A Voyage Towards the South pole and Around the World/Volume II/Chapter 2

Transactions in Christmas Sound, with an Account of the Country and its Inhabitants.

1774 December

The morning of the 21st was calm and pleasant. After breakfast I set out with two boats to look for a more secure station. We no sooner got round, or above the point, under which the ship lay, than we found a cove in which was anchorage in thirty, twenty, and fifteen fathoms, the bottom stones and sand. At the head of the cove was a stony beach, a valley covered with wood, and a stream of fresh water, so that there was every thing we could expect to find in such a place, or rather more; for we shot three geese out of four that we saw, and caught some young ones, which we afterwards let go.

After discovering and sounding this cove, I sent Lieutenant Clerke, who commanded the other boat, on board, with orders to remove the ship into this place, while I proceeded farther up the inlet. I presently saw that the land we were under, which disjoined the two arms, as mentioned before, was an island, at the north end of which the two channels united. After this I hastened on board, and found every thing in readiness to weigh, which was accordingly done, and all the boats sent ahead to tow the ship round the point. But at that moment a light breeze came in from the sea too scant to fill our sails, so that we were obliged to drop the anchor again, for fear of falling upon the point, and to carry out a kedge to windward. That being done, we hove up the anchor, warped up to, and weighed the kedge, and proceeding round the point under our stay-sails; there anchored with the best bower in twenty fathoms; and moored with the other bower, which lay to the north, in thirteen fathoms. In this position we were shut in from the sea by the point above-mentioned, which was in one with the extremity of the inlet to the east. Some islets, off the next point above us, covered us from the N.W., from which quarter the wind had the greatest fetch, and our distance from the shore was about one-third of a mile.

Thus situated we went to work, to clear a place to fill water, to cut wood, and to set up a tent for the reception of a guard, which was thought necessary, as we had already discovered that, barren as this country is, it was not without people, though we had not yet seen any. Mr Wales also got his observatory and instruments on shore; but it was with the greatest difficulty he could find a place of sufficient stability, and clear of the mountains, which every where surrounded us, to set them up in; and at last he was obliged to content himself with the top of a rock not more than nine feet over.

Next day I sent Lieutenants Clerke and Pickersgill, accompanied by some of the other officers, to examine and draw a sketch of the channel on the other side of the island; and I went myself in another boat, accompanied by the botanists, to survey the northern parts of the sound. In my way I landed on the point of a low isle covered with herbage, part of which had been lately burnt: We likewise saw a hut, signs sufficient that people were in the neighbourhood. After I had taken the necessary bearings, we proceeded round the east end of Burnt Island, and over to what we judged to be the main of Terra del Fuego, where we found a very fine harbour encompassed by steep rocks of vast height, down which ran many limpid streams of water; and at the foot of the rocks some tufts of trees, fit for little else but fuel.

This harbour, which I shall distinguish by the name of the Devil's Bason, is divided, as it were, into two, an inner and an outer one; and the communication between them is by a narrow channel five fathoms deep. In the outer bason I found thirteen and seventeen fathoms water, and in the inner seventeen and twenty-three. This last is as secure a place as can be, but nothing can be more gloomy. The vast height of the savage rocks which encompass it, deprived great part of it, even on this day, of the meridian sun. The outer harbour is not quite free from this inconvenience, but far more so than the other; it is also rather more commodious, and equally safe. It lies in the direction of north, a mile and a half distant from the east end of Burnt Island. I likewise found a good anchoring-place a little to the west of this harbour, before a stream of water, that comes out of a lake or large reservoir, which is continually supplied by a cascade falling into it.

Leaving this place, we proceeded along the shore to the westward, and found other harbours which I had not time to look into. In all of them is fresh water, and wood for fuel; but, except these little tufts of bushes, the whole country is a barren rock, doomed by nature to everlasting sterility. The low islands, and even some of the higher, which lie scattered up and down the sound, are indeed mostly covered with shrubs and herbage, the soil a black rotten turf, evidently composed, by length of time, of decayed vegetables.

I had an opportunity to verify what we had observed at sea, that the sea-coast is composed of a number of large and small islands, and that the numerous inlets are formed by the junction of several channels; at least so it is here. On one of these low islands we found several huts, which had lately been inhabited; and near them was a good deal of celery, with which we loaded our boat, and returned on board at seven o'clock in the evening. In this expedition we met with little game; one duck, three or four shags, and about that number of rails or sea-pies, being all we got. The other boat returned on board some hours before, having found two harbours on the west side of the other channel; the one large, and the other small, but both of them safe and commodious; though, by the sketch Mr Pickersgill had taken of them, the access to both appeared rather intricate.

I was now told of a melancholy accident which had befallen one of our marines. He had not been seen since eleven or twelve o'clock the preceding night. It was supposed that he had fallen overboard, out of the head, where he had been last seen, and was drowned.

Having fine pleasant weather on the 23d, I sent Lieutenant Pickersgill in the cutter to explore the east side of the sound, and went myself in the pinnace to the west side, with an intent to go round the island, under which we were at anchor (and which I shall distinguish by the name of Shag Island), in order to view the passage leading to the harbours Mr Pickersgill had discovered the day before, on which I made the following observations. In coming from sea, leave all the rocks and islands, lying off and within York Minster, on your larboard side; and the black rock, which lies off the south end of Shag Island, on your starboard; and when abreast of the south end of that island, haul over for the west shore, taking care to avoid the beds of weeds you will see before you, as they always grow on rocks; some of which I have found twelve fathoms under water; but it is always best to keep clear of them. The entrance to the large harbour, or Port Clerke, is just to the north of some low rocks lying off a point on Shag Island. This harbour lies in W. by S., a mile and a half, and hath in it from twelve to twenty-four fathoms depth, wood and fresh water. About a mile without, or to the southward of Port Clerke, is, or seemed to be, another which I did not examine. It is formed by a large island which covers it from the south and east winds. Without this island, that is, between it and York Minster, the sea seemed strewed with islets, rocks, and breakers. In proceeding round the south end of Shag Island, we observed the shags to breed in vast numbers in the cliffs of the rock. Some of the old ones we shot, but could not come at the young ones, which are by far the best eating. On the east side of the island we saw some geese; and having with difficulty landed, we killed three, which, at this time, was a valuable acquisition.

About seven, in the evening, we got on board, where Mr Pickersgill had arrived but just before. He informed me that the land opposite to our station was an island, which he had been round; that on another, more to the north, be found many terns eggs; and that without the great island, between it and the east-head, lay a cove in which were many geese; one only of which he got, beside some young goslings.

This information of Mr Pickersgill's induced me to make up two shooting parties next day; Mr Pickersgill and his associates going in the cutter, and myself and the botanists in the pinnace. Mr Pickersgill went by the N.E. side of the large island above-mentioned, which obtained the name of Goose Island; and I went by the S.W. side. As soon as we got under the island we found plenty of shags in the cliffs, but, without staying to spend our time and shot upon these, we proceeded on, and presently found sport enough, for in the south side of the island were abundance of geese. It happened to be the moulting season; and most of them were on shore for that purpose, and could not fly. There being a great surf, we found great difficulty in landing, and very bad climbing over the rocks when we were landed; so that hundreds of the geese escaped us, some into the sea, and others up into the island. We, however, by one means or other, got sixty-two, with which we returned on board all heartily tired; but the acquisition we had made overbalanced every other consideration, and we sat down with a good appetite to supper on part of what the preceding day had produced. Mr Pickersgill and his associates had got on board some time before us with fourteen geese; so that I was able to make distribution to the whole crew, which was the more acceptable on account of the approaching festival. For had not Providence thus singularly provided for us, our Christmas cheer must have been salt beef and pork.

I now learnt that a number of the natives, in nine canoes, had been alongside the ship, and some on board. Little address was required to persuade them to either; for they seemed to be well enough acquainted with Europeans, and had, amongst them, some of their knives.

The next morning, the 25th, they made us another visit. I found them to be of the same nation I had formerly seen in Success Bay, and the same which M. de Bougainville distinguishes by the name of Pecheras; a word which these had, on every occasion, in their mouths. They are a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race. I saw not a tall person amongst them. They are almost naked; their clothing was a seal-skin; some had two or three sewed together, so as to make a cloak which reached to the knees; but the most of them had only one skin, hardly large enough to cover their shoulders, and all their lower parts were quite naked. The women, I was told, cover their nakedness with the flap of a seal-skin, but in other respects are clothed like the men. They, as well as the children, remained in the canoes. I saw two young children at the breast entirely naked; thus they are inured from their infancy to cold and hardships. They had with them bows and arrows, and darts, or rather harpoons, made of bone, and fitted to a staff. I suppose they were intended to kill seals and fish; they may also kill whales with them, as the Esquimaux do. I know not if they resemble them in their love of train-oil; but they and every thing they had smelt most intolerably of it. I ordered them some biscuit, but did not observe them so fond of it as I had been told. They were much better pleased when I gave them some medals, knives, etc.

The women and children, as before observed, remained in their canoes. These were made of bark; and in each was a fire, over which the poor creatures huddled themselves. I cannot suppose that they carry a fire in their canoes for this purpose only, but rather that it may be always ready to remove ashore wherever they land; for let their method of obtaining fire be what it may, they cannot be always sure of finding dry fuel that will kindle from a spark. They likewise carry in their canoes large seal hides, which I judged were to shelter them when at sea, and to serve as covering to their huts on shore, and occasionally to be used for sails.

They all retired before dinner, and did not wait to partake of our Christmas cheer. Indeed I believe no one invited them, and for good reasons; for their dirty persons, and the stench they carried about them, were enough to spoil the appetite of any European; and that would have been a real disappointment, as we had not experienced such fare for some time. Roast and boiled geese, goose-pye, etc. was a treat little known to us; and we had yet some Madeira wine left, which was the only article of our provision that was mended by keeping. So that our friends in England did not, perhaps, celebrate Christmas more cheerfully than we did.

On the 26th, little wind next to a calm, and fair weather, except in the morning, when we had some showers of rain. In the evening, when it was cold, the natives made us another visit; and it being distressing to see them stand trembling and naked on the deck, I could not do less than give them some baize and old canvas to cover themselves.

Having already completed our water, on the 27th I ordered the wood, tent, and observatory to be got on board; and, as this was work for the day, a party of us went in two boats to shoot geese, the weather being fine and pleasant. We proceeded round by the south side of Goose Island, and picked up in all thirty-one. On the east side of the island, to the north of the east point, is good anchorage, in seventeen fathoms water, where it is entirely land-locked. This is a good place for ships to lie in that are bound to the west. On the north side of this isle I observed three fine coves, in which were both wood and water; but it being near night, I had no time to sound them, though I doubt not there is anchorage. The way to come at them is by the west end of the island.

When I returned on board I found every thing got off the shore, and the launch in; so that we now only waited for a wind to put to sea. The festival, which we celebrated at this place, occasioned my giving it the name of Christmas Sound. The entrance, which is three leagues wide, is situated in the latitude of 55° 27' S., longitude 70° 16' W.; and in the direction of N. 37° W. from St Ildefonso Isles, distant ten leagues. These isles are the best landmark for finding the sound. York Minster, which is the only remarkable land about it, will hardly be known by a stranger, from any description that can be given of it, because it alters its appearance according to the different situations it is viewed from. Besides the black rock, which lies off the end of Shag Island, there is another about midway between this and the east shore. A copious description of this sound is unnecessary, as few would be benefited by it. Anchorage, tufts of wood, and fresh-water, will be found in all the coves and harbours. I would advise no one to anchor very near the shore for the sake of having a moderate depth of water, because there I generally found a rocky bottom.

The refreshments to be got here are precarious, as they consist chiefly of wild fowl, and may probably never be found in such plenty as to supply the crew of a ship; and fish, so far as we can judge, are scarce. Indeed the plenty of wild-fowl made us pay less attention to fishing. Here are, however, plenty of muscles, not very large, but well tasted; and very good celery is to be met with on several of the low islets, and where the natives have their habitations. The wild-fowl are geese, ducks, sea-pies, shags, and that kind of gull so often mentioned in this journal under the name of Port Egmont hen. Here is a kind of duck, called by our people race-horses, on account of the great swiftness with which they run on the water; for they cannot fly, the wings being too short to support the body in the air. This bird is at the Falkland Islands, as appears by Pernety's Journal*. The geese too are there, and seem to be very well described under the name of bustards. They are much smaller than our English tame geese, but eat as well as any I ever tasted. They have short black bills and yellow feet. The gander is all white; the female is spotted black and white, or grey, with a large white spot on each wing. Besides the bird above-mentioned, here are several other aquatic, and some land ones; but of the latter not many.

[* See Pernety's Journal, p.244 and p.213.]

From the knowledge which the inhabitants seem to have of Europeans, we may suppose that they do not live here continually, but retire to the north during the winter. I have often wondered that these people do not clothe themselves better, since Nature has certainly provided materials. They might line their seal-skin cloaks with the skins and feathers of aquatic birds; they might make their cloaks larger, and employ the same skins for other parts of clothing, for I cannot suppose they are scarce with them. They were ready enough to part with those they had to our people, which they hardly would have done, had they not known where to have got more. In short, of all the nations I have seen, the Pecheras are the most wretched. They are doomed to live in one of the most inhospitable climates in the world, without having sagacity enough to provide themselves with such conveniences as may render life in some measure more comfortable.

Barren as this country is, it abounds with a variety of unknown plants, and gave sufficient employment to Mr Forster and his party. The tree, which produceth the winter's bark; is found here in the woods, as is the holy-leaved barberry; and some other sorts, which I know not, but I believe are common in the straits of Magalhaens. We found plenty of a berry, which we called the cranberry, because they are nearly of the same colour, size, and shape. It grows on a bushy plant, has a bitterish taste, rather insipid; but may he eaten either raw or in tarts, and is used as food by the natives.