*04 L O R D A N S O N ’ S V O Y A G E
.our fails, greatly damaged our rigging, and endangered our mafts.
Indeed, during the greateft part o f the time we were upon this
coaft, the wind blew fo hard, that, in another fituation, where we
had fufficient fea-room, we ffiould certainly have la'tn-to; but in
»the prefent exigency we were neceflitated to carry both our courfes
and top-fails, in order to keep clear o f thjs lee-lhore. In one of
thefe fqualls, which was attended by feveral violent claps o f thunder,
a fudden flalh of fire darted along our decks, which, dividing, exploded
with a report like that of feveral piftols, and wounded many
o f our men and officers as it paffed, marking-them in different parts
of the body : this flame was attended with' a ftrong fulphureous
flench, and was doubtlefs of the fame nature with the larger and
more violent blafts o f lightning which then filled the air.
It were endlefs to recite minutely the various difafters, fatigues,
and terrors, which we encountered on this coaft : all thefe went on
encreafing till the 22d o f May, at which time the fury of all the
ftorms, which we had hitherto encountered, feemed to be combined,
and to have confpired our deftrudtion. In this hurricane almoft all
our fails were fplit, and great part of our ftanding rigging broken;
and, about eight in the evening, a mountainous over-grown fea took
us upon our ftar-board quarter, and gave us fo prodigious a ffiock,
that feveral of our ffirouds broke with the jerk, by which our mafi s
were greatly endangered: our ballaft and ftores too were fo ftrangely
fluffed, that the ffiip heeled afterwards two ftreaks to port. Indeed,
it was a moft tremendous blow, and we were thrown into the ut-
moft confternation from the apprehenfion of inftantly foundering:
and though the wind abated in a few hours, yet, as we had no
more fails left in a condition to bend to our yards, the ffiip laboured
very much in a hollow fea, rolling gunwale-to, for want o f fail to
fteady her: fo that we expefted our mafts, which were now very
flenderly fupported, to come by tire board every moment. However,
we exerted ourfelves the beft we could to ftirrup our ffirouds,
to reeve new lanyards, and to mend our fails ; but, while thefe ne-
ceflary operations were carrying on, we ran great rifqne of being
driven
R O U N D THE - WO R L D . 105
driven on ffiore on the Ifland of Chiloe, which was not far diftant
from us; but, in the midft of our peril, the wind happily fluffed
to the fouthward, and we fleered off the land with the main-fail
only; the Matter and myfelf undertaking, the management of the
'helm, while every one elfe on board was bulled in fecuring the
mafts, and bending the fails, as faft as they could be repaired. This
was the laft effort of that ftormy climate; for, in a day or two after,
we got clear o f the land, and found the weather more moderate
than we had yet experienced fince our pafling Streights Le
Maire. And now, having, cruifei in vain for more than a fortnight
in queft of the other ffiips Of the fquadron, it was refolved
to take the advantage of the prefent favourable feafon, and the
offing we had made from this terrible coaft, and to make the beft
o f our way for the Ifland o f Juan Fernandes : for though our next
rendezvous was appointed off the harbour of Baldivla, yet, as we
had hitherto feen none o f our companions at this firft rendezvous,
it was not to be fuppofed that any of them would be found at
the fecond: indeed, we had the greatefl reafon to fufpea, that
all but ourfelves had periffied. ' Befides, we were by this time reduced
to fo low a condition, that, inftead o f attempting to attack
the places o f the enemy, our utmoft hopes could only fugged to
us the poffibility of faving the ffiip, and feme part of the remaining
enfeebled crew, by our fpeedy arrival at Juan Fernandes;;, for
this was the only road, in that part of the world, where there was
any probability o f our recovering our Tick,, or refitting, our ueffel,
and confeqpently our getting thither was the only chance we had
left to avoid periffiing at fea.
Our deplorable fituation, then, allowing no room for deliberation,
we flood for the Ifland of Juan Fernandes; and to fave time,
which was now extremely precious (jour men dying, four, five, and
fix in a day), and likewife to avoid being engaged again with a lee-
ffiore, we refolved, if poffible, to hit the Ifland upon a meridian.
And;, on the 28th of May, being nearly in the parallel upon which
it is laid down, we had great expeditions of feeing it; but, not
p finding