I768.
December.
Friday 30.
ran a courfe of one hundred and fixty miles by the log,
through innumerable land infedts of various kinds, fome
upon the wing, and more upon the water, many of which
were alive; they appeared to be exadlly the fame with the
Carilbi, the Grylli, the Phalanx, Aranea, and other flies that
are feen in England, though at this time we could not be
lefs than thirty leagues from land ; and fome of thefe infedts,
particularly the Grylli and Aranea, never voluntarily leave it
at a greater diftance than twenty yards. We judged our-
felves to be now nearly oppolite to Baye fans fond, where Mr.
Dalrymple fuppofes there is a paffage quite through the
continent of America; and we thought from the infedts
that there might be at leaft a very large river, and that it
had overflowed its banks.
1769. On the 3d of January, 1769, being in latitude 470 17' S. and
Tuetday^*. longitude 61° 2$>'45"W. we were all looking out for Pepys’
ifland, and for fome time an appearance was feen in the eaft
which fo much refembled land, that we bore away for i t ;
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-fluff,
called Fearnought, which is provided by the government. We
faw, from time to time, a great number of penguins, alba-
trofles, and fheer waters, feals, whales, and porpoifes: and
Wednef. j§ . on the nth, having paffed Falkland’s iflands, we difcovered
the coaft of Terra del Fuego, at the diftance of about four
leagues, extending from the W. to S. E. by S. We had here
five and thirty fathom, the ground foft, fmall flare ftones.
As we ranged along the fhore to the S. E. at the diftance of
two
two or three leagues, we perceived fmoke ■ - in fe. veral places, January,
which was made by the natives, probably as a fignal, for u.—»— t
they did not continue it after we had paffed by. This day
we difcovered that the fhip 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
fmall current fetting to the weftward, which may be caufed
by the wefterly current coming round Cape Horn, and
through the Straight of Le Maire, and the indraught of the
Streight of Magellan *.
Having continued to range the coaft, on the 14th we en- Saturday »*.
tered the Streight of Le Maire; but the tide turning againft Streight of
us, drove us out with great violence, and raifed fuch a fea Le Malre'
off Cape St. Diego, that the waves had exadtly the fame appearance
as they would have had if they had broke over a
ledge of rocks; and when the fhip was in this torrent, fhe
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 I intended to have anchored;
but finding the ground every where hard and rocky, and
{hallowing from thirty to twelve fathoms, I fent the Matter
to examine a little cove which lay at a fmall diftance to the
eaftward of Cape St. Vincent. When he returned, he reported,
that there was anchorage in four fathom, and a good bottom,
clofe to the eaftward of the firft bluff point, on the eaft
of Cape St. Vincent, at the very entrance of the cove, to
which I gave the name of V i n c e n t ’ s Bay: before this anas
T h e celebrated navigator who difcovered this Streight was a native of'Portugal,
and his name, in the language of his country, was F ern a n d a d e M d g a lh a cm ; the Spaniards
call him H ern an d o M a g a lb a n e s, and the French M a g e lla n , which is the orthography
that has been generally adopted: a Gentleman, the fifth in defeent from thiy
great adventurer, is now living in or near London, and communicated the true name
of his anceftor to Mr, Banks, with a requeft that it might be inferted in this work.
choring