To the north the Straits are flanked by the line of massive gray peaks of the mainland peninsulas, and to the south rise the snowcapped peaks of Tierra del Fuego. Toward the eastern end there are the strange narrows and bays of the neck of Brunswick Peninsula, waters that in summer offer numerous species of fish to the brave and hardy fishermen.

The capital of the territory is Punta Arenas. Melfi narrates its tragic history. The first settlement was sent out in the 16th century by Philip II of Spain, in order to thwart attempts by pirates to lay English claim to the Straits. Nombre de Dios and Colonia Rey don Felipe were founded in 1584 near the eastern end of the Straits, but the colonists perished of exposure and hunger, and ever since then the site of the old Spanish fortress has been known as Port Famine, the name given to it by Thomas Cavendish. Three centuries later another

attempt was made to colonize the same part of the Straits, under the name of Fort Bulnes, but when this garrison was laid waste by fire the colony was moved in 1849 to Punta Arenas, some sixty miles nearer the Pacific. The new capital suffered devastation twice, once when sacked during the mutiny of prisoners led by Cambiaso, and later in the revolt of the artillerymen. Melfi sees a close connection between the violent past of the capital and the lawless history of the whole frontier region.

Although Punta Arenas (once called Magallanes) is a city of about 35,000, life there was somewhat provincial when Marín wrote of it. Whenever one of the big passenger boats arrived, townspeople rushed to the dock, moved by a nostalgic longing to take a trip back to Santiago or Buenos Aires. Marín described the central plaza, topped by the bronze statue of Magellan, who seems to stand guard over

the city and Straits. Preoccupied as this author is with social problems, he noted that facing the plaza were the elegant palaces of the millionaire owners of sheep ranches and shipping lines, but that in side streets, running up the hill behind the port, were wood and zinc shacks, in which even in summer the whole family huddled around the kitchen stove.

South of the Straits lies the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, where Campos Menéndez, Marín, and Coloane have all lived or stayed at one time or another. To reach the interior of the archipelago one takes a boat through Beagle Channel, which runs from northwest to southeast, separating Tierra del Fuego proper from the archipelago of Cape Horn. The western entrance to this channel is at the famous Brecknock Pass, whose treacherous storms are so vividly described in various stories. The steep coasts of the fjord are bordered by majestic snow-peaked islands. These islands are all that is left of the Andes, the rest of the cordillera having

The water

disappeared under the sea. of the channel is very deep, swirling in dangerous whirlpools that bear swiftly onward the sharp-pointed icebergs that have broken off the huge glaciers. Along this route of communication one passes a series of small settlements. On the northern bank of the fjord lies the Argentine settlement of Ushuaia, set in a ring of beautiful massive mountains. On the southern side of the fjord lie the Chilean town of Navarino and the village of Mejillones, the center of the Yahgan Indians. The interior of Navarino Island, however, is almost uninhabitable, being full of muddy swamps with lush summer vegetation; in winter whole forests are buried under snowdrifts. Behind the forests rise glaciercovered mountains that offer no access to the traveller. Lenox Island, still farther south, is famous for its streams of gold, which have lured thousands of miners to this frontier of civilization, in spite of the disagreeable cold mist of summer and the glacial winds and snowdrifts that force the miners to remain under their tents in

winter. Marín pictures well the solitude of Lenox Island, whose only connection with civilization is the infrequent mail boat that brings provisions and takes out the bags of gold.

The waters within sight of Cape Horn are dotted with many strange islands, such as La Pajarera, the haunt of birds and sea lions, described in Coloane's story called Cabo de Hornos. Millions of birds swarm in the crevasses of a skyscraper cliff, penguins near the water, a kind of cormorant above, and on top gulls and petrels. In an enormous cave hidden by a curtain of foliage there are beaches alive with sea lions. On an island in the center of this cave lie masses of females giving birth to their young. It is these pups, of the kind called de un pelo, that if killed shortly after birth and if skinned within twenty-four hours furnish the pelts that the furriers of Europe use to imitate the very rare skins de dos pelos of the southern

fur seal, which is rapidly becoming extinct.

Besides the gold-rush settlements and fishermen's huts, there are vast sheep ranches on the larger islands of the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. The scene of several of the stories of both Marín and Coloane is laid on such ranches, situated on the tranquil bays of the coast or on the interior plains. In some mountain sections that look like strange cataclysms of nature, you can find a shepherd's hut in a bright oasis of green pasture growing in the hollow beds of former glaciers, or on the banks of one of the beautiful little glacial lakes. On the plains there is a sturdy grass called coirón, which reverberates in the sun "as though it were a yellowish gray sea slightly rippled by the gentle summer breezes." In certain regions fields of white daisies and other small flowers perfume the clear spring air. Such bright days fill the men of Coloane's stories with a youthful

vigor and a joy of living that make them feel there is no more beautiful spot on earth.

In winter, however, it is more pleasant to stay inside, according to Coloane, especcially in the spacious, heated house of the administrator. The workers, on the other hand, live in cold barrack-like buildings or in solitary huts far distant one from the other. The west wind blows almost continuously in winter, piling the powdered flakes of snow into deep drifts that often bury both man and animal, while the cold gray sky presses down close upon the earth and the nights seem everlasting. To withstand the natural hardships of the region in winter, a man must have a strong body and a firm will, and many a worker is driven mad by these long months of solitude, like the shepherd in Cabo de Hornos. In spite of the dangers and trials of life here, many of the foreign administrators and head shepherds come to love

the country, so much so that when they retire to live in comfort in Scotland or England they often abandon their families again and return to finish their days in this land of fascinating beauty.

The people of these stories of the Land of Magellan are the same characters commonly found in frontier regions the world over a mixture of types and of races. There are Italian and Nordic sea captains, Yugoslav sealers. There is the Spanish contrabandist who later becomes boss of a ranch. There are English, Scottish, and Australian shepherds and overseers. Το the gold rush come foreigners from all parts of the world. The natives are mestizos, a mixture of Spanish or English with Indian. There are also some pure Indians, the Onas of the south, whose life and customs are described by Campos Menéndez and Manuel Rojas, and the Yahgans of Mejillones, who Coloane says are now a degenerate remnant of the strong race

that formerly populated the whole Straits region.

Some of the inhabitants have immigrated from other parts of Chile; for instance, the patriotic engineer in Paralelo 53 Sur who struggles against the sabotage carried on by the foreigners who want to keep Chile from discovering oil. Another idealistic figure in the same book is the selfeducated labor leader who is betrayed by a spy. Most of the laborers are hardworking but ignorant Chilotes who come down from the Island of Chiloé as seasonal workers. Melfi feels that when Chileans do not prosper as well as foreigners it is because they lack the constancy needed for undertaking hard and arduous enterprises and becaue they do not save their money to be used as capital in starting a business.

English influence is especially strong on

the sheep ranches. The administrator is usually a gringo an Englishman, Australian, or Scot. Marín gives a series of caricatures of a Bible-reading boss whose attitude of superiority infuriates the other people. With ridiculous formality the administrator keeps up his English customs, twice a week puts on a dinner jacket, and is waited on by a servant in livery, even though he dines all alone. But after dinner he gets drunk, and the next day is a fiend to all who cross his path. Coloane draws a more sympathetic picture of the administrator. He sees in the Scot overseer a man with a rude exterior but a kind heart, while his Australian Larkin is boss in the region because he has demonstrated that he has more strength and skill than anyone else.

Marín seems to dislike all of the Englishmen in the Land of Magellan. He bitterly