Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/850

 844 MAGELLAN MAGENDIE the wider parts of the straits. In passing from the Second Narrows to Cape Froward, vessels keep near the western shore. In this reach, and on that same shore, several good harbors are found, such as Royal road, between Eliza- beth island and Peckett harbor (the latter fit only for small vessels), Laredo bay, Punta Arenas or Sandy Point, Freshwater bay, Port Famine, and San Nicolas bay. Sandy Point, the only settlement in the straits, is a penal colony founded by the Chilian government. The situation is well chosen, at the mouth of a clear mountain stream, and at the foot of moun- tains clothed with luxuriant forests. The cli- mate is less humid than at Port Famine, where the settlement was at first located, and not so arid as on the Patagonian plains further east. Fair pasture is found for cattle, but the sum- mer is not warm enough to allow the ripening of cereals, except a few of the hardiest kinds. Potatoes and green vegetables are raised with- out difficulty. A coal mine has been opened a few miles up the valley, and connected with the shore by a tramway. The coal appears to belong to the cretaceous formation, is abundant and easily mined, but burns very rapidly and with much smoke. Gold is found in the gravel at the bottom of the stream. Port Famine owes its name to the unfortunate result of the colony founded there in 1584 by Sarmiento. Of the 300 men left by him there and at the Narrows, one was saved in 1587 by Cavendish, and the last survivor by Meriche two years after ; all the rest perished miser- ably. This harbor is still resorted to by ves- sels detained by contrary winds, and by those in want of firewood, which can be obtained with great ease, the shores being covered with well seasoned driftwood brought down by Sedger river, the largest stream emptying into the straits. From Cape Froward the Pacific ocean can be reached through the Magdalen and Cockburn channel, or through the Barbara channel, a little further west ; but they are sel- dom used except by sealing vessels. The west- ern part of the straits is abundantly provided with small well sheltered bays ; unfortunately a number of them are useless as harbors on account of the great depth of water. After passing Cape Froward the channel receives successively the names of Froward reach, Eng- lish reach, Crooked reach, Long reach, and Sea reach. The harbors are generally small land- locked bays, surrounded by high mountains. The first good one encountered is Fortescue bay, on the E. shore, with its inner harbor, called Port Gallant. Another is York road, at the entrance of Jerome channel. The lat- ter leads off from the straits in a N. E. direc- tion, connecting with two large inland basins, Otway and Skyring Water, very seldom visited and little known. Borja bay in Crooked reach is a convenient and safe harbor, where wood and fresh water can be procured with ease. Playa Parda cove in Long reach is of similar character. These two harbors are on the N. shore, in Cordova peninsula. Near the en- trance to Smyth's channel, Port Tamar and Sholl bay afford good shelter and safe anchor- ages. On the S. shore, though it is much indented, good harbors are scarce; the best ones are Half-port bay at the W. end of Long reach, and Port Mercy, only 4 m. inside of Cape Pillars. Besides wood and water, the only supplies the country offers to the naviga- tor are fish and shell fish of various kinds. The character of the country around the straits of Magellan depends in a great measure on the geological formation. In the east it is tertiary overlaid by glacial drift, and the climate is very dry and vegetation scanty, consisting only of grass and small spiny shrubs. The middle re- gion, from Peckett's harbor to Port Gallant, is mostly of secondary formation ; the climate is very moist and the soil very favorable to vege- tation. The land therefore is covered with dense forests, chiefly of beech, some of the trees attaining great size. In the western sec- tion primitive rocks prevail, and the trees are few and small. The shores of this section are very bold and the water deep. Steep moun- tains terminating in ragged peaks rise here on both sides of the straits, the loftiest being Mt. Sarmiento, 6,800 ft. high, from which and from its' neighbor Mt. Buckland descend magnificent glaciers. In the eastern region the grassy plains support numerous herds of guanacos and small troops of ostriches. The other land animals are pumas, foxes, skunks, cavies, a burrowing rodent of the genus ctenomys, &c. Eared seals of at least two species, distin- guished as hair and fur seals, are common. Large flocks of the upland goose (chloephaga Magellanica) feed on the plains and congre- gate on the islands in the breeding season, in company with black-necked swans and swans with black-tipped wings. The small owl found in the burrows of the North American prairie dog inhabits here those of the cavy. The con- dor and the carraucha (pofyborus) are very common, and on the' water and along the shores ducks, penguins, cormorants, gulls, oys- ter catchers, &c., are abundant. In the wood- ed parts of the straits are found humming birds and small flocks of paroquets. The western region is remarkably destitute of ani- mal life, a few species of small birds being the only creatures observed on the shores. Ducks, geese, penguins, and other water birds abound in the channels, and otters, seals, and whales are not uncommon. Fish and shell fish abound in all parts of the straits^ and contribute large- ly to the food of the natives. The native popu- lation consists of Patagonians and Fuegians. (See PATAGONIA, and TIERRA DEL FUEGO.) MAGEMUE, Francois, a French physiologist, born in Bordeaux, Oct. 15, 1783, died in Paris, Oct. 8, 1855. He removed at an early age to Paris, where he graduated in medicine in 1803. He subsequently gave several courses of in- struction in operative surgery at the ecoleprac- tigue y and has even left a special method of