1767. April. a-head, but now the Dolphin being nearly a breaft of us, fet her forefail, which foon carried her ahead of us; and before nine o'clock in the Friday 10. evening, as the fhewed no lights, we loft fight. of her. We had a fine eastern breeze, of which' we made the beft ufe we could during the night, carrying all our fmall fails even to the top-gallant ftudding fails, notwithstanding the danger to which it expofed us; but at day-break the next morning, we could but juft fee the Dolphin's Saturd. 11. top fails above the horizon, we could perceive, however, that he had ftudding fails fet, and at nine o'clock, we had entirely loft fight of her; we judged that he was then clear of the Streight'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 fhould arrive in England, no plan of operation having been fettled, nor any place of rendezvous appointed, as had been done from England to the Streight. I thought myself the more unfortunate in this feparation, as no part of the woollen cloth, linen, beads, fciffars, knives, and other cutlery-ware, and toys, which were intended for the ufe of both fhips, and were fo neceffary to obtain refreshments from Indians, had, during the nine months we had failed together, been put on board the Swallow, and as we were not provided either with a forge or iron, which many cir cumftances 1767. April. cumstances might render abfolutely neceffary to the prefervation of the fhip: I had the fatisSaturd. 11. faction, however, to fee no marks of despond ency among my people, whom I encouraged, by telling them, that although the Dolphin was the best ship, 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 fpringing up at S. W., we were obliged to take down our small fails, reef our top-fails, and haul clofe to the wind: foon after it freshened to the W. S. W. blowing right in from the fea, and after making two boards, we had the mortification to find that we could not weather the land on either tack. It was now almoft dark, the gale increased, driving before it a hollow fwell, and a fog came on, with violent rain; we therefore got clofe under the fouth fhore, and sent our boat a-head to find out Tuesday's Bay, which is faid 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 fee, the land, notwithstanding its extreme height, though we were within less than half a mile of it, and at fix, the thickness of the weather having rendered the night so dark that we could not fee half the fhip's length, I brought to for the boat, and was indeed, with good reafon, 1767. April. reafon, under great concern for her fafety: we hoisted lights, and every now and then made a falfe fire, but ftill doubting whether they Saturd. 11. could be seen through the fog and rain, I fired a gun every half hour, and at last had the fatisfaction to take her on board, though he had made no discovery either of Tuesday's Bay, or any other anchoring-place. We made fail the reft of the night, endeavouring to keep near the south shore, and our ground to the westward as much as poffible; and as foon as it was light the next morning, I fent the mafter again, out in Sunday 12. the cutter, in fearch of an anchorage on the fouth fhore. 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 pafs another night, but I then saw her founding a bay, and immediately stood in after her in a short time the mafter came on board, and to our unspeakable comfort, reported that we might here come fafely to an anchor; this, with the help of our boat, was effected about fix o'clock, and I went down into my cabbin to take fome rest: I had, however, fcarcely lain down, before I was alarmed with a univerfal fhout and tumult among the people, all that were below running haftily upon the deck, and joining the clamour of those above: I inftantly started up, imagining that a guft had forced the fhip from her anchor, 1767. April. anchor, and that he was driving out of the bay, but when I came upon the deck, I heard Sunday 12, 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 fail was nothing more than the water which had been forced up, and whirled about in the air, by one of the violent gufts that were continually coming off the high land, and which, through the haze, had a moft deceitful appearance. The people were for a few minutes fomewhat dejected by their disappointment, but before I went down, I had the pleasure to fee their usual fortitude 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 refemblance to that building in a diftant 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 iflands 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 foft mud. We anchored without the islands, the the paffage on each fide 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 caft and weft of each other: in the inner part there is from fixteen to eighteen fathom, but where we lay it is deeper; we had one anchor in feventeen 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 fets continually. into it, I doubt not but it has another communication with the fea to the fouth of Cape Defeada. The mafter faid he went up it four miles in a boat, and could not then be above four miles from the Western Ocean, yet he ftill faw a wide entrance to the S. W. The landing is every where good, there is plenty of wood and water, and muffels and wild geese in abundance. From the north fhore of the western end of the Streight of Magellan, which lies in about latitude 52° S. to latitude 48°, the land, 5 which 1767. April. |