where an S-shaped curvature in the canal afforded us shelter from the
current.
Both shores of the canal are low, and formed of alluvial soil, of which
the crumbling banks in places exhibited good sections. Well-marked
terrace-levels bore testimony to the fact that the land must have been
subjected to upheaval, with reference to the sea-level, at some period
in the world's history. The country on the western side of the canal
is covered with thick scrubby bush, while that on the eastern side,
where we landed for a few hours, was a sort of open park-land disposed
in undulating hills, covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and
studded here and there with isolated clumps of trees and bushes, among
which we noticed the antarctic beech, an embothrium, a barberry, and
a cheilobothrium. The ground in the middle of these clumps was worn
bare from having been used as a resting-place by the wild cattle.
Herbaceous composite plants grew in great profusion, and many specimens
of a lychnis were seen, but unfortunately the season was too far
advanced for our obtaining useful specimens of flowering plants. I was
surprised at the great variety of grasses which flourished on the dark
loamy soil. We saw countless tracks of wild cattle and horses, and a
few deer tracks, but in the course of our ramble failed to meet with
any of these animals. The existence of a species of _Ctenomys_ was
evident from the way in which the ground was in many places so riddled
with holes as to be exceedingly dangerous for incautious horsemen; and
while walking through the long grass I stumbled over the skull of a
puma. We did not see many species of birds. Finches were abundant, and
some flocks of the black starling, and also of the military starling,
were seen. I got a specimen of a pteroptochus, which resembled the
_Tapaculo_ of Chili, but differed from it in having a red iris; and
on the beach I shot a cinclodes, which seemed to be of a different
species from the common kelp-bird of the straits. A fine buzzard (I
think _Buteo erythronotus_) soared above my head, but out of range; and
the tiny wren of Magellan (_Troglodytes_), completed the list of birds
which we saw. During our absence great numbers of black-necked swans
and brown ducks were seen in the vicinity of the ship.
The western shore of Fitzroy Channel consisted of a low plain, rising
gradually towards the westward, covered with a dense scrub of tall
bushes, and contrasting strikingly with the open moorland on the
eastern shore.
At five o'clock on the following morning, we got under way and
continued our course through the Canal of Fitzroy, steaming for hours
through a dense interminable flock of black-necked swans, that paddled
lazily to either side as we advanced, as yet in happy ignorance of
the thirst for blood which characterizes the British sportsman. As
we emerged from the canal, and skirted along the eastern shore of
Skyring Water, we noticed two men on foot, walking along the beach.
We afterwards learned that they had a day or two previously left the
coal mine where they had been employed, and were now attempting the
precarious task of travelling on foot to the Chilian settlement, Punta
Arenas, in the Straits of Magellan, a distance of ninety miles.
At 10.30 a.m. we reached the bay of the mines (Rada de las Minas), and
came to an anchor about half-a-mile from the shore. The settlement was
larger than we had expected, and exhibited fair signs of activity,
several shingle-built houses, large store sheds, and a steam sawmill,
showing out conspicuously against the dark background of forest which
spreads for a few miles to either side, and is seen extending inland to
near the summit of Mount Rogers, a hill to the northward which reaches
an elevation of 1,000 feet.
For information concerning Skyring Water, we are mainly indebted to
Fitzroy's account of the short survey he made in the year 1829, when
in command of H.M.S. _Beagle_ (which account comprises information
obtained from a sealer named Low, who visited these waters in pursuit
of his trade), and to some papers published by the Chilian Government
in the _Anuario Hydrografico_, detailing the results of two visits
made by Chilian men-of-war. In November 1877 the Chilian gunboat
_Magellanes_ visited Skyring Water, making a stay of three weeks,
during which time her boats were mainly employed in making a survey of
the eastern part of the basin. The results of this survey, so far as
it went, favoured the idea of there being a channel connecting Skyring
Water with Smyth's Channel to the westward. It was brought to an abrupt
termination by the terrible mutiny which took place at Sandy Point in
November 1877; however, in the months of December 1878, and January and
February 1879, Captain Latorre, of the corvette _Magellanes_, made a
second incomplete examination of Skyring Water. One of his boat parties
penetrated a considerable distance to the westward, where the basin is
continuous with a number of long, narrow, winding inlets or channels,
which enter the hills of the coast range. Here they met with a party
of Fuegians, who were in all respects similar to those of the western
channels, possessing the usual canoe and hunting implements. They also
found numerous traces of Fuegians in all the sheltered coves which
they examined among the inlets towards the western part of Skyring
Water. This would seem to indicate a direct water communication with
Smyth's Channel, but on the other hand, the range of tide being found
to be exceedingly small, would tend to prove that its connection with
the ocean was at all events remote. This survey was brought to a close
in a most unsatisfactory way when almost on the eve of clearing up
the doubtful question as to the existence of through communication;
the _Magellanes_ having been ordered north on the outbreak of the war
between Chili and Peru.
The Skyring coal mines were originally started in the year 1877 by an
enterprising German named Haase, who opened the seam, extracted some
coal, and erected sheds, but soon afterwards (I believe through want
of funds) abandoned the undertaking, so that when the Chilian corvette
_Magellanes_ arrived here in October 1877, the settlement was found to
be in a deserted condition. Captain Latorre then made a trial of some
coal which he found lying in a heap near the pit's mouth, and after
executing a partial survey of Skyring Water was recalled to Sandy
Point, on receiving news of a disastrous mutiny in that colony.
The settlement remained uninhabited from a few months before the
_Magellanes'_ first visit until the 15th of November, 1879, when the
mine was reopened by Mr. Haase, provided with money, furnished by a
company which had been formed at Buenos Ayres. Since that time the work
has progressed steadily, so that the mine and adjoining works are now
in a tolerably efficient state. At the time of our visit, the mines and
the settlement were in charge of Monsieur Arnaud, a French engineer,
Mr. Haase having some days previously gone on a trip to Buenos Ayres.
The people numbered about twenty altogether; but as there were as yet
no customers to buy the coal, and as consequently no wages had been
paid for a long time back, the miners were gradually deserting and
making tracks for Sandy Point.
The edge of the coal seam, which is now being worked, was visible in
the face of a low cliff on the north-west promontory south of the
bay of the mines. The outcrop of the seam is in a north and south
direction, and it dips to the south-east at an angle of about 45°. From
a cursory examination which I made of sections afforded by the cliffs
adjoining the mines, I ascertained that the coal was overlain by a bed
of clayey sandstone, overlying which was a stratum of hard limestone
containing fossil shells, among which large Ostræas were the most
conspicuous. Above this, and lying conformably to it, was a layer of
soft sandstone containing numerous comminuted fragments of shells in a
sub-fossil state. The coal seam itself was about twelve feet thick.
The mine seemed to be in a most efficient state. A pit, sunk obliquely,
descended to a depth of thirty-six feet, where it communicated with
a horizontal cutting about sixty yards in length. At the end of this
gallery the coal was being worked, whence it was conveyed in trolleys
to the foot of the pit, and then hauled up the incline by means of a
stationary engine working at the pit's mouth. From there a line of tram
rails extended about 150 yards to the end of a strong wooden mole,
where the water was deep enough to float heavy barges, and where a
large pile was stored under a shed, and ready for shipment. It was of
good black colour, but light and friable; very much resembling the Lota
coal, to which it was little inferior in quality. A sample was taken on
board, and submitted to various practical tests, by Mr. Dinwoodie, our
chief engineer. It was of jet-black colour, and glistening appearance;
leaving a faint black mark on rubbing. S.G. = 1·3. It contained sulphur
and iron, burned with very little smoke, and produced a rust-coloured
ash, which formed a proportion of 18 per cent. When used in the
furnace, it formed large caky masses of a hard tenacious clinker, which
adhered to the fire-bars, and so clogged the fires that it was found
impossible to raise steam to more than thirty pounds' pressure. In an
open grate it burnt freely enough, but without giving out much heat. It
was, therefore, unsuited for engines using high pressure steam such as
ours.
We were much disappointed on learning that game was now very scarce
in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, and that as a matter of
fact the miners were victualled on salt and preserved meats. Beyond
a range of five miles, deer, guanacos, ostriches, and wild cattle
might be had, but could not be taken without the aid of horses,
with which useful animals the settlers were at present (apparently
through pecuniary embarrassments) unprovided. Foxes were abundant in
the forest, and at night time prowled about the settlement, while
recently a puma had paid it a nocturnal visit, to the great alarm of
the pigs and other domestic animals. We walked into the "camp," to a
distance of about five miles from the settlement, and were surprised
at the scarcity of birds. We saw, however, a flock of black-necked
swans, numbering about sixty, in the water near the seashore, but
found them too wary for us. A paroquet, a few starlings, a finch, a
wren, a buzzard, and the ubiquitous cinclodes were the only land-birds
seen. On subsequently penetrating into the forest in the rear of
the settlement, I saw many examples of a bird of the "tree-creeper"
family, which the Chilians call "carpintero," from its habit of making
a "tap-tap" sound when digging its bill against the bark of trees,
in pursuit of the insect-larva on which it feeds. These birds behave
in many respects like wood-peckers, producing a similar noise, using
the same food, travelling over the boles of the trees in a spiral
fashion, and creeping with ease along the under surface of horizontal
branches. I shot two of them when in the position last-mentioned, and
noticed that for some seconds after they had been shot they remained
suspended by the legs, with the heads hanging vertically downwards,
until the complete relaxation of the muscles allowed them to fall. The
toes, of which there are three directed forwards and one backwards,
are furnished with long and sharp claws. The bill is long, stout, and
pyramidal, and the shafts of the tail-feathers project beyond the webs.
On the 7th of March, a small party of us got the use of one of the
steam-cutters, and made a trip to Altamirano Bay, an anchorage about
seven miles to the westward of the "bay of the mines," which was
originally explored and surveyed by the Chilian vessel _Magellanes_. We
reached the bay after steaming for two hours against a westerly breeze
and chopping sea, and landed on its western shore. Here we found an
open grass-land interspersed with clumps of low trees and bushes, among
which the most abundant were an embothrium, a panax, an escallonia,
a berberis, a cheilobothrium, and the black currant of Magellan--the
_Ribes magellanica_. The tree-clumps showed evident signs of their
being the resting-places of wild cattle and horses, of which we saw
also numerous tracks in the open; none, however, being of recent date.
We could find no fresh water of any kind, and therefore concluded that
the deer, guanacos, ostriches, and horses, which were reported to be
abundant here, had gone up the hills during this dry season, and only
resorted to the lowlands hereabouts during the winter time. There was
certainly splendid pasturage for them, and I was much struck by the
abundance and variety of the grasses. The land-birds were similar to
those noticed previously in the neighbourhood of the coal mines. The
plain of grass-covered land over which we walked seemed to extend for a
long way to the westward, but from the head of the bay a dense forest
of beech-trees stretched away to the northward.
Skirting the shore of the bay, although overgrown with scrub and
forest, were two distinct terraced levels, which testified to an
upraising of the land. The rock formation, as far as could be judged
from the rock _in situ_ visible on the foreshore, was a clayey
sandstone, devoid of fossils, and bedded horizontally. Erratic boulders
of syenite and gneiss--some of considerable size--lay scattered about
the beach.
The shores of the bay indicated a scanty littoral marine fauna. Shells
of a small mussel were sparsely strewn about, and were the only
molluscan remains noticed. The _débris_ of a small, reddish alga was
strewn along the beach in undulating lines; but no kelp was seen at
all, either on the shore or adhering to submerged rocks.
During our four hours' stay, very little change was noticed in the
level of the tide, an argument rather against the likelihood of a
channel existing to connect Skyring Water with the ocean to the
westward.
In the meantime those on board the ship were engaged in coaling. We
purchased twenty-five tons of the new coal at £1 a ton, a quantity
quite sufficient to enable us to test practically its value. The mining
engineer, Monsieur Arnaud, was of opinion that on sinking deeper into
the coal-seam a better quality would be met with. The present workings
are at a depth of only thirty-six feet from the surface, and as the
angle of dip is about 45°, it is not improbable that on sinking a
deeper shaft his expectations may be realized. Should this be the case,
the long-cherished scheme of establishing tug-steamers in the straits
to tow sailing vessels from ocean to ocean, will probably be revived,
and a great impetus will thus be given to the Straits of Magellan as
an avenue for commerce. Moreover, should a permanent settlement be
established at the Skyring Water coal mines, intending colonists will
find in the surrounding country a splendid field for their energies.
The soil of the pampas is of excellent quality, for from its proximity
to the Cordillera, where the eastern drifting Pacific clouds deposit
their watery contents, it receives enough moisture to remove from it
that arid dryness which has rendered the eastern part of Patagonia
unsuited for the agriculturist. There is at present excellent pasturage
for cattle, and from all that we know of the climate, I see no reason
why cereal crops should not flourish. The day, I trust, is not far
distant when this part of Western Patagonia will prove a fertile field
of labour for the stock farmer and the agriculturist.
On the afternoon of the 8th of March we again weighed anchor, and
steamed over to the Fitzroy Channel, anchoring for the night at a
place in the fairway about five miles from the north entrance. Some
of our officers were now employed for an hour or two in sounding out
the channel, while others, more fortunate, amused themselves by waging
war against the brown ducks (_Anas cristata_), and black-necked swans
(_Cygnus nigricollis_), which were abundant enough, but more wary than
on our first meeting them. I did not see a single specimen of the
_Cygnus coscoroba_. On the western, or Fuegian shore, the recent tracks
of a deer were seen by one of our party.
We got under way early on the following morning, and after passing
through the Fitzroy Channel, recrossed Otway Water, and re-entered the
Jerome Channel. On the south shore of this latter we noticed a large
fur seal "rookery" (_i.e._, breeding place), and stopped to examine
it for some minutes. There were about thirty large seals hauled up
on the rocks, besides a large number that were swimming about in
the adjoining water. Some of those on the rock were hauled up about
thirty feet above the sea-level. We fired a shell into their midst
at about 800 yards range, which had the effect of making them tumble
off hurriedly into the water, where they made a great tumult, turning
somersaults and jumping clear out of the water, after the usual manner
of fur seals. The seals in this rookery were probably congregated for
the hair-shedding season. Later in the evening we reached our former
anchorage in Tilly Bay, where we came to an anchor for the night.
_Swallow Bay, 11th to 24th of March._--We steamed over to this
anchorage, which lies a few miles to the west of Tilly Bay, in
continuation of our surveying work. A most curious and interesting
fish (_Neophrynichthys latus_) was here obtained. It was brought to
me by one of our seamen, who found it lying dead on the beach, and
bearing marks of having been torn by vultures. Of this fish, which was
discovered by Mr. Hutton a few years ago in New Zealand, Dr. Günther
says that it only differs from the New Zealand specimen in colouration,
and in the presence of small tentacles, which are developed over the
eye and on some parts of the body.
One day, when paddling round a small rocky islet, we saw perched on a
stone, and apparently sleeping, as it remained motionless with bill
resting on the stone, a large snipe (_Gallinago stricklandi_), one of
the very few examples of the species which were observed during our
cruise. It was shot and preserved.
Two mammalians were also obtained at Swallow Bay. One was the common
Magellan otter (_Lutra felina_), the other a nutria (_Myopotamus
coypu_).
On March 25th, our supply of coal running short, it was decided to
conclude our survey of Magellan Straits, and to proceed northwards,
_viâ_ Smyth's Channel, to Puerto Bueno. There we took on board the
residue of a depôt of coal which had been made for us during the
previous season, and continued to pursue our way northwards, stopping
for the nights at various anchorages. On April 2nd, we passed our old
cruising ground in the Trinidad Channel, and entered Wide Channel,
proceeding from thence _viâ_ Indian Reach.
As we passed the entrance of Icy Inlet, we saw large patches of loose
berg-ice floating tranquilly over its surface, and evidently derived
from the glacier at its head. Contrary to our expectations, Eyre Sound
was almost clear of ice, only a single small floating piece being seen;
but to repay us for this disappointment we had a fine view of the
magnificent glacier at its head.
_Port Riofrio, 3rd to 10th of April._--We were detained for a week
at this port, while our surveyors were occupied in examining the
rocks and islets of the neighbouring "Covadonga Group," of which the
survey--commenced by the Chilians--was as yet incomplete. Port Riofrio
is situated on the eastern side of Wellington Island, and derives its
name from a large mountain torrent which pours its water into the bay
nearly opposite to the entrance, for which it also forms one of the
principal leading marks. On the western side of the anchorage, and
forming a sort of mighty dam across the valley through which this
torrent flows, is a remarkable raised beach, whose brow stretches
horizontally from ridge to ridge, its continuity being only broken by
a narrow fissure through which the torrent rushes, descending thence
by a series of cascades to the sea. Inside this barrier the land
slopes gradually but slightly downward to an extensive plateau, which
forms the bed of the valley between the two mountain ranges. Opinions
differed on board as to whether this barrier was a raised beach or an
old terminal moraine; but I inclined to the former view, from the fact
of its brow being so regular and horizontal, from its stretching evenly
from hill to hill, from the absence of any vestige of lateral moraine
on the hillsides, and from the slight difference in actual level
between the brow of the barrier and the general surface of the plain
within. It was covered with the usual swampy soilcap, and the plain was
for the most part occupied by an extensive swamp. Here I collected fine
fruiting specimens of a handsome velvety moss, _Tetraplodon mnioides_,
of a rich green colour, which I have before alluded to as forming
curious tufts on the summits of boulders, on rocky pinnacles, and on
the stumps of dead trees.
On the shores of this anchorage grew several plants which we had
not previously seen in the Straits. Among these was the _Mitraria
coccinea_, a climbing shrub, easily recognised by its dark-green glossy
ovate-acute leaves, and short tubular scarlet flowers. Another was the
_Weinmannia trichosperma_, a tall erect shrub with serrated pinnate
leaves, and jointed petioles winged in a curious rhomboidal fashion. I
was in hopes of finding here the beautiful _Hymenophyllum cruentum_,
which we obtained last year at an island in the English Narrows, some
miles to the northward, but was disappointed, its range probably not
extending so far south.
Two animals new to science were here obtained, viz., a small frog of
a dirty yellow colour, which has since been described by Dr. Günther
as a new species of "_Cacotus_," and an Uncinated calamary, which
has since been examined by Mr. Edgar Smith, and found to represent a
new species, to which he assigns the name "_Onychoteuthis ingens_."
The last-mentioned specimen was found stranded on the beach. The
body, from oral aperture to extremity of caudal appendage, measured
fifteen inches, and the total length from caudal appendage to anterior
extremity of tentacles was two feet nine inches. The tentacular hooks
were very formidable. No other example of this species of squid was
encountered.
Having completed the survey of the Covadonga Group, we again proceeded
on our way northwards. On the first night we stopped at Gray Harbour,
a port immediately to the northward of the English Narrows. As soon
as we had anchored, Lieutenant Rooper and I took advantage of the few
remaining hours of twilight and started off in the skiff, directing our
course towards the head of the bay, where a fair-sized river entered
the sea. We proceeded up the river for about a quarter of a mile,
finding its banks composed of a bluish clay, and passing at its mouth
a low triangular island, which seemed to be a delta formed of clay
and sand washed down from the hills, and piled up here at the outlet
where the fresh-water flow was dammed up in a measure by its contact
with the sea. On the pebbly shores of the river we picked up several
specimens of a pond snail--a species of _Chilinia_, I believe; and on
working a light dredge in mid-stream, we obtained many more specimens
of the same. The location was one eminently suggestive of the haunts
of otters, nutria, and waterfowl, but not a solitary animal of the
kind was to be seen. The disappointment, however, was one which our
experience of similar and equally tempting localities had taught us to
be prepared for. The surrounding country bore recent signs of having
been devastated by a great fire, the mountain sides for miles being
covered with the charred remains of a dense forest.
Owing to its proximity to the English Narrows, Gray Harbour is probably
frequently used as a stopping place by passing steamers, whose
occupants amuse themselves by firing the forest. It is rarely indeed in
this habitually wet region that the forest is sufficiently dry to allow
a fire to spread over any great extent of country.
We got under way at an early hour on the following morning (April
11th). It was a fine clear day, and the channels showed to great
advantage, so that we were able once more to confirm the remark
of old Pigafetta, that in fine weather there is in no part of the
world scenery more lovely. At about four o'clock in the afternoon we
anchored at Hale Cove, a port situated close to the northern outlet
of the Patagonian Channels, and here for the last time we anchored in
Patagonian waters. Rain awnings were now stowed away, top-gallant masts
were sent up, boats were topped and lashed, and all other requisite
arrangements were made for our final departure from the Magellan
region, and for encountering the long heavy ocean swell which we were
sure to find awaiting us to seaward.
I had a run on shore for a few hours before nightfall, and was much
gratified at finding two plants which I had not previously met with in
these channels. One was a tall branching fern of the genus _Alsophila_,
whose long slender woody stems, rising obliquely from the ground
to a height of six feet, were crowned with a magnificent spray of
dark-green glossy fronds. The other was a shrub of creeping habit,
probably of the family _Vacciniaceæ_, with smooth ovate-acute leaves
resembling those of the laurel, and bearing clusters of an egg-shaped
fruit. No flowering specimens were seen. The trunks of the large trees
were clothed with the beautiful fronds of the delicate _Hymenophyllum
cruentum_, which here grows in great abundance. On the morning of the
12th of April we bade a final adieu to the Patagonian Channels.
During our passage northwards along the Chilian coast, sea-birds
of various kinds hovered round us. Of these our most constant
companions were the Cape pigeons (_Daption capensis_), albatrosses
of two species (_Diomedea fuliginosa_ and _D. melanophrys_), a small
storm petrel (_Oceanites grallaria_), a Fulmar petrel (_Thalassœca
glacialoides_), and a white-breasted petrel (_Œstrelata
defilippiana_). A brown skua (_Lestris antarctica_) appeared on the
scene now and then, creating consternation among the smaller petrels.
We arrived at Talcahuano, one of the most interesting of the Chilian
ports, on the morning of the 20th of April, and were surprised and
grieved to hear that a severe epidemic of small-pox prevailed at the
town of Concepcion, some nine miles inland. The epidemic had begun in
January, and we were informed by Mr. Elton, the British Vice-Consul,
that since then no less than 1,500 deaths had occurred, the mortality
of those attacked having been at the extraordinarily high rate of 90
per cent. Ominous rumours reaching us as to the epidemic having already
extended to Talcahuano, our stay was wisely cut short, and the vessel
was moved on to Valparaiso, and subsequently after a short stay to
Coquimbo.
The passage from Valparaiso to Coquimbo occupied two days. As we
were sitting at dinner on the evening of the 3rd of May, the officer
of the watch reported that the ship was moving through patches of
light-coloured stuff resembling shoal water. On going on deck, we saw
wavy bands of straw-coloured water, about one hundred yards in length
by twenty in width, which were plainly visible through the gloom of
the night, the light-coloured patches having distinctly circumscribed
margins, which showed out clearly against the surrounding dark water.
At the same time, the sea in our wake was brilliantly phosphorescent.
On plying the tow-net for a few minutes, I obtained a quantity of
entomostracous crustaceans, and mingled with them a number of
milk-coloured annelids, a species of _Tomopteris_, about one-eighth of
an inch in length. A fringe of lateral appendages bordered its long,
slender body, from whose anterior extremity projected two long antennæ,
curving gracefully upwards and backwards. There were fifteen pairs of
parapodia, the ends of which were furnished with tufts of cirri, which
acted as swimming paddles for propulsion.
Our stay at Coquimbo this season extended from the 4th of May to the
14th of June, having been somewhat prolonged owing to the occurrence
of a case of small-pox on board. Our principal amusement consisted
in shooting excursions after the golden plover, or "pachuros," as
the Chilians call them. These birds frequent the sandy plains, which
form an elevated table-land, fringing the bases of the coast range
of hills. One of our shooting-grounds was on a rather bare plain,
encircling the base of a pyramidal hill called the Pan de Azucar,
which lay at a distance of about eight miles from Coquimbo. It was
a great undulating plain of waste sandy ground, with stunted shrubs
growing here and there, but not affording any cover. Walking over it
was laborious, for the ground was almost everywhere riddled with the
burrows of the _upucerthia_, a sort of ant-thrush, which seems to make
extensive underground tunnels in search of insect larvæ. I obtained a
specimen, and found its stomach crammed full of insects. This bird is
smaller than the _U. dumetaria_, and has a much shorter bill; moreover,
in flying, the secondary feathers, which are of a brick-red colour,
are very conspicuous. Sometimes, when walking over a riddled patch of
ground, one heard a curious half-smothered "took, took," not unlike the
cry of a ctenomys; and on treading firmly over the place from whence
the noise seemed to issue, no sound would be audible for a minute or
two, when the same noise would go on again from a place a yard or so
away. The bird, of course, had moved along, for the tunnels communicate
so that it is able to travel underground over a considerable area.
The burrows of the ctenomys are larger and otherwise different from
those now referred to. At the time of our visit the birds were not at
all shy, allowing one to approach within a few yards of them. These
are gregarious--at least at this time of the year--moving in flocks
from place to place over the sandy plain; and it was sometimes rather
astonishing to see a flock suddenly emerge from a number of burrow
openings, and rise on the wing from a bare sandy patch of ground, where
a moment previously there had been no sign of life.
[Illustration: FISH HOOKS OF UNION ISLANDERS (_see p. 157._)]