Having Escaped This Imminent Danger,
Both Ships Went Farther Up The River On The 9th, And Came To King's
Island,
Which they found full of black sea-mews, and almost entirely
covered with their eggs; so that a man without
Moving from one spot
might reach fifty or sixty nests with his hands, having three or four
eggs in each. They here accordingly were amply provided with eggs, and
laid in several thousands of them for sea store.
The 11th the boats were sent down the river in search of fresh water, on
the south side, but found it all brackish and unpleasant. They saw
ostriches here, and a sort of beasts like harts, having wonderfully long
necks, and extremely wild. Upon the high hills, they found great heaps
of stones, under which some monstrous carcass had been buried, some of
the bones being ten or eleven feet long, which, if having belonged to
rational creatures, must have been the bones of giants.[105] They here
had plenty of good fish and fowls, but no water could be found for some
days.
[Footnote 105: Giants indeed; for thigh bones of ten or eleven feet
long, and these are the longest in the human body, would argue men of
thirty-one feet high! - E.]
On the 17th December, the Unity was laid ashore on King's island, in
order to clean her bottom, and next day the Horn was hauled on shore for
the same purpose, but providentially at the distance of about 200 yards
from her consort: For, on the 19th, while burning a fire of dry reeds
under the Horn, which was necessary for the object in view, the flame
caught hold of the ship, and they were forced to see her burn without
being able to do any thing to extinguish the fire, as they were at least
fifty feet from the water side. They launched the Unity at high water on
the 20th, and next day carried on board all the iron-work, anchors,
cannon, and whatever else they had been able to save belonging to the
Horn.
On the 25th some holes full of fresh water were found, which was white
and muddy, yet well tasted, and of which a great quantity was carried
on board, in small casks on the men's shoulders. At this place, they
found great numbers of sea lions, the young of which are good to eat.
This creature is nearly as big as a small horse, their heads resembling
lions, and the males having long manes on their necks of tough coarse
hair; but the females have no manes, and are only half as large as the
males. They are a bold and fierce animal, and only to be destroyed by
musket shot.
January 18th, 1616, they departed from Port Desire: and on the 18th,
being in lat. 51 deg. S they saw the Sebaldine [or Faulkland] islands, as
laid down by de Weert. The 20th, being in lat. 53 deg. S. and by estimation
twenty leagues to the South of the Straits of Magellan, they observed a
strong current running to the S.W. The 22d the wind was uncertain, and
shifting, and the water had a white appearance, as if they had been
within the land; and holding on their course, S. by W. they saw land
that same day, bearing from them W. and W.S.W. and quickly afterwards
saw other land to the south.
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