DON LUIS PIEDRA BUENA

Don Luis Piedra Buena

Much has been written about Don Luis Piedra Buena and I think that for any reader of topics related to the southern seas or South Patagonia, his name is well known. In this chapter we are going to refer to him in relation to the Island of the States of which he owned

After a brief introduction we are going to transcribe part of his diaries and that of an employee of his, Mr. Gardiner, which will give us a true and real idea of ​​what he consisted of and how he carried out his commercial activity to be able to live, since he He did not receive a salary from the Government but had to earn a living in the harsh southern seas when no Argentine dared to do so. As they say, he was not a saloon sailor, like those whose biggest wave they have ever seen is that of the ice in his glass of whiskey.

The idea of ​​transcribing the newspapers is to be able to provide the information without dividing it or putting only the appropriate parts. Nor do we intend to give a version, as many have done, but that the reader can come to his own conclusion (we consider it with use of his mental faculties). As for the part of his shipwreck and construction of the cutter, with which he would later sail for a few years, we are going to include our survey of the island (carried out with a sailboat and walking the coast) and we will comment on the mistakes of many writers who gave samples to know the "island" only by third party comments.

Regarding the subject of the "Luisito" cutter and its plans, it is a subject that was studied by specialists in the design and construction of boats (Don Manuel Campos and Horacio Ezcurra) and then presented to various museums in the United States and Europe to give their opinion. They provided other data and the most important conclusion was that of the "New York" specialists (where Luis Piedra Buena studied and sailed) attached.

Some biographical data

Miguel Luis Piedra Buena was born in Carmen de Patagones on August 24, 1833; his parents were Miguel Jerónimo and Vicenta Sabina Rodriguez. Apparently his fondness for nautical activities must have been from a very young age given that at only 9 years of age he embarks as a cabin boy on a kite commanded by Mr. Lemon (1842). Although the final destination was New York, he disembarks in Buenos Aires due to the mistreatment that the captain gave to the crew.

With the help of a family friend, Captain James Harris, he finishes elementary school and continues to familiarize himself with sailing. Back in Carmen de Patagones he builds a small cutter with which he navigates the river. He again embarks as cabin boy on the "John E. Davinson" owned by Captain William Horton "Consul" Smiley.

From this moment, cabin boy Miguel Luis Piedra Buena began his career as a sailor. His specialty is going to be the hunter of sea lions and whales in the harsh southern sea. This leads him to navigate the Falkland Islands, the Fuegian archipelago and even the Antarctic Peninsula. It is in these seas that he is firing up and ascending in charge.

Thus, he becomes the protagonist of events such as the attempt to rescue the Anglican missionaries who ultimately died in the Spanish port (Aguirre Bay) and with a whaler from the ship rescues 14 shipwrecked on the island of the States.

Studies in the United States

Captain Smiley helps him to enter a nautical school in New York where he remains studying to become a pilot. Simultaneously with his studies on navigation, he learns carpentry, blacksmithing and sailing in the workshops that surround the school. The fast cutters that patrolled the coasts of the eastern United States were built on them. They were also used by contra bandistas and by the mail. They had the virtue of being the fastest sailing boats of the moment, being very seaworthy and maneuverable, not requiring a lot of crew to handle them.

During his stay in New York he embarks on a schooner (the "Merrimac") that under the command of Captain Smiley sails through the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the East coast of the United States. He returns to Buenos Aires 3 years later (1858) as first officer of the schooner brig "Nancy" which was owned by "consul" Smiley.

His activity as a "wolfhound"

In Buenos Aires, he took command of the schooner "Manuelita", also from his friend "consul" Smiley, and resumed his navigation through the southern seas in search of sea lions. The following year (1859) he continued his work on the Patagonian coast, the Falkland Islands, Isla de los Estados and Tierra del Fuego. On one of the occasions he goes up the Santa Cruz River and on Pavón Island, named after him, he places a pole with the Argentine flag.

Don Luis Piedra Buena, in command of a "Nancy" to which he placed 3 small cannons, continued sailing through the South Atlantic and, almost without intending to, became a natural defender of Argentine Sovereignty in those places. But in itself the motive was not to become "guardian of the coasts", or something similar, but to be able to develop his activity. By arming the schooner brig he did it to be able to defend himself from other "wolfmen" who combined their activities with the "raqueo" (looting) of shipwrecked ships and in many occasions the survivors, we could almost call them pirates. According to their own versions, these men were based in the Malvinas and in Punta Arenas.

Thus, by saving shipwrecked people, hunting sea lions, defending himself and throwing out other foreign "wolves", he was taking possession of the Austral Sea in the name of Argentina. Day by day and with acts such as building a booth on Pavón Island (1859), then another in Puerto Cook (Isla de los Estados 1862) for possible castaways and as a refuge for his men dedicated to hunting penguins and sea lions. In 1863 he left a message on Cape Horn Island that said: "Here ends the dominion of the Argentine Republic. On the Island of the States (Puerto Cook) the shipwrecked are helped. Captain Luis Piedra Buena. Nancy 1863. He says that he places an Argentine flag made of copper sheet and placed on an iron pole.

And the National Sovereignty

He is also related to the chief Casimiro Bigúa, with whom he befriends, and shows him how it was used by Chileans to fly the flag of that country in their tolderías and thus become an instrument of penetration into Argentine territory and set the precedent. of a de facto occupation. This they did in exchange for food and some degree in the army.

This is how after meeting President Bartolomé Miter, Casimiro Bigúa, who later became the chief of all the "Tehuelches", and in exchange for an appointment (lieutenant colonel, in 1864) and supplies for his people, he returned with Luis Piedra Buena to Saint Gregory. He does it with the title of "Chief General of San Gregorio" where the Argentine government planned to establish a colony and is organized to receive the wood and other elements to build the houses. The idea was to occupy the place with the chief's people and stop the Chilean advance. Unfortunately the materials never arrived, a bit due to the negligence of the National Government (change of the executive power) and shortly afterwards due to the war with Paraguay (1867).

As the one appointed by B. Miter Honorary Commander of the Navy does not receive any salary, he must take care of his activity and buy the brig "Carlitos" that, chartered to Montevideo, from the Malvinas Islands, sinks with the cargo he was transporting. This plus other economic setbacks such as the seizure of a copper cargo by an English warship, makes him look again for the "Nancy", now renamed "Espora" and dedicate himself fully to hunting sea lions. For operations he also uses the "Julia", a small boat of about 20 tons.

In August 1867 he hires G.H. Gardiner to explore, at his expense, the Santa Cruz River to its source (he sent the newspaper and the sketches to the National Government) and in 1868 practically founded a colony in "Las Salinas", south bank of the "Santa Cruz" river.

Isla de los Estados

As a good sailor, he knew that anyone could have the possibility of suffering an accident in those latitudes, when the cartography was very scarce and incomplete and they had to be guided by the sketches of their own surveys. That is why he was concerned not only with placing boxes and messages where he could turn, but also with leaving food that in many cases consisted of live goats. This is how on each trip to the Isla de los Estados he took some animals that currently populate it by the thousands.

He asks and gets, in October 1868, that the National Government grant him the Island of the States in property. Law 269 states: "Grant to the captain of the Navy, Mr. Luis Piedra Buena, the property of the so-called island of the State, located on Cape Horn, eastern extremity of Cape San Diego, and three leagues from EN on the Santa Cruz river, with four, or whatever there is in the background, being included in said three leagues Pavón Island, the small adjacent islands and the populated salt flats. " (The State buys it back from its heirs By law No. 8940 of March 19, 1912, 34 years later).

At this point in his life and his events, Don Luis Piedra Buena dedicates much of his time and money to the defense of sovereignty. His business trips are constantly mixed with salvage of shipwrecked and demands for acts of defense of sovereignty. The situation between the two countries reaches a point such that he is called to Buenos Aires to advise the parliament and then, in 1878, he appears in the naval ranks as lieutenant colonel of the Navy but with the salary of a sergeant major. He continued to actively deal with the Argentine Sea, training officers, developing expeditions and acting as an advisor to the National Government on issues about Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, until his death in 1883 (in 1882 he was the military chief of the Argentine Geographical Institute expedition who had Giacomo Bove as chief scientist and then went on to plan the expedition of the South Atlantic Expeditionary Division, but dies before it is done).

But going back to 1868, a period that he occupies us until 1873 where he loses the "Espora" on the Island of the States, Luis Piedra Buena decides to settle in Punta Arenas and opens a business of nautical articles and general branches. At that time the city had a sustained growth that continued until the opening of the Panama Canal (1915). In any case, he continues with his "wolf" activity and decides to set up a penguin oil factory on the Isla de los Estados. For that he takes several of his men and leaves them on the island. One of them is G. H. Gardiner, from whom we transcribe the diary that he kept during his stay.

Diary kept by G. H. Gardiner on the Isla de los Estados (Copy made by Cándido Eyroa)

This is a very important document since it is the only testimony that has come to us from a person who lived for so long on the Isla de los Estados; but if we take into account that he was in the middle of the 800, without means of communication, totally isolated and working on quite hard tasks. They did not receive supplies as in the case of the lighthouse and sub-prefecture personnel, and after they were exhausted they had to get them by their own means. Today we would say that they were surviving, but it is remarkable how they took it as only a contingency to be solved.

We do not know of another similar case, that is, of such a long and isolated stay. The people from the lighthouse stayed longer but the big difference was that they brought food to them, sometimes letters, newspapers, and although the pay was late. But no newspaper has reached us except that of the lighthouse, which we will deal with later. In the journal of G.H. Gardiner there are days that only provides the date and the wind that blew but other days he has very interesting material regarding work, food and the walks or excursions that they did; It is very likely that those short days were due to hard work, a strong depression or melancholy, or because the only thing that allowed the bad weather to do was stay huddled in a corner of the shelter.

Brief synthesis of the points that attract the most attention:

1) Name of the place: "in the bay named by the fishermen of the king birds" or in English "Penguin Rockery". In Giacomo Bove's expedition it was given the port name "Presidente Roca".

2) Constructions: (February 19, 1869) the first thing they did upon landing was "an awning with boards ..., so that later we would have time to build a house of material or wood ..." The next day: "Today we start to build the wooden house ...". On the 21st: "... We continue with the construction of the house ... No one is seen here, nor are there any Indians or any sign that they have come here." On the morning of the 22nd: "This morning the schooner set sail ...; we are still working on the house ...".

I think the place is very clear, how was the construction and for what use; I do not understand why certain "professors" write biographies of Don Luis Piedra Buena in this way: "... being accompanied by the explorer Gardiner. Once there, in the place called Basil Hall he builds a new shelter for castaways, leaving three of his sailors in order to attend to the shipwrecked and monitor the facilities ... ". Poor students. It is evident that in addition to not knowing the island, he also did not have the adequate material in his hands to study and then write. If he did it to exalt the figure of Don Luis Piedra Buena, it is a mistake, with what he did spare and also that it is a bad thing to say that he left three men working for him making penguin oil, or it is little honorific to say that he had to earn the life by their own means and not at the expense of the state ?. Unfortunately for this, there is a lot in many of the works on Luis Piedra Buena, we take this only as an example and not return to the subject.

Continuing with the constructions they had to make the barrels to bottle the oil, a boat to be able to have a means of communication to the other islands (New Year's islands) and work or walk element, roads to herd penguins and corrals to be able to kill them (day March 3rd); a well thought out company that can be carried out with only 4 people.

3) Description of the place: describes its sandy beaches, river, forest that surrounds it and distance to port "Kook" 8 miles. The isthmus with Vancouver and describes the nailed boards with the names of the fishing vessels that use the place. They also found signs of occupation such as a house and the place where they were making oil. It also describes New Years bay well

4) Food: comment on the otter hunting and how as they ran out of food they replaced some ingredients, this is how they supplied the coffee with "penguin broth with celery" and how they ate "penguins": "1st penguin soup with Wild celery, ID beef with same fat, ID roast ID ID, ID patties boiled but cold. The food is the same, with the difference of having wild celery salad. " To vary the diet, they removed the liver from the penguins "which we find very pleasant (power of hunger)". This is how they try to plant vegetables and the failure they achieved. They hunt pigeons, ducks and geese, realizing the abundance of marine mammals that existed in those years. They even make soap with "bird oil and ash" (July 21).

They were scheduled to leave on June 19, 1869, the date on which "Captain" Luis Piedra Buena was supposed to go looking for them, but something delayed him a bit: he did so on January 7, 1870, about 6 months later. They were on the island in isolation for almost 11 months.

In particular I am struck by how they were able to do their job and get out alive when many other explorers, like Allen Gardiner in Spanish port, died. Or even the fugitives from the prison who surrendered or died. Obviously it is the preparation that is counted on.

Occupation: they find remains of shelters in Puerto Cook and in Puerto Roca. Obviously they are from fishermen or sea lion hunters who used the island to make drinking water, firewood, hunt and perhaps even make some light repair.

Penguins: about these birds, he says that there are 4 kinds and that the smallest yield a gallon of oil between 7 to 10 birds. He gives a series of comments on how they are herded, killed, cooked with or without leather, quantities (20,000 for Pinguin Rockery) and then a series of observations such as the song, the "caciques", the upbringing,

Year 1869: On February nineteenth we disembarked from the schooner of the command and property of Commander Don Luis Piedra Buena in the bay named by the fishermen "of the king birds." These birds are amphibians because they are on the beach for two to three weeks, then disappear for a few months. With these birds the oil is made, which many times after being refined is sent to be sold to various parts of the world for sweet refined oil. Well, I was one of the four that the Captain left on the island to work the oil.

When we disembarked on land, the first thing we did was to build an awning of boards for our room, and then we would have time to build a house of material or wood in which the Island is very abundant.

Flag raising: At 2 am. In the afternoon, Captain Luis hoisted the Argentine flag in the name of the republic, simultaneously making the schooner the honors of 21 cannon shots. After concluding with the remonies of the flag, we all went for a walk in the mountains in search of strawberries, which at one time are very abundant in various parts of the Island. Beautiful day, gentle wind from the SW.

Day 20 Today we begin to make the wooden house that is 17 feet long by 12 feet wide. Today the birds as they come out of the water they go up high, having some already fat. The one-year-old birds are laying. Bad weather, strong SW wind.

Day 21 We continue with the construction of the "house" some nailing and others sawing wood and boards. No one can be seen here, nor are there any Indians or any sign that they have come here. Bad weather with fog and cold Vto. Sd.

Day 22 This morning the schooner set sail and as she had a nice favorable breeze she soon went out of sight, we are still working on the house, I believe that tomorrow we can begin to inhabit it. Bad weather, thick fog, SW Wind.

Day 23 Today we move to the house, whose roof is made of French tile. Despite being raining not a drop passes. Rainy and cold weather. South wind.

Day 24 Today we completely finished our house. We started chopping wood for the stove. The house is inside the mountain and sheltered by the trees. Good weather, sunny day with a fairly strong wind. Calm

Day 25 The job that we did new for me today was to make the helmets for the penguin oil.

-In the afternoon I went for a walk in the mountains and I saw many beautiful trees like -para palos de la Goleta. Among some that I saw fallen I measured one that was twenty feet in circumference - beautiful weather, calm South wind.

Day 26 Today we begin the construction of a boat to hunt ducks on the beach. Good weather, hot sun, light wind SW.

Day 27 We continue with the construction of the boat. The roque is full of birds and there are eggs in abundance. These birds lose many eggs because they never make a nest but instead lay three eggs on the same leg, giving each time they lay two to the male, the female staying with the last.

They take about 30 days to get the chickens out. Good weather, sunny, north wind.

Day 28 Today we finished the construction of the boat and after testing it in the stream that runs next to our house, we were very happy with it. We went up to the river with the boat and hunted three ducks. In the afternoon we went to look for the anchors that were on the beach. The river that we said runs next to the house has little water. Good weather regular wind from NW.

Month of March, 1869. Day 1 Today they have gone up to the beach and rockeries like four times more birds than there were before. We continue working on the helmets. Today we have the highest tide. Good time. East wind.

Day 2 Today I went out to hunt otters, which are very abundant in this Bay. These Animals are amphibians, they spend the night on land and during the day they go out to sea to hunt their food. When they are buried they go into caves that they have next to the streams.

With the help of my two dogs I hunted two of those animals.

I saw a boat pass by on Cape Ornos.

Weather- during the morning it was good, but in the afternoon it rained with a NW wind.

March 3 Today we made a Corral and a few Camínos to herd the children birds from the roque to the corral of the slaughter.

-These pajáros are herded the same as a flock of sheep and then with a stick 2 feet long and a little thicker than a stick, they are beaten to death by the beer. Good weather in the morning with SW wind, but it changed in the afternoon with a strong north wind.

Day 4 We continue composing the helmets. The birds are still laying. Time. Last night it rained blowing north wind but this morning rolling west, it was a good day. Generally when the day dawns with fog, a beautiful day comes out later.

Day 5 We continue composing helmets. Good weather with north wind.

Day 6 The birds begin to get skinny. We keep making helmets. Time, good. Wind from the No, -day with sun (there are many birds in the rokería.Day 7 Today we spent washing the clothes and making another corral. Weather, good soft north wind.

March 8 Today I went for a walk on the beach that is a mile long and is sandy. We hunt otters. Weather, good morning with a south wind-in the afternoon it rained quite a bit, drying the water at midnight.

Day 9 Today we begin to cut trees to make a shed to work the birds when they are fat which is once a year and if they do not have light with the work the birds are lost because they get skinny. Weather. Temporary NO. Very rough sea, moderate in the afternoon, regular day.

Day 10 We work on the helmets. Bad weather. Wind with rain from the South West- day without sun, little cold.

Day 11 We continue making helmets. This afternoon three quelpas ducks. They are very good to eat. In the Falkland Islands people do not eat them because they have many cows and sheep. Good weather, strong north wind.

Day 12 We continue working on the helmets. As I do not have a thermometer nor do I point the gs Of temperature. Good weather, strong north wind.

March 13 We continue with the helmets. Bad weather, rain and SE wind.

Day 14 We are composing the boat for a ride. How sad are these places when it rains. Here is one of the last points in the world, you don't see more people than the king birds, who really look like us because of the way they walk. They march in single file as if they were soldiers. Very bad weather strong SE wind and raining.

Day 15 As the weather is very bad there is no choice but to tell stories to pass the time. There is nothing else to do (a story follows).

Very bad weather, strong wind from the SE and raining, in the afternoon it snowed and at night a strong storm blew from the same point.

Day 16 We prepare the boat to go for a walk through the other port called Puerto Kook. Today the dog caught an otter. Today I have also collected snails and other curiosities that I found on the beach. Good weather, sunny day, light wind from No.

March 17th We are waiting for good weather to make the trip to Puerto Kook.

Weather. Bad, very strong wind and copious rain. The weather on this island is very variable because one day it is hot and another it rains and it is cold.

Day 18 Today the tide enters the stream. It is a very nice thing to see the king birds go in and out by the hundreds in the river, sometimes poking their heads and other times wandering. Very good time. Strong wind from the Ote. Today was as hot as in Santa Cruz.

Days 19-20-21-22-23- and 24 Today we leave for the Kook port, which is 8 miles from this Bay, we arrived at it in the afternoon. This port is the best there is on this Island. It makes a peninsula with the other port that is on the other side of the Island called Vancouver Port. It is an excellent place for fishing vessels because they have the facility to drag their boats from one side of the island to the other, whose distance is 600 yards measured. Here you can see many boards nailed to the trees with the names of the fishing vessels that have visited this place, making water and firewood to go to work with the sea lions and elephant seals. We hunted otters and the walk was very nice, we collected a lot of strawberries.

This port is excellent for repairing ships. The seafarers are more afraid of these ports than the risks they encounter.

Weather. During the days recorded we have had good weather, the almost constant wind we had was No.

Be careful- we found a fairly old house that belonged to ancient fishermen and several signs of having been making oil.

Day 25 Today we left Kook port to go to the bay, after skirting with a head wind all day we entered New Year's port, which is about 5 miles away from Kook port. Here we find part of one of those ancient anchors that had the argany the size of the head of a pipe and we also find part of two stone houses in the mountains. In this port there are many mussels, limpets.

Between this port and Kook port there are two rookery of one-haired wolves, one is in a very large cave and the other at the entrance of Kook port.

March Day 26 We left New Year's port for our bay, where we arrived in the afternoon making the trip to Senia. On the way we sighted a boat that was passing through the Strait of "La Maire" to the South. The ships pass far away fearing (? ... page 12). Good time. NOT light wind.

Day 27 We start the day fixing helmets. In the afternoon I went for a walk in the mountains and I found a kind of mineral that I could take home and also a black powder like that with which they polish stoves.

Days 28, 29, 30 and 31 Because the weather is very bad we have not been able to do anything these days. We have observed the rockery full of birds but skinny, the chicks are growing and getting fat. The pigeons do not go to the water until they are nine months old, in all that time the large ones go fishing in the morning to the sea and in the afternoon they return full of fish and then they wander around the beach until they find the son and when he They find they open their mouths and the pigeon picks up the food from there.

Weather. On the indicated days we had strong wind from the SW and raining all the time.

Month of April 1869 Day 1 We made a vat for the press. Bad weather, rain and wind from the South.

Day 2 We spent the day working wood for the press. Bad and rainy weather. the wind to Nor.

Day 3 I went for a walk in the West Bay. You can walk very well on the beach. In this bay there is a fairly large lagoon - it seems that it communicates with the other side of the island, a large stream flows out of it. It is near the beach and around it there are some very beautiful and gigantic trees.

Someday, God willing, I will examine this place more carefully.

Day 4 I came back from my otter hunt. These otters are from the sea whose leather is paid up to a pound sterling.

Day 5- 6,7,8,9,10 and 11 In all these days the bad weather did not allow us to leave the house. We have spent time making drawers and reading a book of poetry that they gave me in Bs. Ayres. Time. We have suffered a lot of rains and variable winds.

Day 12 Today with the change of the Moon the weather has improved. We went to hunt otters on the beach. Regular time. West wind.

Day 13 We spent the day fixing the paths for the birds and cutting wood for the stove. Good time. West Wind.

Day 14 We spent the day making helmets.

Regular weather - in the afternoon it broke down - rotating the wind to NE.

Day 15 We continue with the work of the helmets. Rainy weather. NW wind.

Days 16 Today we fix and install the press. This is used after the fat is fried to remove the rest of the oil that remains in the pork rinds, which were then put on the fire instead of wood or charcoal.

Day 17 April We spent the day working on the helmets. Good weather, mild north wind, in the afternoon the east wind was blown away, which brought a lot of swell in the Bay.

Day 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 These days we have been preparing to kill the young birds. Older birds are skinny and not worth killing. The chicks as they are fat always give some gallons of oil.

This week I have found a lot of mineral on the beach. I have also found clay of two colors: red, yellow and white. Regular time. Winds from the NW.

Day 26 Here on this Island there are several species of birds. There are three different kinds of children birds, the most beautiful and largest being the King bird. There are three or four kinds of sea gulls, white sea pigeons, sea and land bustards. There are many kinds of ducks. There are also cinemas chimangos, caranchos, parrots, ruyseñores, vandurrias, hawks, and about twelve species of mountain birds and others that I don't know what they are called.

April 26th On the coasts of this Island there are many sea lions or seals with one hair, elephants or wolves with two hairs. There are also many otters whose hide is worth a lot of money. There are very large and numerous mice. Flies also abound here. The fish is not found in all ports due to its great depth (50 fathoms above) but in a bay on the western part of the island it can be taken with a net.

Day 27 Today we started to kill the rookery pigeons outside. These are two, one outside and one inside on a hill. Good time. South wind, soft at night, strong blow from the SW.

Day 28 We continue with the slaughter of pigeons. Good time. SE wind.

Day 29 We continue with the same work. Rainy time. North wind.

Day 30 We use to fry the fat. Good time. Hot sun in the morning light wind from the SE and in the afternoon strong blow from the S.

May 1, 1869 We continue with the same work. Good time. Wind EN, -we saw a ship sailing north.

Day 2 We continue with the same work. Three pigeons give us on average a gallon of oil. Work goes very slowly because you love being short the 50 gallon pot we have is small to walk lightly.

Day 3 Today we finished frying the fat. We sighted a ship that was going through Cape Horn. Good time. (The trees are with flowers).

Day 4 Bad weather, rain most of the day. North wind. It got dark looking like me.

Day 5 Today we kill 250 pigeons from the mountain rookery. To transport them we have to load them in bags.

Regular time. Fresh north wind. In the afternoon it was snowing.

Day 6 Bad weather. Fresh wind from the North West. During the night and the day it was snowing today like three inches of snow on the ground, it is cold.

On this very day I hunted a large otter. This bay is full of mineral

Day 7 Transporting the hides from the mountain rookery. Bad weather. SW wind. During the night and the day it was snowing.

Day 8 Removing the fat from the leathers. The trees are already green. Regular time. South wind. Still snowing. It is very cold.

Day 9 We transport the rest of the leathers from the rokería, we remove the fat and we have chopped it to put it in the bin. Good time. North wind, hot sun. Last night snow there is a foot of snow on the ground.

Day 10 On this day I found a lot of slate in the Bay, with a mineral. Good weather, NW wind, last night it was hot and rainy, which made the snow disappear.

Day 11 Chopping and frying fat. Today to take advantage of the good morning. Good weather, it snowed a bit. Nightfall with poor eyesight. Here the weather is very variable.

Day 12 Good weather with sunshine. East wind. the snow totally disappeared.

Day 13 We spent the day frying fat, we already have three oil hulls. Good weather with sunshine.

Day 14 We finish melting the fat. I hunted an otter and a very large red mouse. Bad weather. West wind, snowing.

Day 16 We started making a pen for the big birds and changing. the press, good time. North wind.

Day 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 These days the weather was so bad that it did not let us do anything, all the time it was falling hail and snowing, it is horrible cold but the pajros seem that they do not feel it, it is pleasant see them very brown on the beach. I hunted an otter that had a hole in its tail, it seems they are always on the move.

Weather. On the last day, it blew very hard from No, it dried the land a lot, at night it was snowing.

Day 22 We spent the day building a ranch. Regular time. Snowy day. Wind fte. of NO.

Day 23 I found a fish similar to snook on the beach, I caught three pigeons, embalmed a king bird of the old men that I had in the corral-I had 30 days without eating. One like these has Captain Piedra Buena.

Bad weather. Fresh west wind, it snowed a lot last night.

Day 24 Regular time. SW wind. I snow all day.

Day 25 Today I brought a quantity of ore from the western part of the Bay. It is found in horizontal betas from East to West. Regular time. East wind. snowing all day.

Day 26 Better time. SE wind. the land with snow, it is cold.

Day 27 Good time. Ote wind. It started to rain in the afternoon.

Day 28 Very bad weather. Strong wind S. raining and snowing.

Day 29 I found in the mountains the remains of a house built with sticks and I also found the head of a bovine animal. Very bad weather. Strong wind from the South. Last night a storm blew, all day it rained.

Day 30 Good weather in the morning and bad in the afternoon. Wind f. del Sud. O. it rained in the fall

Day 31 Cloudy weather. SW wind. The birds are starting to get skinny.

June 1st 1869 Very good weather. Looking South West, it rained at night.

Day 2 This day I found more mineral. Very good weather, west wind, changed in the afternoon in Vto. Sud. Strong.

Day 3 Today I went for a walk to the other bay, it is a nice walk. I hunted an otter. Regular weather, strong wind

Day 4 You can tell that the birds get fat. Bad weather. Wind SE rain.

Day 5 We hunt two otters in the other bay where there are many, but they are very rough. Bad weather. South Wind.

Day 6 We killed some birds to see if they had a lot of fat, as it is now fattening time. Rainy weather, wind Oe.

Day 7 Good weather. Cool West wind.

Day 8 Today I have seen many green lovitos. They are the same size and similar to those of Patagonia. Good time. NW wind. The winter here is more benign than in the Strait of Magellan.

Day 9 With the help of the dogs I hunted an otter. I saw more parrots in the bush. Good time. East wind. Sud followed in the afternoon.

Day 10 Good weather. Wind NO.

Day 11, 12, 13, 14 We hunted an otter. During these four days we have had bad weather. NW storm wind. With this wind the tides rise a lot. They feel very cold.

Day 15 Today, taking advantage of the good weather, we began to bring stones to make a fire and in the afternoon I went for a walk and gathered many curiosities. I found in one part of the beach a 50-ship-long stretch of ore. The birds keep getting fat. Good time. East wind.

Day 16 Today we work on carving sticks to build the shed. Good time in the morning with Vto. North rolling SW in the afternoon.

Day 17 Good weather, Ote wind. It snowed at night (in the afternoon it blew hard from the NW.

Day 18 Bad weather. Cold wind. NOT. Water and hail.

Day 19 Today is the day that Captain Piedra Buena should arrive with the Schooner.

Day 20, 21 and 22 In these three days we killed two hundred birds to test if they were fat (It is not yet time to fish). Good time. the wind remained variable.

Day 23 Today we killed a two-haired wolf that had gone to sleep on the beach. Good weather, sunny. North wind.

Day 24 Today we sighted a ship that was sailing through Cape Horn. Good time. Northeast wind.

Day 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 Weather these days we have had very bad weather, with a SW wind. It has snowed but the snow does not stop much on the earth. It was very cold. foggy weather. On the last day we sighted a ship that was sailing around Cape Horn - we worked another hundred gallons of oil.

July 1869 Day 1 Today I went for a walk in the other bay. I went to visit it at night, making the trip inside the mountain, which is very dense. Overcast weather. Ote wind.

Day 2 I occupied myself in making a little ranch out of sticks and small boards of lost ships, of which there are many on the beach of this Bay. Cloudy and bad weather. A very strong storm blown from N.

Day 3 At dawn I saw from my ranch a Bergantin that, running aft, the storm was coming towards this bay. Knowing that I was coming to crash against the coast, I set fire with my only shirt but the more smoke and fire I made, the more sails the brig hoisted. At last when he distinguished the coast, he changed course. Foggy weather. Follow the storm of yesterday.

Day 5 Today I killed a two-haired wolf and returned to hunt with the leather as I was already tired from the walk. Good time. Note wind.

Days 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 -25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31.

From 6 to 13 This month is the worst in these regions. The cold, the snow, the water and the winds have us cornered in our house without being able to go outside. The trees do not change. they are always green and the strawberry bushes here are always in bloom. Some fall out and others come out.

Weather these days we have regularly moderate weather from the West.

Day 14 - South wind bad weather

"15 - id id id of SE

"16 - Snowy id of the Ote.

"17 - Good tiento, go to the NO

"18 and 19 Id Id id" NO

"29 id id id" NO

"21 - Calm id" Ngo.

"22 - good weather go" I went to the other bay I killed a wolf and I ate it

"23 - id id Variable

"24 - Bad weather raining and snowing Vto. Sud.

"25

"26

"27

"28 Same as 24

"29

"30

"31

August 1869 Day 1 Today I saw many doves of evil are white, with the beak of the Parrot. Good time. Breeze from NO.

Day 2 Day with sun and wind from No. The river is totally elevated, we crossed over it without fear.

Day 3 Today we killed 700 chicks to see if it was worth starting the slaughter but we found that they are still skinny. The big ones begin to get fat because they no longer have to feed the pigeons. Good time. Wind from the Nte.

Day 4 Today I found many dead child birds on the beach and this undoubtedly comes from some bad fish that has to walk in the port.

Bad and cold weather. Strong wind from S.

Day 5 Bad weather. Strong wind from the Note.

Day 6 Good weather with sunny NW wind.

Day 7 We sighted a ship sailing south. Good weather, strong north wind.

Day 8 In the absence of other food, we eat penguines ’Good weather and a warm breeze from the NW.

Day 9 Good weather, strong sun, wind from N.

Day 10 Today we had a feast with four ducks that we killed with arrows. Bad weather raining. Strong wind from the EN.

Day 11 We hunt two ducks and a chimpanzee. Good sunny weather. NW wind. In the afternoon I change and the Ote blows loudly.

Day 12 We made a flagpole. We make it from laurel whose plant is very abundant on this Island. They are large and straight. Good time. sunny day. wind from the west.

Day 13 Bad weather, in the morning rain and strong SW wind, which together with the water calmed down in the afternoon.

Day 14 We replaced the coffee with penguin broth with celery, worse is nothing. Bad weather, snowing. Strong wind from the SW.

Day 15 Today I hunted a kelpa duck, we had a festive meal. Bad weather, snow all day. SW wind.

Day 16 Bad weather, it rained all day. They say that it rained on this island at one time for three months, I don't think so.

Month of August Day 17 Good weather. Gentle wind from the West.

Day 18 Good weather, NO Wind. Here the Moon seems to have no influence on time.

Day 19 Today six months ago the schooner left us and it does not appear. Thank you that we are already used to this island, an excellent place for prisoners. Good time. Loose wind from the South East.

Day 20 Good weather. Strong sun. NW wind.

Day 21 As we have concluded the javon we have the need to make it with bird oil and ash, which makes a magnificent preparation for labar. Good weather in the morning, in the afternoon it snowed and blow NO.

Day 22 Today I found a petrification on the beach that I gave to "Dr. Cleve" to keep. Good time by m. Wind f from the SW, in the afternoon it rolled to the NW. nevo at night.

Day 23 Good weather in the m. Wind f from the SW, in the afternoon it rolled to the NW. At night I snow.

Day 24 I went for a walk through the mountains and climbed the high mountain range that is in it. With a hand ax I made many crosses with the trees and I put my name on the highest tree next to the hill.

From Day 25 to 31 -August Day 25- Strong SW wind.

"26- Today it was cold, rainy. East wind.

"27- Beautiful day. Veinto suave del Ote.

"28 - It was hot today. Loose wind from the Ote.

"29 -" "" ""

"30 - It rained during the day it changed time Vto. Sud

"31 - Bad weather. Strong wind from the Ote.

Month of September 1869. Day 1 The time to work the birds is approaching, in this month they get very fat. In the two Rokerias there are like 20,000 birds.

The customs of the bird children of this Island are very original. When they got out of the water they lined up on the beach the same as soldiers and it seems that among them there are officers and chiefs because there are some birds that suddenly standing in front of their respective row raises their heads and begins to give orders by means of a special song, at this order all the others remain unemployed.

The funny thing is to see when he will sing. He stretches his neck up first and then when he finishes his song, he lowers his head until he touches the ground, staying like that for a while and then when he raises his head they all break forward and very well aligned.

Seeing them march it seems that one is wind maneuvering a battalion. On this island there are four kinds of penguines. The smallest are the size of a duck and give from 7 to 10 a gallon of oil. Good time.

Day 2 I am digging the earth to plant it. Regular weather, it's very cold. Vto. F. NO.

Day 3 I'm at the same job as yesterday. It is a bit hard to work this land because of the amount of logs it has, but it seems that it is good. there we will see. Regular time. Fresh wind from the West.

Day 4 Good weather. Cool NW wind

Day 5 Today we went for a walk in the O (1) in search of more mineral, because there is so much that one does not know which one to raise. There are ravines that have one-foot wide betas, and when you are breaking it, it gives off a strong smell of sulfur. There is so much that some ships could be loaded. You can not miss the place because the Bay is on point where there are three (2) and there are always king birds on the beach. It is the first Bay of a point called B.H. (3) indicated on the Fitz Roy map. This mineral is found everywhere on the island, but not in such large quantities. Good time. Wind NO.

Day 6 Good weather. Cloudy day. Loose twentieth NE.

Day 7 Today we move the corral to another part. Few birds are seen on the beach. Good time. Sun. Fresh wind from the S. calmed down.

Day 8 Good weather, sunshine. Loose wind from the NW.

Day 9 Today I have to be the cook because the waiter who was doing this has gotten sick, being the first one to get sick since we are on the island. Good weather. East wind.

Day 10 Time. A storm blew from the NW, foggy day, the storm calmed down late.

Day 11 Today I ate a roasted mouse, it has good taste, like rabbit.

Good cool western weather.

Day 12 to 14 In these three days we are busy doing something, cutting roads through the mountains. Good time. North wind.

Day 15 Some of the birds are already shedding their feathers, it is time to work them. Weather. Today I snow a little but it was a good day.

September 16 Today many birds went up to the beach. Tomorrow I think we will start working on them. Good time. West wind.

Day 17 Today we began to kill the birds because they were already fat. Before sunrise we were already on the beach armed with our clubs and herding the birds as if they were sheep toward the farmyard eight blocks away. In this work one has to go very slowly and follow the calm step of the unfortunate penguin who marches for the ram.

Now they are fat and their gait is very calm, they each have 10 to 11 pounds of fat and it is very good to eat.

Once they arrive at the corral, they kill each other with clubs over the head and you have to hit hard because they are hard to die, taking care not to kill them completely because afterwards they become very hard and are expensive to handle and remove the hide.

Today we kill 400. After removing the leather, we have to take them outside and put them in piles of a (blured) so that they do not spoil and then the bodies without skin and fat are thrown away. It is hard work but it pays a lot of money. Now is the time when old birds shed their feathers.

September 18 Today we kill 234 birds, all fat. The container we have to work with is 50 gallons and is little more or less adequate for the work of 4 men. But when the workers reach 10, then a 200-gallon can is necessary. With the pork rinds of the fat, the fire of the pan is fed, which is not convenient to let it cool. Good time, by m. Strong wind from the South, by t. temporary murmur from the same place.

Day 19 Today we kill 131 birds. Good weather, with heat. Loose wind from the NW.

Day 20 Today we kill 276 birds. Regular time - by m. Strong NW wind - by t. strong wind from the North.

Day 21 Today we kill 175 birds. Hot weather- by m. Strong NW wind in the afternoon calmed down completely.

Day 22 Today we kill 170 birds. Good weather Loose wind from NW.

Day 23 Bad weather - by m. Strong NW wind. in the afternoon, the breath of the South. -It was cold.

Day 24 Today we kill 450 fat birds. good time. Fresh north wind.

Day 25 Today we kill 414 birds, we have to swing the knife! Bad weather. South Wind - Rainy all day.

Day 26 Today we kill 240 birds. When working with large pans, the work becomes easier and more productive since the fat is fried with the skin and everything. Good time. Loose wind from the North.

Day 27 Today we kill 285 birds. Good weather, sunny. Wind down the m. SW was changed in the afternoon and strong blowing of NO.

Day 28 Today we kill 285 birds. Good weather, sunny. Wind down the m. SW. It changed in the afternoon and strong blowing of the NO.

Day 29 Today I plant seedlings of navo, lettuce, sanahoria, sebol, the land is very sandy. bad weather. By m. Loose wind from the Ote. in the afternoon blowing with storm of the SO.

Day 30 We continue working on the oil. Bad weather, by m. cool breeze from the SW and in the afternoon.

October 1869 Day 1 We spent the day composing the helmets. Bad weather, snowing and blowing hard from the SW.

Day 2 Bad weather, still like yesterday.

Day 3 We continue working on the manufacture of oil. Good time. Light wind from the SW.

Day 4 Today we kill 630 birds and we get 300 hides from them. Bad and cold weather with light wind from the SE.

Day 5 We continue working with the birds. The little birds have eaten most of my seed. There are insects. Very bad weather. Cold. Raining and blowing hard.

Day 6 Today I had to enter as a cook and the food that I put in was as follows. Lunch like every day. 1st penguin soup with wild celery. Id steak. with fat from it. Roast id. id. id. id. Id. Legs boiled but cold.

The food is the same, with the difference of having wild celery salad. Very bad weather raining and blowing from the SW.

Day 7 Today we kill 100 penguines in order to remove the livers to eat, which we find very pleasant (power of hunger). Good weather, it rained a little. SW wind.

Day 8 Today we have finished filling 11 helmets with oil. Observation: The first time these birds molt they come out the same but a little more yellow, and the third time they come out a little more yellow - but alive - with what they stay forever. In this same month they begin to shed the feathers, some of the pigeons.

Good and hot weather. Fresh wind from the Ote ,. the one that calmed down in the afternoon.

Day 9 Bad weather, it has snowed. Light wind from the South. Very low marks.

Day 10 Bad weather, it has snowed. Light wind from the South. Very low marks.

Day 11 We have not yet touched the rookery inside that has about 4,000 large birds and about 1,500 chicks. these are better to eat than the big ones. Good time. Loose wind from the South West.

Day 12 We work some oil hulls. Bad weather, rainy day. South wind.

Day 13 The birds still go up in groups of 120 to 50. As soon as they come out of the sea we corner him and those who are lazy and do not want to walk we kill them with clubs on the head and we remove the leather that we put into the bag.

Overcast weather. it rained a little. South Wind.

Day 14 Today I made two big fires on the east side. Time, it changed the wind now blows from the NW.

Day 15 The only thing we have left of supplies is tobacco. On a small island we have 2 pigs and 4 goats but it is 20 miles away, whose journey we leave for when we finish the work of the birds. Good rainy weather in the day. I saw a ship down the S. d

Day 16 The birds in the indoor rookery have shed their feathers. Bad weather, Neglina and water. SW wind.

Day 17 It seems that we are not going to kill more fat birds until the one year old does not change their feathers. There are a lot of ducks here but they are very rough. I thought I saw a fire today in the Ote part of the Island. Fresh NW wind. We sighted a ship that was going through Cape Horn.

Day 18 We kill two sea bustards. These birds are laying and laying up to 8 eggs, but as a rule they do not lay more than 6. They are not entirely pleasant to eat. Regular, cloudy weather. Loose wind from the NW. In the afternoon I clear up and a strong blow from the O.SO.

Day 19 Today we have been on the Island for 8 months. Good weather, weak wind from the North.

Day 20 Bad weather raining with SW Wind.

Day 21 Regular time. Strong wind from the SW.

Day 22 The seed that I planted goes very bad because there are many insects that eat the plants as soon as they leave the ground. Good time. strong wind from the SW. is hot.

Day 23 We are still working on the oil. Good time. Loose wind from the South.

Day 24 Today we finish the manufacture of oil. We already have 18 helmets. The oil is very clear. The birds are already skinny. Very bad weather, fog and NW wind.

Day 25 Today I went for a walk across the other bay. I found a piece of wax on the beach. Good time. Fresh wind from the West.

Day 26, October 27 Today I made a big fire on top of a hill. Very good time. Gentle wind from the North. I sighted a ship that was sailing to Cape Horn.

Day 28 Today we begin to give more sleeve to our boat, it is too small to take walks around the other parts of the Island. Cloudy weather for the m. in the afternoon good weather and NE wind.

Day 29 My white dog is very good at hunting. Good time. Strong NW wind.

Day 30 Today we went to a small island in the bay. She has a good beach but she's a girl. In it we found a few eggs. Good time. EN wind.

Day 31 Today I went in the boat to the other bay for the purpose of examining the lagoon.

Good time. Loose wind from the North.

November 1869. Day 1. Today we went with the boat through the stream to the lagoon. This stream is very narrow - as for a boat, it is shallow. We entered easily and went rowing to the end of the lagoon.

We embarked the boat on a small beach and climbed a 30-foot-high hill, from where we observed that at about 80 yards another lagoon began that to our view did not seem to reach the other side of the island.

Zonde the lagoon outside, finding less water in the northern part, this being 1 ½ fathoms. In the center zone 6 and decreases until it is 3 fathoms on the sides. In parts there are beaches and in others it is a cut canyon.

The lagoon is freshwater and in it we saw few birds.

Day 2 Good weather. EN wind.

Day 3 We are short of another delicacy eating otters and two-haired wolves.

Good time. North wind.

Day 4 Today we return to the house. It is very dangerous to go in boats to other parts of the Island because of the currents that are here. Good weather, sun and little wind from the NW.

Day 5 Good weather. Fresh north wind.

Day 6 Seed does not come out of the ground - perhaps it will be for a long time huano.

Good time by m. and vto. NE and in the afternoon strong Ote.

November 7. Today the other three companions tried to go in the boat to the island to bring the pigs and goats. They had to return due to bad weather. Wind.

Good weather, NW wind.

Day 8 Good weather. Strong NW wind.

Day 9 Today we went to a port called Basil Hall. In this port there is a lot of seafood.

Regular time, by m. light wind from NO. and in the afternoon it rained a little.

Day 10 Regular weather, rain all day, Light NW wind.

Day 11 We killed two kelpa ducks, which we ate. Good time. Strong NW wind.

Day 12 We kill more ducks. Good time. Strong wind from the South, in the afternoon rain.

Day 13 Today we leave for the Bay with a mild SW wind and we have arrived late at night.

Day 14 Today the companions went to the island to look for the pigs and goats.

Good time. Gentle wind from the SE.

Day 15 I am at home alone and sad, I spend my time cutting firewood and making cages for little birds that I catch with a trap.

Good time. Loose wind from the North, it's cold.

Day 16 Good weather. Strong wind from the S East. in the afternoon it rained.

Day 17 Today I saw a ship that was sailing towards N. Good weather. Strong NW wind.

Day 18 I entertain myself in conditioning child bird leathers. Rainy weather, it rained all day.

Day 19 Today it has been nine 9 months since we landed on this Island. Good weather, NW Wind.

Day 20 The birds begin to lay today. Thank God we have something else to eat. Good weather. Loose NE wind.

Day 21 Very bad weather. Strong NE wind. it rained all day. Day 22. Very bad weather. Wind fte. from Nte. it rained all day.

Day 23 and 24 In some arvoles there is a very yellow fruit that is big but has no taste.

The Indians of the land of the fire eat it. The weather was still bad, the wind always strong.

November 25 Today, the expeditionaries from La Islita return bringing three goats almost starving. The pigs and another goat had died. The island where they were left is very small and has little grass.

Good time. Regular SW wind.

Day 26 Good weather, light wind from the NW.

Day 27 Bad weather, fresh NW wind.

Day 28 Good weather. Fresh wind from the Nte.

Day 29 Bad weather, it rained all day and at night by m. NE wind. in the afternoon strong breeze from the SE.

Day 30 Good weather. Loose wind from the SE. In the night it rained.

Month of December 1869 Day 1 Regular time. It's cold. It rains a little. Wind Nte.

Day 2 Good weather, strong NE wind. it rained in the afternoon.

Day 3 Good weather, it rained a bit in the afternoon. Fresh wind from the South. We sighted a ship sailing to the South.

Day 4 Good weather. Strong NW wind.

Day 5 Cloudy weather. Strong wind from the NOE. rain

Day 6 Good weather. Strong NW wind. We sighted a ship that was snowing in the South.

Day 7 Good weather. Strong wind from the SW.

Day 8 Very good weather. Strong NW wind. In the afternoon it was variable and smooth.

Day 9 One year old birds are getting fat. In a few days we will be able to start killing.

Hot weather. Gentle wind from the NW.

Day 10 Time. It is almost unbelievable how hot it is here when there is no wind. Today was very hot.

Day 11 Today, on the occasion of being a birthday, we went for a walk in the mountains and to gather strawberries that some bushes produce, they are the same as an apple but the size of a cherry. This kind of fruit is very abundant here in January.

Good time. Gentle wind from the South.

Day 12 Bad weather. Loose wind East and raining.

Day 13 Good weather. Loose wind from the NE.

Day 14 Good weather. Fresh north wind.

Day 15 Rainy weather. Fresh wind from the South West. In the afternoon it calmed down but it continues to rain.

Day 16 Bad and rainy weather. Fresh SE wind.

Day 17 Many one-year-old birds are now seen in the rock houses.

Good time. Variable 3rd quadrant and 4th quadrant wind.

Day 18 Regular time. In the morning a strong wind blew from the NW and in the afternoon it rained and blew from the South.

Day 19 Today it has been ten months since we landed on this Island.

Hot weather. Very strong NW wind.

Day 20 Today we begin to kill one year old birds, we kill 170.

good time. Strong SE wind.

Month of December. Day 21. I already have radishes lettuce and beets on my farm, very nice but small. The land in this Bay seems to have a lot of huano and I think that is why the other seeds do not produce.

Cloudy weather, light wind from the SE.

Day 22 Today we kill 130 birds, but the food we are eating does not make us want to work. Regular time.

Bad weather, it rained all day, Strong north wind. We sighted a ship sailing through Cape Horn.

Day 29 Today we start frying the fat. Rainy weather, loose and variable wind.

Day 30 We continue making oil.

Good morning weather with NW wind. In the afternoon it rained.

Day 31 Last day of the year, in what place!

Good weather, gentle east wind and variable.

January 1870 Day 1 First day of the month and also of the year. Thank God we are in good health, which is the main thing.

Good time. Loose wind from the NW.

Day 2 Today we just killed the birds. We already have 30 oil helmets.

The trees are with flowers. Good time. Loose wind from the South.

Day 3 Good weather. Gentle wind from the SW. Rain a little.

Day 4 Bad weather, foggy day and water. Strong NW wind. It was cold.

Day 5 Bad weather by m. Ote wind. and in the afternoon it rolled to the SW blowing hard. At night a storm blows from the same place.

Day 6 Bad weather rain all day, gentle SW wind.

Day 7 How happy we have been today to see the schooner of our Captain Luis Piedra Buena. In the afternoon he bottomed out in the Bay, and we have had no more time than to embark on his board. I packed my luggage with what little I had, leaving the flag hoisted.

Since I embarked on the schooner I had no time to keep this diary any more. Until the month of February we hunted two-haired wolves on the island and at the end of the same we entered the Santa Cruz Port with Captain Piedra Buena staying until April of the year -70- that he left said port and came to Buenos Aires. Ayres.

June 1870.

G.E. Gardiner

It is exactly matched from the original.

It was copied by Candido Eyroa.

Luis Piedra Buena and the hunting of sea lions in Isla de los Estados.

After leaving the castaways of the brig "Doctor Hansen" in Punta Arenas, he assembles a crew to go find his men on the "Island". He had left them to work making oil from sea lion fat and salting hides. He actually stayed working with them until March 9, when they returned because his men did not want to continue working harvesting "birds" (penguins).

With this story we can understand that he knew his "island" in depth. I think there is no person who has known her so deeply and can boast of walking through whatever cove or bay is in the dangerous part (the south) or in the most accepted as safe: the north. The truth is that it was a source of income and we could compare it as if it were an industrial establishment.

Already in the first part we see how the human part was always present at the expense of his pocket and, a little, that of his creditors. It is for this reason that he loses the Punta Arenas trade.

January 3, 1875.- Today at 1 a.m. In the afternoon we left with a moderate SW wind in search of my crew, with 5 men. Two boys and three French, these useless to work as sailors, the two boys knew how to steer the boat, but the French were completely men of the land and did not know more than to be dizzy, eat and sleep. Having made so many expenses of new provisions, advances, bonds, for said men, it was very painful and it costs me very dear this service to humanity, having had to leave all my jobs abandoned, taking bread from my dear children and wife and without being able to fulfill the commitments that I have with my creditors, be it all for God.

4.- We made water and firewood. N wind almost calm. In the afternoon the wind came to the west, we set sail and we bottomed out on Isla Isabel.

5.- At 5 o'clock. In the morning we set sail with wind O and at 10 o'clock. It came SO strong that we had to drift to a dry stick and bottom out at San Gregorio 12M. At 8 a.m. 30 m. a steam of the Pacific race passed.

6.- We set sail with a fresh O wind and we bottomed out at the Espora anchorage.

7.- We left with a moderate SW wind and at 9 o'clock. p. m. we were in front of Cabo Espíritu Santo. Wind moderate SW.

8.- We bottomed out on the outside of Bahía San Sebastián, with a SW wind, at 6am. in the morning, and at 10am. we set sail with wind OSO mod. and clear weather.

9.- At 6 o'clock. We headed ESE from Cabo Penas and at 8 o'clock in the afternoon we were 15 miles WNW from the Punta de Piedras Grandes. At 10 o'clock, the tip was SW by S (SO ¼ S), so I got to the layer because the barometer was so low and at last it did not blow. At 1h. to. m. From the 10th I continued heading with moderate O wind and at 10 o'clock. On the same day we were in front of the False Bay, but the sea was so rough that it was not possible for me to enter and also the weather was looking very bad. The barometer at 73: at 6 o'clock. In the afternoon the wind moderate and cleared. We headed NE for Isla del Estado, the sun came in with a very good appearance of good weather and the barometer did not rise, so we had a nice night.

Isla de los Estados.-

10.- In the morning it was calm, until 10 am. in which the wind came to the SO mod. and at 12 m. He got to the S, blowing a temporary medium. There were two boats and two frigates in sight, all with ruffled topsails. I walked into Poat Hopner and we made sure of a good spot. The weather was still strong.

11.- We left Port Hopner with an S wind and at 2 in the afternoon we hit Crossley Bay. Immediately I went ashore to see if I could find any of my people. We started a fire in front of the factory, but they didn't answer.

12.- At 6am. In the morning we left for ... (?) ... Bay and at 12 o'clock. we gave fund. We made firewood and water. At 8 a.m. In the afternoon we set sail for Bahía de las Nutrias and bottomed out at 9 am. 45m. (It may be Franklin Bay given the 6 hours of navigation. This bay is very exposed to the winds from the south west but it has great beaches, a deep river and several inlets around it. As we already mentioned in this place we find many wrecks. and in the river that flows into Lacroix cove, a boat of about 8 meters in length, apparently of fishermen, with ax worked wood. April 1997, "Callas" sailing expedition, Captain Jorge Luis Trabuchi).

13.- We went ashore, found the boat and began to compose and paint it, at the same time we made oars because the ones I had had taken them to me. Wind SW cool, clear weather. Barometer 75.60.

14.- Clear weather dawned and at ten it got cloudy. We did three oars and brought the boat on board. The wind got to the strong S with a lot of rain. Barometer 74.55 at 4 o'clock. p. m.

15.- Today at 5 a.m. to. m. we set sail for Crossley Bay, with wind O mod., but at 8 o'clock. In the morning the wind came to the SW so strong that I had to run to port. Barometer 74.50 with a lot of rain.

The Oil Factory.-

16.- SW wind mod., We set sail at 6 o'clock. to. m. with wind NO mod. and lots of rain. The current was in favor, so at 4 o'clock. In the afternoon I was anchored at the factory (it is the time it took with a 14 meter sailboat from Franklin to Crossley, it is about 12 miles and you have to count the dabbling and the current as well as the edges). People were at Till Cove (may be Baiud in Flinders Bay), all good. John had come by land, only one accident they had had. One of the crew of the boat had fallen from the neighboring hill more than a thousand feet high and had injured himself, this unhappy man told us how he fell. He was meaningless until the other day they found him.

Mr. John handed me several notes from another ship that had caught fire on this Island, English ship W.S. Johnson on October 24, 1874. They asked the person who found them to publish them at the first opportunity, they were going to cross the Strait to Cape San Vicente with the hope of finding a ship that would save them. There were 13 people, two of them ladies. They have been within two miles of us and we have not known and they have not seen us. They have very little hope of being saved because, according to their letters, they make the crusade with an open boat and then they are going to put themselves in danger from the Fuegian Indians.

17.- Lots of rain, bad weather. We were preparing all the wood to compose the whale boat.

18.- Wind NO mod. We built the whaling boat and took the helm off the Luisito cutter to put more keel on it, but time came from outside and we were deprived of our work.

19.- We beach Luisito to put more keel on it but time came from outside and deprived us of work.

20.- We tar a side and the bottom. The people from the boat that were in Till Cove arrived.

21.- We concluded because the boat had fallen on the opposite side and that miraculously it did not catch six or eight of us who were working under the bottom placing the keel and that at that moment we were leaving to go to lunch. We set sail and at 7 o'clock. In the afternoon we bottomed out at SO Bay (Southwest Bay) (it may be a departure at 2 or 3 p.m. and arrive at the other bay at 7 p.m., normal times from Crossley Bay to Franklin Bay). NO time with very strong streaks. Barometer at 12 o'clock. 73.50.

Wolf hunting.- January to March.-

22.- Still anchored in SO Bay, rainy day, wind E mod. A wolf was killed in the morning. In the afternoon the weather got rainier and uglier.

23.- We went out and hit the bottom in Back Harbor at 5 am. p. m., wind SWmod.

24.- Anchored in Back Harbor (it is on the south side behind San Juan de Salvamento), waiting for the moment to go to the rockery. At 11am. In the morning the barometer was at 74º, rainy, wind N force 5. At 3 o'clock. In the afternoon we left with two boats, one big and the other small, the big one docked and the boy I was going in didn't, because the sea was too choppy, the big boat brought 4 2-hair wolves, the rock had already been worked by some other. The water was covered in wolves.

25.- Strong N wind and very rainy, we could do absolutely nothing. Only 6 hides were stowed, two of a hair and four of 2.

26.- Today the barometer rose to 76º 10, the day was better. 74 2-hair leathers were brought and the fat, they were all stowed.

27.- Today it dawned rainy, wind NO mod. Barometer 75º 35. At 9 am. It began to blow very hard from the North. Ten two-haired hides and one male with one hair were fleshed out. The whaler went to the rockery at 7 o'clock. 15 m. and she returned at 12 o'clock. with 9 two-haired wolves. We immediately set sail and hit the bottom in Bahía Julia at 8am. of the night. This gave us shelter for the night. It is quite sheltered from all winds except from the E which rarely blows, it is easy to enter.

28.- Today the boat went to bring the salted hides. They brought 17 of one hair and two of two hairs. We set sail from Julia Bay to Puerto María la Negra, calmly, having to row. At 8 o'clock at night we hit the bottom.

29.- We anchored the Luisito well, in the first part of the morning and then we went out to kill. They brought 74 one-hair hides. Today meat was opened.

30.- Rainy. Some leathers flared (?), I was putting together helmets for the fat.

31.- They went to the roquería and brought 75 one-hair hides.

February 1st- Today they brought 9 hides. Good time.

2.- We went to kill and brought 50 hides. The wind NO mod. clear weather.

3.- We went out with the boats with South wind, rough sea, to see if we had another place to anchor to work the rocky outlets. We found a small bay that I named it that way. Then we kill 4 wolves.

4.- It woke up rainy, with a fresh SE wind. I sent the boats to a rock shop in Puerto María la Negra. They brought 9 hides. (Meat was removed).

5.- Fresh South wind, we went out and we bottomed out in the Small Bay to be closer to the rockery.

6.- Fresh South Wind in the first part, and in the afternoon it came to the North. Rough sea.

7.- Wind NO mod. We went out with the boats to the roquette 3 miles from where Luisito was to take the hides.

8.- We take the hides ashore to remove the fat. Due to the strong south wind we could not bring more than those that we had defatted, having to leave the others. Today a sack of beans was opened.

9.- Sud Wind. Mod. In the afternoon an American schooner entered the Bay where we were but at the moment it left again. The sea was always rough and we couldn't get the hides out.

(As we can see, it is quite hard work to be done with boats and a small cutter as a cargo vessel. If we do the math well and deduct the wages that he had to pay, the income he obtained after a campaign of this nature was not much. The result was very different in the "factories" or with large ships and their whalers to mobilize. The American schooner clearly tells us how the place was visited attracted by its natural riches: hunting. This was considered as a natural resource inexhaustible; something like oil was once thought).

10.- I have been composing my boat. S cool wind.

11.- We leave Bahía Pequena for Puerto María la Negra, because the barometer is so low, all day at 72º 40. NW wind. Sure.

12.- We left with NO wind and a lot of rain. The barometer was kept at 72º50 until 10 o'clock. to. m., in which it was climbing to 74º and the time took another aspect. The wind came to the South very mod. and the atmosphere cleared, leaving the sea very rough, having to return to the previous port.

13.- The barometer is fixed at 74º. Cloudy weather, SW mod. Wind, has stayed like this all night until 4 o'clock. of the 14th.

In this part begins the transfer of the hides and fat from the "harvest" place to the factory in Crossley Bay. In general, they anchor at night in a cove due to the proximity of land and lack of visibility.

14.- We go out with wind IN mod. for the factory, at 7 o'clock. in the morning. At 8 and it calmed down and we had no wind until twelve when it came to the N.

15.- We arrived at the factory at 7 am. in the morning. NW wind, clear weather. Barometer 75º 70.

16.- We unloaded 275 single-pile hides and 10 fat barrels. Clear time.

17.- I put 31 two-haired wolf hides on the ground. In the afternoon we finished with the ballast and we left with very little wind from the NW.

18.- Strong NW wind. I couldn't get close to land until night, when we hit the bottom at Bahía Julia at 11am. 30.

19.- We entered Puerto María la Negra, people had 200 more hides.

20.- I started to load fat and leather for the factory.

21.- I put on board 150 hides and a portion of strong and very rainy Weather Sud fat.

22.- Bad weather. We brought the water on board.

23.- We go out with NO mod wind. at 7am. in the morning and we bottomed out in SW Bay, because the wind was almost calm.

24.- We go rowing at 9 am. in the morning, we skirt until 1 a.m. in the afternoon, when the tide changed and we were able to pass the point. The wind came to the fresh SW and we had to anchor in the same port.

25.- Strong SW wind and a lot of sea. We couldn't get out.

26.- Wind O mod. in the first part and in the afternoon NOT cool. We left at 2am. p. m. with the tide against.

27.- We enter the Factory Bay with NO mod wind.

28.- We unloaded 150 hides and 8 wolf fat pipes.

In this story when he speaks of "Factory Bay" he is referring to Crossley Bay. There he carried the hides and fat to make the oil. The place is ideal to then go to Caleta Falsa, where it stopped to continue its trip to Punta Arenas since it was already practically outside the Strait of Le Maire with its strong currents and tidal movements. But it is evident that he worked on the south side of the island and that Franklin Bay was a quite important landing point since, from his notes, he entered as soon as the stones left him. It is a navigation not suitable for large boats (more than 16 meters) that are not specially designed for beaching (straight keel) and that are very maneuverable. We also see how with several men they can move it on the ground.

March 1 - We get ready to go out in the crescent and we leave at 4.30 pm. m.

2.- We enter Puerto María la Negra at dawn. Other difficulties. People with very few supplies, the weather preparing for the equinox, the barometer at 72º 55, in a storm and a very strong and rainy NW wind.

3.- We left with SW almost calm wind. We put 43 greasy hides on board, and we were going to the factory, but the wind did not allow us. We bottomed out in Bahía Chica to leave a whale boat and skin the hides.

4.- Wind NO mod. We set sail but the wind came to the O almost calm and we had to anchor outside of Puerto María la Negra.

5.- We set sail and bottomed out at Franklin Bay.

6.-We anchor at the factory in the morning and begin unloading.

7.- Early in the morning I set sail to put the boat in the stream in order to lengthen it. As it was also the season of the birds, half of the people could work on them and the other half on the boat but they objected, demanding a little per day, which was more than the work was worth and I could not do it. I had to start charging for the Colonia de Punta Arenas, to conclude with this, that we did not go to more, and that this business was finished.

8.- Wind O mod. We were loading the hides.

9.- SE fresh wind. I completed 560 hides, more or less. We suspended and went to see those that were left in Till Cove because there was no more room on the boat. There is also a quantity of fat left in Franklin Bay. Of the hides at Till Cove, there were many that were already bad.

He returned to Punta Arenas at the request of his staff, for which he continued working on his "Island". Returning with only 560 wolf hides and about 30 barrels after 2 months of work is not much; It is true that he left a lot in the different bays but we cannot think that he was becoming a millionaire.

Luis Piedra Buena and his shipwreck on the Isla de los Estados, 1873.

(This diary is a copy of the original made by Candido Eyroa who was a friend of Luis Piedra Buena, his first biographer and a friend of the family). It is worth clarifying that many of the versions that exist about the newspaper were "completed" by the authors, changing the facts or adding fantasies of their own making to reach absurd and indefensible conclusions. The result is the same: a total lie that does not fit even with the geographical reality of the place.

From the beginning of his story, Luis Piedra Buena clearly shows us that he was as good a navigator as he was a carpenter. So much so that as he lacked a boat to work he decided to build one while he sailed from Punta Arenas to his "Island". Other sailors prefer to read a book or take refuge in their cabin dizzy.

Crossing from P. Arenas to the Island of the State.

Today, February 12, we left with a moderate O. wind and we hit Chabunco, where I had my tacho, the one we took out that same afternoon.

13.- In the first part of the day SE moderate wind with lots of rain. At 12 it cleared up. We set sail and anchored in San Gregorio with a strong S wind.

14.- Today we were anchored in the same port with a strong SW wind.

15.- I went to anchor at the first Angostura to wait for José.

16.- I varied the ship to fix it, and while still stranded, José came bringing me 1 bag of beans, 2 id. of cookies, 1 of coffee and a appreciated letter from my old woman. I answered the letter after my work.

17.- I finished with the ship. We put the rudder, being very firm and the bottom clean, but unfortunately at night we were flat with the strong wind from the SW. We floated the ship and were ready to go.

(He took the opportunity to clean the bottom of "Espora", the former "Nancy" of "Consul" Smiley, and apparently he still had problems in the rudder stock).

18 (February) .- At 5 a.m. In the morning we set sail, as did José with the little boat. At 7 a.m. 30 m. we greet each other. He continued for Gallegos with his new settlers to take possession of said port on behalf of the Chilean Government. And I continued to move away from Punta Posesión towards the South, bound for the State Island, to work on oil for children birds, making a boat at the same time, for having lost the other. At 8 a.m. In the afternoon, the southern tip of San Sebastían, 15 miles away. (A good carpentry equipment was carried in the 800 wolf vessels, given that the work required smaller vessels (boats, whalers, and flatbeds or chalanas), which many times were lost when they were working in "rockeries" and unloading in beaches with breakers. Also, in larger ships, unarmed boats were taken directly as a spare).

19.- We woke up in Punta San Isidro with very little wind W. At 5 o'clock. to. m. we started the work of the flat. At 2 o'clock. p. m. the wind cooled off the NNW, quite strong and we had to quit work. At 5 o'clock. p. m. We sighted the Island of the State, but, seeing that we would not arrive until night, I put myself to the cape in front of Cape San Vicente (putting to the cape means doing the necessary maneuvers, with the sails and the rudder, to try to maintain the position without trying to move forward; it is a procedure that is used a lot with sailboats during bad weather or strong contrary wind or also when you do not want to enter the port because there is not enough visibility or the place is unknown or there are no minimum security measures ).

20. We woke up almost in the same place, but the wind was very little to cross the Strait, due to the current that ran. We lingered until 12 o'clock, when the wind was NOT fresh and we continued on our way to Crosley Bay. As the wind entered it, the calm wind and we had to bottom with a lot of risk, but the wind that came from the South favored me. We set sail and went to anchor at the Bay of the Otters. We killed the poor kitten without seeing them under the flat we were making: poor Beta !.

(It does not say there was a risk of losing an anchor)

The oil factory.-

21.- We left (from Bahía Las Nutrias to the roque, evidently it was not close since it needs to go with the "Espora") fresh wind out bound for the roque, but the wind was so strong that it broke my ratchet and we had to go back to port. We bottomed out at 12 o'clock. in B. of otters. In the afternoon the flat we made went ashore with four crew members and they were filled with water in the breakers. Fortunately nothing happened.

22 (February) .- With wind we did NOT go out again, anxious to reach our destination because the time for the task is already upon us. At 5 o'clock. p. m. We found what I already expected, the birds on the ground. With those millions of animals, a great deal could be done, but I can't because of my situation. At 6 o'clock. We went ashore with the can and I left two men on the ground.

23.- We went ashore early, cleaned the tub, everything settled down. The cylinder had steam at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. 300 birds were killed and at 7 o'clock. the tub was loaded and we came on board because it was not moored. (It is customary in the area to anchor and tie down to land, either on a rock or a tree. That way the boat remains fixed and does not change position in the face of different changes in wind direction. In this case, it returns on board worried about boat safety as it is not moored, but leaves the "tub" melting grease).

24.- Today we take out the first tub we tested, with 250 birds. The cooking result was regular. We unloaded it and went to kill more birds. Then we loaded it with 550.

25.- We unload it, although not so cooked, but in regular order. We carry 600, half skinned and half leather. We also put the pot in order to be able to work the cylinder and the tub. For my idea, it was fine. The birds are numerous but time is short. What we suffer at work, only God and I know.

26.- In the morning we had to go to compose the boat to bring firewood for the factory, water, etc. We went to the factory and the knowledge seemed good. The unskinned birds were coming back to land as the wind came from outside. So it didn't take long for them to come looking for me. We went on board we took the turns of the chain and the ship further out. It calmed the wind completely. Today we did almost nothing.

27.- In the first part of the day we were busy getting the ship into the Bay to moor it, but as the wind was so variable, all our work was useless. Then we went to the factory to assemble the press and lay out the paths to herd birds. We killed 450. They've already taken the 200 gallon tub. The pot is ready, and since we cannot be ashore because the ship is not safe, we cannot continue. We have 1200 leathers ready.

28.- In the morning, at 5am. a storm fell to the SW strong. I had to drop the whip of the chain and go inside. Although this bay is open and unaffected by this wind, it has a sandy beach where at least one can beach in case of misfortune, when outside the wood would not even serve for matches. We were very good, but without being able to tie the ship well due to bad weather and few people. At night the wind eased.

Loss of the boat .- (With a storm from SW).

March 1 - At 4 a.m. m. the wind changed to the N with great force and it threw us out and we had to anchor where we had left the anchor. At the start he touched the rudder, breaking the rod, the chain was composed and suspended. At night there was almost calm.

2.-At 5 o'clock. to. m. The SSW wind began to blow with a lot of sea, continuing until 2.30 pm. m. (The aneroid 76-35. Clear weather with the occasional hail squall).

3.- At 6 o'clock. to. m. I put Smith down, with enough difficulty because the sea was so irritated, to finish the job and do what he could. The weather, from worst to worst, without being able to do anything. We are few and we cannot attend to factory and schooner.-

4.- The wind is still strong from the South, and we cannot go ashore to work.

5.- The wind came more to the NW, and I was able to disembark. We have very little firewood. I sent the boat for more. When they were close, the wind called out to the cool SW. At half an hour NO. The boat came. He was unloading firewood, and almost at the end came a blow from the sea that completely submerged him with three crew members. There was no personal misfortune, because I was on the beach, and I instantly helped them with ropes. The boat went out without being able to catch it. About half an hour later the wind came from the South. The boat continued to move away. The weather, strong and rainy. People all wet.

6.- Early I went out with three men in a leather boat that I had for the river, as it is very difficult to walk over the hills due to the height of the mountain and the thick forest. We saw many birds that could still be worked on, but people are already discouraged, believing they are almost lost. At 10 a.m. we left with the river boat. I went on board, we took out oars and went in search of the lost boat. It was in the blowout, everything broken, NO wind. I waited on board until the sea calmed down a bit and we went looking. As the boat was face down on the stones, only the bottom remained. The moment I got on board I got on deck, starting with composure. The rather sharp stones, and the choppy sea, prevented me from going ashore.

7.- Today the N wind dawned, but with such force that it was impossible to go anywhere with the boat. I began to accommodate the people and the earth oil. At dusk we finished boarding the boat. The weather eased. On land you can see that they are busy frying oil in the pan. The tub has no fire. The weather prepares from the South.

The Shipwreck.-

8.-Today the wind was variable and turned the entire compass. Rainy, but moderate. at 3 o'clock. p. m. we finished the boat. (In 2 days they had rebuilt the boat lost in the stones). We were about to throw it in the water when the wind came from outside. The tacho continues to work during the day, but I think it will not be able to continue, due to the rainy weather and the lack of firewood. So far we have not been able to dock.

9.- Moderate SW wind. The rough sea at the factory dock. The factory has 500 birds, but it does not work due to lack of firewood. In the afternoon we lowered the boat and went to the river for firewood. We brought her on board without being able to take her ashore. Weather with heavy snow showers and hail, from the SW.

10.- At midnight the wind began to blow with great violence. We put buoys on the anchors, and when the wind dawned it was still the same or stronger. We noticed that the large anchor was without a stocks and could not hold and only the girl held us and she was always pulling a bit. Fearing that it would leave us no place to turn, the sea being so strong, I determined to drop anchor and strand the ship on the sandy beach, but unfortunately the ship crossed over and the blows it was hitting pulled out the tow, going to pique. The only thing left for us was to save the provisions, which we took ashore. Celestino came from the factory.

The "Espora" goes to the beach of the Bahía Las Nutrias port, which is a bay open to the SW winds. That is not Crossley Bay since it is totally repaired to the winds of said quadrant and has the peculiarity of not presenting interior coves except one that is exposed to the winds from the Northwest or North. The only one we have found, with a sandy beach, and that is exposed to the SW is Franklin Bay. Actually there are very few sandy beaches: Puerto Roca, extended and wide; in Bahía Flinders (open to the north) are Caleta Baiud, with a low gradient, wide and short, and Bahía Belgrano extended and wide with a large river in which there was part of a band of a wooden ship of a certain size; Crossley bay with a great beach at Cap beacon. Zaratiegui and many wrecks and short and narrow where the beacon Tte. Pallet. The rest are stone beaches or coastline almost down. Another detail is that the rookery is not in Crossley Bay just because there is no rookery in the place except for some islets where penguins never nested due to their exposure to the sea.

Both in Crossley, as in Baiud and especially Franklin there are many wrecks and in the latter there is even a river, which can be entered by boat from the sea, with a sunken boat (about 8 meters long and very old). in the. It is the only river on the island that can currently be entered by boat. Another important river is the one in Puerto Roca, but it cannot be entered with a boat sailing from the sea.

The point of the beach is essential since the "Espora", which remains on the beach, does not appear as lost until many days later. On the other hand, there has to be a physical place to build a boat of about 11 meters in length and also live.

This leaves Observatorio Island as impossible, which does not have a single sandy beach and the coast rises to about 20 meters (views of Braún Menéndez and Ratto); much less Hoppner that does not have any sandy beach with stream or river (version of Cap. de Nav Botta).

11.- Today we begin by accommodating the provisions. The weather had calmed down but the sea was too strong to do anything. I saw that the ship was not broken, nothing more than shaken by the blows of the sea.

Attempt to remove the ship.- A house is built.-

12.- Smith is sick. We went to find what he had on board. We took the chains out of the hold and set up the pumps to test the day after moving the ship bow out. We put a chain on the ground. The buoys were all good.

13.- In the morning we went on board. Caulked aft and side as far as I could. We tried the pump but it was useless, I had to leave. We rigged the poles and straightened it, but in the evening he cut the rigging, in the morning, however, it dawned straight.

14.- We went on board in the morning, and as the ship was upright, it was not difficult for us to lay it down on the starboard side, so I had the opportunity to half caulk the left side, but with everyone at the pumps we could not help but hold, and that to all strength and seeing that we could not hold more than an hour. For this reason I had to suspend work. People give up on the ship, but I don't. Anyway, we are cutting curves for the boat that we plan to make. Because people are already careful.

Today another man also fell ill and there were only six of us left. Don Celestino, who was left to sharpen axes and cut curves, neither sharpened axes nor cut curves; So, out of eight that we are, only five were working.

15.- Being the weather so cruel and rainy, with everything wet, mattresses and clothes, I started to make a little house so that they would not get sick anymore. Today was a very dry but windy day. Wind O. At dusk we finished the roof and I put a piece of canvas on one side. Anyway, three of us slept at the ranch.

16.- We start with the house in the morning. Very rainy day. The aneroid was at 73º, the lowest we have seen so far. We couldn't do anything to the ship. We had two patients, and I did not feel very well, due to my illness, but still I had no choice but to walk. I had the supplies brought to the house. A bag of cookies got wet. Also in the afternoon we laid the keel for the boat. She was 33 feet tall.

Construction of a cutter.

17.- Today dawned blowing a storm, which did not allow anything to be done. She was raining and snowing. We began to make bast. In the afternoon we were able to cut the stern stern. The scale of the vessel was 33 feet keel, 13 beam, 5 strut, 7 aft, 8 aft.

18.- Today the aneroid rose to 74º. The day is windy, but without rain. Wind W. We put the fore and aft elbows on the keel and stopped a bend in the middle. The patients continue with little improvement.

19.- Today the aneroid has remained at 74º, and the wind to the W, more moderate. The work of the boat is slow. We do not bolt more than six timbers. The big saw was put into service and we started to work but none of them were rough for it. The ship is down. When the water rises, it moves, but the tides are of so little rising and falling that it is not possible to caulk the joints that I can see, nor to put a helmet down. I hope this moon passes so I can take another look at the bottom. Right now it is blowing temporary. It is 7am. at night, wind O. Sure. (It is interesting to see how the construction of the "Luisito" cutter is being carried out, but without abandoning the idea of ​​saving the schooner. It is evident that until now he must not have used timber from the schooner, but rather what he could carry on board for repairs or constructions the one that could serve him from the forest).

20.- It dawned blowing fresh. It can be said that the ship has not suffered anything because of the last storm. The sea has been calmer, but we cannot work, due to the tides and strong times.

21.- Today she made a regular day. Wind O, moderate. I put 14 logs, I would have put more if there was another to help me. Two of us are sick, two are sawing boards, Celestino is not constant at his work, he only works from time to time and that seems ill-will.

22.- It woke up very beautiful, without wind. We work all day on the boat until 4.30pm. m., that she started to rain. Threading goes very slowly. the saw does not help us, because there is no one who knows how to saw with it. Therefore the boards come out very crooked (they must be sawing them from a solid or larger plank). The aneroid rose to 75º 80. Thermometer 42º F. (6º C.).

23.- Moderate SW wind, with rain and cloudy. The aneroid 75º 90. Today we were working on the boat, two carving curves and four cutting in the bush. (Obviously they went to find wood for the cutter). Thermometer 43º 52, Aneroid 75º 85. The weather looks very ugly.

25.- South wind, force 8. Cloudy, quite sea. Aneroid 76º 25. Thermometer 43º 2. Work was done on the boat today. To the ship it is impossible to do anything for the time (it refers to the "Spore"). She is climbing higher on the bench, where it seems to me that I will be able to compose it more easily if time permits (she has not yet given up).

26.- Today the weather improved and we worked on the small boat. At the side of the schooner could not remain.

27.- We start to draw. We had another sick person as well, who had to come to work Smith, who was quite ill and D. Celestino, who was not so sick to loosen up. Supplies are getting shorter and we don't know which of the two boats will be out first (he continues with the idea of ​​also saving the schooner in addition to building the cutter). It is necessary to work because winter is approaching us.

28.- Today is a nice day. Work was done on the boat.

29.- A beautiful day dawned and continued until 5 am. or. m., when she began to garuar loudly. We quit work. Anyway, more than half the boat was boarded in these two days, Smith on one side and I on the other. The wind came more to the SE.

Sunday 30.- Moderate EN wind, with rain. Aneroid 75º 10. Thermometer 44º. The schooner is high enough to be able to work on it, but the difficulty is the tar for the large seams, because the tow would come off. And also the anchor, which we will not be able to remove until the launch that we have on site is finished, which I believe will be, in good weather, in 20 days. (He continues with the fixed idea of ​​saving the schooner, it is perhaps the idea of ​​not resigning himself; he calls the cutter a boat and he will use it to recover the anchorage. The term boat is and was used to refer to the sailboats of the south of Chili).

31.- Today we put all the timbers and planking upstairs. The day favored us, being dry and without strong wind. We started to get the tape ready. Celestino, as always, removing the body. What he thinks is the belly, and I think it would not be a bad thing to divide the cookie and the meat. We have 6 meat barrels, 3 biscuit bags, 4 fariña, like 60 pounds sugar, 50 pounds rice, 40 coffee. You eat well and do little work. Aneroid 75º 60.

Hardships.-April, rain and wind.-

April 1st - Strong and rainy N wind. Thermometer 44. Aneroid 74º 25. We continue work on the boat. At 10 a.m. we left work because of the bad weather and began to open the tow.

2.- We work on the boat. It was a good, cold day. We managed to put 5 roof straps on and worked until dark.

3.- Today we worked on the boat all day, but not with all the spirit, although the work was going well. The day, rainy. I worked until night. Provisions are not yet in short supply and the ship is more than half finished. Today a bag of cookies was opened.

4.- Rainy day but not very windy. We were employed in timbering the deck of the boat.

5.- It dawned very windy and the sand prevented us from working at ease, worse with everything, we worked until night. The aneroid at 7 o'clock. p. m. 74º 85. Thermometer 45º 5. NW wind and cloudy. We started a cookie ration, that is, one per person, for each meal (the food was rationed).

6.- We work on the boat. It was a good day and it continued until evening.

7.- We begin to put the cover. Half was revealed and half of the chamber hatch was covered. It rained in the morning and cleared up in the afternoon.

8.- Rainy day. We work on the boat. We also split a little cookie. We got 5 pounds. each. We will see how many days it lasts.

9.- It woke up beautiful with wind Or clear. We cut the candle and started to make it. We continue to work on the boat and finish the deck.

10.-He made a very ugly morning. In the afternoon it was possible to work. I went aboard the schooner and brought the rudder, which was with a broken male. The schooner is always full of water without being able to work on it.

11.- Very strong weather in the South, with rain and snow. We were unable to work on the boat. I assembled the bellows to melt the rudder taps.

12.- Today the hundred S dawned strong, with less rain. Cold and dark weather. After the storm, it seems that the ship has climbed higher. People are apart and the effort is to build the boat and not to help me get the schooner out, so I don't know what I'll do yet. (Luis Piedra Buena continues with the idea of ​​working on the schooner, although not the others) .

13.- Today was a very nice morning, but at 2 o'clock the weather broke down and it started to rain. We lay down the boat starting with the bottom and caulking the deck. Today more cookie was distributed.

14.- In the morning it was good, although cloudy, we finished the bottom on one side and finished caulking the deck.

15.- We begin to put the double bottom. The day became clear with a strong N wind. They worked all day and the first bottom was caulked.

16.- Very strong storm S. Wind. Tonight he took us the boards and everything we had on the beach. It has made the biggest tide I have ever seen.

17.- We began to gather everything we had lost. The violent weather in the South and raining very hard. The schooner climbed higher but could not go on board.

18.- The south wind was quite strong today, with showers of water and snow. It was not worked more than a little while in the morning. The aneroid with this time ranges from 75º 5 to 76º. The sea works against the schooner, but not hard.

19.- Today the weather in the morning was still strong, but in the afternoon it calmed down and I was able to go on board at mid-tide to take boards to finish the boat we are building, I noticed nothing extraordinary on the ship. We took out a portion of boards and as it was at mid-rising tide we had to return to land, because the tide rises and falls as outside through the seams, which are all open. The biscuit was divided and meat was opened (At this moment it is very precise that the boards were inside the "Espora" and not that it was part of the schooner).

Abandonment of the "Espora" .- Termination of the cutter.-

21.- Today the wind dawned in the fresh N. The sea went down. We went on board to un-shackle the chain that prevented the ship from putting the bow out to sea, and I saw that on the left side a stern board had loosened and on the right, several had been released. We loaded the boat with boards and brought them ashore. At 10 it started to rain heavily, but still they worked until late. The ship ?: I don't know. We do not have the means to make the repair that she needs, nor time permits, nor do we have provisions for this work. The ship is old and the nail does not hold. (He is beginning to resign himself but the "spore" is still whole, that is to say that until now it was not dismantled to build the "Luisito" even though they removed boards from the inside; it could be the double lining or simply the wood that should always accompany it to make barrels, a boat or a shelter or even a repair to the schooner).

22.- Today we knock down the boat to the other side, leaving one side completed. NW moderate wind, with a little rain. She worked all day.

23.- Moderate N wind dawned, and we went to the factory in search of boards. We brought like 15 boards. The factory looks like a ruin, the roof blown over the pot. The oil moved due to the terrible storm.

24.- We finished putting the first lining on the outside and caulking it. We had a beautiful day, windy or clear.

25.- Strong and clear SW wind. We lined the side and put on the winglet, and I began to mold the rudder taps. The aneroid dropped to 73º 30. Thermometer 43º. She rained from 12 to 3 o'clock. In the afternoon (he even made the rudder fittings, without using those of the schooner).

26.- SW wind with rain. We work a little.

27.- Moderate SW wind. We just lined and caulked everything. 3 ducks were killed. The weather turned rainy.

28.- Fresh SW wind. I was molding the males for the helm. Work was done on the boat, on putting the hatches and the hatch. Very ugly and snowy weather.

29.- Strong S wind with lots of snow in the morning, it cleared up in the afternoon. We finished caulking the entire boat. We also started laying the floor of the chamber. The male mold did not turn out well, because of the soil, which was bad. No more was done for not having tables.

30.- Moderate N wind. I sent the boat to bring boards, the pole and rigging, while I adjusted the rudder and cocks. So today I consider the boat completed (Now if they went to look for yards and a stick for the schooner).

May 1st.- Wind IN moderate. They went on board, brought rope and some other things that we needed, and we put the floor in the chamber. The rainy day.

2.- Wind O moderate and beautiful day. I put the rudder on him and they arranged the rigging and the mast.

3.- Today it rained all day. I made the floor and we arranged the pole to tie the chain and the poles to throw it into the water. It is completely finished.

Indiscipline

4.- We started with a very bad day, fresh N wind. We brought an anchor for the boat. People are in their teasing ways, finding fault in what they would not know how to do, neither because of bad weather, nor because of their ability. I always follow the work without bothering with them, because they are a class of people who do not allow anyone to know more than them and have no idea at all. When one tells them to do something, what is asked of them is not like what they want to do. At night they do and undo everything (in their comments) and in the morning they wait for coffee in bed, fleeing to work. Some want to do one thing, others another, and time is passing. Don Celestino threatened to burn the boat, because he did not give him work to his liking. I told him what to do, but he didn't take long to quit, so constantly we don't work more than two.

5.- Today we started by trying to throw the boat into the water, but I did not have the poles that I had ordered, also they did not tie the strip to the firm stone but to an anchor in the sand, without securing. Carlos began to say that everything was in the wrong position and that he was going to break the boat with the ax. At last I silenced him and went looking for sticks with the others. I sent Celestino to do the bomb. And when I came back I had made a single stave. The work was left because of the rising water and heavy snowfall. The wind to the SW, in storm.

The launch.-

6.- Wind N. We take the boat out to the water's edge. Because the sand is so soft, we couldn't take it out any more (soft sand beach).

7.- Wind O moderate. We take it out a little further. We slept six on board.

8.- Very strong S wind with snow and water. We couldn't work. All 8 of us slept on board.

9.- Today the wind was the same as yesterday, very cold. The anchors clawed, but we also made her walk, and perhaps the rigging was cut off and the water began to rise. The beach is very long and the sand is soft, so we have to work hard. (It looks like Franklin Bay beach from the description, it must be taken into account that they spent 4 days with gear and sticks to take the cutter to a place that can float. This makes one think of a beach with little gradient, like that of Franklin or Baiud cove).

10.- N. Wind. The first part of the day was very nice. People are always in discord and quarrel with each other. Carlos and Celestino had a great discussion, that if we are not there, they will hold on. Carlos said that Celestino was not helping and that he would have to go in the boat like anyone else, for the benefit of all, that we were in a place where we did not play, and Celestino replied that he was not going because he had to make bread. At last we appease them. We put the boat in the water and I sent it to the factory for the meat. Today we also took the boat further out to where it seemed to us that it would swim with high tide.

11.- Today a beautiful day dawned, and so it continued until night. In the afternoon tide the boat swam, and we came out in more water. This Carlos is becoming a foreman. This morning he smashed one of the people's bunk. I don't know if he wants to riot with everyone, he is always talking to them with threats.

12.- Today was another beautiful day. We put the stick. Carlos is always looking for a quarrel with everyone.

13.- Wind O moderate. The sails were raised and two bundles of zinc and the pump were brought, because it was a little wet, in the afternoon he got on board.

14.- He made another good day. In the morning the tank, provisions, water and firewood were brought. During the night, a strong storm from the SW with snow and hail.

15.- We went ashore, made more firewood and brought some things, but the weather was always very bad. The schooner is completely disabled, it has broken at the stern and all opened (definitive loss of the "Espora").

16.- Bad weather continues. Today they began to cook on board.

17.- All day it rained and snowed very hard, nothing could be done. The wind was SW moderate.

18.- It woke up with snow showers. Moderate SE wind. We got ready and at 12 o'clock we left our poor Espora all in pieces.

19.- We woke up in front of Policarpo. Moderate E wind. (In 19 hours they were in front of Polycarp; 30 miles from B. Crossley or 37 from B. Franklin, but doing all the Le Maire).

20. Today at 12 o'clock we were in front of Orozco. Heavy showers, moderate NE wind.

21.- Wind E almost calm. We made very little progress.

22.- Moderate SE wind. We arrived at Bahía San Sebastían in very dark weather, and at night I had a bottom in Cabo Espíritu Santo.

23.- At 3.30 a.m. m. we set sail. At 11 a.m. we saw a steam go by. SW wind but very light.

27.- We arrived in Punta Arenas and found everything that was most precious, which was my family and my little children, good guys, instantly forgetting everything that had happened. Bye thank you.

Some data would be missing to say that it was this or that place with total certainty. Open to the SW and with sand only Franklin. Roquerías may be those of Puerto Roca, where there was a very large King penguin colony that was exploited by Luis Piedra Buena's employees years before (see G. H. Gardiner, 1869). There may have been some sea lions at Crossley but he actually works them on the south side of the island at Puerto Back (opposite side of San Juan de Salvamento).

But beyond the precise place it is incredible what he did and he lived with his men. I believe that there is no sailor of his stature in the Southern Hemisphere (leaving aside the issue of war and naval strategy).

Expedition "Callas 97", to the Island of the States

As a complement to the work that the Maritime Museum of Ushuaia had been carrying out on the Isla de los Estados with the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse and Puerto Cook, where a Survey of the Human Historical Infrastructure of both places was carried out, in an agreement signed with the Argentine Navy and the Museum of the End of the World, is that it was decided to travel the coast of the island to see what wrecks could be found. In fact, they were looking for the most favorable places to improvise a shipyard and where the schooner "Espora" could have been lost; always guided by Luis Piedra Buena's diary.

Thus, during the month of April 1997 we made a short expedition to the Isla de los Estados with the aim of traveling all the coast of the north side of the island, Obsetvatorio island and what we could on the south side, which was limited Franklin Bay.

We used the sailboat "Callas" as a means of transportation, a 14-meter-long ketch (designed by Roberto Hossman), which, in addition to being very strong and maneuverable, allowed us to better compare the speeds and citations that Mr. Luis Piedra could come across. Good. Everything is very different from the bridge to a warning, a small sailboat has access to places that a ship could never even think of arriving. We take a rubber boat with its motor, diving equipment and everything you need to walk the entire coast and explore each of its streams and rivers.

The expedition was made up of Jorge Luis Trabuchi, "Captain and Owner" of the sailboat "Callas"; Gabriel Asbi, cameraman; Daniel Kuntschik, diver and navigator; Dario Urruty, of everything; Adrián "Osito" Gimenez Hutton, photographer and journalist (with the Explorer Club flag); Anibal Moya, official of the Prefecture; and the one who signs this work.

The observations made in this part of the book had that origin. The account of the voyages was published by the magazine Barcos and is included in a sports book on southern navigation. 

SHIPWRECK OF THE SCHOONER ESPORA OF DON LUIS PIEDRA BUENA

For many years everyone wondered where that famous shipwreck might have been. The place was on Isla de los Estados, in the "bay of the otters", according to the terminology used by Don Luis Piedra Buena in his diary. The problem is that nothing in particular appeared and if it did appear, how could we ascertain that it was that?

The truth is that some historians such as Braun Menendez and Rato located the event in Observatorio Island, others in Corssley Bay, Hoppner Harbor, Flinders Bay and a long etcetera.

Personally, I was leaning towards Crossley Bay, but while there were many loose wrecks, there was not one in particular to indicate that it was the schooner Espora.

Yes, there were remains of what could have been a shelter or house, or the famous factory as he called it. In that place he accumulated the wolf hides that he hunted from the south side of the island and after preparing them, he took them to Punta Arenas to market.

Either way, you couldn't be sure. When in April 97 we passed through Franklin Bay with the sailboat "Callas", by Jorge Trabuchi (with the Explorer Club flag), we found at the mouth of a river, the skeleton of a boat that, as far as I could measure, did not exceed 8 meters. But it was something old. As the tide was not low, we could not see neither the keel, nor the stern, nor the true size of the frames in the curvons, nor the long boards, semi-buried in the sand, that we found in November 98.

At first glance it looked more like the size of the cutter (11 meters) and not the schooner. For me it could be a "chilota boat" or similar fishing boat. No one could suspect that it was the schooner "Espora" except pure imagination. There were no visible signs in the wreck that could indicate what it was. But in any case there was the possibility and it also gave the feeling that it could be ...

The place was very close to Don Luis's description but we had no other elements. I started to like the idea, that at that moment we discussed with Daniel Kuntschik, Dario Urruty and Jimenez Hutton, about this being a propitious place for a shipwreck. But we had to find something more forceful than a simple premonition and a few woods that would ultimately never be able to tell us which ship they belonged to. Personally, I still liked Crossley Bay and after returning a couple of times I discarded it for good.

I was lucky, thanks to the Ushuaia Naval Base, to return to different parts of the island and visiting other places suspicion began to grow. Much more when I heard the version of Carlos Dipilato that passed through Franklin Bay at the beginning of 98 and it gave me an idea of ​​the size. Also that of the Lieutenant of the Ship José Urrutia who referred to these woods as the "Espora", from the time they went with the speedboats. But they were still suspicions without concrete elements.

It was in those months that, back to Port Cook. I found that if you took Don Luis's diary and the travelers' stories in their original versions, it was possible to find many things. How to be the establishment of Luis Vernet, while he was Governor of the Malvinas Islands, in New Year bay; the famous lake of the mutineers in 1902 and or surprise, tools and ammunition and ... hidden in ... (I reserve the place because the looting is going to be inevitable).

The expedition

The biggest problem was the time it could take for the on-site investigation. So we began to prepare an unconventional expedition: they had to disembark us in the place and after about 7 days they had to begin evacuation attempts. Not an easy task: the bay is totally exposed to the south west and it is not convenient to remain anchored in the place. The sea enters with everything and whether it is a sailboat or a ship the place is very dangerous. You had to discount the possibility of going with a sailboat and using it as a base. We had to arrive and make camp.

With the concern transmitted to the Southern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Don Hector J. Alvarez studied the issue and gave us all the support. It was an expedition with many pretensions. In addition to surveying the bay, we were accompanied by Dr. Adrián Schiavini (biologist) and "Princess" Silvia Gigli from Natural Resources (biologist) who were going to study some rockhopper penguin colonies of which little or nothing was known. .

As we know, everything about Don Piedra Buena is closely linked to sea lions and penguins. Let us remember that this activity (wolfhound) was what he had been doing since he started sailing.

Two cameramen from the Caminos Patagónicos program (Enrique Porreti and Walter Ibañez) and a botanist, Fernando Biganzoli, sent by the Darwinion Institute, with the intention of putting together a collection of plants to build a room in the Maritime Museum, joined the game. Luis Mack, who is a collaborator of the Museum, also accompanied us.

This is how with the A.R.A. Gurruchaga, commanded by Gustavo Castillo, on November 21 we left the bay of Ushuaia astern. The Second Commander, José Miguel Urrutia, put all his efforts so that the different missions of the group could be fulfilled and that was immediately reflected in all the officers and the rest of the ship's personnel.

Franklin Bay

We anchored in the bay on the 22nd at 9 in the morning with a strong north west wind. With winds from this sector, the outer bay is very protected and there is almost no break on the beach to disembark. So with two rubber boats and in two trips we put everything on land without getting wet.

The day was perfect: sun, north wind and temperature just a little cool. We looked for a place to pitch the tents and we found a hollow with vegetation just where the sand ends, about 300 meters from where we disembarked.

Shortly after arriving the north west wind passed by force of storm and we could verify that although the mouth of the bay faces south west this wind enters with a tremendous force. Is that it hits against the hill that closes the bay on the south side and the wind is encased with an unusual force (Venturi effect) traveling it towards the east where it divides into 2 canyons and decompresses.

This was the first explanation of why Luis Piedra Buena had to go out with a north wind, that is, he took him outside. But that day was going to be full of surprises: while we were getting ready for lunch, Adrián went into the forest and returned with a bottle that on a first inspection seemed to us to be at least 800 and that could be a bottle of gin or gin. (Data already corroborated, it is about Gin and it was sold at the end of the 19th century in almost all ports; remember that Don Luis always carried some alcohol to mitigate the cold. The bottle itself has the brand of the factory and both the culottes as well as the mouthpiece are welded, that is to say a typical 3-piece bottle).

A shelter and a shipyard

A simple glance gave us the clue that it was a refuge built at least more than 100 years ago. This inadvertent find was left to be inspected later. But the good thing about this was that things were appearing that were related to what Piedra Buena had written in her diary.

The physical aspect of the place totally matched. We verified that a north wind could end in a shipwreck and on the other hand we found a refuge like the one he comments on in his diary about 100 meters from the wreckage of the boat.

Once we inspected the shelter we found many elements of ships, from eyebolts to spy carriers and turnbuckles. In addition to pipes and corrugated sheet metal for the roof that are the same, and from the same origin, to those he used for the roof of the shelter that he built in Port Cook (actually Port Vancouver). That famous refuge that she advertised on a sign that she put up at Cape Horn: "In Port Cook the shipwrecked are helped."

We also found zinc plate from the bottom of the boat (external lining used for protection against teredo). Then a series of different elements and a fireplace on one side of the refuge that contained bones of sea lions and other smaller unidentified ones.

Obviously Don Luis chose to stay in the forest next to a stream of water. He dug into the slope, forming a flat, horizontal surface with logs that supported the plates. As he recounts in his diary, one side must have been made of canvas (it is to be imagined that marine waxing) since we found, like what happened in the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse, a wood with many nails and remains of cloth.

Later we were able to verify that within the forest the wind is practically not felt. For the better, we had to be during the famous storm days at the end of November 98 that, as we later learned, Tierra del Fuego was in a state of emergency, whipped by winds that reached 180 km / h with hail, rain, snow water and everything. worst possible.

This allowed us to suffer firsthand the inclemency of the place and observe how far the high tide could reach and with what force the waves broke. Thanks to this we were able to find two possible sites for the shipyard where Don Luis and his men built the "Luisito" cutter.

These places very close to the refuge are in a flat area of ​​the beach where we were able to verify that with the most violent storm in the south west and the highest high tide, the sea water does not reach. One is about 80 meters long by 40 wide fully usable and the closest to the break is about 28 meters long by 15 wide. At this site we find, half buried in the sand, many pieces of sawn boards.

There is a third possibility, already right in front of the wreck, which is 45 meters long and 10 to 15 meters wide. We must clarify that "the schooner" is about 20 meters from the current break even with the storm that we already mentioned. On the other hand we are hard pressed with the next find.

Forest of curvones and firewood: goat refuge

Going up the hill from the refuge we find a "goat trail"; it is a place where wild goats gather for the night, a kind of open corral. We actually found several of these places and in every day that we wandered through the area we saw many groups of goats. Some were 6 or 9 animals but there were also 20 and even one of about 40 animals. There were the males with large antlers and a long goat. The females were followed by one or two year old kids who were a temptation to send to the pot.

These goats made us remember Don Luis again: he introduced them when he came to the island. In his diary we can read that on each trip he brought live goats that he left or left in the care of one of his men. This is how they are now roaming the western sector of the island. They have not gone to the eastern sector and it is very likely that this has happened because of the high hills in the center of the island, near Puerto Parry.

There are many who believe that all the goats should be killed or removed from the island because when it is introduced it changes the place where it lives. But the interesting thing is how they adapted and acclimatized to the place; Maybe the solution would be to take a group elsewhere since they are fully adapted.

It is the same with deer. In 1973 National Parks had the idea of ​​taking a group of 8 red deer that had been acclimatized in Ushuaia. From this group, which were thought to have not thrived, several groups can now be found; we have counted about 40 animals. The unusual thing is that they appear anywhere and it is not uncommon to see them in penguins.

It is on the side of the hill and about 100 meters from the Don Luis refuge where we get a major surprise: a forest of twisted trees but with a thick trunk, that is, plants of about 80 years or more. Each specimen had at least one bend and from some it was possible to obtain 3 or 4 different angles. Not only did we find these trees but there were also the stumps of those that were overturned by Don Luis's men. In his diary there are several comments about the curvones that he ordered to be cut from the forest and this clearly shows that he had no intention of destroying his beloved schooner; What's more, he constantly tried to re-float it and only gave up when they were about to finish the "Luisito" and a storm broke the lining of a band. It was when the stranding became a shipwreck.

In short, it was a paradise for "curvones" and anyone who knows about wood construction knows that there is no greater difficulty than getting these pieces with a natural curve that can be adapted to the type of boat that you want to build.

The puzzle is taking shape

Further towards the end of the bay we find the wood forest also with the stumps of the felled trees. This forest was what he used to keep the penguins' "can" in activity (melting fat). It is interesting to see how the forests are renewed by strips and the trees that fall due to the wind have already allowed a renewal to reach a tree thanks to its protection from the wind. These forests are excellent for firewood and in Franklin Bay they can be found on both sides.

Climbing the Monte Guerrero hill (307 m.), Which he mentioned as a very "painful" task, we went down towards Frola Point to go to the penguin colony. He sent his men with a boat. It is really the right thing to do because walking we used about 2 hours and we were demolished; On the other hand, with a boat it cannot take more than 15 or 20 minutes.

These penguins of the species commonly known by the name of "yellow plume" reach a height of 250 meters above sea level. The vegetation is grass "tussoc" as there are in the Falkland Islands. Until this discovery, it was thought that these colonies were the largest, but according to what we saw, the colony of Isla de los Estados may be as large or more than that of the Malvinas. In short, a lot of work for Adrián Schiavini and Silvia Gigli.

This is how Don Luis commented in his diary "the birds are ready"; In the month of March there were still the adults and those born that year were already of an interesting size so that they would end up in the oil pot. (From the newspaper 02/22 "... we found what I expected, the birds on land. With those millions of animals a great deal could be done ...")

According to the logbook of Lieutenant Darío Saráchaga, commander of the Bahía Blanca cutter, of the Expedition commanded by Don Augusto Lasserre in 1884, in this bay he collected 1,000 King penguin eggs and 100 wolf hides. We did not find King penguins or sea lions, evidently the exploitation of the wolfhounds was such that, despite the hunting ban, the island has not yet been repopulated.

Chain and anchor

At this stage of the events, we realized that the entire story of the illustrious navigator coincided perfectly with the place, but another important point was missing that, due to comments from Dr. Anne Chapman, Carlos Dipilato and Adrián Schiavini had seen a chain on a previous trip.

I looked for it busily and could find nothing. Then I went back to his diary and standing on what must have been the ribs of the prow of the schooner, I looked towards the coast a little past the breaker and reread what he had written:

"12 (March) We took the chains out of the hold and set up the pumps to test the day after moving the ship bow out. We put a chain outside. The buoys were all good ..." (those of the anchors).

"5 (May) ... Today we started by trying to throw the boat into the water, but I did not have the poles that I had ordered, also they did not tie the strip to the firm stone but to an anchor in the sand, without securing. ... "

If the shipyard was the place we thought; the remains the schooner; the stones must have been the only ones in sight about 35 meters away. There must be the chain or the anchor or both. Especially because of the angle of fire and the firm point to drag the cutter with a tackle. On the other hand, it is certain that in order to lighten the "Spore" and try to save it, he must have removed the entire chain.

With the help of a shovel and about 5 cm. in depth, links of a very well worked chain began to appear, with a buttress and with a hardly legible mark but which is already being analyzed in the United States of North America.

It was all about a chain bun. Obviously the reconstruction of the scene was done. Because that chain was left there, very simple, its size and weight are not suitable for the "Luisito" cutter.

Condors and albatrosses

There are not many things that can identify the few remains of the shipwreck, but its environment and the diary of the best navigator that Argentina has had coincide in such a way that there are practically no doubts.

In any case, the work will continue with the analysis of the wood being the next step to be carried out. We will also continue with the inspection of the place that we found to be the most beautiful place on the island.

Walking through the hills to the south and towards Cánepa Bay, we were accompanied by a couple of condors that glided around the cape. Of course there were the southern caranchos and the Magellanic. But the most unusual thing was to see albatrosses and petrels a short distance from the condors as if they were each controlling their territory. The lagoons and rivers that could be seen below, between dense lenga forests, and invited exploration. In front of us, from time to time, deer appeared; We went through their shelters very close to aguadas and, whenever possible, we used their paths, which in parts looked like avenues, which allowed us to walk without any difficulty.

The goat trails were the ones we used to go up or down the hills, all of this in an unimaginable setting given that both the vegetation and the geography of the place are very different from the rest of the island.

It is very likely that we were the first to walk through that area, with the exception of Don Luis, since we never found a description or photos of the place, except for the aerial that we had taken on several other trips.

The beach holds many surprises such as the remains of a massive stranding of pilot dolphins, the remains of the "factory" (also found and which coincides with what Daniel Kunstchik supposed), more remains of the "schooner" have been photographed, already measured. all taken the position by GPS. We know where everything is and we hope it stays that way for a long time and that the place does not become an attraction to harvest historical "souvenirs".

The Governor of Tierra del Fuego signed a decree limiting visits to the island. Something a bit difficult to control but at least it is a step to try to safeguard its fragile ecosystem, the historical remains and that with time it recovers from the exploitation of which it was a victim. It is to be hoped that it remains for the future as a sample of what Tierra del Fuego was.

Visits for scientific purposes will continue. Much remains to be done with the rockhopper penguins, which Adrián "Bicho" Schiavini will be in charge of and we will complete, as far as possible, the survey of the island's human historical infrastructure with the support of the Ushuaia Naval Base.

Homecoming

The days went by and in a break that the storm gave one morning with a calm wind, the ARA Notice "Francisco de Gurruchaga" appeared. Already alerted by radio we had things semi ready. The first voyage was made almost immediately, but within half an hour of anchoring the ship, a storm from the south west was unleashed with all its violence.

We can say that it was more than humid. With three rubber cans, one acted as support, we proceeded to evacuate even the garbage that we had produced.

Unfortunately a frame from the "Espora" opened the bottom of the boat that we had boarded with Adrián a bit, it was the last one and there was no point letting it pass. The waves did the rest: we had a very interesting open bottom for a navigation through the Caribbean looking at the colorful fish. In this case huge waves had to be braved crashing, with the gasoline tank floating above the height of the engine and everyone clinging to the pontoons.

The semi rigid support boat was in charge of looking for some bags, buckets and other things that we were losing. We looked at the warning bridge and saw its Commander constantly watching, in the open in the midst of the storm, the coast and sustaining the inevitable dragging of the anchor with a motor.

On deck, the Second Commander issuing orders to end the maneuver in the fastest and safest way. This is how harnesses appeared and as they pulled us out of the icy water they welcomed us with blankets and coffee. They showed that they knew what they were doing and the packages, us, had arrived somewhat moist but healthy.

To give us a bit of an idea of ​​the storm that touched us as a farewell, the ARA Grurruchaga Warning, prepared for a high seas tug, could not advance against the waves and the wind. Without being able to navigate at more than one knot, it was almost impossible to cross the Strait of Le Maire towards the Beagle Channel and in front of Veleros islet, it was decided to seek refuge in Bahía Buen Suceso.

To all this, we on the bridge (except for the "Princess Kobachovsky" alias Silvia Gigli) commented on the findings and remembered how Piedra Buena dared to navigate these seas, shipwreck, build a cutter with few elements, dedicate ourselves with it to economically rebuild itself. the loss of the schooner and navigating the area for years rescuing, in the interim, shipwrecks and establishing Argentine sovereignty in a place that would most likely otherwise have other owners now.

The entire ship was awaiting what was found and we felt as if Don Luis were present. Just in case he had already been in charge of playing a joke on us and showing us how he could be shipwrecked in a modern rubber boat and how he had to fight with sailboats without a motor to work on his island.

It is worth remembering that the "Island of the States" was his property and he owned it as today you can have a field. Only his nationalistic sense prevailed above all else. Financially bankrupt, he had the courage to reject an English offer for the purchase of the island, or even half of it. It is that in Malvinas they needed wood and they wanted to be able to have access to it.

At this moment, and thanks to Telefónica, we are in the process of building a cutter that we hope is very close to "Luisito". Based on a study by Manuel Campos, some modifications by Horacio Ezcurra and with the advice of several maritime museums on the east coast of the United States, we think that we have an idea that is very close to reality.

The intention is to build it and leave it cruising the Beagle. Secondary and technical establishments that want to navigate as Don did are invited to participate in the project. Luis Piedra Buena. But this topic is going to be for another note.

Otter Bay

The location of this port that Don Luis Piedra Buena used was always an enigma. It does not appear in any existing cartography. Unfortunately, the old letters that Don Luis used have been lost or are in an archive, but the truth is that it would have to be the current Caleta Lacroix or the Córdoba rocks.

We know that it was customary among wolves to keep the places where they "harvested" secret. Not so where they had the "factory", that is, where they processed what was captured. Thus, Don Luis speaks of Crossley Bay where he had a warehouse and "factory" but there he did not "harvest" wolf skins; he did this in other coves and rocks on the south side of the island.

I think this is a possible explanation, his men understood what place it was but no one else was going to be able to discover it, but if it is true that there were millions of animals that produced the origin of their income. It is an explanation and we hope that with new findings or research we can be certain.

We must thank the support received from the Argentine Navy; the libraries of the Naval Center, the one of the Depto. of Historical Investigations of the Navy, that of the Hydrography Service; to the Museum of the End of the World and the support of Telefónica de Argentina for the development of the investigations.

ESPORA 2

Continuing the works

The November expedition was followed by another one that began on February 22, 1999. In preparation for this new trip, between December and February, 3 overflights of Franklin Bay and Cape Setabense were made. They were carried out with the Governor's Araba and the Admiral Irizar Icebreaker helicopters to which we are very grateful.

Also the investigation in cabinets was giving its results. Several collaborators contributed data from various books and publications. For example, paragraphs such as the following caught our attention: "But the Piedrabuena commander had his day also come, when the sea played one of its own. This happened in Franklin Bay (Island of the States) with the brig" Espora ", which was manned by the brave sailor. A strong storm threw his ship to the coast, where it collapsed against the rocks. But Piedrabuena was not a man to be discouraged. With the remains of that sailboat he built the" Luisito "cutter of twelve tons, in which he and the crew of the "Espora" were saved. Taken from "La Patagonia Argentina" by Edelmiro A. Correa Falcón and Luis J. Klappenbach. Book 1 Graphic and Documentary Study of the National Territory of Santa Cruz. Page 79 Kraft workshops 1923. Information provided by Diana Alonso It is more than clear, it takes for granted that the shipwreck occurred in Franklin Bay without any doubt, where did they get the information?

We depart

On this occasion we were driven to the place aboard the A.R.A. Sobral whose Commander was Lieutenant Commander Hugo Almada, his Second Lieutenant Roberto Santo Pietro. The team consisted of divers Gustavo "Tato" Gowland and Carlos Dipilato, both from natural resources. Parallel to the work of the Maritime Museum, Ms. Sheryl Macnie participated, studying a stranding of 21 pilot whales; Dr. Adrián Schiavini who, together with Silvia Gigli and Andrea Raya Rey, all biologists, continued with the studies in the rockhopper penguin colony.

This time we had the objective of reviewing all the places already located such as the refuge - deposit, the shipwreck, the beach and, if possible, to dive the bay to see what could be found. The refuge - deposit was interesting since in that place many things were found scattered on the ground. There is a group of trees that fell on this "deposit"; In the future, an archaeological excavation should be made since under these trees zinc sheets, lead, pipes, cables and other elements can be seen.

In a totally unexpected way we found a second chain buoy, only about 10 meters from the one we had found before. The sea had been in charge of uncovering it and we were able to verify that these chains were well secured to the stones, just as Don Luis wrote in his diary.

From there the divers left, with their dry suits, to make a complete tour of the cove; from the break to the imaginary line that separates it from the bay. Although the almost black water from the peat bog could be seen on the surface, at a depth of about 20 centimeters the water was totally transparent; given the difference in salinity, it takes time to mix. With a depth of 7 to 10 meters and a sandy bottom, they found nothing. Our intention was to see if the anchor appeared but it is very likely that it is covered with sand. In the same way that the action of the sea uncovered the second bun of chains, it was also in charge of covering with sand almost the entire keel and the frames of the wreck. It is very probable that he has taken care of covering the anchor; if it was not recovered by any other vessel that called at this port.

Carlos Dipilato found a broom from the ship while he was towing the rubber boat upriver. We were able to confirm that the wear it had was equal to the pitch of the chain that we had found. We were struck by the lead sheet that was applied to it. This procedure was used so that the wood where it was applied would be preserved for a longer time.

Wood and other remains

The tasks continued with the collection of wood samples. Small cuts to frames, keel, sternum and lining. They were taken to be analyzed and thus try to determine the wood in question and the area of ​​dispersion. Also samples of the nail to be analyzed in the US and see if it corresponds to materials used around the middle of the 800.

Among the things that caught our attention was that as we sawed the frame we noticed that the center of it was completely dry and very hard. Looking at the rings and the grain we suspect a slow-growing tree, such as oak. In the 800s, its use in ships that were going to demand a lot, was common. Luckily we were not very far from reality.

The result was more than successful since the analysis of the wood carried out in Buenos Aires by Dr. Maria Castro del Conicet, tells us about a ship built with wood from the Northern Hemisphere. Possibly in a shipyard or port in the North Sea or the Cantabrian Sea. Place where most of the whaling ships and wolfhounds came from at that time. Hard woods were used, expensive for the time, which were only used for ships that had to endure very harsh treatment (such as wars or whaling); not so the freighters and / or clippers for which softer woods such as pine were used.

The presence of wood from North America may be telling us that the ship underwent some repair, which is very likely given that the schooner brig "Nancy" was purchased used by Captain "Smiley", on the east coast of the USA.

Although we will never find a sign that says "Espora" it is evident that the data obtained conforms to the descriptions of Don Luis Piedra Buena and the elements that were used at that time.

Another piece of information that agrees is the English origin of the contrete string. The bottles found give sufficient indications to estimate their manufacture around the middle of the 800's, both due to their welds at the top and bottom, as well as their shape. With regard to this point, what is analyzed is the way of manufacture without being able to determine the exact date, but the time can be determined.

Motivated by these results, we decided to carry out inspections in the other places frequented by Don Luis Piedra Buena before joining the Argentine Navy. These sites are Puerto Roca, Crossley Bay and Port Cook and Vancouver.

Leaving Franklin Bay on February 26, 1999

This time we set up camp well at the bottom of the bay on a small hill out of reach of the sand squalls. In any case, this month was much more peaceful than November where the violence of the wind made us spend whole days sheltered inside the tent.

It was in this place that we had the opportunity to see "otters". The sightings were several and made by different people. This could explain the name of Bahía de las Nutrias a bit.

We were also able to see deer and hundreds of goats. Something that caught our attention was that in the forests we did not see renewals or low branches. The question was automatically posed to us; What do these goats and deer eat? Is there enough pasture to support them or do they live off the forest renewals? If so, in about 100 years we will have an old forest without much possibility of renewal. But this requires studies that we will try to develop in November 1999. We estimate the deer population at around 100 animals and the goat population at around 1,000. Let's think that both mammals were introduced; the goat arrived with Don Luis during the last century to be able to have fresh meat when he spent months on the island hunting sea lions and penguins. After his shipwreck, he took several and released them thinking that they would be of great help in case someone was shipwrecked in the place. The red deer was taken in 1976 in an attempt to improve the fauna of the place. What to do with them? They are fully adapted and in the case of the goat one could almost speak of a different species from the one that gave rise to it. Move them? Where and for what? A dilemma where many would prefer not to have to take action. Others, more radical, are of the idea of ​​eliminating them from the island and thus giving back to the island the possibility of recovering over time.

Return

The ARA "Sobral" notice came in half a day to recover us since there was a probability that a storm would rise. This is how the 25th at 3.15pm. we hear the siren of the "Sobral". With a soft drizzle on a leaden gray day, we began with the task of setting up camp and with the help of several men from the ship, including Omar Mandolini, General Coordinator of the Provincial Government's Education portfolio, we were moving all the packages to the breaker. .

How could it be otherwise when we started boarding the wind already exceeded 30 knots and the short and pyramidal swell promised us some good shakes. We made the first trip with our boat, which being somewhat small, prudence did not advise making another trip unless it was totally essential.

One of the boats left a propeller blade stuck in the hard oak frame of the wreck. This caused the other boat to come to his aid and replace the propeller. Obviously Don Luis wanted us to suffer a little. The operation continued until almost 8:00 p.m. when all the material and people arrived on board. At that time of day we were already in the middle of a small storm and no one could estimate how long it would last or if it would get worse. It is worth highlighting the performance of the entire group and especially that of Lieutenant Rivolta, whom we made work for others; He carried tents, diving equipment and even boards from the wreck, in addition to taking charge of the operation of the boats. With the sea so wooded and given the strong wind, 3 trips with 2 boats from the ship were necessary, in addition to ours, when the disembarkation was made with only 2 boats and in a single trip.

With everything on board, the Commander decided to set sail. The "sieve" (rolling more nods, all in a disorderly way) lasted until 10 pm when, after the frolics, that next to the island, the wind died almost suddenly and a serene Le Maire allowed us to anchor in Buen Suceso near the midnight. Incredibly, everything had dissipated. Silvio Bocchicchio, from La Nación, was super excited taking note of everything and enjoying the great experience in which he had had the opportunity to participate.

Crossley Bay, Rock Harbor and Cook Harbor, though actually Vancouver

Continuing with the plan that we had drawn up on April 16, we once again embarked on the ARA "Sobral" notice. On this occasion, the group from the Maritime Museum was made up of Horacio García and Miguel Scipione. On this occasion, Emilio Urruty from the morning "El Diario", from Ushuaia, accompanied us; the Minister of Education, Eng. Javier F. Alvarez y Tristán. On board we met an Italian navigator, Giovani Leone, who a few weeks ago had lost his ship's mast and was now repairing it at the Naval Base. As he is a correspondent for nautical magazines in Italy, he did not want to miss the opportunity to visit the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse.

We dedicated ourselves to studying the remains of the Crossley construction and collected samples of wood, zinc plates and bottles to compare them with those obtained in Isla Pavón, Santa Cruz, and in the house of Gregorio Ibañez, second pilot of Luis Piedra Buena. (We must especially thank the collaboration provided by Researcher Jorge Eduardo Segovia, from Comandante Luis Piedra Buena). We delimit the surface that would deserve an archaeological study; most likely it would be the place where the "factory" could have been,

The samples of the nail match those already found in Franklin Bay. The remains of bottles coincided with those found on Isla Pavón, Puerto Roca and the "Eyroa" box in Vancouver. Not so those found, so far, in Franklin Bay.

In Puerto Roca, where Luis Piedra Buena left his men to work a colony of King penguins, we camped in a forest near the beach. We toured the place and found two mouths of a mighty river that cut us off towards the mountains. In both mouths we find remains of a precarious occupation. In the easternmost one, a shelter built with sticks placed towards the sea side. In the other, the remains of bottles (similar to those of Crossley and those of Isla Pavón) and stumps that indicated the cutting of trees; due to their state of putrefaction, they should be more than 100 years old.

We also found the place where the penguin colony could have been based. It will be for a next round, with a more detailed inspection of the place, to locate the possible site of the factory and the main shelter. Although it is known that when they finished a task they raised all the constructions, especially if they had used good veneers and woods.

In Puerto Cook we crossed to Vancouver Bay where in the forest we had found, in April 98 (with Carlos Dipilato), what was the famous "Eyroa" square. We crossed this isthmus where the men of Piedra Buena and other "wolves" crossed their boats to operate either from the south or north side of the island. Already in the place we collected samples to compare them with those collected in the different points investigated. The latest data on visits we have is from comments from Contra Admiral (RE) Gustavo Padilla that in 1942, at that time the Midshipman, they were going to renew his food. Don Marcos Oliva Day (father) saw it standing in 1967. Today it is a set of wood and veneers scattered on the ground and among trees that were growing and hiding the stumps left by its former occupants. You can still notice the 2 small rooms in which it was divided and the remains of the "straw" mattresses (tied with wire) that it had. In itself it was a refuge - deposit where they kept salt and other equipment for the slaughter of sea lions.

But all these places would remain for archaeological work to be carried out in future campaigns.

Ushuaia March 2, 1999

Samples drawn from Franklin Bay

1) 10 cm x 8 cm frame piece of wood. For wood analysis.

2) Idem of 8 cm x 8 cm, side or round ...? (not known). For wood analysis.

3) Ditto of 5 cm x 7 cm of keel (assumed). For wood analysis.

Samples taken from scattered debris on the beach or in the forest.

1) Piece of ship's lining board (it is presumed until the wood analysis is carried out) to be able to study the "nailing". It is about determining the time and method of construction. The idea is that it be studied by shipyards in Buenos Aires and museums on the east coast of the US, in particular those that have already worked with the Maritime Museum to study the "Luisito".

2) Piece of frame with an iron peg.

3) 30 x 20 cm piece of corrugated sheet metal to compare with sheets from Vancouver and Punta Arenas. Found in the woods it does not belong to the shipwreck.

4) 20cm piece of zinc or lead sheet. x 20cm. found in the forest. To try to determine if it is from the lining or from the "tacho".

5) 40 cm piece of cable. Found in the woods. To try to determine if it is for nautical use or not.

6) One inch by 30 cm piece of curved pipe. long. Found in the woods.

The samples are for analysis and do not represent museological value in terms of the possibility of exhibition of any kind.

It is worth remembering that if the "Espora" is a vessel 30 meters long, these samples of a few centimeters is less than a blood test.

Report on the work carried out by S.V. Macnie in Franklin Bay, United States

Previous information:

There was information on the presence of about 20 cetacean skeletons stranded on Franklin Bay, Isla de los Estados. Said skeletons were found by an expedition aboard the sailboat "Callas" in April 1997.

Goals:

The objectives of the trip were, firstly to confirm that they were specimens of the pilot dolphin Globicephala melas, then to carry out a series of standard measurements of the skulls, as well as to review all possible skeletal remains in search of abnormalities.

Work done:

Twenty measurements were taken from each skull, and each was identified with a number. Likewise, data were taken about the physical maturity of each specimen as well as photographs of each skull. In addition, the skulls were carefully checked for bone abnormalities. The review of other skeletal remains was started for abnormalities, but this review could not be completed due to lack of time.

Results:

Based on what was observed, it was determined that this group of animals consisted, for the most part, of young animals, which had not yet reached physical maturity. Of the 21 skulls studied, only 3 (IE 1; IE 15; IE 18) turned out to be physically mature.

A single specimen showed bone abnormalities in its skull, it is IE 18 that presented abnormal dental alveoli. These had exostotic growths within the dental alveoli, a fact that leads to the conclusion that this animal has probably lost several of its teeth and, therefore, could have experienced difficulties in obtaining food. This was one of 3 physically mature animals in the group, and the characteristics of the lesion suggest a chronic progressive course that had developed over a relatively long period.

Projects to be carried out:

The intention is to compare the morphometric data obtained with similar data from measurements made to other specimens of Globicephala melas in the country and in the world. It is of special interest to compare these data with those belonging to animals from the northern hemisphere since there are doubts about the similarity between pilot dolphins from both hemispheres.