December.

wind blew fo hard he could not get into it, and 1764.
that he therefore ftood away to the fouthward.
At this time I alfo was fteering fouthward; for Friday 7.
the weather being extremely fine, I could fee very
far to the northward of the fituation in which it is
laid down. As I fuppofed it must lie to the east-
ward of us, if indeed it had any existence, I made.
the Tamar signal to spread early in the after-
noon; and as the weather continued to be very
clear, we could fee, between us, at least twenty
leagues. We steered S. E. by the compass, and at
night brought to, being by my account in latitude
47° 18′ S. The next morning it blew very hard Saturday 8.
at N. W. by N. and I ftill thought the island might
lie to the eastward; I therefore intended to stand
about thirty leagues that way, and if I found no
island, to return into the latitude of 47° again.
But a hard gale coming on, with a great fea, I
brought to about fix o'clock in the evening under
the main-fail; and at fix o'clock the next morning, Sunday 9.
the wind being at W. S. W. we made fail again
under our courses to the northward. I now judg-
ed myself to be about fixteen leagues to the east-
ward of the track I had run before: Port Defire
bore S. 80° 53′ W. diftant ninety-four leagues; and
in this fituation I faw a great quantity of rock-
weed, and many birds. We continued to ftand
to the northward the next day under our courfes, Monday 10
with a hard gale from S. W. to N. W. and a great

fea. At night, being in latitude 46° 50′ S., I

wore fhip, and ftood in to the weftward again, our
fhips having spread every day as far as they could.
be

December.

1764. be feen by each other: and on the 11th at noon, being now certain that there could be no fuch Tuesday 11. island as is mentioned by Cowley, and laid down by Halley under the name of Pepys' Island, I refolved to stand in for the main, and take in wood and water, of which both fhips were in great want, at the first convenient place I could find, especially as the feafon was advancing very faft, and we had no time to lofe. From this time we continued to haul in for the land as the winds would permit, and kept a look-out for the islands of Sebald de Wert, which, by all the charts we had on board, could not be far from our track: a great number of birds were every day about the fhip, and large whales were continually fwimming by her. The weather in general was fine, but very cold, and we all agreed, notwithstanding the hope we had once formed, that the only difference between the middle of fummer here, and the middle of winter in England, lies in the length of the days. On Saturd. 15. Saturday the 15th, being in latitude 50° 33′ S. longitude 66° 59′ W. we were overtaken about fix in the evening by the hardest gale at S. W. that I was ever in, with a fea ftill higher than any I had feen in going round Cape Horn with Lord Anfon: I expected every moment that it would fill us, our ship being much too deep waifted for fuch a voyage: it would have been safest to put before it under our bare poles, but our stock of. fresh water was not fufficient, and I was afraid of being driven so far off the land as not to be able to recover it before the whole was exhaufted; we therefore

therefore lay to under a balanced mizen, and fhip-
ped many heavy feas, though we found our skreen
bulk-heads of infinite service.

1764.

December.

Saturd. 18.

The ftorm continued with unabated violence Sunday 16% the whole night, but about eight in the morning, began to fubfide. At ten, we made fail under our courses, and continued to fteer for the land till Tuesday the 18th, when, at four in the morning, Tuesday 18. we faw it from the mast-head. Our latitude was now 51° 8' S. our longitude 71° 4′ W. and Cape Virgin Mary, the north entrance of the Streights of Magellan, bore S. 19° 50′ W. diftant nineteen leagues. As we had little or no wind we could not get in with the land this day; the next morn ing, however, it being northerly, I ftood in to a deep bay, at the bottom of which there appeared to be a harbour, but I found it barred, the fea breaking quite from one fide of it to the other and at low water I could perceive that it was rocky, and almost all dry: the water was shoal at a good distance from it, and I was in fix fathom before I ftood out again. In this place there seemed to be plenty of fish, and we faw many porpoises swimming after them, that were as white as fnow, with black spots; a very uncommon and beautiful fight. The land here has the fame appearance as about Port Defire, all downs, without a fingle tree.

At break of day, on the 20th, we were off Cape Thursd, 201 Fair-weather, which bore about weft at the diftance of four leagues, and we had here but thirteen fathom water, fo that it appears neceffary to

Wednef.

19.

December.

1764. give that Cape a good birth. From this place I ran close on shore to Cape Virgin Mary, but I Thurid. 20. found the coaft to lie S. S. E. very different from Sir John Narborough's defcription, and a long fpit of fand running to the fouthward of the Cape for above a league: in the evening I worked up close to this fpit of fand, having feen many guanicoes feeding in the vallies as we went along, and a great smoke all the afternoon, about four or five leagues up the Streight, upon the north shore. At this place I came to an anchor in fifteen fathom water, but the Tamar was fo far to leeward, that fhe could not fetch the anchoring ground, and therefore kept under way all night.

The next morning, at day-break I got again under fail, and feeing the fame fmoke that I had obferved the day before, I ftood in for it, and anchored about two miles from the fhore. This is the place where the crew of the Wager, as they were paffing the Streight in their boat, after the lofs of the veffel, faw a number of horsemen, who waved what appeared to be white handkerchiefs, inviting them to come on fhore, which they were very defirous to have done, but it blew fo hard that they were obliged to ftand out to fea. Bulke ley, the gunner of the Wager, who has published fome account of her voyage, fays, that they were in doubt whether these people were Europeans who had been shipwrecked upon the coaft, or na. tive inhabitants of the country about the river Gallagoes. Juft as we came to an anchor, I faw with my glass exactly what was feen by the people

in

Friday 21.

in the Wager, a number of horsemen riding back-
ward and forward, directly abreast of the fhip, and
waving fomewhat white, as an invitation for us to
come on fhore. As I was very defirous to know
what these people were, I ordered out my twelve
oar'd boat, and went towards the beach, with Mr.
Marfhall, my Second Lieutenant, and a party of
men, very well armed; Mr. Cumming, my Firft
Lieutenant, following in the fix oar'd cutter.
When we came within a little distance of the shore,
we saw, as near as I can guefs, about five hundred
people, fome on foot, but the greater part on
horfeback: they drew up upon a ftony fpit, which
ran a good way into the fea, and upon which it was
very bad landing, for the water was fhallow, and
the ftones very large. The people on fhore kept,
waving and hallooing, which, as we understood,
were invitations to land; I could not perceive that
they had any weapons among them, however I
made figns that they fhould retire to a little dif
tance, with which they immediately complied:
they continued to fhout with great vociferation,

and in a short time we landed, though not without
great difficulty, most of the boat's crew being up
to the middle in water. I drew up my people
upon the beach, with my officers at their head, and
gave orders that none of them should move from
that ftation, till I fhould either call or beckon to
them. I then went forward alone, towards the
Indians, but perceiving that they retired as I ad-
vanced, I made figns that one of them fhould
come near as it happened, my fignals were un-
VOL. I.
deritood,

D

1764.

December.

Friday 21