had to the British Museum, and a manuscript journal of Cowley's was there found. In this manuscript no mention is made of an island not before known, to which he gave the name of Pepys's Island, but land is mentioned in latitude forty-seven degrees forty minutes, expressed in words at length, which exactly answers to the description of what is called Pepys's Island in the printed account, and which here, he says, he supposed to be the islands of Sebald de Wert. This part of the manuscript is in the following words: "January, 1683, This month we were in the latitude of forty-seven degrees and forty minutes, where we espied an island bearing west from us; we having the wind at east north-east, we bore away for it; it being too late for us to go on shore, we lay by all night. The island seemed very pleasant to the eye, with many woods, I may as well say the whole land was woods. There being a rock lying above water to the eastward of it, where an innumerable company of fowls, being of the bigness of a small goose, which fowls would strike at our men as they were aloft: Some of them we killed and eat: They seemed to us very good, only tasted somewhat fishly. I sailed along that island to the southward, and about the south-west side of the island there seemed to me to be a good place for ships to ride; I would have had the boat out to have gone into the harbour, but the wind blew fresh, and they would not agree to go with it. Sailing a little further, keeping the lead, and having six andtwenty and seven-and-twenty fathoms water, until we came to a place where we saw the weeds ride, heaving the lead again, found but seven fathoms water. Fearing danger went about the ship there; were then fearfull to stay by the land any longer, it being all rocky ground, but the harbour seem ed to be a good place for shipps to ride there; in the island, seeming likewise to have water enough, there seemed to me to be harbour for five hundred sail of ships. The going in but narrow, and the north side of the entrance shallow water that I could see, but I verily believe that there is water enough for any ship to go in on the south side, for there cannot be so great a lack of water, but must needs scoure a channel away at the ebb deep enough for shipping to go in. I would have had them stood upon a wind all night, but they told me they were not come out to go upon discovery. We saw likewise another island, by this that night, which made me think them to be the Sibble D'wards.

VOL. XII.

D

"The

"The same night we steered our course againe west south west, which was but our south west, the compasse having two and twenty degrees variation eastwardly, keeping that course till we came in the latitude of three and fifty degrees."

In both the printed and manuscript account, this land is said to lie in latitude forty-seven, to be situated to the westward of the ship when first discovered, to appear woody, to have an harbour where a great number of ships might ride in safety, and to be frequented by innumerable birds. It appears also by both accounts, that the weather prevented his going on shore, and that he steered from it W. S. W, till he came into latitude fifty-three: There can therefore be little doubt but that Cowley gave the name of Pepys's Island after he came home, to what he really supposed to be the island of Sebald de Wert, for which it is not diffi¬ cult to assign several reasons; and though the supposition of a mistake of the figures does not appear to be well grounded, yet, there being no land in forty-seven, the evidence that what Cowley saw was Falkland's Islands is very strong, The description of the country agrees in almost every par ticular, and even the map is of the same general figure, with a strait running up the middle. The chart of Falkland's that accompanies my narrative, was laid down from the journals and drawings of Captain Macbride, who was dispatched thither after my return, and circumnavigated the whole coast: The two principal islands were probably called Falkland's Islands by Strong, about the year 1689, as he is known to have given the name of Falkland's Sound to part of the strait which divides them. The journal of this navigator is still unprinted in the British Museum. The first who saw these islands is supposed to be Captain Da vies, the associate of Cavendish, in 1692. In 1594, Sir Richard Hawkins saw land, supposed to be the same, and in honour of his mistress, Queen Elizabeth, called them Hawkins's Maiden Land. Long afterwards, they were seen by some French ships from Saint Maloes, and Frezier, probably for that reason, called them the Malouins, a name which has been since adopted by the Spaniards.

Having continued in the harbour which I had called Port Egmont till Sunday the 27th of January, we sailed again at eight o'clock in the morning with the wind at S. S. W.; but we were scarcely got out of the port before it began to blow very hard, and the weather became so thick that we

could

could not see the rocky islands. I now most heartily wished myself again at anchor in the harbour we had quitted; but in short time we had the satisfaction to see the weather become clear, though it continued to blow very hard the whole day. At nine the entrance of Port Egmont harbour bore E. S. E. distant two leagues; the two low islands to the northward E. by N. distant between three and four miles; and the rocky island W. N. distant four leagues. At ten the two low islands bore S. S. E. distant four or five miles; and we then steered along the shore east by the compass, and after having run about five leagues, we saw a remarkable head-land, with a rock at a little distance from it, bearing E. S. E. E. distant three leagues. This headland I called Cape Tamar. Having continued the same course five leagues farther, we saw a rock about five miles from the main bearing N. E. at the distance of four or five leagues: This rock I called the Edistone, and then steered between it and a remarkable head-land which I called Cape Dolphin, in the direction of E. N. E. five leagues farther. From Cape Tamar to Cape Dolphin, a distance of about eight leagues, the land forms, what I thought, a deep sound, and called it Carlisle Sound, but what has since appeared to be the northern entrance of the strait between the two principal islands. In the part that I supposed to be the bottom of the sound, we saw an opening, which had the appearance of a harbour. From Cape Dolphin we steered along the shore E. & N. sixteen leagues, to a low flat cape or headland, and then brought-to. In this day's run the land, for the most part, resembled the east side of the coast of Patagonia, not having so much as a single tree, or even a bush, being all downs, with here and there a few of the high tufts of grass that we had seen at Port Egmont; and in this account I am sure I am not mistaken, for I frequently sailed within two miles of the shore; so that if there had been a shrub as big as a gooseberry bush, I should have seen it. During the night we had forty fathom water with rocky ground.

The next morning, at four o'clock, we made sail, the low flat cape then bearing S. E. by E. distant five leagues: At half an hour after five it bore S. S. E. distant two leagu s and we then steered from it E. S. E. five leagues, to three low rocky islands, which lie about two miles from the main. From these islands we steered S. S. E. four leagues, to two

other

other low islands, which lie at a distance of about one mile from the main. Between these islands the land forms a very deep sound, which I called Berkeley's Sound. In the south part of this sound there is an opening, which has the appearance of a harbour; and about three or four miles to the southward of the south point of it, at the distance of about four miles from the main, some rocks appear above the water, upon which the sea breaks very high, there being here a great swell from the southward. When we were abreast of these breakers, we steered S. W. by S. about two leagues, when the southermost land in sight, which I took to be the southermost part of Falkland's Islands, bore W. S. W. distant five leagues. The coast now began to be very dangerous, there being, in all directions, rocks and breakers at a great distance from the shore. The country also inland had a more rude and desolate appearance; the high ground, as far as we could see, being all barren, craggy rocks, very much resembling that part of Terra del Fuego which lies near Cape Horn. As the sea now rose every moment, I was afraid of being caught here upon a lee-shore, in which case there would have been very little chance of my getting off, and therefore I tacked, and stood to the northward; the latitude of the southermost point in sight being about 52° 31 S. As we had now run no less than seventy leagues along the coast of this island, it must certainly be of very considerable extent. It has been said by some former navigators to be about two hundred miles in circumference, but I made no doubt of its being nearer seven. Having hauled the wind, I stood to the northward about noon; the entrance of Berkeley's Sound at three o'clock bore S. W. by W. distant about six leagues. At eight in the evening, the wind shifting to the S. W. we stood to the westward.

SECTION VI.

The Passage through the Strait of Magellan as far as Cape Monday, with a Description of several Bays and Harbours, formed by the Coast on each Side.

WE continued to make sail for Port Desire till Wednes→ day the 6th of February, when about one o'clock in the afternoon we saw land, and stood in for the port. During the

run

run from Falkland's Islands to this place, the number of whales about the ship was so great as to render the navigation dangerous; we were very near striking upon one, and another blew the water in upon the quarter-deck; they were much larger than any we had seen. As we were standing in for Port Desire, we saw the Florida, a store-ship that we expected from England; and at four we came to an anchor off the harbour's mouth.

The next morning, Mr Dean, the master of the storeship, came on board; and finding from his report that his foremast was sprung, and his ship little better than a wreck, I determined to go into the harbour, and try to unload her there, although the narrowness of the place, and the rapidity of the tides, render it a very dangerous situation. We got in in the evening, but it blowing very hard in the night, both the Tamar and the store-ship made signals of distress; I immediately sent my boats to their assistance, who found that, notwithstanding they were moored, they had been driven up the harbour, and were in the greatest danger of being on shore. They were brought back, not without great difficulty, and the very next night they drove again, and were again saved by the same efforts, from the same danger. As I now found that the store-ship was continually driving about the harbour, and every moment in danger of being lost, I gave up, with whatever reluctance, my design of taking the provisions out of her, and sent all our carpenters on board, to fish the mast, and make such other repairs as they could. I also lent her my forge to complete such iron-work as they wanted, and determined, the moment she was in a condition to put to sea, to take her with us into the strait of Magellan, and unload her there. While this was doing, Captain Mouat, who commanded the Tamar, informed me that his rudder was sprung, and that he had reason to fear it would in a short time become wholly unserviceable. Upon this I ordered the carpenter of the Dolphin on board the Tamar, to examine the rudder, and he reported it to be so bad, that in his opinion the vessel could not proceed on her voyage without a new one. A new one, however, it was not in our power to procure at this place, and I therefore desired Captain Mouat to get his forge on shore, and secure his rudder with iron clamps in the best manner he could, hoping that in the strait a