Página:Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836.djvu/316

256

Jun. 1829.

BAHÍA HEWETT - ÁRBOLES DE CIPRÉS.

9,56 HEWETT BAY CYPRESS TREES. Juiie 1829- finding they had not an article worth bartering for, we soon left them, and returned on board. It was suspected their com- panions were not far off, and indeed, the day after, Lieutenant Skyring saw several canoes ; but the moment he was discovered, they were beached, and the men, taking to the woods, kept at a distance. " On the 29th, we left Hewett Bay, and, after threading the needle throuo-h a multitude of islands, islets, and gmall rocks, for more than three nriiles, reached an ancliorage in a small cove, at the north entrance of Brown Bay, where we were detained, and confined to the vessel, by heavy gales, and stormy weather, until June 2d ; when, having a fine day, we reached a spot (marked in the chart as North anchorage) sufficiently secure for a small vessel ; but not to be recommended to any other. " Between Hewett Bay, and the above anchorage, there are several rocks, among patclies of kelp, which, as they only show then selves at half ebb, or near low water, render the navigation rather intricate. A good maxim in these channels is, ' Avoid kelp, and you avoid danger. Forty-three days had passed since we left Port Famine ; and in this interval, I find we had nine favourable days, twelve partially favourable, some hours of which we could employ in the work about which we were engaged, and the remaining twenty-three were days of rain and wind, far too unfavourable to serve our purpose in the least. " June 4th. While turning to windward, we, for the first time, felt the influence of the tide, which, from the channel's narrowing, begins to be sensible : here it was sufficiently strong to prevent our gaining ground in beating to windward, although with a good working breeze ; we therefore ran into a bay on the west side, and anchored. The country around had rather a pleasing appearance, the shores being partially covered with the evergreen, and deciduous-leaved beech, and a few stunted cypress-trees. These last are serviceable for boat-hook spars, or boats' masts ; and, when seasoned, work up very smoothly, and wear well : the beech-trees do not equal those found fur- ther northward in the Strait, except here and there in sheltered corners.