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1768. December.

CHA P. III.

The Paffage from Rio de Janeiro to the Entrance of the Streight of Le Maire, with a Defcription of fome of the Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego.

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N the 9th of December we obferved the fea to be covered with broad ftreaks of a yellowish coFriday 9. lour, feveral of them a mile long, and three or four hundred yards wide: fome of the water thus coloured was taken up, and found to be full of innumerable atoms pointed at the end, of a yellowish colour, and none more than a quarter of a line, or the fortieth part of an inch long in the microscope they appeared to be Fafciculi of fmall fibres interwoven with each other, not unlike the nidus of fome of the Phyganeas, called Caddices; but whether they were animal or vegetable fubftances, whence they came, or for what they were defigned, neither Mr. Banks nor Dr. Solander could guefs. The fame appearance had been obferved before, when we first discovered the continent of SouthAmerica.

Sunday 11.

Friday 30.

On the 11th we hooked a fhark, and while we were playing it under the cabin window, it threw out and drew in again feveral times what appeared to be its ftomach it proved to be a female, and upon being opened, fix young ones were taken out of it; five of them were alive and fwam brifkly in a tub of water, but the fixth appeared to have been dead fome time.

Nothing remarkable happened till the 30th, except that we prepared for the bad weather, which we were fhortly to expect, by bending a new fuit of fails; but on this day we ran a course of one hundred and fixty miles by the log, through innumerable land infects of various kinds, fome upon the wing, and more upon the water, many of which were alive; they appeared to be exactly the fame with the Carabi, the Grylli, the Phalana, Aranea, and other flies that are seen in England, though at this time we could not be lefs than thirty leagues from land; and fome of these infects, particularly the Grylli and Aranea, never voluntarily leave it at a greater diftance than twenty yards.

We

December.

We judged ourselves to be nearly oppofite to Baye fans 1768. fond, where Mr. Dalrymple fuppofes there is a paffage quite through the continent of America; and we thought from the infects that there might be a very large river, and that it had overflowed its banks.

1767.

Tuef. 3.

On the 3d of January, 1769, being in latitude 470 17 S. and longitude 610 29′ 45" W. we were all look-January. ing out for Pepys' ifland, and for fome time an appearance was seen in the east which so much resembled land, that we bore away for it; and it was more than two hours and an half before we were convinced that it was nothing but what failors call a Fog-bank.

The people now beginning to complain of cold, each of them received what is called a Magellanic jacket, and a pair of trowfers. The jacket is made of a thick woollen-ftuff, called Fearnought, which is provided by the government. We faw, from time to time, a great number of penguins, albatroffes, and fheer-waters, feals, whales, and porpoifes: and on the 11th, having Wednef.11. paffed Falkland's iflands, we difcovered the coaft of Terra del Fuego, at the distance of about four leagues, extending from the W. to S. E. by S. We had here five and thirty fathoms, the ground foft, fmall flate ftones. As we ranged along the shore to the S. E. at the distance of two or three leagues, we perceived smoke in feveral places, which was made by the natives, probably as a fignal, for they did not continue it after we had paffed by. This day we difcovered that the ship had got near a degree of longitude to the weftward of the log, which, in this latitude, is 35 minutes of a degree on the equator: probably there is a small current fetting to the weftward, which may be caused by the wefterly current coming round Cape Horn, and through the Streight of Le Maire, and the indraught of the Streight of Magellan *.

The celebrated navigator who discovered this Streight was a native of Portugal, and his name in the language of his country, was Fernando de Magalhaens; the Spaniards call him Hernando Magalhanes, and the French Magellan, which is the orthography that has been generally adopted a Gentleman, the fifth in defcent from this great adventurer, is now living in or near London, and communicated the true name of his ancestor to Mr. Banks, with a request that it might be inferted in this work

1769. Jannary.

Having continued to range the coaft, on the 14th we entered the Streight of Le Maire; but the tide turnSaturd. 14. ing against us, drove us out with great violence, and Enter the raifed fuch a fea off Cape St. Diego, that the waves Streight of Le Maire. had exactly the fame appearance as they would have had if they had broke over a ledge of rocks; and when the fhip was in th's torrent, the frequently pitched, fo that the bowfprit was under water. About noon, we got under the land between Cape St. Diego and Cape St. Vincent, where l'intended to have anchored; but finding the ground every where hard and rocky, and fhallowing from thirty to twelve fathoms, I fent the Master to examine a little cove which lay at a small distance to the eastward of Cape St. Vincent. When he returned, he reported, that there was anchorage in four fathoms, and a good bottom, clofe to the eastward of the first bluff point, on the east of Cape St. Vincent, at the very entrance of the Cove, to which I gave the name of VINCENT's Bay: before this anchoring ground, however, lay feveral rocky ledges, that were covered with fea-weed; but I was told that there was not less than eight and nine fathoms over all of them. It will probably be thought strange, that where weeds, which grow at the bottom, appear above the furface, there fhould be this depth of water; but the weeds which grow upon rocky ground in these countries, and which always diftinguish it from fand and ooze, are of an enormous fize. The leaves are four feet long, and fome of the stalks, though not thicker than a man's thumb, above one hundred and twenty: Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander examined fome of them, over which we founded and had fourteen fathoms, which is eightyfour feet; and, as they made a very acute angle with the bottom, they were thought to be at leaft one half longer the foot stalks were fwelled into an air vessel, and Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander called this plant Fucus giganteus. Upon the report of the Mafter, I stood in with the hip; but not trufting implicitly to his intelligence, I continued to found, and found but four fathoms upon the firft ledge that I went over; concluding, therefore, that I could not anchor here without rifk, I determined to feek fome port in the Streight,

where

where I might get on board fuch wood and water as we wanted.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, however, being very defirous to go on shore, I fent a boat with them and their people, while I kept plying as near as poffible with the ship.

Having been on fhore four hours, they returned about nine in the evening, with above an hundred different plants and flowers, all of them wholly unknown to the botanifts of Europe. They found the country about the bay to be in general flat, the bottom of it in particular was a plain, covered with grafs, which might eafily have been made into a large quantity of hay; they found alfo abundance of good wood and water, and fowl in great plenty. Among other things, of which Nature has been liberal in this place, is Winter's bark, Winteranea aromatica; which may easily be known by its broad leaf, fhaped like the laurel, of a light green colour without, and inclining to blue within; the bark is easily stripped with a bone or a stick, and its virtues are well known; it may be used for culinary purposes as a spice, and is not lefs pleasant than wholefome; here is alfo plenty of wild celery and fcurvy grafs. The trees are chiefly of one kind, a species of the birch called Betula antarctica; the ftem is from thirty to forty feet long, and from two to three feet in diameter, so that in a cafe of neceffity they might poffibly supply a ship with top-mafts; they are a light white wood, bear a fmall leaf, and cleave very straight. Cranberries were alfo found here in great plenty, both white and red.

The perfons who landed faw none of the inhabitants, but fell in with two of their deferted huts, one in a thick wood, and the other close by the beach.

1769. January.

Having taken the boat on board, I made fail into the Streight, and at three in the morning of the 15th Ian-Sunday 15 chored in twelve fathoms and an half, upon coral rocks, before a fmall cove, which we took for Port Maurice, at the diftance of about half a mile from the shore. Two of the natives came down to the beach, expecting us to land; but this fpot afforded fo little shelter, that I at length determined not to examine it: I therefore.got under fail again about ten o'clock, and the favages retired into the woods.

At

1769. At two o'clock we anchored in the bay of Good January. Succefs; and after dinner I went on fhore, accompa

nied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, to look for a watering place and fpeak to the Indians, feveral of whom had come in fight. We landed on the starboard fide of the bay near fome rocks, which made smooth water and good landing; thirty or forty of the Indians foon made their appearance at the end of a fandy beach on the other fide of the bay; but feeing our number, which was ten or twelve, they retreated. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander then advanced about one hundred yards before us, upon which two of the Indians returned, and, having advanced fome paces towards them, fat down; as foon as they came up, the Indians rofe, and each of them having a small stick in his hand, threw it away, in a direction both from themselves and the strangers, which was considered as the renunciation of weapons in token of peace; they then walked brifkly towards their companions, who had halted at about fifty yards behind them, and beckoned the gentlemen to follow, which they did. They were received with many uncouth figns of friendship; and, in return, they diftributed among them fome beads and ribbons, which had been brought on fhore for that purpose, and with which they were greatly delighted. A mutual confidence and good-will being thus produced, our parties joined; the converfation, fuch as it was, became general; and three of them accompanied us back to the ship. When they came on board, one of them, whom we took to be a priest, performed much the fame ceremonies which M. Bougainville defcribes, and fuppofes to be an exorcifm. When he was introduced into a new part of the ship, or when any thing that he had not feen before caught his attention, he shouted with all his force for some minutes, without directing his voice either to us or his compa

nions.

They eat fome bread and fome beef, but not apparently with much pleafure, though fuch part of what was given them as they did not eat they took away with them; but they would not fwallow a drop either of wine or fpirits: they put the glass to their lips, but having tafted the liquor, they returned it,

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