Jaunt?)'. Stre,Sht inone tide ; or, at leaft, to the fouthward of Succefs
t- * » Bay, into which it will be more prudent to put, if the wind
fhould be foutherly, than to attempt the weathering o f Staten
Land with a lee wind and a current, which may endanger her
being driven on that ifland.
The Streight itfelf, which is bounded on the weft by Terra
del Fuego, and on the eaft by the weft end of Staten Land, is
about five leagues long, and as many broad. The Bay of
Good Succefs lies about the middle of it, on the Terra del
Fuego fide, and is difcovered immediately upon entering the
Streight from the northward ; and the fouth head of it may
be diftinguifhed by a markon the land, that has the appearance
of a broad road, leading up from the fea into the country
: at the entrance it is half a league wide, and runs in
weftward about two miles and an half. There is good anchorage
in every part of it, in from ten to feven fathom,
clear ground; and it affords plenty of exceeding good wood
and water. The tides flow in the Bay, at the full and change
o f the moon, about four or five o ’clock, and rife about five
or fix feet perpendicular. But the flood runs two or three
hours longer in the Streight than in the Bay* and the ebb,
or northerly current, runs with near double the ftrensth of
the flood. 6
In the appearance of Staten Land, we did not difcover the
wildnefs and horror that is afcribed to it in the account of
Lord Anfon’s voyage. On the north fide are the appearances
o f bays or harbours; and the land, when we faw it, was neither
deftitute of wood nor verdure, nor covered with fnow.
The ifland feems to be about twelve leagues in length, and
five broad.
On the weft fide of the Cape of Good Succefs, which forms
the S.W. entrance of the Streight, lies Valentine’s Bay, of
which
which we only faw the entrance ; from this bay the land *7&9-
J ~ m January.
trends away to the W. S.W. for twenty or thirty leagues ; it i---- ,—
appears to be high and mountainous, and forms feveral bays
and inlets.
At the diftance of fourteen leagues from the Bay of Good
Succefs, in the direction of S.W. i- W. and between two and
three leagues from the fhore, lies New Ifland. It is about
two leagues in length from N. E. to S.W. and terminates to-
the N. E. in a remarkable hillock. At the diftance of feven
leagues from New Ifland, in the diredtion of S.W. lies the
ifle Evouls; and a little to the weft of the fouth of this ifland
lie Barnevelt’s two fmall flat iflands, clofe to each other; they
are partly furrounded with rocks, which rife to different
heights above the water, and lie twenty-four leagues from
the Streight of Le Maire. At the diftance of three leagues
from Barnevelt’s iflands, in the direction of S.W. by S. lies
the S. E. point of Hermit’s iflands: thefe iflands lie S. E. and
N. W. and are pretty high : from moft points- of view they
will be taken for one ifland, or a< part of the main.
From the S. E. point of Hermit’s iflands to Cape Horn the
courfe is S.W. by S. diftance three leagues.
The appearance of this Cape- and Hermit’s iflands is re-
prefented in the chart of this coaft, from our fir ft making
land to the Cape, which includes the Streight- of Le Maire;.
and part of Staten Land. In this chart I have laid down no-
land, nor traced out any fhore but what I faw myfelf, and
thus far it may be depended upon: the bays- and inlets,
of which we faw only the openings,, are not traced; it
can, however, fcarcely be doubted, but that moft, if not all
of them, afford anchorage, wood and water. The Dutch
fquadron, commanded by Hermit, certainly put into fome
of them in the year 1^24; and it was Chapenham, the Vice
Admiral'.