We lay here from the 14th of November to the 7th of December, something more than three weeks, during which time Mr Monkhouse, our surgeon, was on shore every day to buy our provisions; Dr Solander was on shore once; I was several times on shore myself, and Mr Banks also found means to get into the country, notwithstanding the watch that was set over us. I shall, therefore, with the intelligence obtained from these gentlemen, and my own observations, give some account of the town, and the country adjacent.

Rio de Janeiro, or the river of Januarius, was probably so called from its having been discovered on the feast-day of that saint; and the town, which is the capital of the Portuguese dominions in America, derives its name from the river, which indeed is rather an arm of the sea, for it did not appear to receive any considerable stream of fresh water: It stands on a plain, close to the shore, on the west side of the bay, at the foot of several high mountains which rise behind it. It is neither ill designed nor ill built; the houses, in general, are of stone, and two stories high; every house having, after the manner of the Portuguese, a little balcony before its windows, and a lattice of wood before the balcony. I computed its circuit to be about three miles; for it appears to be equal in size to the largest country towns in England, Bristol and Liverpool not excepted; the streets are straight, and of a convenient breadth, intersecting each other at right angles; the greater part, however, lie in a line with the citadel called St Sebastian, which stands on the top of a hill which commands the town.

It is supplied with water from the neighbouring hills, by an aqueduct, which is raised upon two stories of arches, and is said at some places to be at a great height from the ground, from which the water is conveyed by pipes into a fountain in the great square that exactly fronts the viceroy's palace. At this fountain great numbers of people are continually waiting for their turn to draw water; and the soldiers, who are posted at the governor's door, find it very difficult to maintain any regularity among them. The water at this fountain however is so bad, that we, who had been two months at sea, confined to that in our casks, which was almost always foul, could not drink it with pleasure. Water of a better quality is led into some other part of the town, but I could not learn by what means.

The churches are very fine, and there is more religions parade in this place than in any of the popish countries in Europe; there is a procession of some parish every day, with various insignia, all splendid and costly in the highest degree: They beg money, and say prayers in great form, at the corner of every street.

While we lay here, one of the churches was rebuilding; and to defray the expence, the parish to which it belonged had leave to beg in procession through the whole city once it week, by which very considerable sums were collected. At this ceremony, which was performed by night, all the boys of a certain age were obliged to assist, the sons of gentlemen not being excused. Each of these boys was dressed in a black cassock, with a short red cloak, hanging about as low as the waist, and carried in his hand a pole about six or seven feet long, at the end of which was tied a lantern: the number of lanterns was generally above two hundred, and the light they gave was so great, that the people who saw it from the cabin windows thought the town had been on fire.

The inhabitants, however, may pay their devotions at the shrine of any saint in the calendar, without waiting till there is a procession; for before almost every house there is a little cupboard, furnished with a glass window, in which one of these tutelary powers is waiting to be gracious; and to prevent his being out of mind, by being out of sight, a lamp is kept constantly burning before the window of his tabernacle in the night. The people indeed are by no means remiss in their devotions, for before these saints they pray and sing hymns with such vehemence, that in the night they were very distinctly heard on board the ship, though she lay at the distance of at least half a mile from the town.

The government here, as to its form, is mixed; it is notwithstanding very despotic in fact. It consists of the viceroy, the governor of the town, and a council, the number of which I could not learn: Without the consent of this council, in which the viceroy has a casting vote, no judicial act should be performed; yet both the viceroy and governor frequently commit persons to prison at their own pleasure, and sometimes send them to Lisbon, without acquainting their friends or family with what is laid to their charge, or where they may be found.

To restrain the people from travelling into the country, and getting into any district where gold or diamonds may be found, of both which there is much more than the government can otherwise secure, certain bounds are prescribed them, at the discretion of the viceroy, sometimes at a few, and sometimes at many miles distance from the city. On the verge of these limits a guard constantly patroles, and whoever is found beyond it, is immediately seized and thrown into prison: And if a man is, upon any pretence, taken up by the guard without the limits, he will be sent to prison, though it should appear that he did not know their extent.

The inhabitants, which are very numerous, consist of Portuguese, negroes, and Indians, the original natives of the country. The township of Rio, which, as I was told, is but a small part of the capitanea, or province, is said to contain 37,000 white persons, and 629,000 blacks, many of whom are free; making together 666,000, in the proportion of seventeen to one. The Indians, who are employed to do the king's work in this neighbourhood, can scarcely be considered as inhabitants; their residence is at a distance, from whence they come by turns to their task, which they are obliged to perform for a small pay. The guard-boat was constantly rowed by these people, who are of a light copper colour, and have long black hair.[74]

[Footnote 74: Mr Barrow says, that it is with some difficulty so many as twelve Brazilians can be obtained to row the governor's barge on certain solemn occasions. The Portuguese apostles who went over to this country in order to convert the inhabitants to their faith, commenced their labours by endeavouring to reduce them as fast as possible to the condition of slaves, as if no other promised a suitable foundation for the fabric of superstition. These incorrigible and misguided pagans, it should seem however, disliked the process, preferring liberty and error, darkness and death, to the whips, the chains, and torches, so kindly held out to them by their zealous visitants. The consequence was plain and summary: These wretched creatures were soon almost totally extirpated, so that it became necessary to procure other beings to cultivate the soil: And who so proper a substitute, as the black crispy-hailed animals of the opposite continent? These, according to Mr Barrow, have been comparatively well treated; but, not-withstanding, he says, it requires an importation of no less than 20,000 negroes annually, to supply the loss of those who are worked out in the service of the very devout Portuguese! In Cook's time, it is likely, from what he mentions afterwards as to the number of negroes imported, that things were even worse then than they are now. It is scarcely conceivable indeed, that any people so closely connected with Europe as the lords of Brazil, should not have acquired humanity, or at least improved in its notions of good policy, in half a century.—E.]

The military establishment here consists of twelve regiments of regular troops, six of which are Portuguese, and six Creoles; and twelve other regiments of provincial militia. To the regulars the inhabitants behave with the utmost humility and submission; and I was told, that if any of them should neglect to take off his hat upon meeting an officer, he would immediately be knocked down. These haughty severities render the people extremely civil to any stranger who has the appearance of a gentleman. But the subordination of the officers themselves to the viceroy is enforced with circumstances equally mortifying, for they are obliged to attend in his hall three times every day to ask his commands; the answer constantly is, "There is nothing new." I have been told, that this servile attendance is exacted to prevent their going into the country; and if so, it effectually answers the purpose.

It is, I believe, universally allowed, that the women, both of the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in South America, make less difficulty of granting personal favours, than those of any other civilized country in the world. Of the ladies of this town, some have formed so unfavourable an opinion as to declare, that they did not believe there was a modest one among them. This censure is certainly too general; but what Dr Solander saw of them when he was on shore, gave him no very exalted idea of their chastity: He told me, that as soon as it was dark, one or more of them appeared in every window, and distinguished those whom they liked, among the gentlemen that walked past them, by giving them nosegays; that he, and two gentlemen who were with him, received so many of these favours, that, at the end of their walk, which was not a long one, they threw whole hatfuls of them away. Great allowance must certainly be made for local customs; that which in one country would be an indecent familiarity, is a mere act of general courtesy in another; of the fact, therefore, which I have related, I shall say nothing, but that I am confident it is true.[75]

[Footnote 75: Mr Barrow allows the existence of the fact here stated, but is decidedly of opinion in favour of the sex implicated by it. In his judgment, it is merely a harmless remnant of their earlier days. If so, and far be it from the writer to think otherwise, it betokens the innocency of fancy much more than the effrontery of licentiousness. Besides, there is reason to think, that dissoluteness in the particular now alluded to, among a civilized and luxurious people, seeks concealment in its gratification, as congenial to its excessive and morbid sensibility. The opposite to this condition is to be found in some of the earlier stages of society, where the climate and fertility of the soil are naturally suitable,—as at Otaheite, when first known to Europeans. If, however, the terrifying pages of Juvenal may be allowed authority, there is too much ground for apprehension, that the extremity of animal indulgence is also one of the fearful symptoms of national corruption in its lethalio stage. But even this indignant and most exaltedly moral poet, in his relation of the infamous actions of noble and royal prostitutes, does not fail to imply the advantages they sought in deception and secrecy—the night-hood, the yellow veil, and the cunning artifices of proficient mothers.—E.]

Neither will I take upon me to affirm, that murders are frequently committed here; but the churches afford an asylum to the criminal: And as our cockswain was one day looking at two men, who appeared to be talking together in a friendly manner, one of them suddenly drew a knife and stabbed the other; who not instantly falling, the murderer withdrew the weapon, and stabbed him a second time. He then ran away, and was pursued by some negroes, who were also witnesses of the fact; but whether he escaped or was taken I never heard.

The country, at a small distance round the town, which is all that any of us saw, is beautiful in the highest degree; the wildest spots being varied with a greater luxuriance of flowers, both as to number and beauty, than the best gardens in England.

Upon the trees and bushes sat an almost endless variety of birds, especially small ones, many of them covered with the most elegant plumage; among which were the humming-bird. Of insects too there was a great variety, and some of them very beautiful; but they were much more nimble than those of Europe, especially the butterflies, most of which flew near the tops of the trees, and were therefore very difficult to be caught, except when the sea-breeze blew fresh, which kept them nearer to the ground. The banks of the sea, and of the small brook which water this part of the country, are almost covered with the small crabs, called cancer vocans; some of these had one of the claws, called by naturalists the hand, very large; others had them both remarkably small, and of equal size, a difference which is said to distinguish the sexes, that with the large claw being the male.

There is the appearance of but little cultivation; the greater part of the land is wholly uncultivated, and very little care and labour seem to have been bestowed upon the rest; there are indeed little patches or gardens, in which many kinds of European garden stuff are produced, particularly cabbages, pease, beans, kidney-beans, turnips, and white radishes, but all much inferior to our own: Watermelons and pine-apples are also produced in these spots, and they are the only fruits that we saw cultivated, though the country produces musk, melons, oranges, limes, lemons, sweet lemons, citrons, plantains, bananas, mangos, mamane-apples, acajou or cashou apples and nuts; jamboira of two kinds, one of which bears a small black fruit; cocoa-nuts, mangos, palm nuts of two kinds, one long, the other round; and palm berries, all which were in season while we were there.

Of these fruits the water-melons and oranges are the best in their kind; the pine-apples are much inferior to those that I have eaten in England; they are indeed more juicy and sweet, but have no flavour; I believe them to be natives of this country, though we heard of none that at this time grow wild; they have, however, very little care bestowed upon them, the plants being set between beds of any kind of garden-stuff, and suffered to take the chance of the season. The melons are still worse, at least those that we tasted, which were mealy and insipid; but the water-melons are excellent; they have a flavour, at least a degree of acidity, which ours have not. We saw also several species of the prickle-pear, and some European fruits, particularly the apple and peach, both which were very mealy and insipid. In these gardens also grow yams, and mandihoca, which in the West Indies is called cassada or cassava, and to the flower of which the people here, as I have before observed, give the name of farinha de pao, which may not improperly be translated, powder of post. The soil, though it produces tobacco and sugar, will not produce bread-corn; so that the people here have no wheat-flour, but what is brought from Portugal, and sold at the rate of a shilling a pound, though it is generally spoiled by being heated in its passage. Mr Banks is of opinion, that all the products of our West Indian islands would grow here; notwithstanding which, the inhabitants import their coffee and chocolate from Lisbon.[76]

[Footnote 76: The Portuguese government, it appears, from Mr Barrow's representation, have taken effectual measures to preserve this colony in a state of dependance on the mother country: "It no sooner discovered," says that gentleman, "that sugar could be raised in any quantity, and afforded, in the markets of Europe, at reasonable prices, than it thought proper to impose on them an export duty of 20 per cent. which operated as an immediate check on the growth of this article. When the cultivation of the indigo plant had been considerably extended, and the preparation sufficiently understood, so as to enable the colonists to meet their competitors in the markets of Europe, this article was assumed as a royal monopoly." Salt, he says, is another royal monopoly, and yields the sum of L. 15,000 annually: But one of the immediate effects of its being so, is the entire destruction of the valuable fisheries. Does the reader remember the fable of the hen that laid golden eggs? Would not certain governments do well to study the moral of it?—E.]

Most of the land, as far as we saw of the country, is laid down in grass, upon which cattle are pastured in great plenty; but they are so lean, that an Englishman will scarcely eat of their flesh: The herbage of these pastures consists principally of cresses, and consequently is so short, that though it may afford a bite for horses and sheep, it can scarcely be grazed by horned cattle in a sufficient quantity to keep them alive.

This country may possibly produce many valuable drugs; but we could not find any in the apothecaries shops, except pariera brava, and balsam capivi; both of which were excellent in their kind, and sold at a very low price. The drug trade is probably carried on to the northward, as well as that of the dying woods, for we could get no intelligence of either of them here.

As to manufactures, we neither saw nor heard of any except that of cotton hammocks, in which people are carried about here, as they are with us in sedan chairs; and these are principally, if not wholly, fabricated by the Indians.

The riches of the place consist chiefly in the mines which we supposed to lie far up the country, though we could never learn where, or at what distance; for the situation is concealed as much as possible, and troops are continually employed in guarding the roads that lead to them: It is almost impossible for any man to get a sight of them, except those who are employed there; and indeed the strongest curiosity would scarcely induce any man to attempt it, for whoever is found upon the road to them, if he cannot give undeniable evidence of his having business there, is immediately hanged up upon the next tree.

Much gold is certainly brought from these mines, but at an expence of life that must strike every man, to whom custom has not made it familiar, with horror. No less than forty thousand negroes are annually imported, on the king's account, to dig the mines; and we were credibly informed, that, the last year but one before we arrived here, this number fell so short, probably from some epidemic disease, that twenty thousand more were draughted from the town of Rio.

Precious stones are also found here in such plenty, that a certain quantity only is allowed to be collected in a year; to collect this quantity, a number of people are sent into the country where they are found, and when it is got together, which sometimes happens in a month, sometimes in less and sometimes in more, they return; and after that, whoever is found in these precious districts, on any pretence, before the next year, is immediately put to death.

The jewels found here, are diamonds, topazes of several kinds, and amethysts. We did not see any of the diamonds, but were informed that the viceroy had a large quantity by him, which he would sell on the king of Portugal's account, but not at a less price than they are sold for in Europe. Mr Banks bought a few topazes and amethysts as specimens: Of the topazes there are three sorts, of very different value, which are distinguished by the names of pinga d'agua qualidade primeiro, pinga d'agua qualidade secundo, and chrystallos armerillos: They are sold, large and small, good and bad together, by octavos, or the eighth part of an ounce; the best at 4s. 9d. All dealing, however, in these stones, it prohibited to the subject under the severest penalties: There were jewellers here formerly, who purchased and worked them on their own account; but about fourteen months before our arrival, orders came from the court of Portugal, that no more stones should be wrought here, except on the king's account: The jewellers were ordered to bring all their tools to the viceroy, and left without any means of subsistence. The persons employed here to work stones for the king are slaves.

The coin that is current here, is either that of Portugal, consisting chiefly of thirty-six shillings pieces; or pieces both of gold and silver, which are struck at this place: The pieces of silver, which are very much debased, are called petacks, and are of different value, and easily distinguished by the number of rees that is marked on the outside. Here is also a copper coin, like that in Portugal, of five and ten ree pieces. A ree is a nominal coin of Portugal, ten of which are equal in value to about three farthings sterling.

The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is situated W. by N. 18 leagues from Cape Frio, and may be known by a remarkable hill, in the form of a sugar-loaf, at the west point of the bay;[77] but as all the coast is very high, and rises in many peaks, the entrance of this harbour may be more certainly distinguished by the islands that lie before it; one of which, called Rodonda, is high and round like a hay-stack, and lies at the distance of two leagues and a half from the entrance of the bay, in the direction of S. by W.; but the first islands which are met with, coming from the east, or Cape Frio, are two that have a rocky appearance, lying near to each other, and at the distance of about four miles from the shore: There are also, at the distance of three leagues to the westward of these, two other islands which lie near to each other, a little without the bay on the east side, and very near the shore. This harbour is certainly a good one; the entrance indeed is not wide, but the sea-breeze, which blows every day from ten or twelve o'clock till sunset, makes it easy for any ship to go in before the wind; and it grows wider as the town is approached, so that a-breast of it there is room for the largest fleet, in five or six fathom water, with an oozy bottom. At the narrow part, the entrance is defended by two forts. The principal is Santa Cruz, which stands on the east point of the bay, and has been mentioned before; that on the west side is called Fort Lozia, and is built upon a rock that lies close to the main; the distance between them is about three quarters of a mile, but the channel is not quite so broad, because there are sunken rocks which lie off each fort, and in this part alone there is danger: The narrowness of the channel causes the tides, both flood and ebb, to run with considerable strength, so that they cannot be stemmed without a fresh breeze. The rockiness of the bottom makes it also unsafe to anchor here: Put all danger may be avoided by keeping in the middle of the channel. Within the entrance, the course up the bay is first N. by W. 1/2 W. and N.N.W. something more than a league; this will bring the vessel the length of the great road; and N.W. and W.N.W. one league more will carry her to the isle dos Cobras, which lies before the city: She should then keep the north side of this island close on board, and anchor above it, before a monastery of Benedictines which stands upon a hill at the N.W. end of the city.

[Footnote 77: Mr Barrow, during his stay at Rio de Janeiro, had an opportunity of ascertaining the height of the Sugar-loaf, as it is called from its conical appearance. It is, he says, 680 feet high, above the surface out of which it rises, and is a solid mass of hard sparkling granite. On the eastern side of the chasm which forms the entrance into the bay, there is a mountain of the same material, but so far different in form, that it slopes easily and gradually from the water's edge to the summit, which however is about as high as the cone. This side is well defended by forts and batteries. Mr Barrow's description of the magnificent scenery of this harbour, is perhaps somewhat poetically conceived, but may be advantageously consulted by the reader.—E.]

The river, and indeed the whole coast, abounds with a greater variety of fish than we had ever seen; a day seldom passed in which one or more of a new species were not brought to Mr Banks: The bay also is as well adapted for catching these fish as can be conceived; for it is full of small islands, between which there is shallow water, and proper beaches for drawing the seine. The sea, without the bay, abounds with dolphins, and large mackerel of different kinds, which readily bite at a hook, and the inhabitants always tow one after their boats for that purpose.

Though the climate is hot, the situation of this place is certainly wholesome;[78] while we stayed here the thermometer never rose higher than 83 degrees. We had frequent rains, and once a very hard gale of wind.

[Footnote 78: Mr Barrow seems to think otherwise; according to him, it is by no means healthy, and the interminable annoyance of the musquitoes renders it as injurious to intellectual, as it is on other accounts to bodily welfare. Perhaps, however, he assigns too much agency to these very vexatious insects, when he says it is impossible for any man to think at all profitably in their company. His description then, it may be inferred, was written at a very respectful distance from the din and venom of the noisome pest.—E.]

Ships water here at the fountain in the great square, though, as I have observed, the water is not good; they land their casks upon a smooth sandy beach, which is not more than a hundred yards distant from the fountain, and upon application to the viceroy, a centinel will be appointed to look after them, and clear the way to the fountain where they are to be filled.

Upon the whole, Rio de Janeiro is a very good place for ships to put in at that want refreshment: The harbour is safe and commodious; and provisions, except wheaten-bread and flour, may be easily procured: As a succedaneum for bread, there are yams and cassada in plenty; beef, both fresh and jerked, may be bought at about two-pence farthing a pound; though, as I have before remarked, it is very lean. The people here jerk their beef by taking out the bones, cutting it into large but thin slices, then curing it with salt, and drying it in the shade: It eats very well, and, if kept dry, will remain good a long time at sea. Mutton is scarcely to be procured, and hogs and poultry are dear; of garden-stuff and fruit-trees there is abundance, of which, however, none can be preserved at sea but the pumpkin; rum, sugar, and molasses, all excellent in their kind, may be had at a reasonable price; tobacco also is cheap, but it is not good. Here is a yard for building shipping, and a small hulk to heave down by; for, as the tide never rises above six or seven feet, there is no other way of coming at a ship's bottom.

When the boat which had been sent on shore returned, we hoisted her on board, and stood out to sea.

SECTION III.

The Passage from Rio de Janeiro to the entrance of the Streight of Le Maire, with a Description of some of the Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego.

On the 9th of December, we observed the sea to be covered with broad streaks of a yellowish colour, several of them a mile long, and three or four hundred yards wide: Some of the water thus coloured was taken up, and found to be full of innumerable atoms pointed at the end, of a yellowish colour, and none more than a quarter of a line, or the fortieth part of an inch long: In the microscope they appeared to be fasciculi of small fibres interwoven with each other, not unlike the nidus of some of the phyganeas, called caddices; but whether they were animal or vegetable substances, whence they came, or for what they were designed, neither Mr Banks nor Dr Solander could guess. The same appearance had been observed before, when we first discovered the continent of South America.[79]

[Footnote 79: The Portuguese have a name for what is here spoken of. They call it the grassy sea. There is reason to think that it is a vegetable, and not an animal production. But, on the whole, the subject has been little investigated.—E.]

On the 11th we hooked a shark, and while we were playing it under the cabin window, it threw out, and drew in again several times what appeared to be its stomach: It proved to be a female, and upon being opened six young ones were taken out of it; five of them were alive, and swam briskly in a tub of water, but the sixth appeared to have been dead some time.

Nothing remarkable happened till the 30th, except that we prepared for the bad weather, which we were shortly to expect, by bending a new suit of sails; but on this day we ran a course of one hundred and sixty miles by the log, through innumerable land insects of various kinds, some upon the wing, and more upon the water, many of which were alive; they appeared to be exactly the same with the carabi, the grylli, the phalanae, aranea, and other flies that are seen in England, though at this time we could not be less than thirty leagues from land; and some of these insects, particularly the grylli aranea, never voluntarily leave it at a greater distance than twenty yards. We judged ourselves to be now nearly opposite to Baye sans fond, where Mr Dalrymple supposes there is a passage quite through the continent of America; and we thought from the insects that there might be at least a very large river, and that it had overflowed its banks.[80]

[Footnote 80: The place alluded to is denominated Sin-fondo bay in Jeffrey's map, which, however imperfect as to actual geography, is perhaps the best companion to the account of the voyages published about the same period. Mr Dalrymple is an example of those warm-fancied men that make discoveries with the celerity of mushroom beds, and from as unimportant materials too. Some Spanish charts, often the very worst authority in the world, had drawn a connection betwixt the branches of two rivers, on opposite sides of the continent, and hence was deduced, in his lively imagination, a passage from sea to sea. See Jeffrey's American Atlas, where the imaginary communication is represented by dotted lines.—E.]

On the 3d of January, 1769, being in latitude 47 deg. 17' S. and longitude 61 deg. 29' 45" W. we were all looking out for Pepy's island, and for some time an appearance was seen in the east which so much resembled land, that we bore away for it; and it was more than two hours and a half before we were convinced that it was nothing but what sailors 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 trowsers. The jacket is made of a thick woollen stuff, called Fearnought, which is provided by the government. We saw, from time to time, a great number of penguins, albatrosses, and sheer-waters, seals, whales, and porpoises: And on the 11th, having passed Falkland's islands, we discovered the coast of Terra del Fuego, at the distance of about four leagues, extending from the W* to S.E. by S. We had here five-and-thirty fathom, the ground soft, small slate stones. As we ranged along the shore to the S.E. at the distance of two or three leagues, we perceived smoke in several places, which was made by the natives, probably as a signal, for they did not continue it after we had passed by. This day we discovered that the ship had got near a degree of longitude to the westward of the log, which, in this latitude, is thirty-five minutes of a degree on the equator: Probably there is a small current setting westward, which may be caused by the westerly current coming round Cape Horn, and through the Streight of Le Maire, and the indraught of the Streight of Magellan.

Having continued to range the coast on the 14th, we entered the Streight of Le Maire; but the tide turning against us, drove us out with great violence, and raised such a sea off Cape St Diego, that the waves had exactly the same appearance as they would have had if they had broke over a ledge of rocks; and when the ship was in this torrent, she frequently pitched, so that the bowsprit 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 shallowing from thirty to twelve fathoms, I sent the master to examine a little cove, which lay at a small distance to the eastward of Cape St Vincent. When he returned, he reported, that there was anchorage in four fathom, and a good bottom, close to the eastward of the first bluff point, on the east of Cape St Vincent; at the very entrance of the cove, to which I gave the name of VINCENT'S BAY: Before this anchoring ground, however, lay several rocky ledges, that were covered with sea-weed; but I was told that there was not less than eight and nine fathom over all of them. It will probably be thought strange, that where weeds; which grow at the bottom, appear above the surface, there should be this depth of water; but the weeds which grow upon rocky ground in these countries, and which always distinguish it from sand and ooze, are of an enormous size. The leaves are four feet long, and some of the stalks, though not thicker than a man's thumb, above one hundred and twenty: Mr Banks and Dr Solander examined some of them, over which we sounded and had fourteen fathom, which is eighty-four feet; and as they made a very acute angle with the bottom, they were thought to be at least one-half longer: The foot-stalks were swelled into an air vessel, and Mr Banks and Dr Solander called this plant Fucus giganteus. Upon the report of the master, I stood in with the ship; but not trusting implicitly to his intelligence, I continued to sound, and found but four fathom upon the first ledge that I went over; concluding, therefore, that I could not anchor here without risk, I determined to seek some port in the Streight, where I might get on board such wood and water as we wanted.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander, however, being very desirous to go on shore, I sent a boat with them and their people, while I kept plying as near as possible with the ship.

Having been on shore four hours, they returned about nine in the evening, with above an hundred different plants and flowers, all of them wholly unknown to the botanists of Europe. They found the country about the bay to be in general flat, the bottom of it in particular was a plain, covered with grass, which might easily have been made into a large quantity of hay; they found also abundance of good wood and water, and fowls in great plenty. Among other things, of which nature has been liberal in this place, is Winter's bark, Winteranea aromatica; which may easily be known by its broad leaf, shaped like the laurel, of a light green colour without, and inclining to blue within; the bark is easily stripped with a bone or a stick, and its virtues are well known: It may be used for culinary purposes as a spice, and is not less pleasant than wholesome: Here is also plenty of wild celery and scurvy-grass. The trees are chiefly of one kind, a species of the birch, called Betula antarctica; the stem is from thirty to forty feet long, and from two to three feet in diameter, so that in a case of necessity they might possibly supply a ship with top-masts: They are a light white wood, bear a small leaf, and cleave very straight. Cranberries were also found here in great plenty, both white and red.

The persons who landed saw none of the inhabitants, but fell in with two of their deserted huts, one in a thick wood, and the other close by the beach.

Having taken the boat on board, I made sail into the Streight, and at three in the morning of the 15th, I anchored in twelve fathom and a half, upon coral rocks, before a small cove, which we took for Port Maurice, at the distance of about half a mile from the shore. Two of the natives came down to the beach, expecting us to land; but this spot afforded so little shelter, that I at length determined not to examine it: I therefore got under sail again about ten o'clock, and the savages retired into the woods.

At two o'clock, we anchored in the bay of Good Success; and after dinner I went on shore, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, to look for a watering-place, and speak to the Indians, several of whom had come in sight. We landed on the starboard side of the bay near some rocks, which made smooth water and good landing; thirty or forty of the Indians soon made their appearance at the end of a sandy beach on the other side of the bay, but seeing our number, which was ten or twelve, they retreated. Mr Banks and Dr Solander then advanced about one hundred yards before us, upon which two of the Indians returned, and, having advanced some paces towards them, sat down; as soon as they came up, the Indians rose, and each of them having a small stick in his hand threw it away, in a direction both from themselves and the strangers, which was considered as the renunciation of weapons in token of peace: They then walked briskly towards their companions, who had halted at about fifty yards behind them, and beckoned the gentlemen to follow, which they did. They were received with many uncouth signs of friendship; and, in return, they distributed among them some beads and ribbons, which had been brought on shore for that purpose, and with which they were greatly delighted. A mutual confidence and good-will being thus produced, our parties joined; the conversation, such as it was, became general; and three of them accompanied us back to the ship. When they came on board, one of them, whom we took to be a priest, performed much the same ceremonies which M. Bougainville describes, and supposes to be an exorcism. When he was introduced into a new part of the ship, or when any thing that he had not seen before caught his attention, he shouted with all his force for some minutes, without directing his voice either to us or his companions.[81]

[Footnote 81: The incident related by Bougainville, to which the allusion is made, is somewhat affecting. An interesting boy, one of the savages' children, had unwarily, and from ignorance of its dangerous nature, put some bits of glass into his mouth which the sailors gave him. His lips and palate, &c. were cut in several places, and he soon began to spit blood, and to be violently convulsed. This excited the most distressing alarm and suspicion among the savages. One of them, whom Bougainville denominates a juggler, immediately had recourse to very strange and unlikely means in order to relieve the poor child. He first laid him on his back, then kneeling down between his legs, and bending himself, he pressed the child's belly as much as he could with his head and hands, crying out continually, but with inarticulate sounds. From time to time he raised himself, and seeming to hold the disease in his joined hands, opened them at once into the air, blowing, as if he drove away some evil spirit. During those rites, an old woman in tears howled with great violence in the child's ears. These ceremonies, however, not proving effectual, but rather, indeed, as might have been expected, doing mischief, the juggler disappeared for a little, in order, as should seem, to procure a peculiar dress, in which he might practise his exorcism with greater confidence of success, and to bring a brother in the trade, similarly apparelled, to aid him in his labours. But so much the worse for the wretched patient, who was now pummelled and squeezed all over, till his body was completely bruised. Such treatment, it is almost unnecessary to say, aggravated his sufferings, but accomplished no cure. The jugglers at last consented to allow the interference of the French surgeon, but appeared to be very jealous of his skill. The child became somewhat easier towards night; however, from his continual sickness, there was much room to apprehend that he had swallowed some of the glass, and died in consequence; for "about two o'clock in the morning," says Bougainville, "we on board heard repeated howls, and at break of day, though the weather was very dreadful, the savages went off. They doubtless fled from a place defiled by death, and by unlucky strangers, who, they thought, were come merely to destroy them." It is very probable that the person whom Cook supposed a priest, practised the charms spoken of, in order to destroy any ill luck, and to prevent the occurrence of such like misfortunes in his intercourse with the wonderful strangers. There is an allusion to this incident in a following section.—E.]

They ate some bread and some beef, but not apparently with much pleasure, though such part of what was given them as they did not eat, they took away with them; but they would not swallow a drop either of wine or spirits: They put the glass to their lips, but, having tasted the liquor, they returned it with strong expressions of disgust. Curiosity seems to be one of the few passions which distinguish men from brutes; and of this our guests appeared to have very little. They went from one part of the ship to another, and looked at the vast variety of new objects that every moment presented themselves, without any expression either of wonder or pleasure, for the vociferation of our exorcist seemed to be neither.

After having been on board about two hours, they expressed a desire to go ashore. A boat was immediately ordered, and Mr Banks thought fit to accompany them: He landed them in safety, and conducted them to their companions, among whom he remarked the same vacant indifference, as in those who had been on board; for as on one side there appeared no eagerness to relate, so on the other there seemed to be no curiosity to hear, how they had been received, or what they had seen. In about half an hour Mr Banks returned to the ship, and the Indians retired from the shore.

SECTION IV.

An Account of what happened in ascending a Mountain to search for Plants.

On the 16th, early in the morning, Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with their attendants and servants, and two seamen to assist in carrying the baggage, accompanied by Mr Monkhouse the surgeon, and Mr Green the astronomer, set out from the ship with a view to penetrate as far as they could into the country, and return at night. The hills, when viewed at a distance, seemed to "be partly a wood, partly a plain, and above them a bare rock. Mr Banks hoped to get through the wood, and made no doubt, but that, beyond it, he should, in a country which no botanist had ever yet visited, find alpine plants which would abundantly compensate his labour. They entered the wood at a small sandy beach, a little to the westward of the watering-place, and continued to ascend the hill, through the pathless wilderness, till three o'clock, before they got a near view of the places which they intended to visit. Soon after they reached what they had taken for a plain; but, to their great disappointment, found it a swamp, covered with low bushes of birch, about three feet high, interwoven with each other, and so stubborn that they could not be bent out of the way; it was therefore necessary to lift the leg over them, which at every step was buried, ancle-deep, in the soil. To aggravate the pain and difficulty of such travelling, the weather, which had hitherto been very fine, much like one of our bright days in May, became gloomy and cold, with sudden blasts of a most piercing wind, accompanied with snow. They pushed forward, however, in good spirits, notwithstanding their fatigue, hoping the worst of the way was past, and that the bare rock which, they had seen from the tops of the lower hills was not more than a mile before them; but when they had got about two-thirds over this woody swamp, Mr Buchan, one of Mr Banks's draughtsmen, was unhappily seized with a fit. This made it necessary for the whole company to halt, and as it was impossible that he should go any farther, a fire was kindled, and those who were most fatigued were left behind to take care of him. Mr Banks, Dr Solander, Mr Green, and Mr Monkhouse, went on, and in a short time reached the summit. As botanists, their expectations were here abundantly gratified; for they found a great variety of plants, which, with respect to the alpine plants in Europe, are exactly what those plants are with respect to such as grow in the plain.

The cold was now become more severe, and the snow-blasts more frequent; the day also was so far spent, that it was found impossible to get back to the ship, before the next morning: To pass the night upon such a mountain, in such a climate, was not only comfortless but dreadful; it was impossible, however, to be avoided, and they were to provide for it as well as they could.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander, while they were improving an opportunity which they had, with so much danger and difficulty, procured, by gathering the plants which they found upon the mountain, sent Mr Green and Mr Monkhouse back to Mr Buchan and the people that were with him, with directions to bring them to a hill, which they thought lay in a better route for returning to the wood, and which was therefore appointed as a general rendezvous. It was proposed, that from this hill they should push through the swamp, which seemed by the new route not to be more than half a mile over, into the shelter of the wood, and there build their wigwam, and make a fire: This, as their way was all down hill, it seemed easy to accomplish. Their whole company assembled at the rendezvous, and, though pinched with the cold, were in health and spirits, Mr Buchan himself having recovered his strength in a much greater degree than could have been expected. It was now near eight o'clock in the evening, but still good day-light, and they set forward for the nearest valley, Mr Banks himself undertaking to bring up the rear, and see that no straggler was left behind: This may perhaps be thought a superfluous caution, but it will soon appear to be otherwise. Dr Solander, who had more than once crossed the mountains which divide Sweden from Norway, well knew that extreme cold, especially when joined with fatigue, produces a torpor and sleepiness that are almost irresistible: He therefore conjured the company to keep moving, whatever pain it might cost them, and whatever relief they might be promised by an inclination to rest: Whoever sits down, says he, will sleep; and whoever sleeps, will wake no more. Thus, at once admonished and alarmed, they set forward; but while they were still upon the naked rock, and before they had got among the bushes, the cold became suddenly so intense, as to produce the effects that had been most dreaded. Dr Solander himself was the first who found the inclination, against which he had warned others, irresistible; and insisted upon being suffered to lie down. Mr Banks entreated and remonstrated in vain, down he lay upon the ground, though it was covered with snow; and it was with great difficulty that his friend kept him from sleeping. Richmond also, one of the black servants, began to linger, having suffered from the cold in the same manner as the doctor. Mr Banks, therefore, sent five of the company, among whom was Mr Buchan, forward to get a fire ready at the first convenient place they could find; and himself, with four others, remained with the doctor and Richmond, whom, partly by persuasion and entreaty, and partly by force, they brought on; but when they had got through the greatest part of the birch and swamp, they both declared they could go no farther. Mr Banks had recourse again to entreaty and expostulation, but they produced no effect: When Richmond was told, that if he did not go on he would in a short time be frozen to death, he answered, that he desired nothing but to lie down and die: The doctor did not so explicitly renounce his life; he said he was willing to go on, but that he must first take some sleep, though he had before told the company that to sleep was to perish. Mr Banks and the rest found it impossible to carry them, and there being no remedy they were both suffered to sit down, being partly supported by the bushes, and in a few minutes they fell into a profound sleep: Soon after, some of the people who had been sent forward returned, with the welcome news that a fire was kindled about a quarter of a mile farther on the way. Mr Banks then endeavoured to wake Dr Solander, and happily succeeded: But, though he had not slept five minutes, he had almost lost the use of his limbs, and the muscles were so shrunk that his shoes fell from his feet; he consented to go forward with such assistance as could be given him, but no attempts to relieve poor Richmond were successful. It being found impossible to make him stir, after some time had been lost in the attempt, Mr Banks left his other black servant and a seaman, who seemed to have suffered least by the cold, to look after him; promising, that as soon as two others should be sufficiently warmed, they should be relieved. Mr Banks, with much difficulty, at length got the doctor to the fire; and soon after sent two of the people who had been refreshed, in hopes that, with the assistance of those who had been left behind, they would be able to bring Richmond, even though it should still be found impossible to wake him. In about half an hour, however, they had the mortification to see these two men return alone; they said, that they had been all round the place to which they had been directed, but could neither find Richmond nor those who had been left with him; and that though they had shouted many times, no voice had replied. This was matter of equal surprise and concern, particularly to Mr Banks, who, while he was wondering how it could happen, missed a bottle of rum, the company's whole stock, which they now concluded to be in the knapsack of one of the absentees. It was conjectured, that with this Richmond had been roused by the two persons who had been left with him, and that, having perhaps drank too freely of it themselves, they had all rambled from the place where they had been left, in search of the fire, instead of waiting for those who should have been their assistants and guides. Another fall of snow now came on, and continued incessantly for two hours, so that all hope of seeing them again, at least alive, were given up; but about twelve o'clock, to the great joy of those at the fire, a shouting was heard at some distance. Mr Banks, with four more, immediately went out, and found the seaman with just strength enough left to stagger along, and call out for assistance: Mr Banks sent him immediately to the fire, and, by his direction, proceeded in search of the other two, whom he soon after found. Richmond was upon his legs, but not able to put one before the other; his companion was lying upon the ground, as insensible as a stone. All hands were now called from the fire, and an attempt was made to carry them to it; but this, notwithstanding the united efforts of the whole company, was found to be impossible. The night was extremely dark, the snow was now very deep, and, under these additional disadvantages, they found it very difficult to make way through the bushes and the bog for themselves, all of them getting many falls in the attempt. The only alternative was to make a fire upon the spot; but the snow which had fallen, and was still falling, besides what was every moment shaken in flakes from the trees, rendered it equally impracticable to kindle one there, and to bring any part of that which had been kindled in the wood thither: They were, therefore, reduced to the sad necessity of leaving the unhappy wretches to their fate; having first made them a bed of boughs from the trees, and spread a covering of the same kind over them to a considerable height.

Having now been exposed to the cold and the snow near an hour and a half, some of the rest began to lose their sensibility; and one Briscoe, another of Mr Banks's servants, was so ill, that it was thought he must die before he could be got to the fire.

At the fire, however, at length they arrived; and passed the night in a situation, which, however dreadful in itself, was rendered more afflicting by the remembrance of what was past, and the uncertainty of what was to come. Of twelve, the number that set out together in health and spirits, two were supposed to be already dead; a third was so ill, that it was very doubtful whether he would be able to go forward in the morning; and a fourth, Mr Buchan, was in danger of a return of his fits, by fresh fatigue, after so uncomfortable a night: They were distant from the ship a long day's journey, through pathless woods, in which it was too probable they might be bewildered till they were overtaken by the next night; and, not having prepared for a journey of more than eight or ten hours, they were wholly destitute of provisions, except a vulture, which they happened to shoot while they were out, and which, if equally divided, would not afford each of them half a meal; and they knew not how much more they might suffer from the cold, as the snow still continued to fall. A dreadful testimony of the severity of the climate, as it was now the midst of summer in this part of the world, the 21st of December being here the longest day; and every thing might justly be dreaded from a phenomenon which, in the corresponding season, is unknown even in Norway and Lapland.

When the morning dawned, they saw nothing round them, as far as the eye could reach, but snow, which seemed to lie as thick upon the trees as upon the ground; and the blasts returned so frequently, and with such violence, that they found it impossible for them to set out: How long this might last they knew not, and they had but too much reason to apprehend that it would confine them in that desolate forest till they perished with hunger and cold.

After having suffered the misery and terror of this situation till six o'clock in the morning, they conceived some hope of deliverance by discovering the place of the sun through the clouds, which were become thinner, and began to break away. Their first care was to see whether the poor wretches whom they had been obliged to leave among the bushes were yet alive; three of the company were dispatched for that purpose, and very soon afterwards returned with the melancholy news, that they were dead.

Notwithstanding the flattering appearance of the sky, the snow still continued to fall so thick that they could not venture out on their journey to the ship; but about eight o'clock a small regular breeze sprung up, which, with the prevailing influence of the sun, at length cleared the air; and they soon after, with great joy, saw the snow fall in large flakes from the trees, a certain sign of an approaching thaw: They now examined more critically the state of their invalids; Briscoe was still very ill, but said, that he thought himself able to walk; and Mr Buchan was much better than either he or his friends had any reason to expect. They were now, however, pressed by the calls of hunger, to which, after long fasting, every consideration of future good or evil immediately gives way. Before they set forward, therefore, it was unanimously agreed that they should eat their vulture; the bird was accordingly skinned, and, it being thought best to divide it before it was fit to be eaten, it was cut into ten portions, and every man cooked his own as he thought fit. After this repast, which furnished each of them with about three mouthfuls, they prepared to set out; but it was ten o'clock before the snow was sufficiently gone off, to render a march practicable. After a walk of about three hours, they were very agreeably surprised to find themselves upon the beach, and much nearer to the ship than they had any reason to expect. Upon reviewing their track from the vessel, they perceived, that, instead of ascending the hill in a line, so as to penetrate into the country, they had made almost a circle round it. When they came on board, they congratulated each other upon their safety, with a joy that no man can feel who has not been exposed to equal danger; and as I had suffered great anxiety at their not returning in the evening of the day on which they set out, I was not wholly without my share.

SECTION V.

The Passage through the Streight of Le Maire, and a further Description of the Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego and its Productions.

On the 18th and 19th, we were delayed in getting on board our wood and water by a swell: But on the 20th, the weather being more moderate, we again sent the boat on shore, and Mr Banks and Dr Solander went in it. They landed in the bottom of the bay, and while my people were employed in cutting brooms, they pursued their great object, the improvement of natural knowledge, with success, collecting many shells and plants which hitherto have been altogether unknown: They came on board to dinner, and afterwards went again on shore to visit an Indian town, which some of the people had reported to lie about two miles up the country. They found the distance not more than by the account, and they approached it by what appeared to be the common road, yet they were above an hour in getting thither, for they were frequently up to their knees in mud; when they got within a small distance, two of the people came out to meet them, with such state as they could assume; when they joined them, they began to halloo as they had done on board the ship, without addressing themselves either to the strangers or their companions; and having continued this strange vociferation some time, they conducted them to the town. It was situated on a dry knoll, or small hill, covered with wood, none of which seemed to have been cleared away, and consisted of about twelve or fourteen hovels, of the most rude and inartificial structure that can be imagined. They were nothing more than a few poles set up so as to incline towards each other, and meet at the top, forming a kind of a cone, like some of our bee-hives: On the weather-side they were covered with a few boughs, and a little grass; and on the lee-side about one-eighth of the circle was left open, both for a door and a fire-place; and of this kind were the huts that had been seen in St Vincent's bay, in one of which the embers of a fire were still remaining. Furniture they had none; a little grass, which lay round the inside of the hovel, served both for chairs and beds; and of all the utensils which necessity and ingenuity have concurred to produce among other savage nations, they saw only a basket to carry in the hand, a satchel to hang at the back, and the bladder of some beast to hold water, which the natives drink through a hole that is made near the top for that purpose.

The inhabitants of this town were a small tribe, not more than fifty in number; of both sexes and of every age. Their colour resembles that of the rust of iron mixed with oil, and they have long black hair: The men are large, but clumsily built; their stature is from five feet eight to five feet ten; the women are much less, few of them being more than five feet high. Their whole apparel consists of the skin of a guanicoe, or seal, which is thrown over their shoulders, exactly in the state in which it came from the animal's back; a piece of the same skin, which is drawn over their feet, and gathered about the ancles like a purse, and a small flap, which is worn by the women as a succedaneum for a fig-leaf. The men wear their cloak open, the women tie it about their waist with a thong. But although they are content to be naked, they are very ambitious to be fine. Their faces were painted in various forms: The region of the eye was in general white, and the rest of the face adorned with horizontal streaks of red and black; yet scarcely any two were exactly alike. This decoration seems to be more profuse and elaborate upon particular occasions, for the two gentlemen who introduced Mr Banks and the doctor into the town, were almost covered with streaks of black in all directions, so as to make a very striking appearance. Both men and women wore bracelets of such beads as they could make themselves of small shells or bones; the women both upon their wrists and ancles, the men upon their wrists only; but to compensate for the want of bracelets on their legs, they wore a kind of fillet of brown worsted round their heads. They seemed to set a particular value upon any thing that was red, and preferred beads even to a knife or a hatchet.

Their language in general is guttural, and they express some of their words by a sound exactly like that which we make to clear the throat when any thing happens to obstruct it; yet they have words that would be deemed soft in the better languages of Europe. Mr Banks learned what he supposes to be their name for beads and water. When they wanted beads, instead of ribbons or other trifles, they said halleca; and when they were taken on shore from the ship, and by signs asked where water might be found, they made the sign of drinking, and pointing as well to the casks as the watering-place, cried Ooda.

We saw no appearance of their having any food but shellfish; for though seals were frequently seen near the shore, they seemed to have no implements for taking them. The shell-fish are collected by the women, whose business it seems to be to attend at low water, with a basket in one hand, and a stick, pointed and barbed, in the other, and a satchel at their backs: They loosen the limpets, and other fish that adhere to the rocks, with the stick, and put them into the basket; which, when full, they empty into the satchel.

The only things that we found among them in which there was the least appearance of neatness or ingenuity, were their weapons, which consisted of a bow and arrows. The bow was not inelegantly made, and the arrows were the neatest that we had ever seen: They were of wood, polished to the highest degree; and the point, which was of glass or flint, and barbed, was formed and fitted with wonderful dexterity. We saw also some pieces of glass and flint among them unwrought, besides rings, buttons, cloth, and canvas, with other European commodities; they must, therefore, sometimes travel to the northward, for it was many years since any ship had been so far south as this part of Terra del Fuego. We observed also, that they shewed no surprise at our fire-arms, with the use of which they appeared to be well acquainted; for they made signs to Mr Banks to shoot a seal which followed the boat, as they were going on shore from the ship.

M. de Bougainville, who, in January 1768, just one year before us, had been on shore upon this coast in latitude 53 deg. 40' 41", had, among other things, given glass to the people whom he found here; for he says, that a boy about twelve years old took it into his head to eat some of it, by which unhappy accident he died in great misery. These people might probably have some of the very glass which Bougainville left behind him, either from other natives, or perhaps from himself; for they appeared rather to be a travelling horde, than to have any fixed habitation. Their houses were built to stand but for a short time; they had no utensil or furniture but the basket and satchel, which have been mentioned before, and which had handles adapted to the carrying them about, in the hand and upon the back; the only clothing they had here was scarcely sufficient to prevent their perishing with cold in the summer of this country, much less in the extreme severity of winter; the shell-fish, which seemed to be their only food, would soon be exhausted at any one place; and we had seen houses upon what appeared to be a deserted station in St Vincent's bay.

It is also probable that the place where we found them was only a temporary residence, from their having here nothing like a boat or canoe, of which it can scarcely be supposed that they were wholly destitute, especially as they were not sea-sick, or particularly affected, either in our boat or on board the ship. We conjectured that there might be a streight or inlet, running from the sea through great part of this island, from the Streight of Magellan, whence these people might come, leaving their canoes where such inlet terminated.

They did not appear to have among them any government or subordination: None was more respected than another; yet they seemed to live together in the utmost harmony and good fellowship. Neither did we discover any appearance of religion among them, except the noises which have been mentioned, and which we supposed to be a superstitious ceremony, merely because we could refer them to nothing else: They were used only by one of those who came on board the ship, and the two who conducted Mr Banks and Dr Solander to the town, whom we therefore conjectured to be priests. Upon the whole, these people appeared to be the most destitute and forlorn, as well as the most stupid of all human beings; the outcasts of Nature, who spent their lives in wandering about the dreary wastes, where two of our people perished with cold in the midst of summer; with no dwelling but a wretched hovel of sticks and grass, which would not only admit the wind, but the snow and the rain; almost naked, and destitute of every convenience that is furnished by the rudest art, having no implement even to dress their food: Yet they were content. They seemed to have no wish for any thing more than they possessed, nor did any thing that we offered them appear acceptable but beads.

In this place we saw no quadruped except seals, sea-lions, and dogs; of the dogs it is remarkable that they bark, which those that are originally bred in America do not. And this is a further proof, that the people we saw here had, either immediately or remotely, communicated with the inhabitants of Europe. There are, however, other quadrupeds in this part of the country; for when Mr Banks was at the top of the highest hill that he ascended in his expedition through the woods, he saw the footsteps of a large beast imprinted upon the surface of a bog, though he could not with any probability guess of what kind it might be.

Of land-birds there are but few; Mr Banks saw none larger than an English blackbird, except some hawks and a vulture; but of water-fowl there is great plenty, particularly ducks. Of fish we saw scarce any, and with our hooks could catch none that was fit to eat; but shell-fish, limpets, clams, and mussels were to be found in abundance.

Among the insects, which were not numerous, there was neither gnat nor musquito, nor any other species that was either hurtful or troublesome, which perhaps is more than can be said of any other uncleared country. During the snow-blasts, which happened every day while we were here, they hide themselves; and the moment it is fair they appear again, as nimble and vigorous as the warmest weather could make them.

Of plants, Mr Banks and Dr Solander found a vast variety; the far greater part wholly different from any that have been hitherto described. Besides the birch and winter's bark, which have been mentioned already, there is the beech, Fagus antarcticus, which, as well as the birch, may be used for timber. The plants cannot be enumerated here; but as the scurvy-grass, Cardamine antiscorbutica, and the wild celery, Apium antarcticum, probably contain antiscorbutic qualities, which may be of great benefit to the crews of such ships as shall hereafter touch at this place, the following short description is inserted:

The scurvy-grass will be found in plenty in damp places, near springs of water, and in general in all places that lie near the beach, especially at the watering-place in the Bay of Good Success: When it is young, the state of its greatest perfection, it lies flat upon the ground, having many leaves of a bright green, standing in pairs opposite to each other, with a single one at the end, which generally makes the fifth upon a foot-stalk: The plant, passing from this state, shoots up in stalks that are sometimes two feet high, at the top of which are small white blossoms, and these are succeeded by long pods: The whole plant greatly resembles that which in England is called Lady's Smock, or Cuckow-flower. The wild celery is very like the celery in our gardens, the flowers are white, and stand in the same manner, in small tufts at the top of the branches, but the leaves are of a deeper green. It grows in great abundance near the beach, and generally upon the soil that lies next above the spring tides. It may indeed easily be known by the taste, which is between that of celery and parsley. We used the celery in large quantities, particularly in our soup, which, thus medicated, produced the same good effects which seamen generally derive from a vegetable diet, after having been long confined to salt provisions.

On Sunday the 22d of January, about two o'clock in the morning, having got our wood and water on board, we sailed out of the bay, and continued our course through the streight.

SECTION VI.

A general Description of the S.E. Part of Terra del Fuego, and the Streight of Le Maire; with some Remarks on Lord Anson's Account of them, and Directions for the Passage Westward, round this Part of America, into the South Seas.

Almost all writers who have mentioned the island of Terra del Fuego, describe it as destitute of wood, and covered with snow. In the winter it may possibly be covered with snow, and those who saw it at that season might perhaps be easily deceived, by its appearance, into an opinion that it was destitute of wood. Lord Anson was there in the beginning of March, which answers to our September; and we were there the beginning of January, which answers to our July, which way account for the difference of his description of it from ours. We fell in with it about twenty-one leagues to the westward of the streight of Le Maire, and from the time that we first saw it, trees were plainly to be distinguished with our glasses; and as we came nearer, though here and there we discovered patches of snow, the sides of the hills and the sea-coast appeared to be covered with a beautiful verdure. The hills are lofty, but not mountainous, though the summits of them are quite naked. The soil in the valleys is rich, and of a considerable depth; and at the foot of almost every hill there is a brook, the water of which has a reddish hue, like that which runs through our turf bogs in England, but it is by no means ill tasted, and upon the whole proved to be the best that we took in during our voyage. We ranged the coast to the streight, and had soundings all the way from 40 to 20 fathom, upon a gravelly and sandy bottom. The most remarkable land on Terra del Fuego is a hill, in the form of a sugar-loaf, which stands on the west side not far from the sea; and the three hills, called the Three Brothers, about nine miles to the westward of Cape St Diego, the low point that forms the north entrance of the streight of Le Maire.

It is said in the account of Lord Anson's voyage, that it is difficult to determine exactly where the streight lies, though the appearance of Terra del Fuego be well known, without knowing also the appearance of Staten Land; and that some navigators have been deceived by three hills on Staten Land, which have been mistaken for the Three Brothers on Terra del Fuego, and so overshot the streight. But no ship can possibly miss the streight that coasts Terra del Fuego within sight of land, for it will then, of itself, be sufficiently conspicuous; and Staten Land, which forms the east side, will be still more manifestly distinguished, for there is no land on Terra del Fuego like it. The streight of Le Maire can be missed only by standing too far to the eastward, without keeping the land of Terra del Fuego in sight: If this is done, it may be missed, however accurately the appearance of the coast of Staten Land may have been exhibited; and if this is not done, it cannot be missed, though the appearance of that coast be not known. The entrance of the streight should not be attempted but with a fair wind and moderate weather, and upon the very beginning of the tide of flood, which happens here, at the full and change of the moon, about one or two o'clock; it is also best to keep as near to the Terra del Fuego shore as the winds will admit. By attending to these particulars, a ship may be got quite through the streight in one tide; or, at least, to the southward of Success Bay, into which it will be more prudent to put, if the wind should be southerly, than to attempt the weathering of Staten Land with a lee wind and a current, which may endanger her being driven on that island.

The streight itself, which is bounded on the west by Terra del Fuego, and on the east by the west end of Staten Land, is about five leagues long, and as many broad. The Bay of Good Success lies about the middle of it, on the Terra del Fuego side, and is discovered immediately upon entering the streight from the northward; and the south head of it may be distinguished by a mark on the land, that has the appearance of a broad road, leading up from the sea into the country: At the entrance it is half a league wide, and runs in westward about two miles and a half. There is good anchorage in every part of it, in from ten to seven fathom, clear ground; and it affords plenty of exceeding good wood and water. The tides flow in the bay, at the full and change of the moon, about four or five o'clock, and rise about five or six 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 strength of the flood.

In the appearance of Staten Land, we did not discover the wildness and horror that is ascribed to it in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. On the north side are the appearances of bays or harbours; and the land when we saw it, was neither destitute of wood nor verdure, nor covered with snow. The island seems to be about twelve leagues in length and five broad.

On the west side of the Cape of Good Success, which forms the S.W. entrance of the streight, lies Valentine's Bay, of which we only saw the entrance; from this bay the land trends away to the W.S.W. for twenty or thirty leagues; it appears to be high and mountainous, and forms several bays and inlets.

At the distance of fourteen leagues from the Bay of Good Success, in the direction of S.W.1/2 W. and between two and three leagues from the shore, lies New Island. 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 distance of seven leagues from New Island, in the direction of S.W. lies the isle Evouts; and a little to the west of the south of this island lie Barnevelt's two small flat islands, close to each other; they are partly surrounded with rocks, which rise to different heights above the water, and lie twenty-four leagues from the streight of Le Maire. At the distance of three leagues from Barnevelt's islands, in the direction of S.W. by S. lies the S.E. point of Hermit's islands: These islands lie S.E. and N.W. and are pretty high: From most points of view they will be taken for one island, or a part of the main.

From the S.E. point of Hermit's islands to Cape Horn the course is S.W. by S. distance three leagues.

In the chart I drew of this coast, from our first making land to the cape, which includes the Streight of Le Maire, and part of Staten Land, I have laid down no land, nor traced out any shore, but what I saw myself, and thus far it may be depended upon: The bays and inlets, of which we saw only the openings, are not traced; it can, however, scarcely be doubted but that most, if not all of them, afford anchorage, wood and water. The Dutch squadron, commanded by Hermit, certainly put into some of them in the year 1624: And it was Chapenham, the vice-admiral of this squadron, who first discovered that the land of Cape Horn consisted of a number of islands. The account, however, which those who sailed in Hermit's fleet have given of these parts, is extremely defective; and those of Schouton and Le Maire are still worse: It is therefore no wonder that the charts hitherto published should be erroneous, not only in laying down the land, but in the latitude and longitude of the places they contain. I will, however, venture to assert, that the longitude of few parts of the world is better ascertained than that of the Streight of Le Maire, and Cape Horn, in the chart now alluded to, as it was laid down by several observations of the sun and moon that were made both by myself and Mr Green.[82]

[Footnote 82: This chart is necessarily omitted. Krusenstern, speaking of the observations respecting the position of Cape St John, says, "There are few cities in Europe, the geographical longitude of which is determined with the same degree of accuracy as that of this barren rock, in one of the roughest and most inhospitable islands of the globe. But how infinitely important is this accuracy to the safety of shipping!" He verified Cook's determination of the longitude of this cape.—E.]

The variation of the compass on this coast I found to be from 23 deg. to 25 deg. E. except near Barnevelt's islands and Cape Horn, where we found it less, and unsettled: Probably it is disturbed here by the land, as Hermit's squadron, in this very place, found all their compasses differ from each other. The declination of the dipping-needle, when set upon shore in Success Bay, was 68 deg. 15' below the horizon.

Between Streight Le Maire and Cape Horn we found a current setting, generally very strong, to the N.E. when we were in with the shore; but lost it when we were at the distance of fifteen or twenty leagues.

On the 26th of January, we took our departure from Cape Horn, which lies in latitude 55 deg. 53' S. longitude 68 deg. 13' W. The farthest southern latitude that we made was 60 deg. 10', our longitude was then 74 deg. 30' W.; and we found the variation of the compass, by the mean of eighteen azimuths, to be 27 deg. 9' E. As the weather was frequently calm, Mr Banks went out in a small boat to shoot birds, among which were some albatrosses and sheer-waters. The albatrosses were observed to be larger than those which had been taken northward of the streight; one of them measured ten feet two inches from the tip of one wing to that of the other, when they were extended: The sheer-water, on the contrary, is less, and darker coloured on the back. The albatrosses we skinned, and having soaked them in salt water till the morning, we parboiled them, then throwing away the liquor, stewed them in a very little fresh water till they were tender, and had them served up with savoury sauce; thus dressed, the dish was universally commended, and we eat of it very heartily even when there was fresh pork upon the table.

From a variety of observations which were made with great care, it appeared probable in the highest degree, that, from the time of our leaving the land to the 13th of February, when we were in latitude 49 deg. 32', and longitude 90 deg. 37', we had no current to the west.

At this time we had advanced about 12 deg. to the westward, and 3 and 1/2 to the northward of the Streight of Magellan: Having been just three and thirty days in coming round the land of Terra del Fuego, or Cape Horn, from the east entrance of the streight to this situation. And though the doubling of Cape Horn is so much dreaded, that, in the general opinion, it is more eligible to pass through the Streight of Magellan, we were not once brought under our close reefed top sails after we left the Streight of Le Maire. The Dolphin in her last voyage, which she performed at the same season of the year with ours, was three months in getting through the Streight of Magellan, exclusive of the time that she lay in Port Famine; and I am persuaded, from the winds we had, that if we had come by that passage, we should not at this time have been in these seas; that our people would have been fatigued, and our anchors, cables, sails, and rigging much damaged; neither of which inconveniences we had now suffered. But supposing it more eligible to go round the cape, than through the Streight of Magellan, it may still be questioned, whether it is better to go through the Streight of Le Maire, or stand to the eastward, and go round to Staten Land. The advice given in the account of Lord Anson's voyage is, "That all ships bound to the South Seas, instead of passing through the Streight of Le Maire, should constantly pass to the eastward, of Staten Land, and should be invariably bent on running to the southward as far as the latitude of 61 or 62 degrees, before they endeavour to stand to the westward." But, in my opinion, different circumstances may at one time render it eligible to pass through the streight, and to keep to the eastward of Staten Land at another. If the land is fallen in with to the westward of the streight, and the wind is favourable for going through, I think it would be very injudicious to lose time by going round Staten Land, as I am confident that, by attending to the directions which I have given, the streight may be passed with the utmost safety and convenience: But if, on the contrary, the land is fallen in with to the eastward of the streight, and the wind should prove tempestuous or unfavourable, I think it would be best to go round Staten Land. But I cannot in any case concur in recommending the running into the latitude of 61 or 62, before any endeavour is made to stand to the westward. We found neither the current nor the storms which the running so far to the southward is supposed necessary to avoid; and indeed, as the winds almost constantly blow from that quarter, it is scarcely possible to pursue the advice. The navigator has no choice but to stand to the southward, close upon a wind, and by keeping upon that tack, he will not only make southing, but westing; and, if the wind varies towards the north or the west, his westing will be considerable. It will indeed be highly proper to make sure of a westing sufficient to double all the lands, before an attempt is made to stand to the northward, and to this every man's own prudence will of necessity direct him.[83]

We now began to have strong gales and heavy seas, with irregular intervals of calm and fine weather.

[Footnote 83: Captain Krusenstern gave the preference to weathering the island: "Although," says he, "the wind was very favourable for us to have passed through Streight Le Maire, I thought it better to sail round Staten Land, the violent currents in the streight being often very dangerous to shipping, as the experience of many navigators has shewn; and the advantages, on the contrary, but very trifling, since, the only wind which will carry you through it, soon brings you back the short distance to the westward, which you lose by steering an easterly course round Cape John."—E.]

SECTION VII.

The Sequel of the Passage from Cape Horn to the newly discovered Islands in the South Seas, with a Description of their Figure and Appearance; some Account of the Inhabitants, and several Incidents that happened during the Course, and at the Ship's Arrival among them.

On the 1st of March, we were in latitude 38 deg. 44' S. and longitude 110 deg. 33' W. both by observation and by the log. This agreement, after a run of 660 leagues, was thought to be very extraordinary; and is a demonstration, that after we left the land of Cape Horn we had no current that affected the ship. It renders it also highly probable, that we had been near no land of any considerable extent; for currents are always found when land is not remote, and sometimes, particularly on the east side of the continent in the North Sea, when land has been distant one hundred leagues.

Many birds, as usual, were constantly about the ship, so that Mr Banks killed no less than sixty-two in one day; and what is more remarkable, he caught two forest flies, both of them of the same species, but different from any that have hitherto been described; these probably belonged to the birds, and came with them from the land, which we judged to be at a great distance. Mr Banks also, about this time, found a large cuttle-fish, which had just been killed by the birds, floating in a mangled condition upon the water; it is very different from the cuttle-fishes that are found in the European seas; for its arms, instead of suckers, were furnished with a double row of very sharp talons, which resemble those of a cat, and, like them, were retractable into a sheath of skin, from which they might be thrust at pleasure. Of this cuttle-fish we made one of the best soups we had ever tasted.

The albatrosses now began to leave us, and after the 8th there was not one to be seen. We continued our course without any memorable event till the 24th, when some of the people who were upon the watch in the night reported that they saw a log of wood pass by the ship; and that the sea, which was rather rough, became suddenly as smooth as a mill-pond. It was a general opinion, that there was land to windward; but I did not think myself at liberty to search for what I was not sure to find; though I judged we were not far from the islands that were discovered by Quiros in 1606. Our latitude was 22 deg. 11' S. and longitude 127 deg. 55' W.[84]

[Footnote 84: Arrowsmith has laid down Ducies Island very near to this position. See his map of America.]

On the 25th, about noon, one of the marines, a young fellow about twenty, was placed as sentry at the cabin-door; while he was upon this duty, one of my servants was at the same place preparing to cut a piece of seal-skin into tobacco-pouches: He had promised one to several of the men, but had refused one to this young fellow, though he had asked him several times; upon which he jocularly threatened to steal one, if it should be in his power. It happened that the servant, being called hastily away, gave the skin in charge to the centinel, without regarding what had passed between them. The centinel immediately secured a piece of the skin, which the other missing at his return, grew angry; but, after some altercation; contented himself with taking it away, declaring, that, for so trifling an affair, he would not complain of him to the officers. But it happened that one of his fellow-soldiers, overhearing the dispute, came to the knowledge of what had happened, and told it to the rest; who, taking it into their heads to stand up for the honour of their corps, reproached the offender with great bitterness, and reviled him in the most opprobrious terms; they exaggerated his offence into a crime of the deepest dye; they said it was a theft by a centry when he was upon duty, and of a thing that had been committed to his trust; they declared it a disgrace to associate with him; and the serjeant, in particular, said, that, if the person from whom the skin had been stolen would not complain, he would complain himself; for that his honour would suffer if the offender was not punished. From the scoffs and reproaches of these men of honour, the poor young fellow retired to his hammock in an agony of confusion and shame. The serjeant soon after went to him, and ordered him to follow him to the deck. He obeyed without reply; but it being in the dusk of the evening, he slipped from the serjeant and went forward. He was seen by some of the people, who thought he was gone to the head; but a search being made for him afterwards, it was found that he had thrown himself overboard; and I was then first made acquainted with the theft and its circumstances. The loss of this man was the more regretted, as he was remarkably quiet and industrious.

On Tuesday the 4th of April, about ten o'clock in the morning, Mr Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, discovered land, bearing south, at the distance of about three or four leagues. I immediately hauled up for it, and found it to be an island of an oval form, with a lagoon in the middle, which occupied much the larger part of it; the border of land which circumscribes the lagoon is in many places very low and narrow, particularly on the south side, where it consists principally of a beach or reef of rocks: It has the same appearance also in three places on the north side; so that the firm land being disjoined, the whole looks like many islands covered with wood. On the west end of the island is a large tree, or clump of trees, that in appearance resembles a tower; and about the middle are two cocoa-nut trees, which rise above all the rest, and, as we came near to the island, appeared like a flag. We approached it on the north side, and though we came within a mile, we found no bottom with one hundred and thirty fathom of line, nor did there appear to be any anchorage about it. The whole is covered with trees of different verdure, but we could distinguish none, even with our glasses, except cocoa-nuts and palm-nuts. We saw several of the natives upon the shore, and counted four-and-twenty. They appeared to be tall, and to have heads remarkably large; perhaps they had something wound round them, which we could not distinguish; they were of a copper colour, and had long black hair. Eleven of them walked along the beach abreast of the ship, with poles or pikes in their hands, which reached twice as high as themselves. While they walked on the beach they seemed to be naked; but soon after they retired, which they did as soon as the ship had passed the island, they covered themselves with something that made them appear of a light colour. Their habitations were under some clumps of palm-nut trees, which at a distance appeared like high ground; and to us, who for a long time had seen nothing but water and sky, except the dreary hills of Terra del Fuego, these groves seemed a terrestrial paradise. To this spot, which lies in latitude 18 deg. 47' S. and longitude 139 deg. 28' W. we gave the name of Lagoon Island. The variation of the needle here is 2 deg. 54' E.

About one o'clock we made sail to the westward, and about half an hour after three we saw land again to the N.W. We got up with it at sun-set; and it proved to be a low woody island, of a circular form, and not much above a mile in compass. We discovered no inhabitants, nor could we distinguish any cocoa-nut trees, though we were within half a mile of the shore. The land, however, was covered with verdure of many hues. It lies in latitude 18 deg. 35' S. and longitude 139 deg. 48' W. and is distant from Lagoon Island, in the direction of N. 62 W. about seven leagues. We called it Thrumb-Cap. I discovered, by the appearance of the shore, that at this place it was low water; and I had observed at Lagoon Island, that it was either high-water, or that the sea neither ebbed nor flowed. I infer, therefore, that a S. by E. or S. moon makes high water.

We went on with a fine trade-wind and pleasant weather; and on the 5th, about three in the afternoon, we discovered land to the westward. It proved to be a low island, of much greater extent than either of those that we had seen before, being about ten or twelve leagues in compass. Several of us remained at the mast-head the whole evening, admiring its extraordinary figure. It was shaped exactly like a bow; the arch and cord of which were land, and the space between them water; the cord was a flat beach, without any signs of vegetation, having nothing upon it but heaps of sea-weed, which lay in different ridges, as higher or lower tides had left them. It appeared to be about three or four leagues long, and not more than two hundred yards wide: but as a horizontal plane is always seen in perspective, and greatly foreshortened, it is certainly much wider than it appeared: The horns, or extremities of the bow, were two large tufts of cocoa-nut trees; and much the greater part of the arch was covered with trees of different height, figure, and hue; in some parts, however, it was naked and low like the cord. Some of us thought they discovered openings through the cord into the pool or lake, that was included between that and the bow; but whether there were or were not such openings is uncertain. We sailed abreast of the low beach or bowstring, within less than a league of the shore, till sun-set, and we then judged ourselves to be about half-way between the two horns. Here we brought-to, and sounded, but found no bottom with one hundred and thirty fathom; and as it is dark almost instantly after sun-set in these latitudes, we suddenly lost sight of the land; and making sail again, before the line was well hauled in, we steered by the sound of the breakers, which were distinctly heard till we got clear of the coast.

We knew this island to be inhabited, by smoke which we saw in different parts of it, and we gave it the name of Bow Island. Mr Gore, my second lieutenant, said, after we had sailed by the island, that he had seen several of the natives, under the first clump of trees, from the deck; that he had distinguished their houses, and seen several canoes hauled up under the shade; but in this he was more fortunate than any other person on board. The east end of this island, which, from its figure, we called the Bow, lies in latitude 18 deg. 23' S. and longitude 141 deg. 12' W. We observed the variation of the compass to be 5 deg. 38' E.

On the next day, Thursday the 6th, about noon, we saw land again to the westward, and came up with it about three. It appeared to be two islands, or rather groups of islands, extending from N.W. by N. to S.E. by S. about nine leagues. Of these, the two largest were separated from each other by a channel of about half-a-mile broad, and were severally surrounded by smaller islands, to which they were joined by reefs that lay under water.

These islands were long narrow strips of land, ranging in all directions, some of them ten miles or upwards in length, but none more than a quarter of a mile broad, and upon all of them there were trees of various kinds, particularly the cocoa-nut. The south-eastermost of them lies in the latitude of 18 deg. 12' S. and longitude 142 deg. 42' W. and at the distance of twenty-five leagues in the direction of W.1/2 N. from the west end of Bow Island. We ranged along the S.W. side of this island, and hauled into a bay which lies to the N.W. of the southermost point of the Group, where there was a smooth sea, and the appearance of anchorage, without much surf on the shore. We sounded, but we found no bottom with one hundred fathom, at the distance of no more than three quarters of a mile from the beach, and I did not think it prudent to go nearer.

While this was doing, several of the inhabitants assembled upon the shore, and some came out in their canoes as far as the reefs, but would not pass them: When we saw this, we ranged, with an easy sail, along the shore; but just as we were passing the end of the island, six men, who had for some time kept abreast of the ship, suddenly launched two canoes with great quickness and dexterity, and three of them getting into each, they put off, as we imagined, with a design to come on board us; the ship was therefore brought-to, but they, like their fellows, stopped at the reef; we did not however immediately make sail, as we observed two messengers dispatched to them from the other canoes, which were of a much larger size: We perceived that these messengers made great expedition, wading and swimming along the reef; at length they met, and the men on board the canoes making no dispositions to pass the reef, after having received the message, we judged that they had resolved to come no farther. After waiting, therefore, some little time longer, we stood off; but when we were got about two or three miles from the shore, we perceived some of the natives following us in a canoe with a sail; we did not, however, think it worth while to wait for her, and though she had passed the reef, she soon after gave over the chace.