A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12 by Robert Kerr

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The natives continued abreast of the ship all night, making several
great fires, and frequently shouting very loud. As soon as it was light,
on Wednesday morning the 17th, we saw great numbers of them in motion,
who made signs for us to land. About five o'clock I made the signal for
the boats belonging to the Swallow and the Prince Frederick to come on
board, and in the meantime hoisted out our own. These boats being all
manned and armed, I took a party of marines, and rowed towards the
shore, having left orders with the master to bring the ship's broad-side
to bear upon the landing place, and to keep the guns loaded with round
shot. We reached the beach about six o'clock, and before we went from
the boat, I made signs to the natives to retire to some distance: They
immediately complied, and I then landed with the Captain of the Swallow,
and several of the officers: The marines were drawn up, and the boats
were brought to a grappling near the shore. I then made signs to the
natives to come near, and directed them to sit down in a semicircle,
which they did with great order and cheerfulness. When this was done, I
distributed among them several knives, scissars, buttons, beads, combs,
and other toys, particularly some ribbands to the women, which they
received with a very becoming mixture of pleasure and respect. Having
distributed my presents, I endeavoured to make them understand that I
had other things which I would part with, but for which I expected
somewhat in return. I shewed them some hatchets and bill-hooks, and
pointed to some guanicoes, which happened to be near, and some ostriches
which I saw dead among them; making signs at the same time I wanted to
eat; but they either could not, or would not understand me: For though
they seemed very desirous of the hatchets and the bill-hooks, they did
not give the least intimation that they would part with any provisions;
no traffic therefore was carried on between us.

Each of these people, both men and women, had a horse, with a decent
saddle, stirrups, and bridle. The men had wooden spurs, except one, who
had a large pair of such as are worn in Spain, brass stirrups, and a
Spanish scymitar, without a scabbard; but notwithstanding these
distinctions, he did not appear to have any authority over the rest; the
women had no spurs. The horses appeared to be well-made, and nimble, and
were about fourteen hands high. The people had also many dogs with them,
which, as well as the horses, appeared to be of a Spanish breed.

As I had two measuring rods with me, we went round and measured those
that appeared to be tallest among them. One of these was six feet six
inches high, several more were six feet five, and six feet six inches;
but the stature of the greater part of them was from five feet ten to
six feet. Their complexion is a dark copper-colour, like that of the
Indians in North America; their hair is straight, and nearly as harsh as
hog's bristles: It is tied back with a cotton string, but neither sex
wears any head-dress. They are well-made, robust, and bony; but their
hands and feet are remarkably small. They are clothed with the skins of
the guanico, sewed together into pieces about six feet long and five
wide: These are wrapped round the body, and fastened with a girdle, with
the hairy side inwards; some of them had also what the Spaniards have
called a _puncho_, a square piece of cloth made of the downy hair of the
guanico, through which a hole being cut for the head, the rest hangs
round them about as low as the knee. The guanico is an animal that in
size, make, and colour, resembles a deer, but it has a hump on its back,
and no horns. These people wear also a kind of drawers, which they pull
up very tight, and buskins, which reach from the mid-leg to the instep
before, and behind are brought under the heel; the rest of the foot is
without any covering. We observed that some of the men, had a circle
painted round the left eye, and that others were painted on their arms,
and on different parts of the face; the eye-lids of all the young women
were painted black. They talked much, and some of them called out
Ca-pi-ta-ne; but when they were spoken to in Spanish, Portuguese,
French, and Dutch, they made no reply. Of their own language we could
distinguish only one word, which was _chevow_: We supposed it to be a
salutation, as they always pronounced it when they shook hands with us,
and when, by signs, they asked us to give them any thing. When they were
spoken to in English, they repeated the words after us as plainly as we
could do; and they soon got by heart the words, "Englishmen come on
shore." Every one had a missile weapon of a singular kind, tucked into
the girdle. It consisted of two round stones, covered with leather, each
weighing about a pound, which were fastened to the two ends of a string
about eight feet long. This is used as a sling, one stone being kept in
the hand, and the other whirled round the head till it is supposed to
have acquired sufficient force, and then discharged at the object. They
are so expert in the management of this double-headed shot, that they
will hit a mark, not bigger than a shilling, with both the stones, at
the distance of fifteen yards; it is not their custom, however, to
strike either the guanico or the ostrich with them in the chase, but
they discharge them so that the cord comes against the legs of the
ostrich, or two of the legs of the guanico, and is twisted round them by
the force of the swing of the balls, so that the animal being unable to
run, becomes an easy prey to the hunter.

[Illustration: CHART of the SANDWICH ISLANDS]

While we stayed on shore, we saw them eat some of their flesh-meat raw,
particularly the paunch of an ostrich, without any other preparation or
cleaning than just turning it inside out, and shaking it. We observed
among them several beads, such as I gave them, and two pieces of red
baize, which we supposed had been left there, or in the neighbouring
country, by Commodore Byron.

After I had spent about four hours with these people, I made signs to
them that I was going on board, and that I would take some of them with
me if they were desirous to go. As soon as I had made myself understood,
above an hundred eagerly offered to visit the ship; but I did not chuse
to indulge more than eight of the number. They jumped into the boats
with the joy and alacrity of children going to a fair, and, having no
intention of mischief against us, had not the least suspicion that we
intended any mischief against them. They sung several of their country
songs while they were in the boat, and when they came on board did not
express either the curiosity or wonder which the multiplicity of
objects, to them equally strange and stupendous, that at once presented
themselves, might be supposed to excite. I took them down into the
cabin, where they looked about them with an unaccountable indifference,
till one of them happened to cast his eyes upon a looking-glass: This,
however, excited no more astonishment than the prodigies which offer
themselves to our imagination in a dream, when we converse with the
dead, fly in the air, and walk upon the sea, without reflecting that the
laws of nature are violated; but it afforded them infinite diversion:
They advanced, retreated, and played a thousand tricks before it,
laughing violently, and talking with great emphasis to each other. I
gave them some beef, pork, biscuit, and other articles of the ship's
provisions: They eat indiscriminately whatever was offered to them, but
they would drink nothing but water. From the cabin I carried them all
over the ship, but they looked at nothing with much attention, except
the animals which we had on board as live stock: They examined the hogs
and sheep with some curiosity, and were exceedingly delighted with the
Guinea hens and turkies; they did not seem to desire any thing that they
saw except our apparel, and only one of them, an old man, asked for
that: We gratified him with a pair of shoes and buckles, and to each of
the others I gave a canvass bag, in which I put some needles ready
threaded, a few slips of cloth, a knife, a pair of scissars, some twine,
a few beads, a comb, and a looking-glass, with some new sixpences and
half-pence, through which a hole had been drilled, that was fitted with
a ribband to hang round the neck. We offered them some leaves of
tobacco, rolled up into what are called segars, and they smoked a
little, but did not seem fond of it. I showed them the great guns, but
they did not appear to have any notion of their use. After I had carried
them through the ship, I ordered the marines to be drawn up, and go
through part of their exercise. When the first volley was fired, they
were struck with astonishment and terror; the old man, in particular,
threw himself down upon the deck, pointed to the muskets, and then
striking his breast with his hand, lay some time motionless, with his
eyes shut: By this we supposed he intended to shew us that he was not
unacquainted with fire-arms, and their fatal effect. The rest, seeing
our people merry, and finding themselves unhurt, soon resumed their
cheerfulness and good humour, and heard the second and third volley
fired without much emotion; but the old man continued prostrate upon the
deck some time, and never recovered his spirits till the firing was
over. About noon, the tide being out, I acquainted them by signs that
the ship was proceeding farther, and that they must go on shore: This I
soon perceived they were very unwilling to do; all, however, except the
old man and one more, were got into the boat without much difficulty;
but these stopped at the gang-way, where the old man turned about, and
went aft to the companion ladder, where he stood some time without
speaking a word; he then uttered what we supposed to be a prayer; for he
many times lifted up his hands and his eyes to the heavens, and spoke in
a manner and tone very different from what we had observed in their
conversation: His orison seemed to be rather sung than said, so that we
found it impossible to distinguish one word from another. When I again
intimated that it was proper for him to go into the boat, he pointed to
the sun, and then moving his hand round to the west, he paused, looked
in my face, laughed, and pointed to the shore: By this it was easy to
understand that he wished to stay on board till sunset, and I took no
little pains to convince him that we could not stay so long upon that
part of the coast, before he could be prevailed upon to go into the
boat; at length, however, he went over the ship's side with his
companion, and when the boat put off they all began to sing, and
continued their merriment till they got on shore. When they landed,
great numbers of those on shore pressed eagerly to get into the boat;
but the officer on board, having positive orders to bring none of them
off, prevented them, though not without great difficulty, and apparently
to their extreme mortification and disappointment.

When the boat returned on board, I sent her off again with the master,
to sound the shoal that runs off from the point: He found it about three
miles broad from north to south, and that to avoid it, it was necessary
to keep four miles off the cape, in twelve or thirteen fathom water.

SECTION II.

_The Passage through the Streight of Magellan, with some further Account
of the Patagonians, and a Description of the Coast on each side, and its
Inhabitants._

About one o'clock, on Wednesday the 17th of December, I made the signal
and weighed, ordering the Swallow to go a-head, and the store-ship to
bring up the rear. The wind was right against us, and blew fresh; so
that we were obliged to turn into the Streight of Magellan with the
flood-tide, between Cape Virgin Mary and the Sandy Point that resembles
Dungeness. When we got a-breast of this Point, we stood close into the
shore, where we saw two guanicoes, and many of the natives on horseback,
who seemed to be in pursuit of them: When the horsemen came near, they
ran up the country at a great rate, and were pursued by the hunters,
with their slings in their hands ready for the cast; but neither of them
was taken while they were within the reach of our sight.

When we got about two leagues to the west of Dungeness, and were
standing off shore, we fell in with a shoal upon which we had but seven
fathom water at half flood; This obliged us to make short tacks, and
keep continually heaving the lead. At half an hour after eight in the
evening, we anchored about three miles from the shore, in 20 fathom,
with a muddy bottom: Cape Virgin Mary then bearing N.E. by E. 1/2 E.;
Point Possession W. 1/2 S. at the distance of about five leagues.

About half an hour after we had cast anchor, the natives made several
large fires a-breast of the ship, and at break of day we saw about four
hundred of them encamped in a fine green valley, between two hills, with
their horses feeding beside them. About six o'clock in the morning, the
tide being done, we got again under sail: Its course here is from east
to west; it rises and falls thirty feet, and its strength is equal to
about three knots an hour. About noon there being little wind, and the
ebb running with great force, the Swallow, which was a-head, made the
signal and came to an anchor; upon which I did the same, and so did the
store-ship that was a-stern.

As we saw great numbers of the natives on horseback a-breast of the
ship, and as Captain Carteret informed me that this was the place where
Commodore Byron had the conference with the tall men, I sent the
lieutenants of the Swallow and the store-ship to the shore, but with
orders not to land, as the ships were at too great a distance to protect
them. When these gentlemen returned, they told me, that the boat having
lain upon her oars very near the beach, the natives came down in great
numbers; whom they knew to be the same persons they had seen the day
before, with many others, particularly women and children; that when
they perceived our people had no design to land, they seemed to be
greatly disappointed, and those who had been on board the ship waded off
to the boat, making signs for it to advance, and pronouncing the words
they had been taught, "Englishmen come on shore," very loud, many times;
that when they found they could not get the people to land, they would
fain have got into the boat, and that it was with great difficulty they
were prevented. That they presented them with some bread, tobacco, and a
few toys, pointing at the same time to some guanicoes and ostriches, and
making signs that they wanted them as provisions, but that they could
not make themselves understood; that finding they could obtain no
refreshment, they rowed along the shore in search of fresh water, but
that, seeing no appearance of a rivulet, they returned on board.

At six o'clock the next morning, we weighed, the Swallow being still
a-head, and at noon we anchored in Possession Bay, having twelve fathom,
with a clean sandy bottom. Point Possession at this time bore east,
distant three leagues; the Asses Ears west, and the entrance of the
Narrows S.W. 1/2 W.: The bottom of the bay, which was the nearest land
to the ship, was distant about three miles. We saw a great number of
Indians upon the Point, and at night, large fires on the Terra del Fuego
shore.

From this time, to the 22d, we had strong gales and heavy seas, so that
we got on but slowly; and we now anchored in 18 fathom, with a muddy
bottom. The Asses Ears bore N.W. by W. 1/2 W. Point Possession N.E. by
E. and the point of the Narrows, on the south side, S.S.W. distant
between three and four leagues. In this situation, our longitude, by
observation, was 70 deg. 20' W. latitude 52 deg. 30' S. The tide here sets S.E.
by S. and N.E. by N. at the rate of about three knots an hour; the water
rises four-and-twenty feet, and at this time it was high water at four
in the morning.

In the morning of the 23d, we made sail, turning to windward, but the
tide was so strong, that the Swallow was set one way, the Dolphin
another, and the store-ship a third: There was a fresh breeze, but not
one of the vessels would answer her helm. We had various soundings, and
saw the rippling in the middle ground: In these circumstances, sometimes
backing, sometimes filling, we entered the first Narrows. About six
o'clock in the evening, the tide being done, we anchored on the south
shore, in forty fathom with a sandy bottom; the Swallow anchored on the
north shore, and the store-ship not a cable's length from a sand-bank,
about two miles to the eastward. The streight here is only three miles
wide, and at midnight, the tide being slack, we weighed and towed the
ship through. A breeze sprung up soon afterwards, which continued till
seven in the morning, and then died away. We steered from the first
Narrows to the second S.W. and had nineteen fathom, with a muddy bottom.
At eight we anchored two leagues from the shore, in 24 fathom, Cape
Gregory bearing W. 1/2 N. and Sweepstakes Foreland S.W. 1/2 W. The tide
here ran seven knots an hour, and such _bores_ sometimes came down, with
immense quantities of weeds, that we expected every moment to be adrift.

The next day, being Christmas day, we sailed through the second Narrows.
In turning through this part of the Streight we had twelve fathom within
half a mile of the shore on each side, and in the middle seventeen
fathom, twenty-two fathom, and no ground. At five o'clock in the
evening, the ship suddenly shoaled from seventeen fathom to five, St
Bartholomew's island then bearing S. 1/2 W. distant between three and
four miles, and Elizabeth's Island S.S.W. 1/2 W. distant five or six
miles. About half an hour after eight o'clock, the weather being rainy
and tempestuous, we anchored under Elizabeth's island in twenty-four
fathom, with hard gravelly ground. Upon this island we found great
quantities of celery, which, by the direction of the surgeon, was given
to the people, with boiled wheat and portable soup, for breakfast every
morning. Some of the officers who went a-shore with their guns, saw two
small dogs, and several places where fires had been recently made, with
many fresh shells of mussels and limpets lying about them: They saw
also several wigwams or huts, consisting of young trees, which, being
sharpened at one end, and thrust into the ground in a circular form, the
other ends were brought to meet, and fastened together at the top; but
they saw none of the natives.

From this place we saw many high mountains, bearing from S. to W.S.W.;
several parts of the summits were covered with snow, though it was the
midst of summer in this part of the world: They were clothed with wood
about three parts of their height, and above with herbage, except where
the snow was not yet melted. This was the first place where we had seen
wood in all South America.

At two o'clock in the morning of the 26th, we weighed, and, having a
fair wind, were a-breast of the north end of Elizabeth's Island at
three: At half an hour after five, being about mid-way between
Elizabeth's Island and St George's Island, we suddenly shoaled our water
from seventeen fathom to six: We struck the ground once, but the next
cast had no bottom with twenty fathom. When we were upon this shoal,
Cape Porpoise bore W.S.W. 1/2 W. the south end of Elizabeth's island
W.N.W. 1/2 W. distant three leagues; the south end of Saint George's
Island N.E. distant four leagues. The store-ship, which was about half a
league to the southward of us, had once no more than four fathom, and
for a considerable time not seven; the Swallow, which was three or four
miles, to the southward, bad deep water, for she kept near to St
George's Island. In my opinion it is safest to run down from the north
end of Elizabeth's Island, about two or three miles from the shore, and
so on all the way to Port Famine. At noon a low point bore E. 1/2 N.;
Fresh-water Bay S.W. 1/2 W. At this time we were about three miles
distant from the north shore, and had no ground with eighty fathom. Our
longitude, by observation, which was made over the shoal, was 71 deg. 20' W.
our latitude 53 deg. 12' S.

About four o'clock we anchored in Port Famine Bay, in thirteen fathom,
and there being little wind, sent all the boats, and towed in the
Swallow and Prince Frederick.

The next morning, the weather being squally, we warped the ship farther
into the harbour, and moored her with a cable each way in nine fathom. I
then sent a party of men to pitch two large tents in the bottom of the
bay, for the sick, the wooders, and the sail-makers, who were soon after
sent on shore, with the surgeon, the gunner, and some midshipmen. Cape
St Anne now bore N.E. by E. distant three quarters of a mile, and Sedger
river S. 1/2 W.

On the 28th we unbent all the sails, and sent them on shore to be
repaired, erected tents upon the banks of Sedger river, and sent all the
empty casks on shore, with the coopers to trim them, and a mate and ten
men to wash and fill them. We also hauled the seine, and caught fish in
great plenty: Some of them resembled a mullet, but the flesh was very
soft; and among them were a few smelts, some of which were twenty inches
long, and weighed four-and-twenty ounces.

During our whole stay in this place we caught fish enough to furnish one
meal a day both for the sick and the well: We found also great plenty of
celery and pea-tops, which were boiled with the pease and portable soup.
Besides these, we gathered great quantities of fruit that resembled the
cranberry, and the leaves of a shrub somewhat like our thorn, which were
remarkably sour. When we arrived, all our people began to look pale and
meagre; many had the scurvy to a great degree, and upon others there
were manifest signs of its approach; yet in a fortnight there was not a
scorbutic person in either of the ships. Their recovery was effected by
their being on shore, eating plenty of vegetables, being obliged to wash
their apparel, and keep their persons clean by daily bathing in the sea.

The next day we set up the forge on shore; and from this time, the
armourers, carpenters, and the rest of the people, were employed in
refitting the ship, and making her ready for the sea.

In the mean time a considerable quantity of wood was cut, and put on
board the store-ship, to be sent to Falkland's Island; and as I well
knew there was no wood growing there, I caused some thousands of young
trees to be carefully taken up with their roots, and a proper quantity
of earth; and, packing them in the best manner I could, I put them also
on board the store-ship, with orders to deliver them to the commanding
officer at Port Egmont, and to sail for that place with the first fair
wind, putting on board two of my seamen, who, being in an ill state of
health when they first came on board, were now altogether unfit to
proceed in the voyage.

On Wednesday the 14th of January we got all our people and tents on
board; having taken in seventy-five tons of water from the shore, and
twelve months provisions of all kinds, at whole allowance for ourselves,
and ten months for the Swallow, from on board the store-ship, I sent the
master in the cutter, which was victualled for a week, to look out for
anchoring-places on the north shore of the streight.

After several attempts to sail, the weather obliged us to continue in
our old station till Saturday the 17th, when the Prince Frederick
victualler sailed for Falkland's Island, and the master returned from
his expedition. The master reported that he had found four places in
which there was good anchorage, between the place were we lay and Cape
Froward: That he had been on shore at several places, where he had found
plenty of wood and water close to the beach, with abundance of
cranberries and wild celery. He reported also, that he had seen a great
number of currant bushes full of fruit, though none of it was ripe, and
a great variety of beautiful shrubs in full blossom, bearing flowers of
different colours, particularly red, purple, yellow, and white, besides
great plenty of the Winter's bark, a grateful spice which is well known
to the botanists of Europe. He shot several wild ducks, geese, gulls, a
hawk, and two or three of the birds which the sailors call a race-horse.

At five o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 18th we made sail, and at
noon, being about two miles from the shore, Cape Froward bore N. by E. a
bluff point N.N.W. and Cape Holland W. 1/2 S. Our latitude at this
place, by observation, was 54 deg. 3' S. and we found the streight to be
about six miles wide. Soon after I sent a boat into Snug Bay, to lie at
the anchoring-place, but the wind coming from the land, I stood off
again all night; and at a mile from the shore we had no ground with 140
fathom.

In the morning of Monday the 19th, the Swallow having made the signal
for anchoring under Cape Holland, we ran in, and anchored in ten fathom,
with a clear sandy bottom. Upon sending the boats out to sound, we
discovered that we were very near a reef of rocks; we therefore tripped
the anchor, and dropped farther out, where we had twelve fathom, and
were about half a mile from the shore, just opposite to a large stream
of water, which falls with great rapidity from the mountains, for the
land here is of a stupendous height. Cape Holland bore W.S.W. 1/2 W.
distant two miles, and Cape Froward E. Our latitude, by observation, was
53 deg. 58' S.