1767. April. Wednef.15. AX which is the western coaft of Patagonia, runs nearly north and fouth, and confifts wholly of broken islands, among which are those that Sharp has laid down by the name of the Duke of York's Islands; he has indeed placed them at a confiderable distance from the coaft, but if there had been many islands in that fituation, it is impoffible but that the Dolphin, the Tamar, or the Swallow, must have seen them, as we ran near their fuppofed meridian, and fo did the Dolphin and the Tamar the last voyage. Till we came into this latitude, 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, fo that probably we then opened the great bay, which is faid to be ninety leagues deep. We found here a vaft fwell from the N. W. and the winds generally blew from the fame quarter; yet we were fet 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 furmounting many dangers and difficulties, we once more got abreast of Cape Pillar, with a light breeze at S. E. and a great fwell, Between five and fix o'clock, just as we opened Cape Defeada, the wind fuddenly shifted to S. and S. by W. and blew fo hard that it was with great difficulty we could 1767. April. Wednef. 15. my opinion, is too dangerous for navigation; a deliverance which happened in the very crifis Wednef.15. 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. 1767. April. CHAP. 1 CHA P. IÍ. The Paffage from Cape Pillar, at the Weftern I TOOK my departure from Cape Pillar, which I make to lie in the latitude of 52° 45′ S., and in the longitude 75° 10′ W. of the meri- Wednes. 15. dian of London, and as foon as I got clear of the Streight, fteered to the northward along the coaft of Chili. Upon examining what quantity 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 fufficient for fo 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 failed to the westward. : 1767. April. In the middle of the night of the 16th, we Thursd, 16. had the wind firft 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 foon to find C 2 find ourselves disappointed, for on the 18th, the wind came to the N. N. W. and blew directly Saturd, 18. from the point upon which we were fteering. We had now got about a hundred leagues from the Streight's mouth; our latitude was 48° 39′ S., and we were, by account, 4° 33′ W. of Cape Pillar; but from this time, till the 8th of May, the wind continued unfavourable, and blew a continued ftorm, with fudden gufts still more violent, and much rain and hail, or rather fragments of half melted ice: at intervals alfo we had thunder and lightning, more dreadful than all the past, and a fea which frequently laid the whole veffel under water. 1767. April. From the time of our clearing the Streight, and during our paffage along this coast, we saw a great number of fea birds, particularly albatroffes, gannets, fheerwaters, and a thick lumpish bird, about as big as a large pigeon, which the failors call a Cape of Good Hope hen: they are of a dark brown or blackish colour, and are therefore fometimes called the black gull: we faw alfo a great many pintado birds, of nearly the fame fize, which are prettily fpotted with black and white, and conftantly on the wing, though they frequently appear as if they were walking upon the water, like the peterels, to which failors have given the name of Mother Carey's chickens; and we faw alfo many of these. |