Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836. Volume I. Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830

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Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they
are listed at the end of the text.

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In this version [=e] signifies "e macron"; [)e] "e breve"; and so forth.
Diacritics in Spanish, scientific Latin and French are not shown, except in
one necessary case on Page ix. where ['o] is "o with acute". The "Errata et
Corrigenda" (after the list of Plates) have been actioned.

VOYAGES

OF THE

ADVENTURE AND BEAGLE.

------

VOLUME I.

[Illustration: P. P. King T. Landseer

PATAGONIAN.

Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838]

       *       *       *       *       *

NARRATIVE

OF THE

SURVEYING VOYAGES

OF HIS MAJESTY'S SHIPS

ADVENTURE AND BEAGLE,

BETWEEN

THE YEARS 1826 AND 1836,

DESCRIBING THEIR

EXAMINATION OF THE SOUTHERN SHORES

OF

SOUTH AMERICA,

AND

THE BEAGLE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

------

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

------

LONDON:

HENRY COLBURN, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

------

1839.

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LONDON:
Printed by. J. L. Cox and Sons, 75, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln's-Inn Fields.

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VOLUME I.

------

PROCEEDINGS

OF

THE FIRST EXPEDITION,

1826--1830,

UNDER THE COMMAND OF

CAPTAIN P. PARKER KING,

R.N., F.R.S.

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TO

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE EARL OF MINTO, G.C.B.,

FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER

OF THE

ADMIRALTY.

------

  MY LORD:

I have the honour of dedicating to your lordship, as Head of the Naval
Service, this narrative of the Surveying Voyages of the Adventure and
Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836.

Originated by the Board of Admiralty, over which Viscount Melville
presided, these voyages have been carried on, since 1830, under his
lordship's successors in office.

Captain King has authorized me to lay the results of the Expedition which
he commanded, from 1826 to 1830, before your lordship, united to those of
the Beagle's subsequent voyages.

  I have the honour to be,
          MY LORD,
    Your lordship's obedient servant,
                  ROBERT FITZ-ROY.

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{ix}

PREFACE.

In this Work, the result of nine years' voyaging, partly on coasts little
known, an attempt has been made to combine giving general information with
the paramount object--that of fulfilling a duty to the Admiralty, for the
benefit of Seamen.

Details, purely technical, have been avoided in the narrative more than I
could have wished; but some are added in the Appendix to each volume: and
in a nautical memoir, drawn up for the Admiralty, those which are here
omitted will be found.

There are a few words used frequently in the following pages, which may not
at first sight be familiar to every reader, therefore I need hardly
apologize for saying that, although the great Portuguese navigator's name
was Magalhaens--it is generally pronounced as if written Magellan:--that
the natives of Tierra del Fuego are commonly called Fuegians;--and that
Chil['o]e is thus accented for reasons given in page 384 of the second
volume.

In the absence of Captain King, who has entrusted to me the care of
publishing his share of this work, I may have overlooked errors which he
would have detected. Being hurried, and unwell, while attending to the
printing of his volume, I was not able to do it justice.

{x}

It may be a subject of regret, that no paper on the Botany of Tierra del
Fuego is appended to the first volume. Captain King took great pains in
forming and preserving a botanical collection, aided by a person embarked
solely for that purpose. He placed this collection in the British Museum,
and was led to expect that a first-rate botanist would have examined and
described it; but he has been disappointed.

In conclusion, I beg to remind the reader, that the work is unavoidably of
a rambling and very mixed character; that some parts may be wholly
uninteresting to most readers, though, perhaps, not devoid of interest to
all; and that its publication arises solely from a sense of duty.

ROBERT FITZ-ROY.

  London, March 1839.

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{xi}

INTRODUCTION

In 1825, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty directed two ships to be
prepared for a Survey of the Southern Coasts of South America; and in May,
of the following year, the ADVENTURE and the BEAGLE were lying in Plymouth
Sound, ready to carry the orders of their Lordships into execution.

These vessels were well provided with every necessary, and every comfort,
which the liberality and kindness of the Admiralty, Navy Board, and
officers of the Dock-yards, could cause to be furnished.

On board the Adventure, a roomy ship, of 330 tons burthen, without guns,[1]
lightly though strongly rigged, and very strongly built, were--

  PHILLIP PARKER KING, Commander and Surveyor, Senior
  Officer of the Expedition.

  J.