1764. December.

Friday 21.

anomalous; our fenfations therefore, upon feeing five hundred people, the shortest of whom were at least four inches taller, and bulky in proportion, may be easily imagined. After I had presented the tobacco, four or five of the chief men came up to me, and, as I understood by the figns they made, wanted me to mount one of the horses, and go with them to their habitations, but as it would upon every account have been imprudent to comply, I made figns in rcturn that I muft go back to the fhip; at this they expreffed great concern, and fat down in their stations again. During our pantomimical conference, an old man often laid his head down upon the ftones, and fhutting his eyes for about half a minute, afterwards pointed firft to his mouth, and then to the hills, meaning, as I imagined, that if I would ftay with them till the morning, they would furnish me with fome provifions, but this offer I was obliged to decline. When I left them, not one of them offered to follow us, but as long as I could fee them, continued to fit quietly in their places. I obferved that they had with them a great number of dogs, with which I suppose they chafe the wild animals which ferve them for food. The horses were not large, nor in good cafe, yet they appeared to be nimble, and well broken. The bridle was a leathern thong, with a small piece of wood that ferved for a bit, and the faddles resembled the pads that are in use among the country people in England. The women rode aftride, and both men and women without ftirrups; yet they gallopped fearlessly over the spit upon which we landed, the ftones of which were large, loofe, and flippery.

CHAP.

CHA P. IV.

Paffage up the Streight of Magellan, to Port Famine with fome Account of that Harbour, and the adjacent Coaft.

1764. December.

COON after I returned on board, I got under way, and worked up the streight, which is here about nine leagues broad, with the flood, not with a view to pass through it, but Friday 21. in fearch of fome place where I might get a fupply of wood and water, not chufing to truft wholly to the finding of Falkland's Islands, which I determined afterwards to feek. About eight in the evening, the tide of ebb beginning to make, I anchored in five and twenty fathom. Point Poffeffion bore N. N. E. at about three miles diftance, and some remarkable hummocks on the north, which Bulkeley, from their appearance, has called the Affes Ears, W. N.

At three in the morning of the 22d, we weighed with Saturday 22. the wind at E. and fteered S. W. by W. about twelve miles. During this courfe we went over a bank, of which no notice has hitherto been taken: at one time we had but fix fathom and a half, but in two or three cafts we had thirteen. When our water was shallowest, the Affes Ears bore N. W. by W. W. distant three leagues, and the north point of the first Narrow W. by S. diftant between five and fix miles. We then steered S. W. by S. near fix miles to the entrance of the firft Narrow, and afterwards S. S. W. about fix miles, which brought us through: the tide here was fo ftrong, that the paffage was very rapid. During this course we saw a single VOL. I.

F.

Indian

1764. December.

Saturday 22.

2

Indian upon the fouth fhore, who kept waving to us as long as we were in fight: we faw alfo fome guanicoes upon the hills, though Wood, in the account of his voyage, fays there were none upon that fhore. As foon as we had paffed the firft Narrow, we entered a little fea, for we did not come in fight of the entrance of the fecond Narrow till we had run two leagues. The distance from the first to the fecond Natrow is about eight leagues, and the course S. W. by W. The land is very high on the north fide of the second Narrow, which continues for about five leagues, and we fteered through it S. W. W. with foundings from twenty to five and twenty fathom: we went out of the west end of this Narrow about noon, and fteered fouth about three leagues for Elizabeth's ifland; but the wind then coming right against us, we anchored in feven fathom. The ifland bore S. S. E. diftant about a mile, and Bartholomew's Island bore E. S. E. In the evening, fix Indians upon the Island came down to the water fide, and continued waving and hallooing to us for a long time; but as my people wanted reft, I was unwilling to employ them in hoisting out a boat, and the Indians feeing their labour fruitlefs, at length went away. While we were fteering from Point Poffeffion to the firft Narrow, the flood fet to the fouthward, but as foon as we entered the Narrow, it fet ftrongly over to the north fhore: it flows here at the full and change of the moon about ten o'clock. Between the firft and the fecond Narrow the flood fets to the S. W. and the ebb to the N. E.: after the weft end of the fecond Narrow is paft, 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, and the water is deep: we found the flood fet very strongly to the fouthward, with a great rippling, but round the Islands the tides fet many different ways.

December.

Sunday 23.

In the morning of the 23d, we weighed with the wind at 1764. S. by W. and worked between Elizabeth and Bartholomew's ifland: before the tide was spent, we got over upon the north shore, and anchored in ten fathom. Saint George's Island then bore N. E. by N. diftant three leagues; a point of land, which I called PORPOIS POINT, N. by W. distant about five miles; and the fouthermoft land S. by E. diftant about two miles. In the evening, we weighed and fteered S. by E. about five miles along the north fhore, at about one mile's distance, with regular foundings, from feven to thirteen fathom, and every where good ground. At ten o'clock at night, we anchored 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 fhore the flood fets to the fouthward; at the full and change of the moon, it flows about eleven o'clock, and the water rifes 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 fent the boat along the shore, we walked abreast of her. Upon the Point we found plenty of wood, and very good water, and for four or five miles the shore was exceedingly pleafant. 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 bloffoms had been fhed: we observed that the grafs was very good, and that it was intermixed with a great number of peas in bloffom. Among this luxuriance of herbage we faw many hundreds of birds feeding, which from their form, and the uncommon beauty of their plumage, we called painted

F 2

Monday 24.

1764. December.

Monday 24.

Tuesday 25.

painted geefe. We walked more than twelve miles, and found great plenty of fine fresh water, but not the bay that we fought; for we faw no part of the fhore, in all our walk from Sandy Point, where a boat could land without the utmost hazard, the water being every where fhoal, and the fea 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 fome of them the fires which they had kindled were fcarcely extinguished; they were in little receffes 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 feamen after a long voyage. In the evening, we walked back again, and found the fhips at anchor in Sandy Point Bay, at the distance of about half a mile from the fhore. The keen air of this place made our people fo 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 feine, and others on fhore with their guns: fixty very large mullets were just taken with the feine, as I came up; and the gunners had good fport, for the place abounded with geefe, teale, fnipes, and other birds, that were excellent food.

2

On the 25th, Christmas day, we observed by two altitudes, and found the latitude of Sandy Point to be 53° 10' S. At eight in the morning, we weighed, and having failed five leagues from Sandy Point, in the direction of S. by E. E. we anchored again in thirty-two fathom, about a mile from the shore; the fouth point of Fresh Water Bay then bearing N. N. W. distant about four miles; and the fouthermoft land S. E. by S. As we failed along the shore, at about two miles distance, we had no ground with fixty fathom; but at the distance of one mile, we had from twenty to thirty-two fa6 thom.