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minster Hall, and the Islands of Direction, at the western
entrance of the Strait.
I'or the first night Captain Stokes anchored in San Nicolas
Bay, and in the evening examined a harbour* behind Nassau
Island, which Bougainville, in the year 1765, visited for the
purpose of procuring wood for the French settlement at the
Falkland Islands.
On the second night, after a day nearly calm, the Beagle
was anchored in a cove to the eastward of Cape Froward, and
the next day (ITth) passed round the Cape, carrying a heavy
press of sail against a dead foul wind. Captain Stokes’s account
o f this day’s heat to windward will give the reader an idea of
the sort of uavioO-ation.
“ O u r little bay had screened us so completely from the
wind, th at though, when (at five a .m.) we AA-eighed, the breeze
Avas so lig h t as scarcely to enable us, Avith all sail set, to clear
its e n tran c e ; no sooner were AA'e outside, than AA-e Avere obliged
to treble re ef the topsails. We continued to beat to AA’ind-
Avard un d e r a heavy press of s a il; ou r object being to double
Cape FroAA-ard, and secure, if possible, an anchorage ere nightfall
un d e r Cape Holland, six leagues fu rth er to the AA-estAvard.
At first Ave made ‘ boards ’ rig h t across the Straits to within a
th ird o f a mile o f each shore, gaining, however, b u t little.
W e then tried whether, by confining ou r tacks to either coast,
we could discover a tide by which Ave might p ro fit; and for
th a t purpose I began AAith the north shore, for th ough Ave AA'ere
there more exposed to violent squalls Avhich came doAvn the
vaUeys, I th o ught it advisable to avoid the in d rau g h t of
various channels intersecting the Fuegian co ast; b u t having
made seA-eral boards Avithout any perceptible advantage, Ave
tried the south shore, AA'ith such success th at I AA'as induced to
keep on th at side du rin g the remainder of the day.
“• And here let me remark, th a t in consequence of the
Avesterly Avinds Avhich b lo A v through the Avestern parts of the
Straits of Magalhaens, AA'ith almost the constancy (as regards
* Bougainville Harbour, better knoAvn to Sealers bv the name of ‘ J a c k ’s
H a rb o u r.’
direction, not force) o f a trade-Avind ; a current setting to the
eastAvard, commonly a t the rate o f a knot and three q uarters
an hour, Avill be found in mid-channel. T h e tides ex ert
scarcely any influence, except near either sh o re ; and sometimes
appear to set, u p one side o f the Straits, and down the
other : the weather tide is generally shown by a rippling, (c)
“ Heavy squalls off Cape Frow ard repeatedly obliged us to
clew all up. By day their approach is announced, in time for
the necessary precautions, by their curling u p and covering
AA'ith foam th e surface of the water, and driving the spray in
clouds before them.
“ At last we doubled Cape Froward. This Cape (called
by the Spaniards FI Morro de Santa Agueda), the southernmost
point of all America, is a bold promontory, composed of
dark coloured slaty rock ; its outer face is nearly perpendicular,
and whether coming from the eastAvard or westAvard,
it ‘ makes ’ as a high round-topped hlufl hill (‘ Morro ).
“ Bougainville observes, th at ‘ Cape FroAvard has alAA'ays
been much dreaded by navigators.’')' T o double it, and gain an
anchorage under Cape Holland, certainly cost the Beagle as
tough a sixteen hours’ beat as I have ever Avitnessed : Ave made
thirty-one tacks, Avhich, Avith the squalls, kept us constantly on
th e alert, and scarcely alloAved th e creAv to have the ropes out
o f their hands throughout the day. B u t Avhat there is to
inspire a navigator Avith ‘ dread’ I cannot tell, for th e coast on
both sides is perfectly clear, and a vessel may Avork from shore
to shore.”
From Cape Holland, the Beagle proceeded to Port Gallant,
and during her stay there, Mr. BoAven ascended the Mountain
de la Cruz. Upon the summit he found some remains of a
glass bottle, and a roll of papers, which proved to be the
memorials stated to have been left by Don Antonio de Cordova,
(c) While the ‘ c u rre n t’ runs eastAvard for many days in mid-channel,
or along one shore, it often happens th a t the ‘ stream of tide’ either sets
in a contrary direction, along e ach side of the Strait, or th a t it folloAA’s
only the shore opposite to that Avashed by the •' current.’—R. F .
t “ Voyage autour du Monde.” 1767.