It was now the beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheerless prospect; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly through a drizzling hazy atmosphere.

We were, however, lucky in getting two fine days.

On one of these, Mount Sarmiento, a distant mountain 6800 feet high, presented a very noble spectacle.

I was frequently surprised, in the scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty.

I suspect it is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely, that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is generally in full view.