A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 16

Pulo Aroe Nov. 15. 2 28 N. 258 0 W. 255 0 W. 1 0 W.

Luc.i.p.ara Nov. 25. 4 10 S. 254 46 W. None.

Batavia Dec. 1. 6 8 S. 254 30 W. 2 25 W.

Prince's Island Dec. 16. 6 41 S. 256 0 W. 256 30 W. 3 0 W.

1768 At Sea Jan. 26. 34 24 S. 328 0 W. 323 30 W. 24 0 W.

At Sea Jan. 27. 34 14 S. 324 0 W. 323 13 W. 24 0 W.

Cape of Good Hope Feb. 11. 34 0 S 345 0 W. 342 0 W. 19 30W.

At Sea Mar. 15. 16 44 S. 3 0 W. 2 0 W. 13 0W.

At Sea Mar. 15. 16 36 S. 2 0 W. 2 5 W. 12 50W.

St Helena Mar. 19. 15 57 S. 5 49W. 5 40W. 12 47W.

Ascension Mar. 23. 7 28 S. 14 18W. 14 4W. 9 53W.

At Sea Mar. 24. 7 58 S. 14 30W. 14 38W. 10 0W.

At Sea April 8. 15 4 N. 30 0W. 34 30W. 4 48W.

At Sea April 11. 21 28 N. 36 0W. 36 37W. 4 30W.

At Sea April 21. 33 55 N. 32 0W. 33 0W. 11 34W.

At Sea April 23. 36 15 N. 30 0W. 29 31W. 14 30W.

At Sea May 10. 49 43 N. 6 0W. 7 52W. 22 30W.

At Sea May 11. 48 48 N. 7 30W. 8 19W. ---- St Agnus's Light-h. May 13. 19 58 N. 7 14W. 7 8W. 20 0W.

CHAPTER III.

AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN THE YEARS 1766, 1767, 1768, AND 1769, BY PHILIP CARTERET, ESQ. COMMANDER OF HIS MAJESTY'S SLOOP THE SWALLOW.

SECTION I.

_The Run from Plymouth to Madeira, and from thence through the Streight of Magellan._

[The longitude of this voyage is reckoned from London westward to 180, and eastward afterwards.]

Soon after I returned from a voyage round the world with the Honourable Commodore Byron, I was appointed to the command of his majesty's sloop the Swallow, by a commission bearing date the first of July, 1766; the Swallow then lay at Chatham, and I was ordered to fit her out with all possible expedition. She was an old s.h.i.+p, having been in the service thirty years, and was, in my opinion, by no means fit for a long voyage, having only a slight thin, sheathing upon her bottom, which was not even filled with nails to supply the want of a covering that would more effectually keep out the worm. I had been given to understand that I was to go out with the Dolphin; but the disparity of the two s.h.i.+ps, and the difference in their equipment, made me think that they could not be intended for the same duty; the Dolphin, which was sheathed with copper, being supplied with every thing that was requisite for a long and dangerous navigation; and the Swallow having only a scanty supply of common necessaries. However, I ventured to apply for a forge, some iron, a small skiff, and several other things which I knew by experience would be of the utmost importance, if it was intended that I should make another voyage round the world; but I was told that the vessel, and her equipment were very fit for the service she was to perform, and none of the requisites for which I applied were allowed me. I was therefore confirmed in my opinion, that, if the Dolphin was to go round the world, it could never be intended that I should go farther than Falkland's islands, where the Jason, a fine frigate, which was, like the Dolphin, sheathed with copper, and amply equipped, would supply my place. I was, however, deficient in junk, an article which is essentially necessary in every voyage, and for this I applied when I got to Plymouth, but I was told that a quant.i.ty sufficient for both the s.h.i.+ps had been put on board the Dolphin.

On Friday the 22d of August, 1766, the s.h.i.+p's company having the evening before received two months pay, I weighed, and made sail from Plymouth Sound in company with the Dolphin, under the command of Captain Wallis, and the Prince Frederick store-s.h.i.+p, commanded by Lieutenant James Brine. We proceeded together without any remarkable incident till the 7th of September, when we came to an anchor in Madeira road.

While I lay at this place, not being yet acquainted with my destination, I represented my want of junk, and the reply that had been made to my application for a supply by the commissioner at Plymouth, in a letter to Captain Wallis, who sent me five hundred weight. This quant.i.ty however was so inadequate to my wants, that I was soon afterwards reduced to the disagreeable necessity of cutting off some of my cables to save my rigging.

On the 9th, very early in the morning, the lieutenant acquainted me that, in the night, nine of my best men had secretly set off from the s.h.i.+p to swim on sh.o.r.e, having stripped themselves naked and left all their clothes behind them, taking only their money, which they had secured in a handkerchief that was tied round their waist; that they proceeded together till they came very near the surf, which breaks high upon the sh.o.r.e, and that one of them, being then terrified at the sound, had swum back again to the s.h.i.+p, and been taken on board, but that the rest had ventured through. As the loss of these men would have been very severely felt, I immediately sat down to write a letter to the consul, entreating his a.s.sistance to recover them; but, before I had finished it, he sent me word, that all of them having, to the great astonishment of the natives, been found naked on the beach, they had been taken into custody, and would be delivered up to my order. The boat was dispatched immediately, and as soon as I heard they were on board, I went upon the deck. I was greatly pleased to see a contrition in their countenances, which at once secretly determined me not to inflict the punishment by which they seemed most heartily willing to expiate their fault; but I asked them what could have induced them to quit the s.h.i.+p, and desert the service of their country, at the risk of being devoured by sharks, or dashed to pieces by the surf against the sh.o.r.e. They answered, that though they had indeed, at such risks, ventured to swim on sh.o.r.e, they never had any intention of deserting the s.h.i.+p, which they were determined to stand by as long as she could swim; but that being well a.s.sured they were going a long voyage, and none being able to tell who might live, or who might die, they thought it hard not to have an opportunity of spending their own money, and therefore determined, as they said; once more to get a skinful of liquor, and then swim back to the s.h.i.+p, which they hoped to have done before they were missed. As I had resolved to remit their punishment, I did not too severely scrutinize their apology, which the rest of the s.h.i.+p's company, who stood round them, seemed very much to approve; but, observing that with a skinful of liquor they would have been in a very unfit condition to swim through the surf to the s.h.i.+p, I told them that, hoping they would for the future expose their lives only upon more important occasions, and that their conduct would thenceforward give me no cause of complaint, I would for this time be satisfied with the shame and regret which I perceived they suffered from a sense of their misbehaviour: I then admonished them to put on their clothes, and lie down, as I was confident they wanted rest; and added, that as I might possibly during the course of the voyage have occasion for good swimmers, I was very glad that I knew to whom I might apply. Having thus dismissed these honest fellows from their fears, I was infinitely gratified by the murmur of satisfaction which instantly ran through the s.h.i.+p's company; and was afterwards amply rewarded for my lenity, there being no service during all the toils and dangers of the voyage which they did not perform with a zeal and alacrity that were much to their honour and my advantage, as an example to the rest.

We sailed again on the 12th, and I was then first acquainted with the particulars of our voyage by Captain Wallis, who gave me a copy of his instructions, and appointed Port Famine, in the Streight of Magellan, to be the place of rendezvous, if we should happen to be separated.

I was now convinced that I had been sent upon a service to which my vessel and her equipment were by no means equal, but I determined at all events to perform it in the best manner I was able.

We proceeded on our voyage without any remarkable event till we anch.o.r.ed off Cape Virgin Mary, where we saw the Patagonians, of which I have given some account in a letter to Dr Matty, which was published in the sixtieth volume of the Transactions of the Royal Society, and which it is not necessary here to repeat, as it is in general the same as those which have been given by Commodore Byron and Captain Wallis.

When we entered the Streight, I was ordered to keep ahead of the Dolphin and the store-s.h.i.+p, to pilot them through the shoals; but my s.h.i.+p worked so ill, that we could but very seldom make her tack without the help of a boat to tow her round: However, with much labour, and at no inconsiderable risk, we anch.o.r.ed in Port Famine, on Friday the 26th of December. At this place we unhung our rudder, and added a piece of wood to it, in hopes that by making it broader, we should obtain some advantage in working the s.h.i.+p; in which, however, we were altogether disappointed.

After many difficulties and dangers, we got into Island Bay on the 17th of February; and before we made sail again, I represented the condition of my s.h.i.+p by letter to Captain Wallis, and requested him to consider what was best for his majesty's service, whether she should be dismissed, or continue the voyage. Captain Wallis replied, that as the lords of the Admiralty had ordered the Swallow on this service, with the nature of which I was well acquainted, he did not think himself at liberty to alter her destination.[54]

[Footnote 54: This seems quite irrational. Would Captain W. have thought himself bound "to his destination," in circ.u.mstances, which, to the judgment of his own mind, and in the unanimous opinion of his officers, rendered success beyond the accomplishment of human agents? Surely not--Then why judge by any other rule than that of practicability, when another person, one under his command, was concerned? Some discretionary power is obviously implied in every system of orders intended for rational and accountable beings. The use made of it is one of the data, on which the determination of the degrees of merit or demerit as to conduct, must be founded. On no other principle than one involving some liberty, nay some duty of judging, can the intelligence of mankind be availing in the execution of projects. Divine authority alone, unequivocally made known, can dispense with acquiescence to the demands of reason, or render inefficient the most glaringly insuperable difficulties. How even the _Lords_ of the Admiralty, or their delegate, Capt W. should a.s.sume such dispensing prerogatives, it is impossible to comprehend. They relied, it is probable, on the honour, as it is called, of their subject. This alters the case entirely no doubt. A mighty convenient thing this _honour_ in all well-established monarchies! One cannot help desiring, nevertheless, that _men of honour_ should have the management of it. Were they men of _humane feeling_ too, it would be so much the better. Is it possible to predicate these things of the persons who gave poor Carteret his orders? Is it possible to believe he was expected to circ.u.mnavigate the world in the Swallow? An opinion has already been hazarded on this nice point.--E.]

We continued therefore for some time to navigate the Streight together, and as I had pa.s.sed it before, I was ordered to keep a-head and lead the way, with liberty to anchor and weigh when I thought proper; but, perceiving that the bad sailing of the Swallow would so much r.e.t.a.r.d the Dolphin as probably to make her lose the season for getting into high southern lat.i.tudes, and defeat the intention of the voyage, I proposed to Captain Wallis that he should lay the Swallow up in some cove or bay, and that I should attend and a.s.sist him with her boats till the Streight should be pa.s.sed, which would probably be in much less time than if he continued to be r.e.t.a.r.ded by my s.h.i.+p; and I urged, as an additional advantage, that he might complete, not only his stock of provisions and stores, but his company, out of her, and then send her back to England, with such of his crew as sickness had rendered unfit for the voyage: Proposing also, that in my way home I would examine the eastern coast of Patagonia, or attempt such other discoveries as he should think proper.

If this was not approved, and my knowledge of the South Seas was thought necessary to the success of the voyage, I offered to go with him on board the Dolphin, and give up the Swallow to be commanded by his first lieutenant, whose duty I would perform during the rest of the voyage, or to make the voyage myself with only the Dolphin, if he would take the Swallow back to Europe; but Captain Wallis was still of opinion, that the voyage should be prosecuted by the two s.h.i.+ps jointly, pursuant to the orders that had been given.

The Swallow was now become so foul, that with all the sail she could set, she could not make so much way as the Dolphin, with only her top-sails and a reef in them: We continued in company, however, till Friday the 10th of April, when the western entrance of the Straight was open, and the Great South Sea in sight. Hitherto I had, pursuant to my directions, kept a-head, but now the Dolphin being nearly a-breast of us, set her foresail, which soon carried her a-head of us; and before nine o'clock in the evening, as she shewed no lights, we lost sight of her. We had a fine eastern breeze, of which we made the best use we could during the night, carrying all our small sails even to the top-gallant studding sails, notwithstanding the danger to which it exposed us; but at day-break the next morning, we could but just see the Dolphin's top-sails above the horizon: we could perceive, however, that she had studding-sails set, and at nine o'clock we had entirely lost sight of her; we judged that she was then clear of the Straight's mouth, but we, who were still under the land, had but light and variable airs.

From this time, I gave up all hope of seeing the Dolphin again till we should arrive in England, no plan of operation having been settled, nor any place of rendezvous appointed, as had been done from England to the Streight. I thought myself the more unfortunate in this separation, as no part of the woollen cloth, linen, beads, scissars, knives, and other cutlery-ware, and toys, which were intended for the use of both s.h.i.+ps, and were so necessary to obtain refreshments from Indians, had, during the nine months we had sailed together, been put on board the Swallow, and as we were not provided either with a forge or iron, which many circ.u.mstances might render absolutely necessary to the preservation of the s.h.i.+p: I had the satisfaction, however, to see no marks of despondency among my people, whom I encouraged, by telling them, that although the Dolphin was the best s.h.i.+p, I did not doubt but that I should find more than equivalent advantages in their courage, ability, and good conduct.

At noon, this day, we were abreast of Cape Pillar, when, a gale springing up at S.W., we were obliged to take down our small sails, reef our top-sails, and haul close to the wind: Soon after it freshened to the W.S.W. blowing right in from the sea, and after making two boards, we had the mortification to find that we could not weather the land on either tack. It was now almost dark, the gale increased, driving before it a hollow swell, and a fog came on, with violent rain; we therefore got close under the south sh.o.r.e, and sent our boat a-head to find out Tuesday's Bay, which is said by Sir John Narborough to lie about four leagues within the Streight; or to find out any other place in which we might come to an anchor. At five o'clock, we could not see the land, notwithstanding its extreme height, though we were within less than half a mile of it, and at six, the thickness of the weather having rendered the night so dark that we could not see half the s.h.i.+p's length, I brought-to for the boat, and was indeed, with good reason, under great concern for her safety: We hoisted lights, and every now and then made a false fire, but still doubting whether they could be seen through the fog and rain, I fired a gun every half hour, and at last had the satisfaction to take her on board, though she had made no discovery, either of Tuesday's Bay, or any other anchoring-place. We made sail the rest of the night, endeavouring to keep near the south sh.o.r.e, and our ground to the westward as much as possible; and as soon as it was light the next morning, I sent the master again, out in the cutter, in search of an anchorage on the south sh.o.r.e. I waited in a state of the most painful suspense for her return, till five o'clock in the afternoon, fearing that we should be obliged to keep out in this dangerous pa.s.s another night, but I then saw her sounding a bay, and immediately stood in after her: In a short time the master came on board, and to our unspeakable comfort, reported that we might here come safely to an anchor; this, with the help of our boat, was effected about six o'clock, and I went down into my cabin to take some rest: I had, however, scarcely lain down, before I was alarmed with a universal shout and tumult among the people, all that were below running hastily upon the deck, and joining the clamour of those above: I instantly started up, imagining that a gust had forced the s.h.i.+p from her anchor, and that she was driving out of the bay, but when I came upon the deck, I heard the people cry out, The Dolphin! the Dolphin! in a transport of surprise and joy which appeared to be little short of distraction: A few minutes, however, convinced us, that what had been taken for a sail was nothing more than the water which had been forced up, and whirled about in the air, by one of the violent gusts that were continually coming off the high land, and which, through the haze, had a most deceitful appearance.

The people were for a few minutes somewhat dejected by their disappointment, but before I went down, I had the pleasure to see their usual fort.i.tude and cheerfulness return.

The little bay where we were now at anchor, lies about three leagues E.

by S. from Cape Pillar: It is the first place which has any appearance of a bay within that Cape, and bears S. by E., about four leagues from the island which Sir John Narborough called Westminster Hall, from its resemblance to that building in a distant view. The western point of this bay makes a very remarkable appearance, being a perpendicular plane like the wall of a house. There are three islands about two cables'

length within its entrance, and within those islands a very good harbour, with anchorage in between twenty-five and thirty fathom, with a bottom of soft mud. We anch.o.r.ed without the islands, the pa.s.sage on each side of them being not more than one-fourth of a cable's length wide. Our little bay is about two cables' length broad, the points bearing east and west of each other: In the inner part there is from sixteen to eighteen fathom, but where we lay it is deeper; we had one anchor in seventeen fathom, and the other in forty-five, with great over-falls between them, and rocks in several places. Here we rode out a very hard gale, and the ground being extremely uneven, we expected our cables to be cut in two every minute, yet when we weighed, to our great surprise, they did not appear to have been rubbed in any part, though we found it very difficult to heave them clear of the rocks. The land round this bay and harbour is all high, and as the current sets continually into it, I doubt not but it has another communication with the sea to the south of Cape Deseada. The master said he went up it four miles in a boat, and could not then be above four miles from the Western Ocean, yet he still saw a wide entrance to the S.W. The landing is every where good, there is plenty of wood and water, and mussels and wild geese in abundance.

From the north sh.o.r.e of the western end of the Streight of Magellan, which lies in about lat.i.tude 521/2 S. to lat.i.tude 48, the land which is the western coast of Patagonia runs nearly north and south, and consists wholly of broken islands, among which are those that Sharp has laid by the name of the Duke of York's Islands; he has indeed placed them at a considerable distance from the coast, but if there had been many islands in that situation, it is impossible but that the Dolphin, the Tamar, or the Swallow, must have seen them, as we ran near their supposed meridian, and so did the Dolphin and the Tamar the last voyage. Till we came into this lat.i.tude, we had tolerable weather, and little or no current in any direction, but when we came to the northward of 48, we found a current setting strongly to the north, so that probably we then opened the great bay, which is said to be ninety leagues deep. We found here a vast swell from the N.W. and the winds generally blew from the same quarter; yet we were set every day twelve or fifteen miles to the northward of our account.

On Wednesday the 15th, at about four o'clock in the morning, after surmounting many dangers and difficulties, we once more got abreast of Cape Pillar, with a light breeze at S.E. and a great swell. Between five and six o'clock, just as we opened Cape Deseada, the wind suddenly s.h.i.+fted to S. and S. by W. and blew so hard that it was with great difficulty we could carry the reefed top-sails: The sudden changing of the wind, and its excessive violence, produced a sea so dreadfully hollow, that great quant.i.ties of water were thrown in upon our deck, so that we were in the utmost danger of foundering; yet we did not dare to shorten sail, it being necessary to carry all we could spread, in order to weather the rocky islands, which Sir John Narborough has called the Islands of Direction, for we could not now run back again into the Streight, without falling down among the broken land, and incurring the dangers of the northern sh.o.r.e, which was to leeward; towards this broken land, however, and lee-sh.o.r.e, the s.h.i.+p settled very fast, notwithstanding our utmost efforts: In this pressing emergency we were obliged to stave all the water-casks upon the deck, and between decks, to clear the vessel, and to make her carry better sail, and at length, happily escaped the danger which threatened us. After we got clear of those islands, and drew off from the Streight's mouth and the land, we found the sea run more regularly from the S.W. and the wind soon after coming from S.S.W. to S.S.E. we had by noon got a pretty good offing, about nine leagues from Cape Victory, which is on the north sh.o.r.e. Thus we cleared the western entrance of the Streight, which, in my opinion, is too dangerous for navigation; a deliverance which happened in the very crisis of our fate, for almost immediately afterwards, the wind came again to the S.W., and if it had continued in that quarter, our destruction would have been inevitable.

SECTION II.

_The Pa.s.sage from Cape Pillar, at the Western Entrance of the Streight of Magellan, to Masafuero; with some Account of that Island._

I took my departure from Cape Pillar, which I make to lie in the lat.i.tude of 5245'S., and in the longitude 75 10'W. of the meridian of London, and as soon as I got clear of the streight, steered to the northward along the coast of Chili. Upon examining what quant.i.ty of fresh water we had now on board, I found that it amounted only to between four and five and twenty tons, which I thought not sufficient for so long a voyage as was probably before us; I therefore hauled to the northward, intending to make the island of Juan Fernandes, or Masafuero, that we might increase our stock before we sailed to the westward.

In the middle of the night of the 16th, we had the wind first to the S.S.E. and then to the S.E. with which we kept away N.W. and N.N.W. in high spirits, hoping that in a short time we should be in a more temperate climate: We had the misfortune, however, very soon to find ourselves disappointed, for on the 18th, the wind came to the N.N.W. and blew directly from the point upon which we were steering. We had now got about a hundred leagues from the streight's mouth; our lat.i.tude was 4839'S., and we were, by account, 433'W. of Cape Pillar; but from this time, till the 8th of May, the wind continued unfavourable, and blew a continued storm, with sudden gusts still more violent, and much rain and hail, or rather fragments of half-melted ice: At intervals also we had thunder and lightning, more dreadful than all the past, and a sea which frequently laid the whole vessel under water.

From the time of our clearing the streight, and during our pa.s.sage along this coast, we saw a great number of sea-birds, particularly albatrosses, gannets, sheerwaters, and a thick lumpish bird, about as big as a large pigeon, which the sailors call a Cape-of-Good-Hope hen: They are of a dark-brown or blackish colour, and are therefore sometimes called the black gull: We saw also a great many pintado birds, of nearly the same size, which are prettily spotted with black and white, and constantly on the wing, though they frequently appear as if they were walking upon the water, like the peterels, to which sailors have given the name of Mother Carey's chickens; and we saw also many of these.

In the evening of Monday the 27th, which was very dark, as we were standing to the westward under our courses, and a close-reefed top-sail, the wind, in a hard squall, suddenly s.h.i.+fted, and took the vessel right a-head; the violent jerk with which the sails were instantly thrown a-back, was very near carrying the masts away by the board, and oversetting the s.h.i.+p; the sails being at this time extremely wet, and the gale in the highest degree violent, they clung so fast to the masts and rigging, that it was scarcely possible to get them either up or down; yet by the dexterous activity of our people, we got the mainsail up, clewed up the main top-sail, and got the s.h.i.+p's head round without receiving much damage. The violence of the wind continued several hours, but before morning it veered again to the N.W. and continued in that quarter till the afternoon of the 29th, when it died away, and we had a dead calm for six hours. During this time we had a high sea, which ran in great confusion from all quarters and broke against the s.h.i.+p in a strange manner, making her roll with so violent and sudden a motion, that I expected every moment to lose our masts. The wind afterwards sprung up at W.S.W. which was fair, and we carried all the sail we could set to make the most of it. It blew very hard in this direction, with heavy rain for a few hours, but by noon on the 30th, it returned to its usual quarter the N.W., and was so violent as to bring us again under our courses, there being at the same time a prodigious swell, which frequently broke over us. At five o'clock the next morning, as we were lying-to under the reefed main-sail and balanced mizen, a vast sea broke over the quarter where the s.h.i.+p's oars were lashed, and carried away six of them, with the weather-cloth; it also broke the mizen-gaff close where the sail was reeled, and the iron-strap of one of the main dead eyes, laying the whole vessel for some time under water: We were however fortunate enough to haul up the main-sail without splitting, though it blew a hurricane, and a deluge of rain, or rather of half-melted ice, at the same time poured down upon us. The wind soon after s.h.i.+fted again from N.W. to S.W. and for about an hour blew, if possible, stronger than ever. This wind made the s.h.i.+p come up with her head right against the vast sea which the north-west wind had raised, and at every pitch which she made against it, the end of the bowsprit was under water, and the surge broke over the forecastle as far aft as the main-mast, in the same manner as it would have broke over a rock, so that there was the greatest reason to apprehend she would founder. With all her defects she was indeed a good sea-boat, and if she had not, it would have been impossible for her to have outlived this storm, in which, as well as on several other occasions; we experienced the benefit of the bulk-heads which we had fixed on the fore-part of the half-deck, and to the after-part of the fore-castle.

Notwithstanding this wind was fair, we durst not venture to put the s.h.i.+p before it, for if in wearing, any of these enormous seas had broken on her side, it would inevitably have carried away all before it. After some time, however, it became more moderate, and we then got up our yards and made sail, steering N. by W.; and now the men having been up all night, and being wet to the skin, I ordered every one of them a dram.

By the next morning, the 2d of May, the wind came again to the N.W. and N.N.W. but by this time we had got down the broken mizen-gaff, repaired it as well as we could, got it up again in its place, and bent the sail to it; but we now most sensibly felt the want of a forge and iron.

On the 3d, at day-break, we found the rudder-chain broken, and upon this occasion we again most feelingly regretted the want of a forge; we made, however, the best s.h.i.+ft we could, and the next day, the weather being more moderate, though the wind was still contrary, we repaired our rigging, and the carpenters fixed a new dead eye where the old one had been broken; the sail-maker also was busy in mending the sails that had been split.

On the 5th, we were again brought under our courses by a hurricane from the N. by W. and N.N.W. and the s.h.i.+p was tossed about with such violence that we had no command of her. During this storm, two of our chain-plates were broken, and we continued toiling in a confused hollow sea till midnight, when a light gale sprung up at N.W. which soon blew very hard; but at two in the morning, we were again taken right a-head by a sudden and violent squall at west, which at once threw all our sails aback, and before we could get the s.h.i.+p round, was very near carrying all by the board. With this gale we stood north, and in the forenoon the carpenters fixed new chain-plates to the main shrouds, and one to the fore shrouds, in the place of those which had been broken in the squall during the night. This was another occasion on which it was impossible not to regret the want of a forge and iron.

The gale continued in this direction till eight in the morning of the 7th, when it returned to the N.W. with unsettled weather. On the 8th, it came to south, and this was a fine day, the first we had seen after our leaving the Streight of Magellan. Our lat.i.tude at noon was 3639'S. and we were about five degrees to the westward of Cape Pillar. The next day we made the island of Masafuero, and on the 10th, the island of Juan Fernandes: In the afternoon we got close to the eastermost part of it, and soon after hauled round the north end, and opened c.u.mberland Bay. As I did not know that the Spaniards had fortified this island, I was greatly surprised to see a considerable number of men about the beach, with a house and four pieces of cannon near the water-side, and a fort about three hundred yards farther from the sea, just upon the rising of the hill, with Spanish colours flying on the top of it. This fort, which is faced with stone, has eighteen or twenty embrasures, and within it a long house, which I supposed to be barracks for the garrison: Five-and-twenty or thirty houses of different kinds are scattered round it, and we saw much cattle feeding on the brow of the hills, which seemed to be cultivated, as many spots were divided by enclosures from each other; we saw also two large boats lying, on the beach. The gusts of wind which came right out of this bay, prevented my going so near as I intended, for they were so violent as to oblige us many times to let fly our top-sail sheets, though the sails were close reefed; and I think it is impossible to work a s.h.i.+p into this bay when the wind blows hard from the southward. As we stood cross the bay to the westward, one of the boats put off from the sh.o.r.e, and rowed towards us; but perceiving that the gusts or flaws made us lie at a considerable distance from the land, she went in again. We then opened West Bay, on the east part of which, close to the sea side, is a small house, which I took for a guard-house, and two pieces of cannon mounted upon their carriages, without any works about them. We now wore, and stood again for c.u.mberland Bay, but as soon as we opened it, the boat again put off, and made towards us: As the hard gusts would not permit us to come any nearer to the land than before, we stood along it to the eastward, the boat still making after us till she was very far out of the bay: At length it grew dark, and we lost sight of her, upon which we made all the sail we could to the eastward.

During all this time I hoisted no colours, having none but English on board, which at this time I did not think it proper to shew.

As I was disappointed of wood and water at this place, and of the refreshments, of which, after the dangers and fatigue of our voyage through the Streight, and our pa.s.sage from it, we stood in the most pressing need, I made all the sail I could for the island of Masafuero.

On the 12th of May we arrived off the south eastermost part of it, but it blowing hard, with a great sea, we did not dare to come near it on this side, and therefore went round to the west side, where, in the evening, we cast anchor upon an excellent bank, fit to receive a fleet of s.h.i.+ps, which, in the summer, might ride here with great advantage. I sent out both the boats to endeavour to get some water, but they found it impossible to land, for the beach is rocky, and the surf at this time was so great, that the swimmers could not get through the breakers: This was the more mortifying, as we saw a fine run of fresh water from the s.h.i.+p, with plenty of trees fit for fire-wood, and a great number of goats upon the hills.