A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 2

_Pa.s.sage up the Strait of Magellan to Port Famine; with some Account of that Harbour, and the adjacent Coast._

Soon after I returned on board I got under way, and worked up the strait, which is here about nine leagues broad, with the flood, not with a view to pa.s.s through it, but in search of some place where I might get a supply of wood and water, not chasing to trust wholly to the finding of Falkland's Islands, which I determined afterwards to seek. About eight in the evening, the tide of ebb beginning to make, I anch.o.r.ed in five-and-twenty fathoms. Point Possession bore N.N.E. at about three miles distance, and some remarkable hummocks on the north, which Bulkeley, from their appearance, has called the a.s.ses Ears, W. 1/2 N.

At three in the morning of the 22d we weighed with the wind at E. and steered S.W. by W. about twelve miles. During this course we went over a bank, of which no notice has. .h.i.therto been taken: At one time we had but six fathoms and a half, but in two or three casts we had thirteen. When our water, was shallowest, the a.s.ses Ears bore N.W. by W. 1/2 W. distant three leagues, and the north point of the first narrow W. by S. distant between five and six miles. We then steered S.W. by S. near six miles to the entrance of the first narrow, and afterwards S.S.W. about six miles, which brought us through: The tide here was so strong that the pa.s.sage was very rapid.[19] During this course we saw a single Indian upon the south sh.o.r.e, who kept waving to us as long as we were in sight; we saw also some guanicoes upon the hills, though Wood, in the account of his voyage, says there were none upon that sh.o.r.e. As soon as we had pa.s.sed the first narrow we entered a little sea, for we did not come in sight of the entrance of the second narrow till we had run two leagues.

The distance from the first to the second narrow is about eight leagues, and the course S.W. by W.[20] The land is very high on the north side of the second narrow, which continues for about five leagues, and we steered through it S.W. 1/2 W. with soundings from twenty to five-and-twenty fathoms: We went out of the west end of this narrow about noon, and steered south about three leagues for Elizabeth's island; but the wind then coming right against us, we anch.o.r.ed in seven fathoms. The island bore S.S.E. distant about a mile, and Bartholomew's island bore E.S.E. In the evening, six Indians upon the island came down to the water side, and continued waving and hallooing to us for a long time; but as my people wanted rest, I was unwilling to employ them in hoisting out a boat, and the Indians, seeing their labour fruitless, at length went away. While we were steering from Point Possession to the first narrow, the flood set to the southward, but as soon as we entered the narrow, it set strongly over to the north sh.o.r.e: It flows here at the full and change of the moon about ten o'clock. Between the first and the second narrow the flood sets to the S.W. and the ebb to the N.E.; after the west end of the second narrow is past, the course, with a leading wind, is S. by E. three leagues. Between the islands of Elizabeth and Saint Bartholomew the channel is about half a mile over,[21] and the water is deep. We found the flood set very strongly to the southward, with a great rippling, but round the islands the tides set many different ways.

[Footnote 19: "This narrow is about three miles over, and is the narrowest part of the straits." Wallis agrees as to the former remark--E.]

[Footnote 20: "At the entrance, or east end of the second narrow, lies Cope Gregory, which is a white cliff of a moderate height, and a little to the northward of it is a sandy bay, in which you may ride in eight fathoms water, with very good anchorage." "At the west end of the second narrow on the south sh.o.r.e, is a white headland, called Sweepstakes Foreland." See also Wallis.--E.]

[Footnote 21: The other work says a mile and a half.--E.]

In the morning of the 23d we weighed with the wind at S. by W. and worked between Elizabeth and Bartholomew's island: Before the tide was spent we got over upon the north sh.o.r.e, and anch.o.r.ed in ten fathom. Saint George's island then bore N.E. by N. distant three leagues; a point of land, which I called _Porpois Point_, N. by W, distant about five miles; and the southermost land S. by E. distant about two miles. In the evening we weighed and steered S. by E. about five miles along the north sh.o.r.e, at about one mile's distance, with regular soundings, from seven to thirteen fathom, and every where good ground. At ten o'clock at night we anch.o.r.ed in thirteen fathom; Sandy Point then bearing S. by E.

distant four miles; Porpois Point W.N.W. three leagues; and Saint George's island N.E. four leagues. All along this sh.o.r.e the flood sets to the southward; at the full and change of the moon it flows about eleven o'clock, and the water rises about fifteen feet.

The next morning I went out in my boat in search of Fresh Water Bay; I landed with my second lieutenant upon Sandy Point, and having sent the boat along the sh.o.r.e, we walked abreast of her.[22] Upon the point we found plenty of wood, and very good water, and for four or five miles the sh.o.r.e was exceedingly pleasant. Over the point there is a fine level country, with a soil that, to all appearance, is extremely rich; for the ground was covered with flowers of various kinds, that perfumed the air with their fragrance; and among them there were berries, almost innumerable, where the blossoms had been shed: we observed that the gra.s.s was very good, and that it was intermixed with a great number of peas in blossom. Among this luxuriance of herbage we saw many hundreds of birds feeding, which, from their form, and the uncommon beauty of their plumage, we called painted geese. We walked more than twelve miles, and found great plenty of fine fresh water, but not the bay that we sought; for we saw no part of the sh.o.r.e, in all our walk from Sandy Point, where a boat could land without the utmost hazard, the water being very shoal, and the sea breaking very high. We fell in with a great number of the huts or wigwams of the Indians, which appeared to have been very lately deserted, for in some of them the fires which they had kindled were scarcely extinguished; they were in little recesses of the woods, and always close to fresh water. In many places we found plenty of wild celery, and a variety of plants, which probably would be of great benefit to seamen after a long voyage. In the evening we walked back again, and found the s.h.i.+ps at anchor in Sandy Point Bay, at the distance of about half a mile from the sh.o.r.e. The keen air of this place made our people so voraciously hungry that they could have eaten three times their allowance; I was therefore very glad to find some of them employed in hauling the seine, and others on sh.o.r.e with their guns; sixty very large mullets were just taken with the seine as I came up; and the gunners had good sport, for the place abounded with geese, teale, snipes, and other birds, that were excellent food.

[Footnote 22: "We sent the boat to sound between Elizabeth's and St Bartholomew's Islands, and found it a very good channel, with very deep water. On this occasion we saw a number of Indians, that hallooed to us from Elizabeth's Island. Both the men and the women were of the middle size, well-made, and with smooth black hair; they appear to be of an olive-coloured complexion, but rendered more red than they are naturally, by rubbing a red earth mixed with grease all over their bodies. They are very active and swift of foot," &c.]

On the 25th, Christmas day, we observed by two alt.i.tudes, and found the lat.i.tude of Sandy Point to be 58 10' S. At eight in the morning we weighed, and having sailed five leagues from Sandy Point, in the direction of S. by E. 1/2 E. we anch.o.r.ed again in thirty-two fathom, about a mile from the sh.o.r.e; the south point of the Fresh Water Bay then bearing N.N.W. distant about four miles; and the southernmost land S.E.

by S. As we sailed along the sh.o.r.e, at about two miles distance, we had no ground with sixty fathom; but at the distance of one mile we had from twenty to thirty-two fathom. At the full and change of the moon, the tide flows off Fresh Water Bay at twelve o'clock; it runs but little, yet flows very much by the sh.o.r.e.

On the 26th, at eight o'clock in the morning, we weighed, with the wind at E.N.E. and steered S.S.E. for Port Famine. At noon, St Anne's Point, which is the northermost point of that port, bore S. by E. 1/2 E, distant three leagues. Along this sh.o.r.e, at the distance of two or three miles, we had very deep water; but within a mile had ground with twenty-five or thirty fathom. From St Anne's Point a reef of rocks runs out S.E. by E. about two miles; and at the distance of two cables'

length from this reef the water will suddenly shoal from sixty-five to thirty-five and twenty fathom. The point itself is very steep, so that there is no sounding till it is approached very near, and great care must be taken in standing into Port Famine, especially if the s.h.i.+p is as far southward as Sedger river, for the water will shoal at once from thirty to twenty, fifteen, and twelve fathom; and at about two cables'

length farther in, at more than a mile from the sh.o.r.e, there is but nine feet water when the tide is out. By hauling close round St Anne's Point, soundings will soon be got; and as the water shoals very fast, it is not safe to go farther in, when there is no more than seven fathom; the strait here is not more than four leagues wide.

The next day at noon, having had little wind and calms, we anch.o.r.ed at Port Famine, close to the sh.o.r.e, and found our situation very safe and convenient; we had shelter from all winds except the S.E. which seldom blows, and if a s.h.i.+p should be driven ash.o.r.e in the bottom of the bay, she could receive no damage, for it is all fine soft ground. We found drift-wood here sufficient to have furnished a thousand sail, so that we had no need to take the trouble of cutting green. The water of Sedger river is excellent, but the boats cannot get in till about two hours flood, because at low water it is very shallow for about three quarters of a mile. I went up it about four miles in my boat, and the fallen trees then rendered it impossible to go farther: I found it, indeed, not only difficult but dangerous to get up thus far. The stream is very rapid, and many stumps of trees lie hidden under it: One of these made its way through the bottom of my boat, and in an instant she was full of water. We got on sh.o.r.e as well as we could; and afterwards, with great difficulty, hauled her up upon the side of the river: Here we contrived to stop the hole in her bottom, so as that we made a s.h.i.+ft to get her down to the river's mouth, where she was soon properly repaired by the carpenter. On each side of this river there are the finest trees I ever saw, and I make no doubt but that they would supply the British navy with the best masts in the world. Some of them are of a great height, and more than eight feet in diameter, which is proportionably more than eight yards in circ.u.mference; so that four men, joining hand in hand, could not compa.s.s them: Among others, we found the pepper tree, or Winter's bark, in great plenty.[23] Among these woods, notwithstanding the coldness of the climate, there are innumerable parrots, and other birds of the most beautiful plumage. I shot every day geese and ducks enough to serve my own table and several others, and every body on board might have done the same: We had, indeed, great plenty of fresh provisions of all kinds, for we caught as much fish every day as served the companies of both s.h.i.+ps. As I was much on sh.o.r.e here, I tracked many wild beasts in the sand, but never saw one; we also found many huts or wigwams, but never met with an Indian. The country between this port and Cape Forward, which is distant about four leagues, is extremely fine, the soil appears to be very good, and there are no less than three pretty large rivers, besides several brooks.[24]

[Footnote 23: "In this part may be found a considerable quant.i.ty of excellent wood, either green or dry, the latter lying along the sh.o.r.e on both sides the straits, which are almost covered with the trees, that, having grown on the banks, have been blown down by the high winds. These trees are somewhat like our birch, but are of so considerable a size, that the trunks of some of them are two feet (surely an error, yards must be intended) and a half in diameter, and sixty feet in length. Many of these we cut down for our carpenters use, and found that, when properly dried, they were very serviceable, though not fit for masts."

The bark named Winter's in the text, is so called after Captain Winter, who discovered it in 1567. It was long held a specific for scurvy, and is now commended in certain cases as an article in diet-drinks.

According to the work just now quoted, the sailors often used it in pies instead of spice, and found it palateable.--E.]

[Footnote 24: The other account gives a very spirited description of the scenery of this agreeable spot--but it is too long for insertion here.--E.]

While we lay here, I went one day to Cape Forward, and when I set out I intended to have gone farther; but the weather became so bad, with heavy rain, that we were glad to stop there, and make a great fire to dry our clothes, which were wet through. From the place where we stopped, the Indians had been gone so lately, that the wood, which lay half burnt, where they had made their fire, was still warm; and soon after our fire was kindled, we perceived that another was kindled directly opposite to it, on the Terra del Fuego sh.o.r.e; probably as a signal, which, if we had been Indians, we should have understood. After we were dried and refreshed at our fire, the rain having abated, I walked cross the Cape, to see how the Streight ran, which I found to be about W.N.W. The hills, as far as I could see, were of an immense height, very craggy, and covered with snow quite from the summit to the base. I made also another excursion along the sh.o.r.e to the northward, and found the country for many miles exceedingly pleasant, the ground being, in many places, covered with flowers, which were not inferior to those that are commonly found in our gardens, either in beauty or fragrance; and if it were not for the severity of the cold in winter, this country might, in my opinion, be made, by cultivation, one of the finest in the world. I had set up a small tent at the bottom of this bay, close to a little rivulet, and just at the skirts of a wood, soon after the s.h.i.+p came to an anchor, where three men were employed in was.h.i.+ng: They slept on sh.o.r.e; but soon after sunset were awakened out of their first sleep by the roaring of some wild beasts, which the darkness of the night, and the solitariness of their situation in this pathless desert, rendered horrid beyond imagination: the tone was hollow and deep, so that the beasts, of whatever kind, were certainly large, and the poor fellows perceived that they drew nearer and nearer, as the sound every minute became more loud. From this time sleep was renounced for the night, a large fire was immediately kindled, and a constant blaze kept up: This prevented the beasts from invading the tent; but they continued to prowl round it at a little distance, with incessant howlings, till the day broke, and then, to the great comfort of the affrighted sailors, they disappeared.

At this place, not far from where the s.h.i.+p lay, there is a hill that has been cleared of wood, and we supposed this to be the spot where the Spaniards formerly had a settlement.[25] One of the men, as he was pa.s.sing over this hill, perceived that, in a particular part, the ground returned the sound of his foot, as if it was hollow: He therefore repa.s.sed it several times, and finding the effect still the same, he conceived a strong notion that something was buried there; when he came on board, he related what he had remarked to me, and I went myself to the spot, with a small party, furnished with spades and pickaxes, and saw the spot opened to a considerable depth, but we found nothing, nor did there appear to be any hollow or vault as was expected. As we were returning through the woods, we found two very large skulls, which, by the teeth, appeared to have belonged to some beasts of prey, but of what kind we could not guess.

[Footnote 25: See some account of this settlement in the Voyage of Captain Wallis, Section iii.]

Having continued here till Friday the 4th of January, and completed the wood and water of both s.h.i.+ps, for which purpose I had entered the streight, I determined to steer back again in search of Falkland's Islands.

SECTION V.

_The Course back from Port Famine to Falkland's Islands, with some Account of the Country._

We weighed anchor at four o'clock in the morning, and worked to windward out of the harbour: The wind continued contrary at N.N.E. till about one o'clock the next day, when it s.h.i.+fted to W.S.W. and blew a fresh gale.

We steered N.W. by N. four leagues, and then three leagues north, between Elizabeth and Bartholomew Islands: We then steered from the islands N. by E. three leagues, to the second narrow; and steered through N.E.E. continuing the same course from the second narrow to the first, which was a run of eight leagues. As the wind still continued to blow fresh, we steered through the first narrow against the flood, in the direction of N.N.E.; but about ten o'clock at night, the wind dying away, the flood set us back again into the entrance of the first narrow, where we were obliged to anchor, in forty fathom, within two cables'

length of the sh.o.r.e. The tide flows here, at the full and change of the moon, about two o'clock, and runs full six knots an hour.

At one o'clock the next morning, we weighed, with a light northerly breeze; and about three, we pa.s.sed the first narrow a second time.

Having now seen the s.h.i.+p safe through, and being quite exhausted with fatigue, as I had been upon the deck all the preceding day, and all night, I went into my cabin to get some rest. I lay down, and soon fell asleep; but in less than half an hour, I was awakened by the beating of the s.h.i.+p upon a bank: I instantly started up, and ran upon the deck, where I soon found that we had grounded upon a hard sand. It was happy for us, that at this time it was stark calm; and I immediately ordered out the boats to carry an anchor astern, where the water was deepest: The anchor took the ground, but before we could work the capstern, in order to heave the s.h.i.+p off to it, she went off, by the mere rising of the tide. It happened fortunately to be just low water when she went aground, and there was fifteen feet forward, and six fathom a very little way astern. The master told me, that at the last cast of the lead, before we were aground, he had thirteen fathom; so that the water shoaled at once no less than sixty-three feet.

This bank, which has not been mentioned by any navigator who has pa.s.sed the streight, is extremely dangerous; especially as it lies directly in the fair way between Cape Virgin Mary and the first narrow, and just in the middle between the south and north sh.o.r.es. It is more than two leagues long, and full as broad; in many places also it is very steep.

When we were upon it, Point Possession bore N.E. distant three leagues; and the entrance of the narrow S.W. distant two leagues. I afterwards saw many parts of it dry, and the sea breaking very high over other parts of it, where the water was shallow. A s.h.i.+p that should ground upon this shoal in a gale of wind, would probably be very soon beaten to pieces.

About six o'clock in the morning, we anch.o.r.ed in fifteen fathom, the shoal bearing N.N.W.1/2 W. at the distance of about half a mile. At noon, we weighed with a light breeze at N.E. and worked with the ebb tide till two; but finding the water shoal, we anch.o.r.ed again in six fathom and a half, at about the distance of half a mile from the south side of the shoal; the a.s.ses' Ears then bearing N.W. by W. distant four leagues, and the south point of the entrance of the first Narrow W.S.W. distant about three leagues. At this time the opening of the narrow was shut in, and upon sending out the boats to sound, they discovered a channel between the shoal and the south sh.o.r.e of the streight. The Tamar in the mean time, as she was endeavouring to come near us, was very near going on sh.o.r.e, having once got into three fathom, but soon after came to an anchor in the channel between the shoal and the north sh.o.r.e.

The next morning, about eight o'clock, we weighed, with little wind at W.S.W. and steered about half a mile S.E. by E. when, having deepened our water to thirteen fathom, we steered between the E. and E.N.E. along the south side of the shoal, at the distance of about seven miles from the south sh.o.r.e, keeping two boats at some distance, one on each bow, to sound. The depth of water was very irregular, varying continually between nine and fifteen fathom; and upon hauling nearer to the shoal, we had very soon no more than seven fathom: The boats went over a bank, upon which they had six fathom and a half; it being then low water, but within the bank, they had thirteen fathom. At noon, we were to the eastward of the shoal, and as we hauled over to the north sh.o.r.e, we soon deepened our water to twenty fathom. Point Possession at this time bore N.N.W. distant between four and five leagues, the a.s.ses' Ears W.N.W.

distant six leagues, and Cape Virgin Mary N.E.1/2 E. distant about seven leagues. From this situation we steered N.E. by E. for the south end of the spit which runs to the southward of the Cape, and had no soundings with five and twenty fathom. At four in the afternoon, Cape Virgin Mary bore N.E. and the south end of the spit N.E. by E. distant three leagues. At eight the next morning, the Cape bore N. by W. distant two leagues. Our lat.i.tude was 51 50', and our soundings were eleven and twelve fathom. We now brought-to for the Tamar, who had come through the north channel, and was some leagues astern of us, and while we were waiting for her coming up, the officer of the watch informed me that the head of the main-mast was sprung: I immediately went up to look at it myself, and found it split almost in a straight line perpendicularly for a considerable length, but I could not discover exactly how far the fissure went, for the cheeks that were upon the mast. We imagined this to have happened in the very hard gale that had overtaken us some time before; but as it was of more importance to contrive how to repair the damage, than discover how it happened, we immediately put on a strong fish, and woolded it so well, that we had reason to hope the mast would be as serviceable as ever. Cape Virgin Mary now bore S. 62 W. distant twenty-one leagues, and our lat.i.tude was 51 50' S. longitude 69 56'

W.; the variation 20 E.

On the 9th, having sailed S. 67 E. our lat.i.tude was 52 8' S. our longitude 68 31' W. and Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 83 W. distant thirty-three leagues.

On the 10th, there having been little wind for the last twenty-four hours, between the north and east, with thick foggy weather, our course was N. 18 W. for thirty-nine miles. Our lat.i.tude was 51 31' S.

longitude 68 44' W.; variation 20 E. and Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 60 W. distant thirty-three leagues.

On the 11th, we had strong gales at S.W. with a great sea: Our course was N. 87 E. for ninety-nine miles. Our lat.i.tude was 51 24' S.

longitude 66 10' W. Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 75 8' W. distant sixty-five leagues, and Cape Fair-weather W. 2 S. distant seventy leagues; the variation was now 19 E. About seven in the evening, I thought I saw land a-head of us, but the Tamar being some leagues astern, I wore s.h.i.+p, and made an easy sail off: The next morning, at break of day, I stood in again, the wind having s.h.i.+fted in the night to N.W. and about four o'clock I recovered sight of the land a-head, which had the appearance of three islands: I imagined they might be the islands of Sebald de Wert, but intending to stand between them, I found that the land which had appeared to be separated, was joined by some very low ground, which formed a deep bay. As soon as I had made this discovery, I tacked and stood out again, and at the same time saw land a great way to the southward, which I made no doubt was the same that is mentioned in the charts by the name of the New Islands. As I was hauling out of this bay, I saw a long, low shoal of rocks, stretching out for more than a league to the northward of us, and another of the same kind lying between that and what we had taken for the northermost of De Wert's Islands. This land, except the low part, which is not seen till it is approached near, consists of high, craggy, barren rocks, which in appearance very much resemble Staten Land. When I had got so near as to discover the low land, I was quite embayed, and if it had blown hard at S.W. so great a sea must have rolled in here as would have rendered it almost impossible to claw off the sh.o.r.e; all s.h.i.+ps, therefore, that may hereafter navigate these parts, should avoid falling in with it. The seals and birds here are innumerable; we saw also many whales spouting about us, several of which were of an enormous size. Our lat.i.tude now was 51 27' S. longitude 63 54' W.; the variation was 23 30' E. In the evening we brought-to, and at day-break the next morning, stood in for the north part of the island by the coast of which we had been embayed: When we had got about four miles to the eastward, it fell calm, and rained with great violence, during which there arose such a swell as I never remember to have seen: It came from the westward, and ran so quick and so high, that I expected every moment it would break: It set us very fast towards the sh.o.r.e, which is as dangerous as any in the world, and I could see the surge breaking at some distance from it, mountains high: Happily for us a fresh gale sprang up at south-east, with which, to our great joy, we were able to stand off; and if behoves whoever shall afterwards come this way, to give the north part of this island a good birth. After I had got to some distance, the weather being thick, and it raining very hard, I brought-to. Our lat.i.tude was now 51S. and longitude 63 22' W.

On Monday the 14th, the weather having cleared up, and the wind s.h.i.+fted to the S.S.W. we steered along the short S.E. by E. four miles, and saw a low flat island full of high tufts of gra.s.s, resembling bushes, bearing south, at the distance of two or three leagues, the northernmost land at the same time bearing west, distant about six leagues: We had here thirty-eight fathom, with rocky ground. We continued our course along the sh.o.r.e six leagues farther, and then saw a low rocky island hearing S.E. by E. distant about five miles: Here we brought-to, and having sounded, we had forty fathom water, with a bottom of white sand.

This island is about three leagues distant from the land we were coasting, which here forms a very deep bay, and beats E. by N. of the other island on which we had seen the long tufts of gra.s.s: We saw the sea break at a good distance from the sh.o.r.e, and during the night stood off and on. The next morning at three o'clock we made sail, and stood in for the land to look for a harbour. At six, the east end of the rocky island bore W.S.W. distant about three miles, and our soundings then were sixteen fathom, with rocky ground; but when we got within the island we had twenty fathom, with fine white sand. The coast from this rocky island lies E. by S. distant about seven or eight leagues, where there are two low islands, which make the easternmost land in sight. At eight o'clock we saw an opening, which had the appearance of an harbour, bearing E.S.E. and being between two and three leagues distant. Upon this discovery we brought to, and sent a boat from each of the s.h.i.+ps to examine the opening; but it beginning to blow very hard soon after, and the weather growing thick, with heavy rain, we were obliged to stand out to sea with both the s.h.i.+ps, and it was not without great difficulty that we cleared the two rocky islands which were to the eastward of us. We had now a great sea, and I began to be under much concern lest we should be blown off, and our people in the boats left behind: However, about three in the afternoon, the weather clearing up, I tacked and stood in again, and presently after had the satisfaction to see one of the boats, though it was a long way to leeward of us. I immediately bore down to her, and found her to be the Tamar's boat, with Mr Hindman, the second lieutenant, on board, who having been on sh.o.r.e in the opening, had ventured off, notwithstanding the great sea and bad weather, to inform me that he had found a fine harbour: We immediately stood in for it, and found it equally beyond his report and our expectations; the entrance is about a mile over, and every part of it is perfectly safe, the depth of water, close to the sh.o.r.e, being from ten to seven fathom. We found this harbour to consist of two little bays on the starboard side, where s.h.i.+ps may anchor in great safety, and in each of which there is a fine rivulet of fresh water. Soon after we entered an harbour of much greater extent, which I called Port Egmont, in honour of the earl, who was then first lord of the Admiralty; and I think it is one of the finest harbours in the world. The mouth of it is S.E. distant seven leagues from the low rocky island, which is a good mark to know it by: Within the island, and at the distance of about two miles from the sh.o.r.e, there is between seventeen and eighteen fathom water; and about three leagues to the westward of the harbour, there is a remarkable white sandy beach, off which a s.h.i.+p may anchor till there is an opportunity to run in. In standing in for this sandy beach, the two low rocky islands, which we found it difficult to clear when the weather obliged us to stand off, appear to the eastward, and Port Egmont is about sixteen leagues from the north end of these islands. We moored in ten fathom, with fine holding ground. The northermost point of the western sh.o.r.e was distant two miles and a half, the watering-place on that sh.o.r.e bore W.N.W.1/2 W.

and was distant half a mile, and the islands on the east side bore E. by S. and were distant four miles. The whole navy of England might ride here in perfect security from all winds. Soon after the s.h.i.+p came to an anchor, the other boat which had remained on sh.o.r.e when Mr Hindman put off, came on board. In the southermost part of the harbour there are several islands, but there is no pa.s.sage out for a s.h.i.+p; I went, however, through in my boat, about seven leagues distant from where the s.h.i.+p lay, and entered a large sound, which is too much exposed to a westerly wind for s.h.i.+ps to lie in it safely; and the master, of the Tamar, who had been round in her boat, and entered this sound from without, reported that many shoals lay off it, so that if the harbour was ever so good, it would not be prudent to attempt getting in. In every part of Port Egmont there is fresh water in the greatest plenty, and geese, ducks, snipes, and other birds are so numerous, that our people grew tired of them: It was a common thing for a boat to bring off sixty or seventy fine geese, without expending a single charge of powder and shot, for the men knocked down as many as they pleased with stones: Wood, however, is wanting here, except a little that is found adrift along the sh.o.r.e, which I imagined came from the Straits of Magellan.

Among other refreshments, which are in the highest degree salutary to those who have contracted s...o...b..tic disorders, during a long voyage, here are wild celery, and wood sorrel, in the greatest abundance; nor is there any want of mussels, clams, c.o.c.kles, and limpets: The seals and penguins are innumerable, so that it is impossible to walk upon the beach without first driving them away: And the coast abounds with sea-lions, many of which are of an enormous size. We found this animal very formidable; I was once attacked by one of them very unexpectedly, and it was with the utmost difficulty that I could disengage myself from him: At other times we had many battles with them, and it has sometimes afforded a dozen of us an hour's work to dispatch one of them: I had with me a very fine mastiff dog, and a bite of one of these creatures almost tore him to pieces. Nor were these the only dangerous animals that we found here, for the master having been sent out one day to sound the coast upon the south sh.o.r.e, reported, at his return, that four creatures of great fierceness, resembling wolves, ran up to their bellies in the water to attack the people in his boat, and that as they happened to have no fire-arms with them, they had immediately put the boat off into deep water. The next morning after this happened, I went upon the southern sh.o.r.e myself, where we found one of the largest sea-lions I had ever seen: As the boat's crew were now well armed, they immediately engaged him, and during the contest one of the other animals was seen running towards us: He was tired out before he came up, and was presently killed, though I afterwards wished that we had endeavoured to take him alive, which, if we had been aware of his attack, I daresay might easily have been done. When any of these creatures got sight of our people, though at ever so great a distance, they ran directly at them; and no less than five of them were killed this day. They were always called wolves by the s.h.i.+p's company, but, except in their size, and the shape of the tail, I think they bore a greater resemblance to a fox. They are as big as a middle-sized mastiff, and their fangs are remarkably long and sharp. There are great numbers of them upon this coast, though it is not perhaps easy to guess how they first came hither, for these islands are at least one hundred leagues distant from the main: They burrow in the ground like a fox, and we have frequently seen pieces of seal which they have mangled, and the skins of penguins, lie scattered about the mouth of their holes. To get rid of these creatures, our people set fire to the gra.s.s, so that the country was in a blaze as far as the eye could reach, for several days, and we could see them running in great numbers to seek other quarters. I dug holes in many places, about two feet deep, to examine the soil, which I found first a black mold, and then a light clay. While we lay here, we set up the armourer's forge on sh.o.r.e, and completed a great deal of iron-work that was much wanted. Our people had every morning an excellent breakfast made of portable soup, and wild celery, thickened with oatmeal: Neither was our attention confined wholly to ourselves, for the surgeon of the Tamar surrounded a piece of ground near the watering-place with a fence of turf, and planted it with many esculent vegetables as a garden, for the benefit of those who might hereafter come to this place.[26] Of this harbour, and all the neighbouring islands, I took possession for his majesty King George the Third of Great Britain, by the name of _Falkland's Islands_; and there is, I think, little reason to doubt that they are the same land to which Cowley gave the name of Pepys's Island.

[Footnote 26: "Many of them began to spring up very fast, and we have since heard, that some persons who arrived there after our departure, eat of those roots and sallad."]

In the printed account of Cowley's voyage, he says, "we held our course S.W. till we came into the lat.i.tude of forty-seven degrees, where we saw land, the same being an island, not before known, lying to the westward of us: It was not inhabited, and I gave it the name of Pepys's Island.

We found it a very commodious place for s.h.i.+ps to water at, and take in wood, and it has a very good harbour, where a thousand sail of s.h.i.+ps may safely ride. Here is great plenty of fowls; and, we judge, abundance of fish, by reason of the ground's being nothing but rocks and sands."

To this account there is annexed a representation of Pepys's Island, in which names are given to several points and head-lands, and the harbour is called Admiralty Bay; yet it appears that Cowley had only a distant view of it, for he immediately adds, "the wind being so extraordinary high that we could not get into it to water, we stood to the southward, shaping our course S.S.W. till we came into the lat.i.tude of 53;" and though he says that "it was commodious to take in wood," and it is known that there is no wood on Falkland's Islands, Pepys's Island and Falkland's Islands may notwithstanding be the same; for upon Falkland's Islands there are immense quant.i.ties of flags with narrow leaves, reeds and rushes which grow in cl.u.s.ters, so as to form bushes about three feet high, and then shoot about six or seven feet higher: These at a distance have greatly the appearance of wood, and were taken for wood by the French, who landed there in the year 1764, as appears by Pernetty's account of their voyage.[27] It has been suggested that the lat.i.tude of Pepys's Island might, in the MS. from which the account of Cowley's voyage was printed, be expressed in figures, which, if ill made, might equally resemble forty-seven, and fifty-one; and therefore as there is no island in these seas in lat.i.tude forty-seven, and as Falkland's Islands lie nearly in fifty-one, that fifty-one might reasonably be concluded to be the number for which the figures were intended to stand: Recourse therefore was had to the British Museum, and a ma.n.u.script journal of Cowley's was there found. In this ma.n.u.script no mention is made of an island not before known, to which he gave the name of Pepys's Island, but land is mentioned in lat.i.tude forty-seven degrees forty minutes, expressed in words at length, which exactly answers to the description of what is called Pepys's Island in the printed account, and which here, he says, he supposed to be the islands of Sebald de Wert.

This part of the ma.n.u.script is in the following words: "January, 1683, This month we were in the lat.i.tude of forty-seven degrees and forty minutes, where we espied an island bearing west from us; we having the wind at east north-east, we bore away for it; it being too late for us to go on sh.o.r.e, we lay by all night. The island seemed very pleasant to the eye, with many woods, I may as well say the whole land was woods.

There being a rock lying above water to the eastward of it, where an innumerable company of fowls, being of the bigness of a small goose, which fowls would strike at our men as they were aloft: Some of them we killed and eat: They seemed to us very good, only tasted somewhat fishly. I sailed along that island to the southward, and about the south-west side of the island there seemed to me to be a good place for s.h.i.+ps to ride; I would have had the boat out to have gone into the harbour, but the wind blew fresh, and they would not agree to go with it. Sailing a little further, keeping the lead, and having six and-twenty and seven-and-twenty fathoms water, until we came to a place where we saw the weeds ride, heaving the lead again, found but seven fathoms water. Fearing danger went about the s.h.i.+p there; were then fearfull to stay by the land any longer, it being all rocky ground, but the harbour seemed to be a good place for s.h.i.+pps to ride there; in the island, seeming likewise to have water enough, there seemed to me to be harbour for five hundred sail of s.h.i.+ps. The going in but narrow, and the north side of the entrance shallow water that I could see, but I verily believe that there is water enough for any s.h.i.+p to go in on the south side, for there cannot be so great a lack of water, but must needs scoure a channel away at the ebb deep enough for s.h.i.+pping to go in. I would have had them stood upon a wind all night, but they told me they were not come out to go upon discovery. We saw likewise another island by this that night, which made me think them to be the Sibble D'wards."

[Footnote 27: Bougainville, who had the command of the expedition here referred to, says, "The same illusion which made Hawkins, Woods Rogers, and others believe that these isles were covered with wood, acted likewise upon my fellow voyagers. We were surprised when we landed, to see that what we took for woods as we sailed along the coast, was nothing but bushes of a tall rush, standing very close together. The bottom of its stalks being dried, got the colour of a dead leaf to the height of about five feet; and from thence springs the tuft of rushes, which crown this stalk; so that at a distance, these stalks together have the appearance of a wood of middling height. These rushes only grow near the sea side, and on little isles; the mountains on the main land are, in some parts, covered all over with heath, which are easily mistaken for bushes."--Forster's Translation, where a pretty interesting account of these islands (called Malouines) is to be found.--E.]

"The same night we steered our course againe west south west, which was but our south west, the compa.s.se having two and twenty degrees variation eastwardly, keeping that course till we came in the lat.i.tude of three and fifty degrees."

In both the printed and ma.n.u.script account, this land is said to lie in lat.i.tude forty-seven, to be situated to the westward of the s.h.i.+p when first discovered, to appear woody, to have an harbour where a great number of s.h.i.+ps might ride in safety, and to be frequented by innumerable birds. It appears also by both accounts, that the weather prevented his going on sh.o.r.e, and that he steered from it W.S.W. till he came into lat.i.tude fifty-three: There can therefore be little doubt but that Cowley gave the name of Pepys's Island after he came home, to what he really supposed to be the island of Sebald de Wert, for which it is not difficult to a.s.sign several reasons; and though the supposition of a mistake of the figures does not appear to be well grounded, yet, there being no land in forty-seven, the evidence that what Cowley saw was Falkland's Islands is very strong. The description of the country agrees in almost every particular, and even the map is of the same general figure, with a strait running up the middle. The chart of Falkland's that accompanies my narrative, was laid down from the journals and drawings of Captain Macbride, who was dispatched thither after my return, and circ.u.mnavigated the whole coast: The two princ.i.p.al islands were probably called Falkland's Islands by Strong, about the year 1689, as he is known to have given the name of Falkland's Sound to part of the strait which divides them. The journal of this navigator is still unprinted in the British Museum. The first who saw these islands is supposed to be Captain Davies, the a.s.sociate of Cavendish, in 1692. In 1594, Sir Richard Hawkins saw land, supposed to be the same, and in honour of his mistress, Queen Elizabeth, called them Hawkins's Maiden Land. Long afterwards, they were seen by some French s.h.i.+ps from Saint Maloes, and Frezier, probably for that reason, called them the Malouins, a name which has been since adopted by the Spaniards.

Having continued in the harbour which I had called Port Egmont till Sunday the 27th of January, we sailed again at eight o'clock in the morning with the wind at S.S.W.; but we were scarcely got out of the port before it began to blow very hard, and the weather became so thick that we could not see the rocky islands. I now most heartily wished myself again at anchor in the harbour we had quitted; but in a short time we had the satisfaction to see the weather become clear, though it continued to blow very hard the whole day. At nine the entrance of Port Egmont harbour bore E.S.E. distant two leagues; the two low islands to the northward E. by N. distant between three and four miles; and the rocky island W. 1/2 N. distant four leagues. At ten the two low islands bore S.S.E. distant four or five miles; and we then steered along the sh.o.r.e east by the compa.s.s, and after having run about five leagues, we saw a remarkable head-land, with a rock at a little distance from it, bearing E.S.E. 1/2 E. distant three leagues. This head-land I called _Cape Tamar_. Having continued the same course five leagues farther, we saw a rock about five miles from the main bearing N.E. at the distance of four or five leagues: This rock I called the _Edistone_, and then steered between it and a remarkable head-land which I called _Cape Dolphin_, in the direction of E.N.E. five leagues farther. From Cape Tamar to Cape Dolphin, a distance of about eight leagues, the land forms, what I thought, a deep sound, and called it _Carlisle Sound_, but what has since appeared to be the northern entrance of the strait between the two princ.i.p.al islands. In the part that I supposed to be the bottom of the sound, we saw an opening, which had the appearance of a harbour. From Cape Dolphin we steered along the sh.o.r.e E. 1/2 N. sixteen leagues, to a low flat cape or headland, and then brought-to. In this day's run the land, for the most part, resembled the east side of the coast of Patagonia, not having so much as a single tree, or even a bush, being all downs, with here and there a few of the high tufts of gra.s.s that we had seen at Port Egmont; and in this account I am sure I am not mistaken, for I frequently sailed within two miles of the sh.o.r.e; so that if there had been a shrub as big as a gooseberry hush, I should have seen it. During the night we had forty fathom, water with rocky ground.

The next morning, at four o'clock, we made sail, the low flat cape then bearing S.E. by E. distant five leagues: At half an hour after five it bore S.S.E. distant two leagues and we then steered from it E.S.E. five leagues, to three low rocky islands, which, lie about two miles from the main. From these islands we steered S.S.E. four leagues, to two other low islands, which lie at a distance of about one mile from the main.

Between these islands the land forms a very deep sound, which I called _Berkeley's Sound_. In the south part of this sound there is an opening, which has the appearance of a harbour; and about three or four miles to the southward of the south point of it, at the distance of about four miles from the main, some rocks appear above the water, upon which the sea breaks very high, there being here a great swell from the southward.

When we were abreast of these breakers, we steered S.W. by S. about two leagues, when the southernmost land in sight, which I took to be the southermost part of Falkland's Islands, bore W. S.W. distant five leagues. The coast now began to be very dangerous, there being, in all directions, rocks and breakers at a great distance from the sh.o.r.e. The country also inland had a more rude and desolate appearance; the high ground, as far as we could see, being all barren, craggy rocks, very much resembling that part of Terra del Fuego which lies near Cape Horn.

As the sea now rose every moment, I was afraid or being caught here upon a lee-sh.o.r.e, in which case there would have been very little chance of my getting off, and therefore I tacked, and stood to the northward; the lat.i.tude of the southermost point in sight being about 523' S. As we had now run no less than seventy leagues along the coast of this island, it must certainly be of very considerable extent. It has been said by some former navigators to be about two hundred miles in circ.u.mference, but I made no doubt of its being nearer seven. Having hauled the wind, I stood to the northward about noon; the entrance of Berkeley's Sound at three o'clock bore S.W. by W. distant about six leagues. At eight in the evening, the wind s.h.i.+fting to the S.W. we stood to the westward.