A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 9

When they left the s.h.i.+p I went on sh.o.r.e with them, and by this time several of their wives and children were come to the watering-place. I distributed some trinkets among them, with which they seemed pleased for a moment, and they gave us same of their arms in return; they gave us also several pieces of mundic, such as is found in the tin mines of Cornwall: They made us understand that they found it in the mountains, where there are probably mines of tin, and perhaps of more valuable metal. When they left us and embarked in their canoes, they hoisted a sealskin for a sail, and steered for the southern sh.o.r.e, where we saw many of their hovels; and we remarked that not one of them looked behind, either at us or at the s.h.i.+p, so little impression had the wonders they had seen made upon their minds, and so much did they appear to be absorbed in the present, without any habitual exercise of their power to reflect upon the past.

In this station we continued till Tuesday the 3d of February. At about half an hour past twelve we weighed, and in a sudden squall were taken a-back, so as that both s.h.i.+ps were in the most imminent danger of being driven ash.o.r.e on a reef of rocks; the wind however suddenly s.h.i.+fted, and we happily got off without damage. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the tide being done, and the wind coming about to the west, we bore away for York Road, and at length anch.o.r.ed in it: The Swallow at the same time being very near Island Bay, under Cape Quod, endeavoured to get in there, but was by the tide obliged to return to York Road. In this situation Cape Quod bore W. 1/2 S. distant 19 miles, York Point E.S.E.

distant one mile, Bachelor's River N.N.W. three quarters of a mile, the entrance of Jerom's Sound N.W. by W. and a small island on the south sh.o.r.e W. by S. We found the tide here very rapid and uncertain; in the stream it generally set to the eastward, but it sometimes, though rarely, set westward six hours together. This evening we saw five Indian canoes come out of Bachelor's River, and go up Jerom's Sound.

In the morning, the boats which I had sent out to sound both the sh.o.r.es of the streight and all parts of the bay, returned with an account that there was good anchorage within Jerom's Sound, and all the way thither from the s.h.i.+p's station at the distance of about half a mile from the sh.o.r.e; also between Elizabeth and York Point, near York Point, at the distance of a cable and a half's length from the weeds, in sixteen fathom, with a muddy bottom. There were also several places under the islands on the south sh.o.r.e where a s.h.i.+p might anchor; but the force and uncertainty of the tides, and the heavy gusts of wind that came off the high lands, by which these situations were surrounded, rendered them unsafe. Soon after the boats returned, I put fresh hands into them, and went myself up Bachelor's River: We found a bar at the entrance, which at certain times of the tide must be dangerous. We hauled the seine, and should have caught plenty of fish if it had not been for the weeds and stumps of trees at the bottom of the river. We then went ash.o.r.e, where we saw many wigwams of the natives, and several of their dogs, who, as soon as we came in sight, ran away. We also saw some ostriches, but they were beyond the reach of our pieces: We gathered mussels, limpets, sea-eggs, celery, and nettles, in great abundance. About three miles up this river, on the west side, between Mount Misery and another mountain of a stupendous height, there is a cataract which has a very striking appearance: It is precipitated from an elevation of above four hundred yards; half the way it rolls over a very steep declivity, and the other half is a perpendicular fall. The sound of this cataract is not less awful than the sight.

In this place contrary winds detained us till 10 o'clock in the morning of Sat.u.r.day the 14th, when we weighed, and in half an hour the current set the s.h.i.+p towards Bachelor's River: We then put her in stays, and while she was coming about, which she was long in doing, we drove over a shoal where we had little more than sixteen feet water with rocky ground; so that our danger was very great, for the s.h.i.+p drew sixteen feet nine inches aft, and fifteen feet one inch forward: As soon as the s.h.i.+p gathered way, we happily deepened into three fathom; within two cables' length we had five, and in a very short time we got into deep water. We continued plying to windward till four o'clock in the afternoon, and then finding that we had lost ground, we returned to our station, and again anch.o.r.ed in York Road.

Here we remained till five o'clock in the morning of the 17th, when we weighed, and towed out of the road. At nine, though we had a fine breeze at west, the s.h.i.+p was carried with great violence by a current towards the south sh.o.r.e: The boats were all towing a-head, and the sails asleep, yet we drove so close to the rock, that the oars of the boats were entangled in the weeds. In this manner we were hurried along near three quarters of an hour, expecting every moment to be dashed to pieces against the cliff, from which we were seldom farther than a s.h.i.+p's length, and very often not half so much. We sounded on both sides, and found that next the sh.o.r.e we had from fourteen to twenty fathom, and on the other side of the s.h.i.+p no bottom: As all our efforts were ineffectual, we resigned ourselves to our fate, and waited the event in a state of suspense very little different from despair. At length, however, we opened Saint David's Sound, and a current that rushed out of it set us into the mid-channel. During all this time the Swallow was on the north sh.o.r.e, and consequently could know nothing of our danger till it was past. We now sent the boats out to look for an anchoring-place; and at noon Cape Quod bore N.N.E. and Saint David's head S.E.

About one o'clock the boats returned, having found an anchoring-place in a small bay, to which we gave the name of Butler's Bay, it having been discovered by Mr Butler, one of the mates. It lies to the west of Rider's Bay on the south sh.o.r.e of the streight, which is here about two miles wide. We ran in with the tide which set fast to the westward, and anch.o.r.ed in sixteen fathom water. The extremes of the bay from W. by N.

to N.1/2 W. are about a quarter of a mile asunder; a small rivulet, at the distance of somewhat less than two cables' length, bore S.1/2 W. and Cape Quod N. at the distance of four miles. At this time the Swallow was at anchor in Island Bay on the north sh.o.r.e, at about six miles distance.

I now sent all the boats out to sound round the s.h.i.+p and in the neighbouring bays; and they returned with an account that they could find no place fit to receive the s.h.i.+p, neither could any such place be found between Cape Quod and Cape Notch.

In this place we remained till Friday the 20th, when about noon the clouds gathered very thick to the westward, and before one it blew a storm, with such rain and hail, as we had scarcely ever seen. We immediately struck the yards and top-masts, and having run out two hausers to a rock, we hove the s.h.i.+p up to it: We then let go the small bower, and veered away, and brought both cables a-head; at the same time we carried out two more hausers, and made them fast to two other rocks, making use of every expedient in our power to keep the s.h.i.+p steady. The gale continued to increase till six o'clock in the evening, and to our great astonishment the sea broke quite over the forecastle in upon the quarter-deck, which, considering the narrowness of the streight, and the smallness of the bay in which we were stationed, might well have been thought impossible. Our danger here was very great, for if the cables had parted, as we could not run out with a sail, and as we had not room to bring the s.h.i.+p up with any other anchor, we must have been dashed to pieces in a few minutes, and in such a situation it is highly probable that every soul would immediately have perished; however, by eight o'clock the gale was become somewhat more moderate, and gradually decreasing during the night, we had tolerable weather the next morning.

Upon heaving the anchor, we had the satisfaction to find that our cable was sound, though our hawsers were much rubbed by the rocks, notwithstanding they were parcelled with old hammacoes, and other things. The first thing I did after performing the necessary operations about the s.h.i.+p, was to send a boat to the Swallow to enquire how she had fared during the gale: The boat returned with an account that she had felt but little of the gale, but that she had been very near being lost, in pus.h.i.+ng through the islands two days before, by the rapidity of the tide: That notwithstanding an alteration which had been made in her rudder, she steered and worked so ill, that every time they got under way they were apprehensive that she could never safely be brought to an anchor again; I was therefore requested, in the name of the captain, to consider that she could be of very little service to the expedition, and to direct what I thought would be best for the service. I answered, that as the Lords of the Admiralty had appointed her to accompany the Dolphin, she must continue to do it as long as it was possible; that as her condition rendered her a bad sailer, I would wait her time, and attend her motions; and that if any disaster should happen to either of us, the other should be ready to afford such a.s.sistance as might be in her power.

We continued here eight days, during which time we completed our wood and water, dried our sails, and sent great part of the s.h.i.+p's company on sh.o.r.e, to wash their clothes and stretch their legs, which was the more necessary, as the cold, snowy, and tempestuous weather had confined them too much below. We caught mussels and limpets, and gathered celery and nettles in great abundance. The mussels were the largest we had ever seen, many of them being from five to six inches long: We caught also great plenty of fine, firm, red fish, not unlike a gurnet, most of which were from four to five pounds weight. At the same time we made it part of the employment of every day to try the current, which we found constantly setting to the eastward.

The master having been sent out to look for anchoring-places, returned with an account that he could find no shelter, except near the sh.o.r.e, where it should not be sought but in cases of the most pressing necessity. He landed upon a large island on the north side of Snow Sound, and being almost perished with cold, the first thing he did was to make a large fire, with some small trees which he found upon the spot. He then climbed one of the rocky mountains, with Mr Pickersgill, a mids.h.i.+pman, and one of the seamen, to take a view of the streight, and the dismal regions that surround it. He found the entrance of the sound to be full as broad as several parts of the streight, and to grow but very little narrower, for several miles inland on the Terra del Fuego side. The country on the south of it was still more dreary and horrid than any he had yet seen: It consisted of craggy mountains, much higher than the clouds, that were altogether naked from the base to the summit, there not being a single shrub, nor even a blade of gra.s.s to be seen upon them; nor were the vallies between them less desolate, being entirely covered with deep beds of snow, except here and there where it had been washed away, or converted into ice, by the torrents which were precipitated from the fissures and crags of the mountain above, where the snow had been dissolved; and even these vallies, in the patches that were free from snow, were as dest.i.tute of verdure as the rocks between which they lay.

On Sunday the first of March, at half an hour after four o'clock in the morning, we saw the Swallow under sail, on the north sh.o.r.e of Cape Quod.

At seven we weighed, and stood out of Butler's Bay, but it falling calm soon afterwards, the boats were obliged to take the vessel in tow, having with much difficulty kept clear of the rocks: The pa.s.sage being very narrow, we sent the boats, about noon, to seek for anchorage on the north sh.o.r.e. At this time, Cape Notch bore W. by N. 1/2 N. distant between three and four leagues, and Gape Quod E. 1/2 N. distant three leagues.

About three o'clock in the afternoon, there being little wind, we anch.o.r.ed, with the Swallow, under the north sh.o.r.e, in a small bay, where there is a high, steep, rocky mountain, the top of which resembles the head of a lion, for which reason we called the bay Lion's Cove. We had here forty fathom, with deep water close to the sh.o.r.e, and at half a cable's length without the s.h.i.+p, no ground. We sent the boats to the westward in search of anchoring-places, and at midnight they returned with an account that there was an indifferent bay at the distance of about four miles, and that Goodluck Bay was three leagues to the westward.

At half an hour after twelve the next day, the wind being northerly, we made sail from Lion's Cove, and at five anch.o.r.ed in Goodluck Bay, at the distance of about half-a-cable's length from the rocks, in twenty-eight fathom water. A rocky island at the west extremity of the bay bore N.W.

by W. distant about a cable's length and a half, and a low point, which makes the eastern extremity of the bay, bore E.S.E. distant about a mile. Between this point and the s.h.i.+p, there were many shoals, and in the bottom of the bay two rocks, the largest of which bore N.E. by N.

the smallest N. by E. From these rocks, shoals run out to the S.E. which may be known by the weeds that are upon them; the s.h.i.+p was within a cable's length of them: When she swung with her stern in sh.o.r.e, we had sixteen fathom, with coral rock; when she swung off, we had fifty fathom, with sandy ground. Cape Notch bore from us W. by S. 1/2 W.

distant about one league; and in the intermediate s.p.a.ce there was a large lagoon which we could not sound, the wind blowing too hard all the while we lay here. After we had moored the s.h.i.+p, we sent two boats to a.s.sist the Swallow, and one to look out for anchorage beyond Cape Notch.

The boats that were sent to a.s.sist the Swallow, towed her into a small bay, where, as the wind was southerly, and blew fresh, she was in great danger, for the cove was not only small, but full of rocks, and open to the southeasterly winds.

All the day following and all the night, we had hard gales, with a great sea, and much hail and rain. The next morning, we had gusts so violent, that it was impossible to stand the deck; they brought whole sheets of water all the way from Cape Notch, which was a league distant, quite over the deck. They did not last more than a minute, but were so frequent, that the cables were kept on a constant strain, and there was the greatest reason to fear that they would give way. It was a general opinion that the Swallow could not possibly ride it out, and some of the men were so strongly prepossessed with the notion of her being lost, that they fancied they saw some of her people coming over the rocks towards our s.h.i.+p. The weather continued so bad, till Sat.u.r.day the 7th, that we could send no boat to enquire after her; but the gale being then more moderate, a boat was dispatched about four o'clock in the morning, which, about the same hour in the afternoon, returned with an account that the s.h.i.+p was safe, but that the fatigue of the people had been incredible, the whole crew having been upon the deck near three days and three nights. At midnight the gusts returned, though not with equal violence, with hail, sleet, and snow. The weather being now extremely cold, and the people never dry, I got up, the next morning, eleven bales of thick woollen stuff, called fearnought, which is provided by the government, and set all the tailors to work to make them into jackets, of which every man in the s.h.i.+p had one.

I ordered these jackets to be made very large, allowing, one with another, two yards and thirty-four inches of the cloth to each jacket. I sent also seven bales of the same cloth to the Swallow, which made every man on board a jacket of the same kind; and I cut up three bales of finer cloth, and made jackets for the officers of both s.h.i.+ps, which I had the pleasure to find were very acceptable.

In this situation we were obliged to continue a week, during which time, I put both my own s.h.i.+p, and the Swallow, upon two-thirds allowance, except brandy; but continued the breakfast as long as greens and water were plenty.

On Sunday the 15th, about noon, we saw the Swallow under sail, and it being calm, we sent our launch to a.s.sist her. In the evening the launch returned, having towed her into a very good harbour on the south sh.o.r.e, opposite to where we lay. The account that we received of this harbour, determined us to get into it as soon as possible; the next morning therefore, at eight o'clock, we sailed from Goodluck Bay, and thought ourselves happy to get safe out of it. When we got a-breast of the harbour where the Swallow lay, we fired several guns, as signals for her boats to a.s.sist us in getting in; and in a short time the master came on board us, and piloted us to a very commodious station, where we anch.o.r.ed in twenty-eight fathom, with a muddy bottom. This harbour, which is sheltered from all winds, and excellent in every respect, we called _Swallow Harbour_. There are two channels into it, which are both narrow, but not dangerous, as the rocks are easily discovered by the weeds that grow upon them.

At nine o'clock the next morning, the wind coming easterly, we weighed, and sailed from Swallow Harbour. At noon we took the Swallow in tow, but at five, there being little wind, we cast off the tow. At eight in the evening, the boats which had been sent out to look for anchorage, returned with an account that they could find none: At nine we had fresh gales, and at midnight Cape Upright bore S.S.W.1/2 W.

At seven, the next morning, we took the Swallow again in tow, but were again obliged to cast her off and tack, as the weather became very thick, with a great swell, and we saw land close under our lee. As no place for anchorage could be found, Captain Carteret advised me to bear away for Upright Bay, to which I consented; and as he was acquainted with the place, he went a-head: The boats were ordered to go between him and the sh.o.r.e, and we followed. At eleven o'clock, there being little wind, we opened a large lagoon, and a current setting strongly into it, the Swallow was driven among the breakers close upon the lee-sh.o.r.e: To aggravate the misfortune, the weather was very hazy, there was no anchorage, and the surf ran very high. In this dreadful situation she made signals of distress, and we immediately sent our launch, and other boats, to her a.s.sistance: The boats took her in tow, but their utmost efforts to save her would have been ineffectual, if a breeze had not suddenly came down from a mountain and wafted her off.

As a great swell came on about noon, we hauled over to the north sh.o.r.e.

We soon found ourselves surrounded with islands, but the fog was so thick, that we knew not where we were, nor which way to steer. Among these islands the boats were sent to cast the lead, but no anchorage was to be found; we then conjectured that we were in the Bay of Islands, and that we had no chance to escape s.h.i.+pwreck, but by hauling directly out: This, however, was no easy task, for I was obliged to tack almost continually, to weather some island or rock. At four o'clock in the afternoon, it happily cleaned up for a minute, just to shew us Cape Upright, for which we directly steered, and at half an hour after five anch.o.r.ed, with the Swallow, in the bay. When we dropped the anchor, we were in twenty-four fathom, and after we had veered away a whole cable, in forty-six, with a muddy bottom. In this situation, a high bluff on the north sh.o.r.e bore N.W. 1/2 N. distant five leagues, and a small island within us S. by E. 1/2 E. Soon after we had anch.o.r.ed, the Swallow drove to leeward, notwithstanding she had two anchors a-head, but was at last brought up, in seventy fathom, about a cable's length a-stern of us. At four o'clock in the morning I sent the boats, with a considerable number of men, and some hawsers and anchors, on board her, to weigh her anchors, and warp her up to windward. When her best-bower anchor was weighed, it was found entangled with the small one; I therefore found it necessary to send the stream-cable on board, and the s.h.i.+p was hung up by it. To clear her anchors, and warp her into a proper birth, cost us the whole day, and was not at last effected without the utmost difficulty and labour.

On the 18th we had fresh breezes, and sent the boats to sound cross the streight. Within half-a-mile of the s.h.i.+p, they had forty, forty-five, fifty, seventy, one hundred fathom, and then had no ground, till within a cable's length of the lee-sh.o.r.e, where they had ninety fathom. We now moored the s.h.i.+p in seventy-eight fathom, with the stream-anchor.

The next morning, while our people were employed in getting wood and water, and gathering celery and mussels, two canoes, full of Indians, came alongside of the s.h.i.+p. They had much the same appearance as the poor wretches whom we had seen before in Elizabeth's Bay. They had on board some seal's flesh, blubber, and penguins, all which they eat raw.

Some of our people, who were fis.h.i.+ng with a hook and line, gave one of them a fish, somewhat bigger than a herring, alive, just as it came out of the water. The Indian took it hastily, as a dog would take a bone, and instantly killed it, by giving it a bite near the gills: He then proceeded to eat it, beginning with the head, and going on to the tail, without rejecting either the bones, fins, scales, or entrails. They eat every thing that was given them, indifferently, whether salt or fresh, dressed or raw, but would drink nothing but water. They s.h.i.+vered with cold, yet had nothing to cover them but a seal-skin, thrown loosely over their shoulders, which did not reach to their middle; and we observed, that when they were rowing, they threw even this by, and sat stark naked. They had with them some javelins, rudely pointed with bone, with which they used to strike seals, fish, and penguins, and we observed that one of them had a piece of iron, about the size of a common chissel, which was fastened to a piece of wood, and seemed to be intended rather for a tool than a weapon. They had all sore eyes, which we imputed to their sitting over the smoke of their fires, and they smelt more offensively than a fox, which perhaps was in part owing to their diet, and in part to their nastiness. Their canoes were about fifteen feet long, three broad, and nearly three deep: They were made of the bark of trees, sewn together, either with the sinews of some beast, or thongs cut out of a hide. Some kind of rush was laid into the seams, and the outside was smeared with a resin or gum, which prevented the water from soaking into the bark. Fifteen slender branches, bent into an arch, were sewed transversely to the bottom and sides, and some straight pieces were placed across the top, from gunwale to gunwale, and securely lashed at each end: Upon the whole, however, it was poorly made, nor had these people any thing among them in which there was the least appearance of ingenuity. I gave them a hatchet or two, with some beads, and a few other toys, with which they went away to the southward, and we saw no more of them.

While we lay here, we sent out the boats, as usual, in search of anchoring-places, and having been ten leagues to the westward, they found but two: One was to the westward of Cape Upright, in the Bay of Islands, but was very difficult to enter and get out of; the other was called Dolphin Bay, at ten leagues distance, which was a good harbour, with even ground in all parts. They saw several small coves, which were all dangerous, as in them it would be necessary to let go the anchor within half-a-cable's length of the lee-sh.o.r.e, and steady the s.h.i.+p with hawsers fastened to the rocks. The people belonging to one of the boats spent a night upon an island, upon which, while they were there, six canoes landed about thirty Indians. The Indians ran immediately to the boat, and were carrying away every thing they found in her: Our people discovered what they were doing just time enough to prevent them. As soon as they found themselves opposed they went to their canoes, and armed themselves with long poles, and javelins pointed with the bones of fish. They did not begin an attack, but stood in a threatening manner: Our people, who were two-and-twenty in number, acted only on the defensive, and by parting with a few trifles to them, they became friends, and behaved peaceably the rest of the time they staid.

For many days we had hail, lightning, rain, and hard gales, with a heavy sea, so that we thought it impossible for the s.h.i.+p to hold, though she had two anchors a-head, and two cables an-end. The men, however, were sent frequently on sh.o.r.e for exercise, which contributed greatly to their health, and procured an almost constant supply of mussels and greens. Among other damages that we had sustained, our fire-place was broken to pieces; we therefore found it necessary to set up the forge, and employ the armourers to make a new back; we also made lime of burnt sh.e.l.ls, and once more put it into a useful condition.

On Monday the 30th we had the first interval of moderate weather, and we improved it in drying the sails, which, though much mildewed, we had not before been able to loose, for fear of setting the s.h.i.+p adrift: We also aired the spare sails, which we found much injured by the rats, and employed the sail-makers to mend them. Captain Carteret having represented that his fire-place, as well as ours, had been broken to pieces, our armourers made him also a new back, and set it up with lime that we made upon the spot, in the same manner as had been done on board our own s.h.i.+p. This day we saw several canoes, full of Indians, put to sh.o.r.e on the east side of the bay, and the next morning several of them came on board, and proved to be the same that our people, who were out in the boat, had met with on sh.o.r.e. They behaved very peaceably, and we dismissed them with a few toys, as usual.

The day following, several other Indians came off to the s.h.i.+p, and brought with them some of the birds called Race-Horses. Our people purchased the birds for a few trifles, and I made them a present of several hatchets and knives.

On Thursday, the 2d of April, the master of the Swallow, who had been sent out to seek for anchoring-places, returned, and reported that he had found three on the north sh.o.r.e, which were very good; one about four miles to the eastward, of Cape Providence, another under the east-side of Cape Tamar, and the third about four miles to the eastward of it; but he said that he found no place to anchor under Cape Providence, the ground being rocky.

This day two canoes came on board, with four men and three young children in each. The men were somewhat more decently dressed than those that we had seen before, but the children were stark naked. They were somewhat fairer than the men, who seemed to pay a very tender attention to them, especially in lifting them in and out of the canoes. To these young visitors I gave necklaces and bracelets, with which they seemed mightily pleased. It happened that while some of these people were on board, and the rest waiting in their canoes by the s.h.i.+p's side, the boat was sent on sh.o.r.e for wood and water. The Indians who were in the canoes, kept their eyes fixed upon the boat while she was manning, and the moment she put off from the s.h.i.+p, they called out with great vociferation to those that were on board, who seemed to be much alarmed, and hastily handing down the children, leaped into their canoes, without uttering a word. None of us could guess at the cause of this sudden emotion, but we saw the men in the canoes pull after the boat with all their might, hallooing and shouting with great appearance of perturbation and distress. The boat out-rowed them, and when she came near the sh.o.r.e, the people on board discovered some women gathering mussels among the rocks. This at once explained the mystery; the poor Indians were afraid that the strangers, either by force or favour, should violate the prerogative of a husband, of which they seemed to be more jealous than the natives of some other countries, who in their appearance are less savage and sordid. Our people, to make them easy, immediately lay upon their oars, and suffered the canoes to pa.s.s them.

The Indians, however, still continued to call out to their women, till they took the alarm and ran out of sight, and as soon as they got to land, drew their canoes upon the beach, and followed them with the utmost expedition.

We continued daily to gather mussels till the 5th, when several of the people being seized with fluxes, the surgeon desired that no more mussels might be brought into the s.h.i.+p.

The weather being still tempestuous and unsettled, we remained at anchor till ten o'clock in the morning of Friday, the 10th, and then, in company with the Swallow, we made sail. At noon, Cape Providence bore N.N.W. distant four or five miles; at four in the afternoon Cape Tamar bore N.W. by W. 1/2 W. distant three leagues, Cape Upright E.S.E. 1/2 S., distant three leagues, and Cape Pillar W. distant ten leagues. We steered about W. 1/2 N. all night, and at six o'clock in the morning, had run eight and thirty miles by the log. At this time Cape Pillar bore S.W. distant half a mile, and the Swallow was about three miles a-stern of us. At this time there being but little wind, we were obliged to make all the sail we could, to get without the streight's mouth. At eleven o'clock I would have shortened sail for the Swallow, but it was not in my power, for as a current set us strongly down upon the Isles of Direction, and the wind came to the west, it became absolutely necessary for me to carry sail, that I might clear them. Soon after we lost sight of the Swallow, and never saw her afterwards.[48] At first I was inclined to have gone back into the streight; but a fog coming on, and the sea rising very fast, we were all of opinion that it was indispensably necessary to get an offing as soon as possible; for except we pressed the s.h.i.+p with sail, before the sea rose too high, it would be impracticable either to weather Terra del Fuego on one tack, or Cape Victory on the other. At noon, the Islands of Direction bore N. 21' W.

distant three leagues, Saint Paul's cupola and Cape Victory in one, N.

distant seven leagues, and Cape Pillar E. distant six leagues. Our lat.i.tude, by observation, was 52 33', and we computed our longitude to be 76 W. Thus we quitted a dreary and inhospitable region, where we were in almost perpetual danger of s.h.i.+pwreck for near four months, having entered the streight on the 17th of December 1766, and quitted it on the 11th of April 1767; a region where, in the midst of summer, the weather was cold, gloomy, and tempestuous, where the prospects had more the appearance of a chaos than of nature, and where, for the most part, the vallies were without herbage, and the hills without wood.

[Footnote 48: How very vexatious this was to the Swallow's crew, the reader has to learn from the account of Carteret's voyage.--E.]

SECTION III.

_A particular Account of the Places in which we anch.o.r.ed during our Pa.s.sage through the Streight, and of the Shoals and Rocks that lie near them._

Having cleared the streight, we steered a western course. But before I continue the narrative of our voyage, I shall give a more particular account of the several places where we anch.o.r.ed, plans of which are deposited in the Admiralty-office for the use of future navigators, with the shoals and rocks that lie near them, the lat.i.tude, longitude, tides, and variation of the compa.s.s.

I. CAPE VIRGIN MARY. The bay under this cape is a good harbour, when the wind is westerly. There is a shoal lying off the cape, but that may easily be known by the rock-weed that grows upon it: The cape is a steep white cliff, not unlike the South Foreland. Its lat.i.tude, by observation, is 52 24' S. and its longitude, by account, 68 22' W. The variation of the needle, by the medium of five azimuths and one amplitude, was 24 30' E. In this place we saw no appearance either of wood or water. We anch.o.r.ed in ten fathom, with coa.r.s.e sandy ground, about a mile from the sh.o.r.e, Cape Virgin Mary bearing N. by. W. 1/2 W.

distant about two miles, and Dungeness Point S.S.W. distant four miles.

We anch.o.r.ed here on the 17th of December, and sailed the next day. There is good landing, on a fine sandy beach, all along the sh.o.r.e.

II. POSSESSION BAY. In sailing into this bay, it is necessary to give the point a good birth, because there is a reef that runs right off it about a short mile. The soundings are very irregular all over the bay, but the ground is every where a fine soft mud and clay, so that the cables can come to no damage. The point lies in lat.i.tude 52 23' S.

longitude, by account, 68 57' W.: The variation is two points easterly.

In the bay the tide rises and falls between four and five fathom, and runs at the rate of about a mile an hour; in the mid-channel without the bay, it runs nearly three miles an hour. In this place we saw no appearance either of wood or water. The landing appeared to be good, but we did not go on sh.o.r.e. We anch.o.r.ed here on the 19th of December, and sailed again on the 22d.

III. PORT FAMINE. At this place, the Spaniards, in the year 1581, built a town, which they called Phillippeville, and left in it a colony, consisting of 400 persons. When our celebrated navigator, Cavendish, arrived here in 1587, he found one of these unhappy wretches, the only one that remained, upon the beach: They had all perished for want of subsistence, except twenty-four; twenty-three of these set out for the river Plata, and were never afterwards heard of. This man, whose name was Hernando, was brought to England by Cavendish, who called the place where he had taken him up, Port Famine. It is a very fine bay, in which there is room and conveniency for many s.h.i.+ps to moor in great safety. We moored in nine fathom, having brought Cape St Anne N.E. by E. and Sedger River S. 1/2 W. which perhaps is the best situation, though the whole bay is good ground. In this place there is very good wooding and watering; we caught many fine small fish with a hook and line off the s.h.i.+p's side, and hauled the seine with great success, in a fine sandy bay, a little to the southward of Sedger River: We also shot a great number of birds, of various kinds, particularly geese, ducks, teal, snipes, plover, and race-horses, and we found wild celery in great plenty. The lat.i.tude of this place is 53 42' S., longitude, by observation, 71 28' W.: The variation is two points easterly. We anch.o.r.ed here the 27th of December 1766, and sailed again the 18th of January 1767.

IV. CAPE HOLLAND BAY. There is no danger in sailing into this bay, and there is good anchoring ground in every part of it. We lay at about three cables' length from the sh.o.r.e, in ten fathom, the ground coa.r.s.e sand and sh.e.l.ls, Cape Holland bearing W.S.W. 1/2 W. distant three miles, Cape Froward a little to the N. of the E. Right a-breast of the s.h.i.+p there was a very fine rivulet, and close under Cape Holland a large river, navigable for boats many miles: The sh.o.r.e also affords fire-wood in great plenty. We found abundance of wild celery and cranberries, mussels and limpets, but caught very little fish, either with hook and line, or the seine. We killed some geese, ducks, teal, and racehorses, but they were not plenty. This bay lies in lat.i.tude 53 57' S., longitude, by account, 72 34' W.; the variation is two points easterly.

The water rose about eight feet; we found, however, no regular tide, but for the most part a strong current setting to the eastward. We anch.o.r.ed here on the 19th of January, and sailed again on the 23d.

V. CAPE GALLANT BAY. In this bay, which may be entered with great safety, there is a fine large lagoon, where a fleet of s.h.i.+ps may moor in perfect security. There is a depth of four fathom in every part of it, with a soft muddy ground. In the bay, the best anchoring is on the east side, where there is from six to ten fathom. Here is good watering from two rivers, and plenty of wood. The lagoon abounded with wild fowl, and we found wild celery, mussels, and limpets in plenty. We did not haul the seine, having torn one to pieces, and the other being unpacked; but if we had, there is reason to believe that we should have been well supplied with fish. The landing is good. The lat.i.tude of the bay and lagoon is 53 50'S., longitude, by account, 73 9' W.; the variation is two points easterly. I observed the water to rise and fall about nine feet, but the tide was very irregular. We anch.o.r.ed here the 23d of January, and sailed again the 28th.

VI. ELIZABETH'S BAY. At the entrance of this bay there are two small reefs, which appear above water. The most dangerous lies off the east point of the bay; but this may easily be avoided, by keeping at the distance of about two cables' length from the point. There is good landing all round the bay, but it is much exposed to the westerly winds.