About for a few hours, for the wind soon
changed and blew directly in the desired direction.
28th January. We were constantly so near Terra del Fuego that we
could make out every bush with the naked eye. We could have reached
the land in an hour, without retarding our voyage in the least, for
we were frequently becalmed; but the captain would not consent, as
the wind might spring up every instant.
The coast appeared rather steep, but not high; the foreground was
composed of meagre pasture alternating with tracts of sand, and in
the background were ranges of woody hills, beyond which rose snow-
covered mountains. On the whole, the country struck me as being
much more inhabitable than the Island of Iceland, which I had
visited a year and a half previously. The temperature, too, must
here be higher, as even at sea we had 54 degrees 5' and 59 degrees
Fah.
I saw three kinds of sea-tangle, but could only obtain a specimen of
one, resembling that which I had seen in 44 degrees South lat. The
second kind was not very different, and it was only the third that
had pointed leaves, several of which together formed a sort of fan
several feet long and broad.
