•without the leaft appearance of vegetation. Thefe mountains
terminate in horrible precipices, whofe craggy fum-
mits fpire up to a vaft height; fo that hardly any thing in
Nature can appear with a more barren and favage afpeCl,
than the whole o f this country. The inland mountains were
covered with fnow, but thofe on the fea-coaft were not. We
judged the former to belong to the main o f Terra del Fuego,
and the latter to be iflands, fo ranged as apparently to form
a coaft.
After three hours calm, we got a breeze at S. E. by E., and
having made a fliort trip to South, flood in for the land; the
moft advanced point o f which, that we had in fight, bore
Eaft, diftant ten leagues. This is a lofty promontory, lying
E. S. E., nineteen leagues from Gilbert Ifle, and fituated in
latitude S5 ° 26' South, longitude 70° 25' Weft. Viewed from
the fituation we now were in, it terminated in two high
towers; and, within them, a hill fbaped like a fugar-loaf.
This wild rock therefore obtained the name of York Minfter.
Two leagues to the weftward of this head, appeared a large
inlet, the weft point of which we fetched in with, by nine
o’clock, when we tacked in forty-one fathoms water, half a
league from the fhore; to the weftward of this inlet, was
another, with feveral iflands lying in the entrance.
During the night between the 19th and 20th, we had little
wind eafterly, which in the morning veered to N. E. and
N. N. E., but it was too faint to be of ufe; and at ten we had
a calm, when we obferved the fhip to drive from off the
fhore out to fea. We had made the fame obfervation the
day before. This muft have been occafioned by a current;
and the melting of the fnow increafing, the inland waters
will caufe a ftream to run out of moft of thefe inlets. At
noon,
noon, we obferved in latitude 550 39' 3°" &> York Minfter
then bearing N. i 5° E., diftant five leagues| and Round-hill,
juft peeping above the horizon, which we judged to belong
to the files of Saint Ildefonfo, E. 25° S , ten or eleven leagues
diftant. At ten o’clock, a breeze fpringing up at E. by S., I
took this opportunity to ftand in for the land, being defirous
o f going into one of the many ports which feemed open to
receive us, in order to take a view of the country, and to
recruit our flock of wood and water.
177-4--
December.
Tuefdày zo.
In ftanding in for an opening, which appeared on the
eaft fide of York Minfter, we had forty, thirty-feven, fifty,
and fixty fathoms water, a bottom of fmall ftones and Ihells.
When we had the laft foundings we were nearly in the
middle between the two points that form the entrance to
the inlet, which we obferved to branch into two arms, both
of them lying in nearly North, and disjoined by an high
rocky point. We flood for the eaftern branch as being clear
of iflots I and after paffing a black rocky one, lying without
the point juft mentioned, we founded and found no bottom
with a line of an hundred and feventy fathoms. This was
altogether unexpected, and a circumftance that would not
have been regarded if the breeze had continued; but, at
this time, it fell calm, fo that it was not poflible to extricate
ourfelves from this difagreeable fituation. Two boats were
hoifted out, and fent a-head to tow; but they would have
availed little, had not a breeze fprung up about eight
o’clock, ^t S. W., which put it in my power either to ftand
out to fea, or up the inlet. Prudence feemed to point out
the former; but the defire o f finding a good port, and of
learning fomething of the country, ' getting the better of
every other confideration, I refolved to ftand in; and, as
night