finding it in the pofition in which the charts had taught us to expert
it, we began to fear that we had got too far to the weftward ;
and therefore, though the Commodore himfelf was ftrongly per-
fuaded, that he law it on the morning of the 28th, yet his Officers
believing it to be only a cloud, to which opinion the hazinefs of
the weather gave, fome kind of countenance, it was, on a confulta-
tion, refolved to Hand to the eaftward, in the parallel of the Hland ;
as it was certain, that by this courfe we fhould either fall in with
the I Hand, if we were already to the weftward of i t ; or ffiould, at
leaft, make the main-land of Chili, from whence we might take a
new departure, and allure ourfelves, by running to the weftward
afterwards, of not miffing the Illand a fecond time.
On the 30th of May, we had a view of the Continent of Chili,
diftant about twelve or thirteen leagues ; the land made exceeding-
high and uneven, and appeared quite white; what we law being
doubtlefs a part of the Cordilleras, which are always covered with
fnow. Though by this view of the land we afcertained our pofition,
yet it gave us great uneafinefs to find that we had fo needlefsly
altered our courfe, when we were, in all probability, juft upon the
point of making the Iflaiid ; for the mortality amongft us was now
encreafed to a mod dreadful degree, and thofe who remained alive
were utterly difpirited by this new dilappointment, and the profpedt
o f their longer continuance at le a : our water, too, began [to grow
fcarce; fo that a general dejedtron prevailed amongft us, which
added much to the virulence of the difeafe, and deftroyed numbers
o f our bell men ; and to all- thefe calamities there was added this
vexatious circumftance, that when, after having got a fight of the
Main, we tacked and flood to the weftward in queft o f the Illand,.
we were fo much delayed by calms and contrary winds, that it coft
us nine days to regain the welling, which, when we flood to the
eaftward, we ran down in two. In this defponding condition,
with a crazy Ihip, a great fcarcity o f frelh water, and a crew fo
univerfally difeafed, that there were not above- ten fore-maft men
in a watch capable of doing duty, and even lome o f thefe lame,
and
R O U N D T H E W O R L D . 107
and unable to go aloft: under thefe difheartening circumftances, ,
we flood to the weftward; and, qn the 9th of June, at day-break,
we at laft difcovered the long-wilhed-for Illand of Juan Fernandes.
With this difcovery, I lhall clofe this chapter and the firft book,
after obferving (which will furnilh a very ftrong image of our unparalleled
diftrefles) that by our fufpefting ourfelves to be to the
weftward of the Illand on the 28th of May, and, in confequence
o f this, Handing in for the Main, we loft between M r and
eighty o f our men, whom we Ihould doubtlefs have faved, had w
made the Illand that day; which, had we kept on our courfe for
E N D of B O O K L
P 2