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1765

rocky island bearing S. E. by E. diftant about five January.

Tuel. 15

miles here we brought to, and having founded, we had forty fathom water, with a bottom of white fand. This ifland is about three leagues diftant from the land we were coasting, which here forms a very deep bay, and bears E. by N. of the other island on which we had feen the long tufts of grafs: we faw the fea breaking at a good distance from the shore, and during the, night stood off and on. The next morning at three o'clock we made fail, and stood in for the land to look for a harbour. At fix, the east end of the rocky ifland bore W. S. W. diftant about three miles, and our foundings then were fixteen fathom, with rocky ground, but when we got within the island we had twenty fathem, with fine white fand. The coaft from this rocky island lies E. by S. distant about seven or eight leagues, where there are two low iflands, which make the eaftermoft land in fight. At eight o'clock we faw an opening, which had the appearance of an harbour, bearing E. S. E. and being between two and three leagues, diftant. Upon this discovery we brought to, and fent a boat from each of the fhips to examine the opening; but it beginning to blow very hard foon after, and the weather growing thick, with heavy rain, we were obliged to stand out to fea with both the ships, and it was not without great difficulty that we cleared the two rocky iflands which were to the eastward of us. We had now a great sea, and I began to be under much concern left we should be blown off, and our people in the boats left behind: however, about three in the afternoon, the weather clearing up, I tacked and stood in again, and presently after had the fatisfaction to fee one of the boats, though it was a long way to leeward of us. I immediately bore down to her, and found her to be the Tamar's boat, with Mr. Hindman, the Second Lieutenant, on board, who having been on fhore in the opening, had ventured off, notwithstanding the great fea and bad weather, to inform me that he had found a fine harbour: we immediately ftood in for it, and found it equally beyond his report and our expectations the entrance is about a mile over, and every part of it is perfectly fafe, the depth of water; close to the fhore, being from ten to feven fathom. We found this harbour to confift of two little bays

on

1.765.

January.

on the starboard fide, where fhips may anchor in great fafety, and in each of which there is a fine rivulet of freth water. Soon after we entered an harbour of much greater extent, which I called PORT EGMONT, in honour of the earl, who was then Firft Lord of the Admiralty; and I think it is one of the finest harbours in the world. The mouth of it is S. E. diftant seven leagues from the low rocky ifland, which is a good mark to know it by: within the island, and at the diftance of about two miles from the fhore, there is between seventeen and eighteen fathom water; and about three leagues to the weftward of the harbour, there is a remarkable white fandy beach, off which a ship may anchor till there is an opportunity to run in. In ftanding in for this fandy beach, the two low rocky islands, which we found it difficult to clear when the weather obliged us to ftand off, appear to the eastward, and Port Egmont is about fixteen leagues from the north end of these islands. We moored in ten fathom, with fine holding ground. The northermoft point of the western fhore was diftant two miles and an half, the watering-place on that fhore bore W. N. W. W. and was distant half a mile, and the islands on the eaft fide bore E. by S. and were diftant four miles. The whole navy of England might ride here in perfe& fecurity from all winds. Soon after the fhip came to an anchor, the other boat which had remained on fhore when Mr. Hindman put off, came on board. In the fouthermost part of the harbour there are several islands, but there is no paffage out for a fhip; I went, however through in my boat, about, feven leagues diftant from where the fhip lay, and entered a large found, which is too much expofed to a westerly wind for fhips to lie in it fafely; and the mafter of the Tamar, who had been round in her boat, and entered this found from without, reported that many fhoals lay off it, so that if the harbour was ever so good, it would not be prudent to attempt getting in. In every part of Port Egmont there is fresh water in the greatest plenty, and geefe, ducks, fnipes, and other birds are fo numerous that our people grew tired of them: it was a common thing for a boat to bring off fixty or feventy fine geefe, without expending a single charge of powder and

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we

shot, for the men knocked down as many as they pleafed 1765. January. with stones: wood, however, is wanting here, except a little that is found a-drift along the fhore, which I imagined came from the Streight of Magellan. Among other refreshments, which are in the highest degree falutary to those who have contracted fcorbutic diforders, during a long voyage, here are wild celery and wood forrel, in the greatest abundance; nor is there any want of muscles, clams, cockles, and limpets: the feals and penguins are innumerable, fo that it is impoffible to walk on the beach without first driving them away! and the coaft abounds with fea lions, many of which are of an enormous fize. We found this animal very formidable; I was once attacked by one of them very unexpectedly, and it was with the utmoft difficulty that I could difengage myself from him: at other times had many battles with them, and it has fometimes afforded a dozen of us an hour's work to dispatch one of them; I had with me a very fine mastiff dog, land á bite of one of thefe creatures almoft tore him to pieces. Nor were these the only dangerous animals that we found here; for the Mafter having been fent out one day to found the coaft upon the fouth fhore, reported, at his return, that four creatures of great fiercenefs, resembling wolves, ran up to their bellies in the water to attack the people in his boat, and that as they happened to have no fire-arms with them, they had immediately put the boat off into deep water. The next morning after this happened, I went upon the fouthern fhore myself, where we found one of the largeft fea lions I had ever feen: as the boat's crew were now well armed, they immediately engaged him, and during the contest one of the other animals was feen running towards us: he was fired at before he came up, and was presently killed, though I afterwards wifhed that we had endeavoured to take him alive, which, if we had been aware of his attack, I dare fay might easily have been done. When any of thefe creatures got fight of our people, though at ever so great a distance, they ran directly at them; and no less than five of them were killed this day. They were always called wolves by the fhip's company, but except in their fize, and the shape of the tail, I think they bore a greater

refemblance

1765.

refemblance to a fox. They are as big as a middle January fized maftiff, and their fangs are remarkably long and

fharp. There are great numbers of them upon this coaft, though it is not perhaps eafy to guefs how they first came hither, for these islands are at least one hundred leagues diftant from the main: they burrow in the ground like a fox, and we have frequently seen pieces of feal which they have mangled, and the skins of penguins, lie scattered about the mouth of their holes. To get rid of these creatures, our people set fire to the grafs, fo that the country was in a blaze as far as the eye could reach, for several days, and we could fee them running in great numbers to feek other quarters. I dug holes in many places, about two feet deep, to examine the foil, which I found first a black mould, and then a light clay. While we lay here, we fet up the armourer's forge on fhore, and completed a great deal of iron work that was much wanted. Our people had every morning an excellent breakfast made of portable foup, and wild celery, thickened with oat meal: neither was our attention confined wholly to ourselves, for the Surgeon of the Tamar furrounded a piece of ground near the watering place with a fence of turf, and planted it with many efculent vegetables as a garden, for the benefit of those who might hereafter come to this place. Of this harbour, and all the neighbouring iflands, I took poffeffion for his Majefly King George the Third of Great Britain, by the name of FALKLAND'S ISLANDS, and there is I think little reafon to doubt that they are the fame land to which Cowley gave the name of Pepys' lfland.

In the printed account of Cowley's voyage, he says, "We held our courfe S. W. till we came into the lati"tude of forty-feven degrees, where we saw land, the "fame being an ifland, not before known, laying to "the westward of us it was not inhabited, and I

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gave it the name of PEPYS' ISLAND. We found "it a very commodious place for fhips to water at, and "take in wood, and it has a very good harbour, where

a thousand fail of ships may fafely ride. Here is great "plenty of fowls, and, we judge, abundance of fish,

" by

"by reafon of the grounds being nothing but rocks " and fands."

To this account there is annexed a representation of Pepy's Ifland, in which names are given to several points and head-lands, and the harbour is called Admiralty-bay; yet it appears that Cowley had only a diftant view of it; for he immediately adds, "The wind being fo extraordinary high that we could not get "into it to water, we stood to the fouthward, shaping 66 our courfe S. S. W. till we came into the latitude of

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53, ," and though he fays that "it was commodious 66 to take in wood," and it is known that there is no wood on Falkland's Iflands, Pepys' Ifland and Falkland's Iflands may notwithstanding be the fame; for upon Falkland's Islands there are immenfe quantities of flags with narrow leaves, reeds and rushes which grow in clusters, fo as to form bushes about three feet high, and then shoot about fix or seven feet higher : thefe at a distance have greatly the appearance of wood, and were taken for wood by the French, who landed there, in the year 1764, as appears by Pernetty's account of their voyage. It has been fuggefted that the latitude of Pepys' Island might, in the M. S. from which the account of Cowley's voyage was printed, be expreffed in figures, which, if ill made, might equally resemble forty-seven, and fifty-one; and therefore as there is no ifland in thefe feas in latitude fortyfeven, and as Falkland's Inlands lie nearly in fifty-one, that fifty-one might reafonably be concluded to be the number for which the figures were intended to ftand: recourse therefore was had to the British Mufæum, and a manufcript journal of Cowley's was there found. In this manufcript no mention is made of an island. not before known, to which he gave the name of Pepys' Island, but land is mentioned in latitude fortyfeven degrees, forty minutes, expreffed in words at length, which exactly anfwers to the defcription of what is called Pepys Ifland in the printed account, and which here, he fays, he supposed to be the islands of Sebald de Wert. This part of the manufcript is in the following words: "January 1683. This "month wee were in the latitude of forty-feaven degrees and forty minnetts, where wee efpied an island

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1765.

Jauuary.

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