part), and then began our ascent. The forest commences at the line of
high-water mark, and during the first two hours I gave over all hopes
of reaching the summit. So thick was the wood, that it was necessary
to have constant recourse to the compass; for every landmark, though in
a mountainous country, was completely shut out. In the deep ravines,
the death-like scene of desolation exceeded all description; outside it
was blowing a gale, but in these hollows, not even a breath of wind
stirred the leaves of the tallest trees. So gloomy, cold, and wet was
every part, that not even the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish.
In the valleys it was scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so
completely barricaded by great mouldering trunks, which had fallen down
in every direction. When passing over these natural bridges, one's
course was often arrested by sinking knee deep into the rotten wood; at
other times, when attempting to lean against a firm tree, one was
startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall at the
slightest touch. We at last found ourselves among the stunted trees,
and then soon reached the bare ridge, which conducted us to the summit.
Here was a view characteristic of Tierra del Fuego; irregular chains of
hills, mottled with patches of snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and
arms of the sea intersecting the land in many directions. The strong
wind was piercingly cold, and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we
did not stay long on the top of the mountain. Our descent was not
quite so laborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a
passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction.
I have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the evergreen
forests, [3] in which two or three species of trees grow, to the
exclusion of all others. Above the forest land, there are many dwarf
alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to
compose it: these plants are very remarkable from their close alliance
with the species growing on the mountains of Europe, though so many
thousand miles distant. The central part of Tierra del Fuego, where
the clay-slate formation occurs, is most favourable to the growth of
trees; on the outer coast the poorer granitic soil, and a situation
more exposed to the violent winds, do not allow of their attaining any
great size. Near Port Famine I have seen more large trees than
anywhere else: I measured a Winter's Bark which was four feet six
inches in girth, and several of the beech were as much as thirteen
feet. Captain King also mentions a beech which was seven feet in
diameter, seventeen feet above the roots.
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