Beagle Channel

“ With sail filled by the swelling breeze, they make rapid way, and by noon are far along the Beagle Channel, approaching the place where the Murray Narrow leads out of it, trending southward. But now they see what may prove an interruption to their onward course. Through the fog, which has become much less dense, a number of dark objects are visible, mottling the surface of the water. That they are canoes can be told by the columns of smoke rising up over each, as though they were steam-launches. ”

“ Still, they do not yet seek the shore; the wind is too temptingly in their favour, and with sail up all day they run on into the north-west arm of the Beagle Channel, at length bringing to in a small cove on its southern side.
It is late afternoon when they make a landing; yet they have time to choose a camping-place ere darkness comes on. Not much choice is there, the only available spot being at the inner end of the cove. There a niche in the rocky beach forms a sort of natural boat-dock, large enough to admit the gig to moorings. ”

“ From their high point of view on the ridge’s crest, the castaways see a reach of water wider than the sea-arm immediately beneath them, of which, however, it is a continuation. It extends eastward beyond the verge of vision, all the way straight as an artificial canal, and so like one in other ways as to suggest the idea of having been dug by the same Titans who did the masonwork on the mountains. It occupies the entire attention of Seagriff, who, looking along it toward the east, at length says, “Thet’s the Beagle Channel; the way we were to hev gone but fur the swampin’ of our boat. ”

“ These last are in exclusive gissession of South Fuegia, and also occupy the north side of eagle Channel about Mount Darwin and further west. To them alone missionary enterprise has hitherto been extended, and the English station of Ushiwaya on Beagle Channel has for some years been the only centre of civilizing influences in the archipelago. As Lieutenant Bove of the Italian Antarctic expedition has made a special study of this branch, [2] they are much better known than either of the neighbouring races. ”

“ The Shear Beacon and the flagstaff at George Town in a line lead over the outer extreme. There is generally a white buoy in its vicinity, and a black one on the western edge of the Middle Ground. The Barrel Rock red beacon, and the high and low white beacons, erected by the Beagle's crew on the shore over Lagoon Bay, kept in one, lead through the Western Channel. When abreast of the Shear Beacon, steer for the next beyond on the west side of the channel, to avoid a long patch of kelp, with three and five fathoms in it, extending two cables and a half to the S.S.W. of the Barrel Rock. ”

“ The water on the west shore is not deep; from ten to thirty fathoms at a quarter of a mile off shore, but getting more shallow advancing northward. There is anchorage for a vessel after passing Indian Channel, the whole way along; and as the prevailing winds are off shore, it would generally be safe. In Indian Channel I only know of two anchorages, Cutter Bay and Bending Cove. ”

“ A rapid stream, thrown out of its course, hemmed in by numerous reefs, and passing over a bottom so uneven as to cause a change in the soundings from 12 to 26, and then 18 fathoms, with a ripple or line of broken water across the mouth renders it impossible in strong N.W. winds for a stranger to detect the channels, and raises so much sea that the pilots cannot reach the vessels that arrive off the mouth.
As the Beagle passed through the west channel, the shear or first beacon on the west reefs was on with a round-topped hill some distance up the river. ”

“ Sholl. His appearance, under such circumstances, of course raised fears for the Beagle's safety; but, on approaching, his gratifying shout, "all's well!" at once removed anxiety.
Mr. Sholl informed me, that the Beagle had picked up a boat, belonging to the schooner 'Prince of Saxe Cobourg,' wrecked in Fury Harbour, at the south entrance of the Barbara Channel; and that she had put into Port Gallant, whence Captain Stokes had gone with the boats to assist the Sealers, leaving Lieut. Skyring on board. ”

“ On each side the land is hilly, but not high; and this distinguishes the Mesier Channel from many others, whose shores for miles are formed by ranges of steep-sided mountains. Here, in many places, there is much low land, which is generally thickly wooded, yet with no greater variety of trees than is to met with in the Strait of Magalhaens. The beech, birch, pine, or cypress, Winter's-bark, and a kind of red-wood, form the forests; but none were observed that could be at all serviceable for the larger spars of a vessel. ”

“ Our soundings, after leaving the island, deepened quickly to 30 and 35 fathoms. Six miles from it the depth decreased to 23 fathoms. We stood off and on during the night, the current setting N.N.W. a mile an hour. The space between the Abrolhos and the main bears the name of Geelvink Channel, after Vlaming's ship, the first that ever passed through (A.D. 1680) .
The chief object of the Beagle's visit to the main was to ascertain the position of a good anchorage, before spoken of as reported at Swan River to be under the south-west end of Moresby's Flat-topped Range. ”

“ There were no signs of a recent visit from the Fuegians, though at the entrance of the cove we found three or four wigwams in good repair; whence it seems probable, that the place is one of their frequent haunts. When the Beagle came here last year, some station staves were left standing; but, before her return, every one had been removed; and when Captain Stokes went down the Barbara Channel, to the relief {135}of the Saxe Cobourg's crew, those staves were seen in the possession of the Indians. ”

“ In this stretch there are at least a hundred mouths, connected one with the other by thousands of cross channels. The whole delta is a bewildering maze of waterways. Some of these are deep enough to carry our ship well into the country; others are too shallow to float a ship's boat. Moreover, the guide says that he has had a free passage up a channel on one occasion that was impassable on another because of the shifting sandbanks. One of the main mouths is very deep, but the current is also of great strength. We take risks whatever we do. ”

“ I have often said that the buck beaver in the Rocky Mountains had more engineering skill than the entire corps of engineers who were connected with General Grant's army when he besieged Vicksburg on the banks of the Mississippi. The beaver would never have attempted to turn the Mississippi into a canal to change its channel without first making a dam across the channel below the point of starting the canal. The beaver, as I have said, rivals and sometimes even excels the ingenuity of man. ”

“ The channel goes winding, and on the side of Pangasani; for at about two-thirds of its length, there is a fishery, which must be considered as a mark to avoid this shore, and range that of Button. In general it is necessary, as much as possible, to keep the middle of the gut. It is likewise fit, unless you have a brisk and favourable wind, to have your boats out a-head, in order to steer well in the sinuosities of the channel. The current, upon the whole, is strong enough there to carry you past in a calm, and even when there is a light contrary wind ”

“ You can carry two feet of water close along the shore from the buoy off the middle marshes, just west of Harker’s Island into Beaufort, but the main channel is more to the southward and runs to the point of Shackleford Banks. Then you go up Bulkhead Channel, keep along the north shore of Town{19} Marsh a hundred rods, and then northeast and keep the lead going to Beaufort, N. C. From here you can either sail through Bogue Sound, of which there is no chart, or go directly to sea. As the land trends westward, it makes a lee even from a north-easter and is as safe as any outside sailing can be. ”

“ There is an extreme scarcity of water; and where it is found, especially if in lakes, it is generally as salt as brine. The sky in summer is cloudless, and the heat in consequence, considerable; whereas the frosts of winter are, sometimes, severe. The principal localities visited by the Beagle, were the Rio Negro, in latitude 41° S., Port Desire, Port St. Julian, and Santa Cruz. At the latter place, a party, under the command of Captain FitzRoy, followed up the river in boats, to within a few miles of the Cordillera ”

“ Moreover, while the original channel first ran north, then north-east, for the twelve miles that were only to be covered by kedging—before it ultimately changed its course to south—in which direction the point of ultimate egress lay, the new channel left Mercury Basin at its western, or leeward, extremity, running first west, then south-west, and ultimately south, straight out to sea. Thus the whole distance could be traversed under sail and with a free wind. ”

“ In this locality of sunken rocks and sand banks, are now the existing channels, used by small sized trading steamers visiting Rehnong and Malliwan; there are two of these, viz:—
The North Channel is between Victoria Point and Victoria Island, and the course leads between South Island and a large patch of foul ground composed of sunken rocks and sand banks lying immediately off, but close to its south side. This channel is very narrow and dangerous, and is fit only for the navigation of very small steamers in fine weather by daylight; no sailing vessel would ever attempt it. ”

“ The weather was that in which (as Thompson emphatically says) 'the soul of man dies in him.'
"In the course of our service since we left England, we have often been compelled to take up anchorages, exposed to great risk and danger. But the Beagle's present situation I deemed by far the most perilous to which she had been exposed: her three anchors were down in twenty-three fathoms of water, on a bad bottom of sand, with patches of rock. The squalls were terrifically violent, and astern of her, distant only half a cable's length, were rocks and low rocky islets, upon which a furious surf raged. ”

“ The color of a buoy is an index of its character. Thus, one with black and red stripes indicates danger; one with black and white vertical stripes is a channel-marker. Temporary channels are frequently marked by pieces of spar floating upright. In some cases it is customary to set untrimmed tree-tops on the port, and trimmed sticks on the starboard.
Light-houses are built at all exposed points of navigated coast-waters, and beacons are set at all necessary points within a harbor for use at night. All lights are kept burning from sunset until sunrise. ”

“ As the beavers perform this operation very effectually endeavours have been made to encourage them to breed in this place, but it has not hitherto been possible to restrain the Indians from killing that useful animal whenever they discover its retreats. On the present occasion there was no want of water, the principal impediment we experienced being from the narrowness of the channel, which permitted the willows of each bank to meet over our heads and obstruct the men at the oars. ”

“ Captain Morgan took the crude map into his hands and pointed to an egg-shaped peninsula reaching out into the St. Lawrence between the mouths of two rivers.
“There is said to be a lost channel somewhere in that vicinity,” he said, “and tradition has it that the papers and the jewels were hidden on its shore. The searchers, for years, have been in the hope of finding this lost channel. They have never succeeded.”
“Then we’re almost on the ground,” cried Jule. “Where do we go to reach this peninsula? We might be lucky enough to find this channel.”
“It doesn’t exist,” smiled Captain Morgan. ”

“ The rate of increase which doubles our population in a given number of years must also increase the lake tonnage, and add new motives for the improvement of its navigation.
Besides the St. Clair delta, I know of no other impediment in the channel itself, throughout the great line of straits between Buffalo and Chicago, which prudence and good seamanship, and well found vessels, may not ordinarily surmount. The rapids at Black Rock, once so formidable, have long been obviated by the canal dam. The straits of Detroit have been well surveyed, and afford a deep, navigable channel at all times. ”

“ The Beagle left the Gallegos on the 23d, and reached Port Famine on the 28th, a very short passage, since she remained for a night and the greater part of a day at Gregory Bay, to communicate with the natives. When approaching the First Narrow, Captain Stokes observed a brig, apparently at anchor, under Cape Orange, and supposing her either to have found a good anchorage, or to be in distress, steered towards her. ”

“ Smith’s Sound expands into a capacious bay: it has been surveyed throughout its entire extent. From its northern and eastern corner, in lat. 80° 10′, long. 66°, a channel has been discovered and followed until further progress was checked by water free from ice. This channel trended nearly due north, and expanded into an apparently open sea, which abounded with birds and bears and marine life.
“The death of the dogs during the winter threw the travel essential to the above discoveries upon the personal efforts of the officers and men. The summer finds them much broken in health and strength. ”

“ On descending surfaces, as has elsewhere been stated, beavers roll and drag their short cuttings down into the ponds. But where the ground is low it is generally so uneven and rough as to render it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the beavers to move them for any considerable distance by physical force. Hence the canal for floating them across the intervening level ground to the pond. The necessity for it is so apparent as to diminish our astonishment at its construction; and yet that the beaver should devise a canal to surmount this difficulty is not the less remarkable. ”