PREFACE
When, in January 1904, I had returned from taking part in the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, and had begun to work out my notes and collections, it happened to me, as it has happened to so many others before, that every now and then questions cropped up which, for want of material, had to be left unanswered. Gradually also quite new problems presented themselves, and the thought of returning once more to some of the countries I had visited soon arose. One of my companions from the Antarctic, Dr. J. G. Andersson, had just the same experience, but was kept in Sweden by his work as director of the Geological Survey. Without knowing of my scheme, he had got two of our common friends, T. Halle and P. Quensel, interested in our old field of operations in South America, and one day, as we happened to be speaking of it, we considered the possibility of planning a modest expedition, principally for geological and botanical purposes. With a geological survey were connected a number of geographical problems, such as the changes of the land after the Ice Age; the formation and true nature of the Patagonian Channels; the origin of the transverse Andine Valleys; the influence of geology and plant-geography on the landscape, &c. The algological investigations would also lead to the formation of zoological collections, and besides, we thought that in the Patagonian Channels we should have opportunities of making ethnographic studies.
In order to discuss our plans I arranged with Quensel and Halle that they should meet me in Stockholm at the Geological Survey office, and one evening was born the enterprise, afterwards called the “Swedish Magellanic Expedition,” of which the author consented to undertake the leadership, the members being: Carl Skottsberg, born 1880, D.Sc., Lecturer at the University of Upsala; Percy D. Quensel, born 1881, B.Sc. (now Dr.), Upsala; and Thore G. Halle, born 1884, B.Sc. (now Dr.), Stockholm.
I devoted myself to botanical work, but also made most of the insignificant zoological collections. The speciality of Mr. Halle was the survey of fossiliferous deposits, and as a clever bryologist, he assisted me in gathering mosses and other cryptogams. Mr. Quensel was mainly occupied with studies of the eruptive rocks, the origin of the Andes and the phenomena of glaciation. On many occasions the two geologists collaborated.
But it is one thing to make up one’s mind to go to South America, another to get money for such a purpose. The expedition cost about 23,000 Swedish crowns (£1280), and thanks to several funds, scientific societies and private persons, we procured the necessary money without great difficulty. Many useful articles in our equipment were presented to us, and the Swedish Johnson Line in Stockholm gave us a free passage on its steamers to and from Buenos Aires. To all those who assisted us, I have tried to express our gratitude in the preface to the Swedish edition of this book, and have explained how it would have been absolutely impossible to make a journey which lasted nearly two years at such small expense, had it not been for the unparalleled generosity shown by Argentina and more especially by Chile—not that the Argentine Government was less interested, but we spent most of the time in Chile. I need not repeat this, nor my sincere thanks to the representatives of Sweden. There is, however, one thing that I want specially to mention on the occasion of my book being laid before English readers. We spent part of the time in a British colony, the Falkland Islands, where His Excellency the Governor, Mr. W. L. Allardyce, C.M.G., and Mrs. Allardyce, both deeply interested in scientific work in general as also in our personal welfare, did all they could to promote our success. We are also greatly indebted to the Falkland Islands Company Ltd., to its director in London, Mr. F. E. Cobb, as well as to its representatives in Port Stanley, Mr. W. Harding, Mr. W. C. Girling and Lieutenant Colonel A. Reid, D.S.O. (no longer in the Company’s service). We also owe very much to numerous sheep-farmers, Mr. Allen of Darwin, Messrs. Benney of Saunders Island, Mr. Bertrand of Roy Cove, Dr. Bolus (now in Punta Arenas, then in Fox Bay), Mr. Felton of Westpoint Island, Dr. Foley, of Darwin, Mr. Mathews of Port Howard, Mr. Miller of Hill Cove, Mr. Packe of Port Louis, and many others, too numerous to mention. In Chile as well as in Argentina we met and were assisted by a great number of English people; we made good friends wherever we came, and learnt to admire the English nation as the great civilising power of the world.
It may not be considered unnecessary to mention, that during the whole journey under most trying conditions, I and my comrades remained the same good friends as we had been on leaving Sweden. Nothing is so well calculated to try friendship as a wild life away from culture and from other people. In this case friendship certainly stood the test.
C. S.
Upsala, 1911