1765. fame, he conceived a strong notion that something January. was buried there; when he came on board, he related what he had remarked to me, and I went myself to the spot, with a small party, furnished with spades and pickaxes, and faw the fpot opened to a confiderable depth, but we found nothing, nor did there appear to be any hollow or vault as was expected. As we were returning through the woods, we found two very large fkulls, which, by the teeth, appeared to have belonged to fome beafts of prey, but of what kind we could not guess.

Friday 4.

Saturday 5.

Having continued here till Friday the 4th of January, and completed the wood and water of both ships, for which purpose I had entered the Streight, I determined to steer back again in fearch of Falkland's Iflands.

The Courfe back from Port Famine to Falkland's Islands, with fome Account of the Country.

WE

E weighed anchor at four o'clock in the morning, and worked to windward out of the harbour: the wind continued contrary at N. N. E. till about one o'clock the next day, when it shifted toW. S. W. and blew a fresh gale. We fteered N. W. by N. four leagues, and then three leagues north, between Elizabeth and Bartholomew iflands: we then fteered from the islands N. by E. three leagues, to the fecond Narrow; and steered through N. E. E. continuing the fame courfe from the fecond Narrow to the first, which was a run of eight leagues. As the wind ftill continued to blow fresh, we fteered through the first Narrow against the flood, in the direction of N. N. E. but about ten o'clock at night, the wind dying away, the flood fet us back again into the entrance of the firft Narrow, where we were obliged to anchor, in forty fathom, within two cables length of the shore. The tide flows here, at the full and change of the moon, about two o'clock, and runs full fix knots an hour.

At one o'clock the next morning, we weighed, with a light northerly breeze; and about three, we passed

the

the first Narrow a fecond time. Having now feen the' 1765.. ship safe through, and being quite exhaufted with fa- January tigue, as I had been upon the deck all the preceding day, and all night, I went into my cabin to get fome reft. I lay down, and foon fell asleep, but in less than half an hour, I was awakened by the beating of the ship upon a bank: I instantly started up, and ran upon the deck, where I foon found that we had grounded upon a hard fand. It was happy for us, that at this time it was ftark calm; and I immediately ordered out the boats to carry an anchor a-ftern, where the water was deepest: the anchor took the ground, but before we could work the capftern, in order to heave the fhip off to it, the went off, by the mere rifing of the tide. It happened fortunately to be just low water when she went a-ground, and there was fifteen feet forward, and fix fathom a very little way a-ftern. The Mafter told me, that at the last cast of the lead, before we were a-ground, he had thirteen fathom; fo that the water fhoaled at once no lefs than fixty-three feet.

This bank, which has not been mentioned by any nrvigator who has paffed the Streight, is extremely dangerous; especially as it lies directly in the fair way between Cape Virgin Mary and the first Narrow, and just in the middle between the south and north fhores. It is more than two leagues long, and full as broad; in many places also it is very steep. When we were upon it, Point Poffeffion bore N. E. diftant three leagues; and the entrance of the Narrow S. W. diftant two leagues. I afterwards faw many parts of it dry, and the fea breaking very high over other parts of it, where the water was fhallow. A fhip that should ground upon this fhoal in a gale of wind, would probably be very foon beaten to pieces.

About fix o'clock in the morning, we anchored in fifteen fathom, the fhoal bearing N. N. W. W. at the diftance of about half a mile. At noon, we weighed with a light breeze at N. E. and worked with the ebb tide till two, but finding the water fhoal, we anchored again in fix fathom and an half, at about the diftance of half a mile from the fouth fide of the fhoal. The Affes Ears then bearing N. W. by W. diftant four leagues, and the fouth point of the entrance of the firft Narrow W. S. W. distant about VOL. I. three

D

1765. three leagues. At this time the opening of the NarJanuary. row was shut in, and upon fending out the boats to found, they discovered a channel between the fhoal and the fouth fhore of the Streight. The Tamar in the mean time, as fhe was endeavouring to come near us, was very near going on fhore, having once got into three fathom, but foon after came to an anchor in the channel between the fhoal and the north fhore.

The next morning, about eight o'clock, we weighed, with little wind at W. S. W. and fteered about half a mile S. E. by E. when, having deepened our water to thirteen fathom, we fteered between the E. and E. N. E. along the fouth fide of the fhoal, at the distance of about seven miles from the fouth fhore, keeping two boats at fome diftance, one on each bow, to found. The depth of water was very irregular, varying continually between nine and fifteen fathom;. and upon hauling nearer to the fhoal, we had very foon no more than feven fathom: the boats went over a bank, upon which they had fix fathom and an half; it being then low water, but within the bank they had thirteen fathom. At noon, we were to the eastward of the fhoal, and as we hauled over to the north fhore, we foon deepened our water to twenty fathom. Point Poffeffion at this time bore N. N. W. diftant between four and five leagues, the Affes Ears W. N. W. diftant fix leagues, and Cape Virgin Mary N. E. E. diftant about feven leagues. From this fituation we fteered N. E. by E. for the fouth end of the spit which runs to the fouthward of the Cape, and had no foundings with five and twenty fathom. At four in the afternoon, Cape Virgin Mary bore N. E. and the fouth end of the fpit N. E. Tuefd. 8. by E diftant three leagues. At eight the next morning. the Cape bore N. by W. diftant two leagues. Our latitude was 510 50', and our foundings were eleven and twelve fathom. We now brought to for the Tamar, who had come through the north channel, and was fome leagues a-ftern of us, and while we were waiting for her coming up, the officer of the watch informed me that the head of the main-maft was sprung: I' immediately went up to look at it myself, and found it fplit almost in a ftrait line perpendicularly for a confi

derable

1765

January:

derable length, but I could not difcover exactly how far the fiffure went, for the cheeks that were upon the maft. We imagined this to have happened in the very hard gale that had overtaken us fome time before; but as it was of more importance to contrive how to repair the damage than to difcover how it happened, we immediately put on a strong fish, and woolded it fo well, that we had reason to hope the mast would be as ferviceable as ever. Cape Virgin Mary now bore S. 62 W. diftant twenty-one leagues, and our latitude was 510 50'S. longitude 69° 56′ W. the variation 20° E. On the 9th having failed S. 67 E. our latitude was Wedn. 9. 52° 8' S. our longitude 68° 31' W. and Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 83 W. diftant thirty-three leagues.

On the roth, there having been little wind for the Thurf. 10. last twenty-four hours, between the north and eaft, with thick foggy weather, our courfe was N. 18 W. for thirty-nine miles. Our latitude was 510 31' S. longitude 68° 44′ W. variation 20° E. and Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 60 W. diftant thirty-three leagues.

II.

Saur: 12.

On the rith, we had ftrong gales at S. W. with Frid. 11. a great fea: our course was N. 87 E. for ninety-nine miles. Our latitude was 51° 24' S. longitude 660 10' W. Cape Virgin Mary bore S. 73° 8' W. distant fixtyfive leagues, and Cape Fairweather W. 2 S. diftant feventy leagues: the variation was now 190 E. About feven in the evening, I thought I faw land a-head of us, but the Tamar being fome leagues aftern, I wore fhip, and made an eafy fail off: the next morning, at break of day, I ftood in again, the wind having shifted in the night to N. W. and about four o'clock, I recovered fight of the land a-head, which had the appearance of three iflands; I imagined they might be the islands of Sebald de Wert, but intended to ftand between them; I found that the land which had appeared to be separated, was joined by fome very low ground, which formed a deep bay. As foon as I had made this discovery, I tacked and flood out again, and at the fame time faw land a great way to the fouth-. ward, which I made no doubt was the fame that is mentioned in the charts by the name of the New Islands. As I was hauling out of this bay, I faw a long, low fhoal of rocks, ftretching out for more than a league to the

D 2

1765: January.

Sund. 13:

Monday 14.

the northward of us, and another of the fame kind lying between that and what we had taken for the northermoft of De Wert's iflands. This land, except the low part, which is not seen till it is approached near, confifts of high, craggy, barren rocks, which in appearance very much resemble Staten Land. When I had got fo near as to discover the low land, I was quite embayed, and if it had blown hard at S. W. fo great a fea must have rolled in here as would have rendered it almost impoffible to claw off the shore; all ships, therefore, that may hereafter navigate these parts, should avoid falling in with it. The feals and birds here are innumerable; we faw also many whales spouting about us, feveral of which were of an enormous fize. Our latitude now was 51° 27' S. longitude 63° 54′ W. the variation was 23° 30' E. In the evening we brought to, and at day-break the next morning, stood in for the north part of the island by the coaft of which we had been embayed when we had got about four miles to the eastward, it fell calm, and rained with great violence, during which there arose fuch a fwell as I never remember to have feer. It came from the weftward, and ran fo quick and fo high, that I expected every moment it would break it fet us very fast towards the shore, which is as dangerous as any in the world, and I could see the surge breaking at some distance from it, mountains high: happily for us a fresh gale sprung up at fouth east, with which, to our great joy, we were able to stand off and it behoves whoever shall afterwards come this to give the north part of this island a good birth. After I had got to some distance, the weather being thick, and it raining very hard, I brought to. Our latitude was now 510 S. and longitude 63° 22' W.

:

:

way,

On Monday the 14th, the weather having cleared up, and the wind fhifted to the S. S. W. we steered along the shore S. E. by E. four miles, and faw a low flat inland full of high tufts of grafs refembling bushes, bearing fouth, at the distance of two or three leagues, the northermost land at the fame time bearing west, diftant about fix leagues: we had here thirty-eight fathom, with rocky ground. We continued our course along the fhore fix leagues farther, and then faw a low

rocky