j»iy?' and turbulent feas> fhe was become very crazy; our fails
s ' ^ V alf° being much worn> were continually fplitting, fo that it
was become neceffary to keep the fail-maker conftantly at
work. The people had hitherto enjoyed good health, but
they now began to be affedted with the fcurvy. While we
were in the Streight of Magellan, I caufed a little awning to
be made, which I covered with a clean painted canvas, that
had been allowed me for a floor-cloth to my cabbin, and
with this we caught fo much rain water, with but little
trouble or attendance, that the people were never put to a
Ihort allowance of this important article: the awning alfc
afforded Ihelter from the inclemency of the weather, and to
thefe precautions I imputed our having efcaped the fcurvy fo
long, though perhaps it was in fome meafure owing to the
mixture of fpirit of vitriol with the water that was thus pre-
ferved, our Surgeon putting a fmall quantity into every calk
when it was filled up. ’
On Saturday the nth, we difcovered a fmall, low, flat
illand, which appeared to be almoft level with the water’s
edgeV and was covered with green trees: as it was to the
fouth, and diredtly to windward of us; we could not fetch it.
It lies in latitude 22°S., and longitude 141» 34'W.; and we
Oftaburgh called it the B ishop of O sn a b u r g h ’s Is l a n d , in honour of
his Majefty’s fecond fon *.
Sunday iz . On the 12th, we fell in with two more fmall iflands
which were covered with green trees, but appeared to be un-
inhabited. We were clofe in with the fouthermoft, which
proved to be a flip of land in the form of a half moon, low,
flat,'and fandy: from the fouth end of it a reef runs out to
the diftance of about half a mile, on which the fea breaks
* There is another ifland of this name, among thofe that were difcovered by Can-
lain Wallis.
with
with great fury. We found no anchorage, but the boat te fe
landed. It had a pleafant appearance, but afforded neither ,— >
vegetables nor w a te r; there were however many birds upon unday 12'
it, fo tame that they fuffered themfelves to be taken by
hand. The other ifland very much refembles this, and is
diftant from it about five or fix leagues: they lie W. N.W.
and E. S. E. o f each other. One of them is in latitude 30°
38'S , longitude 146° W.; the other 20°^4'S., longitude 146»
1 ƒ w. and we called them the Duke, of G loucester's Duke of
Is l a n d s ; the variation here is five degrees eaft. Thefe 5aa„“d“ .,U'‘ ’
iflands are probably the land feen by Quiros, as the fituation
is' nearly the fame; but if not, the land lie faw could not be
more confiderable: whatever it was, we went to the fouthward
of it, and the long billows we had here convinced us
that there was no land near us in that direction. The wind
here being to the eaftward, I hauled to the fouthward again,
and the next day, Monday the 13th, in the evening, as we Monday 13.
were fleering W.S.W. we obferved that we loft the long
foutherly billows, and that we got them again at feven o’clock
the next day. When we loft them we were in latitude 21°
7'S., longitude 147° 4 'W. and when we got them again we
were in latitude 210 43'S., longitude !49°48 W. fo th a t lim a -
gine there was then fome land to the fouthward, not far diftant.
From this time, to the 1 6th, the winds Were variable from ThurfdayiS,
N.E. round by the N. the N.W. and S. W. and blew very
hard, with violent gufts, one of which was very near being
fatal to us, with thick weather and hard rain. We were
then in latitude IS., and 700 30' W. o f our departure, |
where we found the variation 6° 30' E. and the tempeftuous
gales were fucceeded by a dead calm. After fome time,
however, the wind fprung up again at weft, and at length
fettled in the W.S.W. which foon drove us again to the
northward, fo that on the 20th we were in latitude i9 °S ., Monday
longitude