Westayedherethreedays。Theweathercontinuedbad：butthisdidnotmuchsignify，forthesurfaceofthelandinalltheseislandsisallbutimpassable。Thecoastissoveryruggedthattoattempttowalkinthatdirectionrequirescontinuedscramblingupanddownoverthesharprocksofmica-slate；andasforthewoods，ourfaces，hands，andshin-bonesallborewitnesstothemaltreatmentwereceived，inmerelyattemptingtopenetratetheirforbiddenrecesses。
December18th——Westoodouttosea。Onthe20thwebadefarewelltothesouth，andwithafairwindturnedtheship’sheadnorthward。FromCapeTresMonteswesailedpleasantlyalongtheloftyweather-beatencoast，whichisremarkablefortheboldoutlineofitshills，andthethickcoveringofforestevenonthealmostprecipitousflanks。Thenextdayaharbourwasdiscovered，whichonthisdangerouscoastmightbeofgreatservicetoadistressedvessel。Itcaneasilyberecognizedbyahill1600feethigh，whichisevenmoreperfectlyconicalthanthefamoussugar-loafatRiodeJaneiro。Thenextday，afteranchoring，Isucceededinreachingthesummitofthishill。Itwasalaboriousundertaking，forthesidesweresosteepthatinsomepartsitwasnecessarytousethetreesasladders。
TherewerealsoseveralextensivebrakesoftheFuchsia，coveredwithitsbeautifuldroopingflowers，butverydifficulttocrawlthrough。Inthesewildcountriesitgivesmuchdelighttogainthesummitofanymountain。
Thereisanindefiniteexpectationofseeingsomethingverystrange，which，howeveroftenitmaybebalked，neverfailedwithmetorecuroneachsuccessiveattempt。Everyonemustknowthefeelingoftriumphandpridewhichagrandviewfromaheightcommunicatestothemind。Intheselittlefrequentedcountriesthereisalsojoinedtoitsomevanity，thatyouperhapsarethefirstmanwhoeverstoodonthispinnacleoradmiredthisview。
Astrongdesireisalwaysfelttoascertainwhetheranyhumanbeinghaspreviouslyvisitedanunfrequentedspot。Abitofwoodwithanailinit，ispickedupandstudiedasifitwerecoveredwithhieroglyphics。