Chapter 11-12 Summary and Analysis

Captain Fitz Roy attempts to sail through the Strait of Magellan for the second time and finds a calmer sea. He stops to talk with the Patagonians, a tribe of natives known for their tallness. Most are around six feet tall, which is not remarkable for the English but they do stand out among the natives. The captain takes three onboard for the journey northward along the southwestern coast of South America.

The Beagle makes it through the Strait by way of the Magdalen Channel, a fairly recent discovery, and out into the relatively calm Pacific Ocean. Darwin writes about some of his observations while on Tierra del Fuego. Besides the general gloominess of the island, he finds it astounding some of the natives have taken to eating a type of fungus that grows on the trees. He tries...