Desember.

the chief men came up to me, and, as I under- 1764. stood by the figns they made, wanted me to mount one of the horses, and go with them to their habi. Friday 21. tations, but as it would upon every account have been imprudent to comply, I made signs in return that I must go back to the fhip; at this they expreffed great concern, and fat down in their ftations again. During our pantomimical conference, an old man often laid his head down upon the stones, and shutting his eyes for about half a minute, afterwards pointed first 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 fuppofe they chase 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 fmall piece of wood that ferved for a bit, and the faddles resembled the pads that are in ufe among the country people in England. The women rode aftride, and both men and women without ftirrups; yet they galloped fearlessly over the fpit upon which we landed, the ftones of which were large, loose, and flippery.

1764. December.

CHA P. IV.

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

OON after I returned on board, I got under way, and worked up the Streight, which is Friday 21. here about nine leagues broad, with the flood, not with a view to pass through it, but in search of some place where I might get a supply of wood and water, not chufing to trust wholly to the finding of Falkland's Iflands, 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 distance, and fome remarkable hummocks on the north, which Bulkeley, from their appearance, has called the Affes Ears, W. N.

Saturd. 22.

At three in the morning of the 22d, we weighed with 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 fhalloweft, the Affes Ears bore N. W. by W. W. diftant three leagues, and the north point of the first Narrow W. by S. diftant between five and fix miles. We then steered

S. W.

December,

$. W. by S. near fix miles to the entrance of the 1764. firft Narrow, and afterwards S. S. W. about fix miles, which brought us through: the tide here Saturd. 22, was fo ftrong, that the paffage was very rapid. During this courfe we faw a fingle Indian upon the fouth fhore, who kept waving to us as long as we were in fight: we saw alfo fome guanicoes upon the hills, though Wood, in the account of his voyage, fays there were none upon that shore. As foon as we had paffed the first 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 diftance from the first to the fecond Narrow is about eight leagues, and the course S. W. by W. The land is very high on the north fide of the fecond 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 weft end of this Narrow about noon, and steered fouth about three leagues for Elizabeth's Island; but the wind then coming right against us, we anchored in feven fathom. The island bore S, S. E. distant 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 hoifting out a boat, and the Indians feeing their labour fruitless, at length went away. While we were fteering from Point Poffeffion to the first Narrow, the flood fet to the

I

2

fouth

December.

1764. fouthward, but as foon as we entered the Narrow, it fet ftrongly over to the north fhore: it flows Saturday 22. 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 second Narrow is past, 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.

Sunday 23.

In the morning of the 23d, we weighed with the wind at S. by W. and worked between Elizabeth and Bartholomew's ifland: before the tide was spent, we got over upon the north fhore, and anchored in ten fathom. Saint George's Ifland then bore N. E. by N. diftant three leagues; a point of land, which I called PORPOIS POINT, N. by W. diftant about five miles; and the fouthermoft land S. by E. distant 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. diftant 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,

moon, it flows about eleven o'clock, and the wa

ter rises about fifteen feet.

1764.

December.

The next morning, I went out in my boat in Monday 24. fearch of Fresh Water Bay; I landed with my Second Lieutenant upon Sandy Point, and having fent the boat along the fhore, 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 foil 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 geese. 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 shore, 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 deferted, for in fome of them the fires which they had kindled were scarcely extinguished; they were in little receffes of the woods, and always clofe

5