Chapter XXX: Section II

_The Passage from Cape Pillar, at the Western Entrance of the Streight of Magellan, to Masafuero; with some Account of that Island._

I took my departure from Cape Pillar, which I make to lie in the latitude of 52°45'S., and in the longitude 75° 10'W. of the meridian of London, and as soon as I got clear of the streight, steered to the northward along the coast of Chili. Upon examining what quantity of fresh water we had now on board, I found that it amounted only to between four and five and twenty tons, which I thought not sufficient for so long a voyage as was probably before us; I therefore hauled to the northward, intending to make the island of Juan Fernandes, or Masafuero, that we might increase our stock before we sailed to the westward.

In the middle of the night of the 16th, we had the wind first to the S.S.E. and then to the S.E. with which we kept away N.W. and N.N.W. in high spirits, hoping that in a short time we should be in a more temperate climate: We had the misfortune, however, very soon to find ourselves disappointed, for on the 18th, the wind came to the N.N.W. and blew directly from the point upon which we were steering. We had now got about a hundred leagues from the streight's mouth; our latitude was 48°39'S., and we were, by account, 4°33'W. of Cape Pillar; but from this time, till the 8th of May, the wind continued unfavourable, and blew a continued storm, with sudden gusts still more violent, and much rain and hail, or rather fragments of half-melted ice: At intervals also we had thunder and lightning, more dreadful than all the past, and a sea which frequently laid the whole vessel under water.

From the time of our clearing the streight, and during our passage along this coast, we saw a great number of sea-birds, particularly albatrosses, gannets, sheerwaters, and a thick lumpish bird, about as big as a large pigeon, which the sailors call a Cape-of-Good-Hope hen: They are of a dark-brown or blackish colour, and are therefore sometimes called the black gull: We saw also a great many pintado birds, of nearly the same size, which are prettily spotted with black and white, and constantly on the wing, though they frequently appear as if they were walking upon the water, like the peterels, to which sailors have given the name of Mother Carey's chickens; and we saw also many of these.

In the evening of Monday the 27th, which was very dark, as we were standing to the westward under our courses, and a close-reefed top-sail, the wind, in a hard squall, suddenly shifted, and took the vessel right a-head; the violent jerk with which the sails were instantly thrown a-back, was very near carrying the masts away by the board, and oversetting the ship; the sails being at this time extremely wet, and the gale in the highest degree violent, they clung so fast to the masts and rigging, that it was scarcely possible to get them either up or down; yet by the dexterous activity of our people, we got the mainsail up, clewed up the main top-sail, and got the ship's head round without receiving much damage. The violence of the wind continued several hours, but before morning it veered again to the N.W. and continued in that quarter till the afternoon of the 29th, when it died away, and we had a dead calm for six hours. During this time we had a high sea, which ran in great confusion from all quarters and broke against the ship in a strange manner, making her roll with so violent and sudden a motion, that I expected every moment to lose our masts. The wind afterwards sprung up at W.S.W. which was fair, and we carried all the sail we could set to make the most of it. It blew very hard in this direction, with heavy rain for a few hours, but by noon on the 30th, it returned to its usual quarter the N.W., and was so violent as to bring us again under our courses, there being at the same time a prodigious swell, which frequently broke over us. At five o'clock the next morning, as we were lying-to under the reefed main-sail and balanced mizen, a vast sea broke over the quarter where the ship's oars were lashed, and carried away six of them, with the weather-cloth; it also broke the mizen-gaff close where the sail was reeled, and the iron-strap of one of the main dead eyes, laying the whole vessel for some time under water: We were however fortunate enough to haul up the main-sail without splitting, though it blew a hurricane, and a deluge of rain, or rather of half-melted ice, at the same time poured down upon us. The wind soon after shifted again from N.W. to S.W. and for about an hour blew, if possible, stronger than ever. This wind made the ship come up with her head right against the vast sea which the north-west wind had raised, and at every pitch which she made against it, the end of the bowsprit was under water, and the surge broke over the forecastle as far aft as the main-mast, in the same manner as it would have broke over a rock, so that there was the greatest reason to apprehend she would founder. With all her defects she was indeed a good sea-boat, and if she had not, it would have been impossible for her to have outlived this storm, in which, as well as on several other occasions; we experienced the benefit of the bulk-heads which we had fixed on the fore-part of the half-deck, and to the after-part of the fore-castle.

Notwithstanding this wind was fair, we durst not venture to put the ship before it, for if in wearing, any of these enormous seas had broken on her side, it would inevitably have carried away all before it. After some time, however, it became more moderate, and we then got up our yards and made sail, steering N. by W.; and now the men having been up all night, and being wet to the skin, I ordered every one of them a dram.

By the next morning, the 2d of May, the wind came again to the N.W. and N.N.W. but by this time we had got down the broken mizen-gaff, repaired it as well as we could, got it up again in its place, and bent the sail to it; but we now most sensibly felt the want of a forge and iron.

On the 3d, at day-break, we found the rudder-chain broken, and upon this occasion we again most feelingly regretted the want of a forge; we made, however, the best shift we could, and the next day, the weather being more moderate, though the wind was still contrary, we repaired our rigging, and the carpenters fixed a new dead eye where the old one had been broken; the sail-maker also was busy in mending the sails that had been split.

On the 5th, we were again brought under our courses by a hurricane from the N. by W. and N.N.W. and the ship was tossed about with such violence that we had no command of her. During this storm, two of our chain-plates were broken, and we continued toiling in a confused hollow sea till midnight, when a light gale sprung up at N.W. which soon blew very hard; but at two in the morning, we were again taken right a-head by a sudden and violent squall at west, which at once threw all our sails aback, and before we could get the ship round, was very near carrying all by the board. With this gale we stood north, and in the forenoon the carpenters fixed new chain-plates to the main shrouds, and one to the fore shrouds, in the place of those which had been broken in the squall during the night. This was another occasion on which it was impossible not to regret the want of a forge and iron.

The gale continued in this direction till eight in the morning of the 7th, when it returned to the N.W. with unsettled weather. On the 8th, it came to south, and this was a fine day, the first we had seen after our leaving the Streight of Magellan. Our latitude at noon was 36°39'S. and we were about five degrees to the westward of Cape Pillar. The next day we made the island of Masafuero, and on the 10th, the island of Juan Fernandes: In the afternoon we got close to the eastermost part of it, and soon after hauled round the north end, and opened Cumberland Bay. As I did not know that the Spaniards had fortified this island, I was greatly surprised to see a considerable number of men about the beach, with a house and four pieces of cannon near the water-side, and a fort about three hundred yards farther from the sea, just upon the rising of the hill, with Spanish colours flying on the top of it. This fort, which is faced with stone, has eighteen or twenty embrasures, and within it a long house, which I supposed to be barracks for the garrison: Five-and-twenty or thirty houses of different kinds are scattered round it, and we saw much cattle feeding on the brow of the hills, which seemed to be cultivated, as many spots were divided by enclosures from each other; we saw also two large boats lying, on the beach. The gusts of wind which came right out of this bay, prevented my going so near as I intended, for they were so violent as to oblige us many times to let fly our top-sail sheets, though the sails were close reefed; and I think it is impossible to work a ship into this bay when the wind blows hard from the southward. As we stood cross the bay to the westward, one of the boats put off from the shore, and rowed towards us; but perceiving that the gusts or flaws made us lie at a considerable distance from the land, she went in again. We then opened West Bay, on the east part of which, close to the sea side, is a small house, which I took for a guard-house, and two pieces of cannon mounted upon their carriages, without any works about them. We now wore, and stood again for Cumberland Bay, but as soon as we opened it, the boat again put off, and made towards us: As the hard gusts would not permit us to come any nearer to the land than before, we stood along it to the eastward, the boat still making after us till she was very far out of the bay: At length it grew dark, and we lost sight of her, upon which we made all the sail we could to the eastward.

During all this time I hoisted no colours, having none but English on board, which at this time I did not think it proper to shew.

As I was disappointed of wood and water at this place, and of the refreshments, of which, after the dangers and fatigue of our voyage through the Streight, and our passage from it, we stood in the most pressing need, I made all the sail I could for the island of Masafuero. On the 12th of May we arrived off the south eastermost part of it, but it blowing hard, with a great sea, we did not dare to come near it on this side, and therefore went round to the west side, where, in the evening, we cast anchor upon an excellent bank, fit to receive a fleet of ships, which, in the summer, might ride here with great advantage. I sent out both the boats to endeavour to get some water, but they found it impossible to land, for the beach is rocky, and the surf at this time was so great, that the swimmers could not get through the breakers: This was the more mortifying, as we saw a fine run of fresh water from the ship, with plenty of trees fit for fire-wood, and a great number of goats upon the hills.

The next morning, as soon as it was light, I sent the boats out again, to examine any place where they could get on shore. They returned with a few casks of water, which they had filled at a small rill, and reported, that the wind being at S.E. blew so strong on the east side of the island, and raised so great a sea, that they could not come near the shore.

We continued here till the 15th, at day-break, and then, the weather becoming more moderate, we weighed, and in the evening, just at sun-set, we anchored on the east side of the island, in the same place where Commodore Byron had anchored about two years before. We lost no time, but immediately got off fifteen casks of water, and sent a number of men on shore with others, that were empty, to be filled against the next morning, and a strong party to cut wood: But it happened that about two o'clock in the morning a hard gale of wind came on from the N.W. with violent gusts from the shore, which drove us off the bank, though we had two anchors a-head, which were in the utmost danger of being lost; we got them up, however, with great difficulty, and immediately set the sails, and worked under the lee of the island, keeping as near the shore as we could; the weather soon afterwards became more moderate, so that we could carry double-reefed sails; we had also very smooth water, yet we could not make the ship tack, and were forced to wear her every time we wanted to go about.

At day-break, though we were at a good distance from the shore, I sent the cutter to get off a load of water, before the surf should be so great upon the beach as to prevent her landing. About ten o'clock, the wind came to the N.N.E. which enabled us to get within a little distance of the watering-place, and we might have recovered our anchoring ground upon the bank from which we had been driven, but the weather had so bad an appearance, and the gale freshened so fast, that we did not think it prudent to venture: We brought-to, however, as near the shore as possible, for the advantage of smooth water to unload the cutter, which soon after came alongside with twelve casks of water. As soon as we had taken these on board, I sent the cutter again for another freight, and as we were at a very little distance from land, I ventured to send our long-boat, a clumsy, heavy, four-oared vessel, with provisions for the people on shore, and orders to bring back a load of water, if she could get it: As soon as these boats were dispatched, we made a tack off to keep our ground. At noon it blew hard with heavy rain and thick weather; and at one, as we were standing in again, we saw the boats running along the shore, for the lee-part of the island, this side being open to the wind; we therefore followed them, and brought-to as near the shore as possible, to favour their coming on board: They presently made towards us, and we hoisted them in, but the sea was now risen so high, that in doing it they received considerable damage, and we soon learnt that they found the surf so great as not to be able even to land their empty water-casks. We continued to lie-to, under a balanced mizen, off the lee-part of the island all the afternoon, and although all hands had been constantly employed ever since the ship had been driven off her anchoring-ground, the carpenters worked all night in repairing the boats.

At four o'clock in the morning, the island bore west of us, being four leagues distant, and right to windward: We had now a fine gale and smooth water, and about ten o'clock we fetched very near to the south part of it, and with the help of the boat made the ship tack. As it was not probable that with such a vessel we could regain the anchoring-ground, I took advantage of our being so near the shore, though at a good distance from the watering-place, to send the cutter for another load. In the mean time I stood on and off with the ship, and about four o'clock in the afternoon the cutter brought her freight of water on board. I enquired of the lieutenant after the people on shore, and he told me, that the violent rain which had fallen in the night, had suddenly brought down such torrents of water through the hollow or gulley where they had taken up their station, that they were in the utmost danger of being swept away before it, and though with great difficulty they saved themselves, several of the casks were entirely lost. It was now too late for the boat to make another turn to the place where we had hitherto got our water; but Mr Erasmus Gower, the lieutenant, whose diligence and ability in all our dangers and distress I cannot sufficiently commend, having, as he returned with the cutter, observed that many runs of water had been made by the night's rain, on that part of the island which was nearest to us, and knowing how impatient I was of delay, offered to go thither with the boat, and fill as many casks as she could bring back. I gladly accepted this offer; Mr Gower went away in the boat, and in the mean time I made a tack off with the ship; but before they had been gone an hour, the weather began to grow gloomy, and the wind to freshen, a heavy black cloud at the same time settled over the island so as to hide the tops of the hills, and soon after it began to thunder and lighten at a dreadful rate: As these appearances were very threatening, I stood in again towards the island in hopes of meeting with the boat; but though we ran in as close as we dared, we saw nothing of her. In the mean time night came on, which the thickness of the weather rendered extremely dark, the gale increased, and it began to rain with great violence: In this situation I lay to under a balanced mizen, firing guns, and burning false fires, as a guide to the boat; and not being able to account for her delay, I suffered the most distressful anxiety, and had indeed but too much reason to fear that she was lost. About seven o'clock, however, to my unspeakable satisfaction, she came safe alongside, and as I had long seen a storm gathering, which I expected every moment to burst upon us, we got her in with all possible expedition. It was indeed happy for us all that no time was lost; for before she could be got into her place the squall came on, which in a moment laid the ship down in a surprising manner, and broke the mizen gaff just where the sail was reefed; so that if another minute had passed before the boat had been got in, we must inevitably have lost her, and every soul on board would have perished. This wind and weather continued till midnight, when it became somewhat more moderate, so that we were able to set our courses and top-sails. In the mean time I had enquired of Mr Gower how it came to be so long before he returned to the ship, and he told me, that after he had got to the place where he intended to fill the casks, three of the boat's crew had swam ashore with them for that purpose; but that within a few minutes the surf had risen so high, and broke with such fury on the shore, that it was impossible for them to get back to the boat; that being unwilling to leave them behind, especially as they were stark naked, he had waited in hopes that an opportunity might be found for their coming on board; but that, being intimidated by the appearance of the weather, and the uncommon darkness of the night, he had at last, with whatever reluctance, been obliged to come on board without them. The situation of these poor fellows now furnished another subject of solicitude and anxiety; they were naked, upon a desolate island, at a great distance from the watering-place where their shipmates had a tent, without food and without shelter, in a night of violent and incessant rain, with such thunder and lightning as in Europe is altogether unknown. In the evening of the 19th, however, I had the satisfaction to receive them on board, and to hear an account of their adventures from their own lips. As long as it was light, they flattered themselves, like their friends in the boat, that they should find an opportunity to return on board her; but afterwards, when the darkness of the night was broken only by the flashes of lightning, and the tempest became every moment more violent, they knew that to reach the boat was impossible, if it still remained in its station; and that most probably the people on board had provided for their own safety, by returning on board the ship: To reach the tent of their shipmates, during the darkness and tempest, was equally beyond their power, and they were reduced to the necessity of passing such a night, in such a place, without the least defence against either the rain or the cold, which now began to be severely felt. Necessity is said to be ingenious; and they contrived to procure a temporary succedaneum both for apparel and a shed, by lying one upon another, each man alternately placing himself between the other two; in this situation it may easily be believed that they longed most ardently for the dawn, and as soon as it appeared they set out for the tent: They were obliged, however, to make their way along the seashore, for the inland country was impassable; nor was this the worst, for they were frequently stopped by high steep bluff points, which they were obliged to swim round at a considerable distance; for if they had not taken a compass, they would have been dashed to pieces against the rocks by the surf, and as it was, they were every moment in danger of being devoured by a shark. About ten o'clock in the morning, however, they reached the tents, almost perished with hunger and cold, and were received with equal surprise and joy by their shipmates, who immediately shared with them such provisions and clothes as they had. When they came on board, I gave orders that they should have such refreshments as were proper, and remain in their hammocks the whole night. The next day they were as hearty as if nothing had happened, nor did they suffer any farther inconvenience from the accident. These were three of the honest fellows who had swam naked from the ship at the island of Madeira to get a skinful of liquor. I now return to my narrative in the order of time.

On the 18th, the weather was moderate, and in the evening we were within half a mile of the anchoring-ground, from which we had been driven; but the wind suddenly failing, and a current making against us, we could not reach it: We took advantage, however, of being so near the waterers' tent to send a boat on shore to enquire after the three men whose adventure has been just related, and soon after she brought them on board. The carpenters were all this time employed in making a new mizen-gaff, out of a gib-boom, and in the mean while we were obliged to makeshift with the old one, keeping the sail balanced. It continued a stark calm all the night, so that in the morning we found the current and the swell had driven us no less than nine miles from the land: The weather, however, being good, I sent the cutter for a load of water, which she brought on board about one o'clock. Soon after a breeze sprung up at N.N.W. and as we now approached the land very fast, I sent the boat on shore again for water; it happened, however, that before we could reach our anchoring-ground, it again fell calm, and we were again kept off by the current: The boat in the meantime, as she rowed along the shore, caught as much fish with hook and line as served all the ship's company, which was some alleviation of our disappointment. At eight o'clock in the evening, it began again to blow hard with sudden squalls, so that we passed another toilsome and dangerous night. In the morning, having a stiff gale at N.W. we made towards our anchoring-ground with all the sail we could spread, and happily regained it about four o'clock in the afternoon, when we anchored, at two cables' length from the beach, in eighteen fathom, with a bottom of fine sand, and moored with a small anchor in shore. By the time the ship was properly secured, it was too late to proceed with our watering; the long-boat however was sent along the shore to fish, and though before seven o'clock it blew so hard that she was obliged to return, she brought fish enough on board to serve all the people. In the night we had foul weather, with hard squalls and much rain; and in the morning, the wind blowing with great violence along the shore, we frequently drove, though we had not less than two hundred fathom of cable out; for the bank is a loose fine sand that easily gives way. We rode out the storm, however, without damage, but the rain was so violent, and the sea ran so high, that nothing could be done with the boats, which was the more mortifying, as it was for the sake of completing our watering that we had endured almost incessant labour for five days and nights to regain the situation in which we now lay. About eight in the evening, the wind became more moderate, and though it was then too late to fetch off any water, we got out one of the boats, and sent three men on shore, right abreast of the ship, to kill seals, and make oil of their fat, for burning in lamps and other uses on board the ship.

The wind blew very hard the next morning, as it had done all night, but being at W. N. W. which was off the land, we sent the boats away soon after it was light, and about ten, they returned with each of them a load of water, and a great number of pintado birds: These birds they got from the people on shore, who told them, that when a gale of wind happened in the night they flew faster into their fire than they could well take them out, so that during the gale of the last night, they got no less than seven hundred of them. The boats were employed in getting water on board all this day, although the surf was so great that several of the casks were staved and lost: They were sent out again a little before it was light the next day, and by seven o'clock a few casks only were wanting to complete our stock. The threatening appearances of the weather made me now very impatient to get the people on board, with the casks that were still at the watering-place; as soon, therefore, as the boats were cleared of their loading, I dispatched them again, with orders to bring off all the hands, with the tent, and every thing else that was on shore, with all possible expedition. From this time the wind increased very fast, and by eleven o'clock it blew so hard, with violent gusts from the land, that the ship began to drive off the bank: We heaved the small anchor up, and got it in out of the way of the other; the gale still increased, but as it was right off the land, I was in no pain about the ship, which continued to drive, still dragging the anchor through the sand, with two hundred fathom of cable out; being very solicitous to give the boats time to bring all on board before we were quit of the bank, I would not weigh. At two o'clock, however, the anchor was quite off the ground, and the ship was in deep water; we were now therefore obliged to bring the cable to the capstern, and with great difficulty we got the anchor up. The gusts off the land were so violent, that, not daring to show any canvas, we lay-to under our bare poles, and the water was frequently torn up, and whirled round in the air much higher than our mast heads. As the ship now drove from the island at a great rate, and night was coming on, I began to be in great pain for the boats, in which, besides my lieutenant, there were eight-and-twenty of my best men; but just in the dusk of the evening, I perceived one of them scudding before the seas, and making towards the ship: This proved to be the long-boat, which, in spite of all the efforts of those on board, had been forced from her grappling, and driven off the land. We took the best opportunity that offered to get her on board, but notwithstanding all our care, she received considerable damage as we were hoisting her in. She had on board ten of my people, who informed me, that when they were first driven from the shore, they had some fire-wood on board, but that they were obliged to throw that, and every thing else, into the sea, to lighten the boat. As we had yet seen nothing of the cutter, and had reason to fear that she also, with the tents, and the other eighteen people, besides the lieutenant, had been driven off the island, I gave her up for lost; knowing that if the night, which was now at hand, should overtake her in such a storm, she must inevitably perish. It was however possible that the people might be ashore, and therefore that, if the boat should be lost, they might still be preserved; for this reason I determined to regain the land as soon as possible. At midnight the weather became more moderate, so that we could carry our courses and topsails, and at four o'clock in the morning we crowded all the sail we could make. At ten o'clock, we were very near the shore; to our great concern, we saw nothing of the cutter, yet we continued to stand on till about noon, when we happily discovered her at a grappling, close under the land: We immediately ran to our glasses, by the help of which we saw the people getting into her; and about three o'clock, to our mutual and inexpressible joy, she came safe on board with all her people: They were however so exhausted with fatigue, that they could scarcely get up the ship's side. The lieutenant told me, that the night before he had attempted to come off, but that as soon as he had left the shore, a sudden squall so nearly filled the boat with water, that she was very near going to the bottom; but that all hands bailing with the utmost diligence and activity, they happily cleared her: That he then made for the land again, which, with the utmost difficulty, he regained, and having left a sufficient number on board the boat, to watch her, and keep her free from water, he with the rest of the people went on shore. That having passed the night in a state of inexpressible anxiety and distress, they looked out for the ship with the first dawn of the morning, and seeing nothing of her, concluded that she had perished in the storm, which they had never seen exceeded. They did not, however, sit down torpid in despair, but began immediately to clear the ground near the beach of brushes and weeds, and cut down several trees of which they made rollers to assist them in hauling up the boat, in order to secure her; intending, as they had no hope of the ship's return, to wait till the summer season and then attempt to make the island of Juan Fernandes. They had now better hopes, and all sense of the dangers that were before us was for a while obliterated by the joy of our escape from those that were past.

From the 16th, when we were first driven from our anchoring-ground, to this time, we suffered an uninterrupted series of danger, fatigue, and misfortunes. The ship worked and sailed very ill, the weather was dark and tempestuous, with thunder, lightning, and rain, and the boats, which I was obliged to keep always employed, even when we were under sail, to procure us water, were in continual danger of being lost, as well by the hard gales which constantly blew, as by the sudden gusts which frequently rushed upon us with a violence that is scarcely to be conceived. This distress was the more severe as it was unexpected, for I had experienced very different weather in these parts about two years before with Commodore Byron. It has generally been thought, that upon this coast the winds are constantly from the S. to the S.W., though Frezier mentions his having had strong gales and high seas from the N.N.W. and N.W. quarter, which was unhappily my case.

Having once more got my people and boats safe on board, I made sail from this turbulent climate, and thought myself fortunate not to have left any thing behind me except the wood, which our people had cut for firing.

The island of Masafuero lies in latitude 33°45'S., longitude 80°46'W. of London. Its situation is west of Juan Fernandes, both being nearly in the same latitude, and by the globe, it is distant about thirty-one leagues. It is very high and mountainous, and at a distance appears like one hill or rock: It is of a triangular form, and about seven or eight leagues in circumference. The south part, which we saw when we first made the island, at a distance of three-and-twenty leagues, is much the highest: On the north end there are several spots of clear ground, which perhaps might admit of cultivation.

The author of the account of Lord Anson's voyage mentions only one part of this island as affording anchorage, which is on the north side, and in deep water, but we saw no part where there was not anchorage: On the west side in particular, there is anchorage at about a mile from the shore in twenty fathom, and at about two miles and a half in forty and forty-five fathom, with a fine black sand at the bottom. This author also says, that "there is a reef of rocks running off the eastern point of the island about two miles in length, which may be seen by the sea's breaking over them;" but in this he is mistaken, there is no reef of rocks, or shoal running off the eastern point, but there is a reef of rocks and sand running off the western side, near the south end of it. He is also mistaken as to the distance of this island from Juan Fernandes, and its direction, for he says the distance is twenty-two leagues, and the direction W. by S., but we found the distance nearly one-third more, and the direction is due west, for, as I have before observed, the latitude of both islands is nearly the same. The goats that he mentions we found upon it in the same abundance, and equally easy to be caught.

On the south-west point of the island there is a remarkable rock with a hole in it, which is a good mark to come to an anchor on the western side, where there is the best bank of any about the place. About a mile and a half to the northward of this hole, there is a low point of land, and from this point runs the reef that has been just mentioned, in the direction of W. by S. to the distance of about three quarters of a mile, where the sea continually breaks upon it. To anchor, run in till the hole in the rock is shut in, about a cable's length upon this low point of land, then bearing S. by E. 1/2 E. and anchor in twenty and twenty-two fathom, fine black sand and shells: There is anchorage also at several places on the other sides of the island, particularly off the north point, in fourteen and fifteen fathom, with fine sand.

There is plenty of wood and water all round the island, but they are not to be procured without much difficulty. A great quantity of stones, and large fragments of the rock, have fallen from the high land all round the island, and upon these there breaks such a surf that a boat cannot safely come within a cable's length of the shore; there is therefore no landing here but by swimming from the boat, and then mooring her without the rocks, nor is there any method of getting off the wood and water but by hauling them to the boat with ropes: There are, however, many places where it would be very easy to make a commodious landing by building a wharf, which it would be worth while even for a single ship to do if she was to continue any time at the island.

This part of Masafuero is a very good place for refreshment, especially in the summer season: The goats have been mentioned already, and there is all round the island such plenty of fish, that a boat may, with three hooks and lines, catch as much as will serve an hundred people: Among others we caught excellent coal-fish, cavallies, cod, hallibut, and cray-fish. We took a king-fisher that weighed eighty-seven pounds, and was five feet and a half long, and the sharks were so ravenous, that when we were sounding one of them swallowed the lead, by which we hauled him above water, but as he then disgorged it, we lost him. The seals were so numerous, that I verily think if many thousands of them were killed in a night, they would not be missed in the morning: We were obliged to kill great numbers of them, as, when we walked the shore, they were continually running against us, making at the same time a most horrible noise. These animals yield excellent train oil, and their hearts and plucks are very good eating, being in taste something like those of a hog, and their skins are covered with the finest fur I ever saw of the kind. There are many birds here, and among others some very large hawks. Of the pintado birds, our people, as I have before observed, caught no less than seven hundred in one night. We had not much opportunity to examine the place for vegetable productions, but we saw several leaves of the mountain cabbage, which is a proof that the tree grows here.