Leaving That Place On The 22d, They Found A Good
River Two Leagues Farther On, Up Which A Boat Was
Towed for three miles.
The country about this river was pleasant and level, but all the other
land on both
Sides of the straits was rugged, mountainous, and rocky,
inhabited by a strong and well-made, but very brutish kind of savages,
who are said to have eaten many of the Spaniards, and seemed much
disposed to have feasted also on English flesh; but they failed in their
attempts to circumvent them. Discovering a plot laid by these savages to
entrap him and his men, Candish gave them a volley of musquetry, which
slew several of them, and the rest ran away.
Leaving this river, they sailed two leagues farther, to an inlet named
St Jerome's channel; whence, proceeding three or four leagues W. they
came to a cape to the northward, whence the course to the western
entrance of the straits is N.W. and N.W. by W. for about thirty-four
leagues; so that the entire length of these straits is ninety leagues.
This western entrance is in lat. 52 deg. 40' S. nearly under the same
parallel with the eastern mouth. In consequence of storms and excessive
rains, they were forced to remain in a harbour near this western mouth
of the straits till the 23d of February. By the excessive rains, pouring
down with extreme fury in torrents from the mountains, they were brought
into extreme danger; and were also much distressed for want of food, as
the excessive severity of the weather hardly permitted their landing,
to range the country in search of a supply In their passage through
these straits, it was observed that there were harbours on both shores,
at every mile or two, tolerably safe and convenient for small ships.
SECTION II.
Transactions on the Western Coast of America.
The weather moderating, they entered into the great South Sea, or
Pacific Ocean, on the 24th February, 1587, observing on the south side
of the entrance a very high cape, with an adjoining low point; while, at
the northern side of the entrance there were four or five islands, six
leagues from the main land, having much broken and sunken ground among
and around them. In the night of the 1st March, there arose a great
storm, in which they lost sight of the Hugh Gallant, being then in lat.
49 deg. S. and forty-five leagues from the land. This storm lasted three or
four days, in which time the Hugh sprung a leak, and was tossed about in
this unknown sea, devoid of all help, being every moment ready to sink.
By great exertions, however, she was kept afloat; and on the 15th, in
the morning, she got in between the island of St Mary and the main,
where she again met the admiral and the Content, which two ships had
secured themselves during two days of the storm, at the island of Mocha,
in lat.
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