position at each end, by means of a small bridge. The fingers played
upon these as upon a guitar, drawing forth a very low, harsh, and
disagreeable tone. The dance, thus pleasingly accompanied, was called
the Dance of Peace and Joy.

A wilder measure was next undertaken by the men alone. They first
equipped themselves with bows, arrows, and stout clubs; then they formed
a circle, indulged in the most rapid and fantastic movements, and
brandished their clubs as if dealing death to a hundred foes. Suddenly
they broke their ranks, strung their bows, placed their arrows ready, and
represented all the evolutions of shooting after a flying foe, giving
utterance to the most piercing cries, which resounded through the forest-
glades. Madame Pfeiffer, believing that she was really surrounded by
enemies, started up in terror, and was heartily glad when the dance
ended.

[Cape Horn: page51.jpg]

From Rio Janeiro Madame Pfeiffer sailed in an English ship, the _John
Renwick_, on the 9th of December, bound for Valparaiso in Chili. She
kept to the south, touching at Santos, where the voyagers celebrated New-
Year's Day, and reaching the mouth of the Rio Plata on the 11th of
January. In these latitudes the Southern Cross is the most conspicuous
object in the heavens. It consists of four stars of much brilliancy,
arranged in two diagonal rows. Late in the month the voyagers sighted
the sterile shores and barren mountains of Patagonia, and next the
volcanic rocks, wave-worn and wind-worn, of Tierra del Fuego. Through
the Strait of Le Maire, which separates the latter from Staten Island,
they sailed onward to the extreme southern point of the American
continent, the famous promontory of Cape Horn. It is the termination of