Findingitnearlyhopelesstopushmywaythroughthewood，Ifollowedthecourseofamountaintorrent。Atfirst，fromthewaterfallsandnumberofdeadtrees，Icouldhardlycrawlalong；butthebedofthestreamsoonbecamealittlemoreopen，fromthefloodshavingsweptthesides。Icontinuedslowlytoadvanceforanhouralongthebrokenandrockybanks，andwasamplyrepaidbythegrandeurofthescene。Thegloomydepthoftheravinewellaccordedwiththeuniversalsignsofviolence。Oneverysidewerelyingirregularmassesofrockandtorn-uptrees；othertrees，thoughstillerect，weredecayedtotheheartandreadytofall。Theentangledmassofthethrivingandthefallenremindedmeoftheforestswithinthetropics——yettherewasadifference：forinthesestillsolitudes，Death，insteadofLife，seemedthepredominantspirit。IfollowedthewatercoursetillIcametoaspotwhereagreatsliphadclearedastraightspacedownthemountainside。BythisroadIascendedtoaconsiderableelevation，andobtainedagoodviewofthesurroundingwoods。Thetreesallbelongtoonekind，theFagusbetuloides；forthenumberoftheotherspeciesofFagusandoftheWinter’sBark，isquiteinconsiderable。Thisbeechkeepsitsleavesthroughouttheyear；butitsfoliageisofapeculiarbrownish-greencolour，withatingeofyellow。Asthewholelandscapeisthuscoloured，ithasasombre，dullappearance；norisitoftenenlivenedbytheraysofthesun。
December20th——Onesideoftheharbourisformedbyahillabout1500feethigh，whichCaptainFitzRoyhascalledafterSirJ。Banks，incommemorationofhisdisastrousexcursion，whichprovedfataltotwomenofhisparty，andnearlysotoDr。Solander。Thesnowstorm，whichwasthecauseoftheirmisfortune，happenedinthemiddleofJanuary，correspondingtoourJuly，andinthelatitudeofDurham！Iwasanxioustoreachthesummitofthismountaintocollectalpineplants；forflowersofanykindinthelowerpartsarefewinnumber。Wefollowedthesamewatercourseasonthepreviousday，tillitdwindledaway，andwewerethencompelledtocrawlblindlyamongthetrees。These，fromtheeffectsoftheelevationandoftheimpetuouswinds，werelow，thickandcrooked。Atlengthwereachedthatwhichfromadistanceappearedlikeacarpetoffinegreenturf，butwhich，toourvexation，turnedouttobeacompactmassoflittlebeech-treesaboutfourorfivefeethigh。Theywereasthicktogetherasboxintheborderofagarden，andwewereobligedtostruggleovertheflatbuttreacheroussurface。Afteralittlemoretroublewegainedthepeat，andthenthebareslaterock。
Aridgeconnectedthishillwithanother，distantsomemiles，andmorelofty，sothatpatchesofsnowwerelyingonit。Asthedaywasnotfaradvanced，Ideterminedtowalkthereandcollectplantsalongtheroad。
Itwouldhavebeenveryhardwork，haditnotbeenforawell-beatenandstraightpathmadebytheguanacos；fortheseanimals，likesheep，alwaysfollowthesameline。Whenwereachedthehillwefounditthehighestintheimmediateneighbourhood，andthewatersflowedtotheseainoppositedirections。Weobtainedawideviewoverthesurroundingcountry：tothenorthaswampymoorlandextended，buttothesouthwehadasceneofsavagemagnificence，wellbecomingTierradelFuego。Therewasadegreeofmysteriousgrandeurinmountainbehindmountain，withthedeepinterveningvalleys，allcoveredbyonethick，duskymassofforest。Theatmosphere，likewise，inthisclimate，wheregalesucceedsgale，withrain，hail，andsleet，seemsblackerthananywhereelse。IntheStraitofMagellanlookingduesouthwardfromPortFamine，thedistantchannelsbetweenthemountainsappearedfromtheirgloominesstoleadbeyondtheconfinesofthisworld。
December21st——TheBeaglegotunderway：andonthesucceedingday，favouredtoanuncommondegreebyafineeasterlybreeze，weclosedinwiththeBarnevelts，andrunningpastCapeDeceitwithitsstonypeaks，aboutthreeo’clockdoubledtheweather-beatenCapeHorn。Theeveningwascalmandbright，andweenjoyedafineviewofthesurroundingisles。CapeHorn，however，demandedhistribute，andbeforenightsentusagaleofwinddirectlyinourteeth。Westoodouttosea，andontheseconddayagainmadetheland，whenwesawonourweather-bowthisnotoriouspromontoryinitsproperform——veiledinamist，anditsdimoutlinesurroundedbyastormofwindandwater。Greatblackcloudswererollingacrosstheheavens，andsquallsofrain，withhail，sweptbyuswithsuchextremeviolence，thattheCaptaindeterminedtorunintoWigwamCove。Thisisasnuglittleharbour，notfarfromCapeHorn；andhere，atChristmas-eve，weanchoredinsmoothwater。Theonlythingwhichremindedusofthegaleoutside，waseverynowandthenapufffromthemountains，whichmadetheshipsurgeatheranchors。