This must have been a Narvai, or Narwhal, the Monodon
Monoceros, Licorne, or Unicornu Marinum, of naturalists, called likewise
the Unicorn Fish, or Sea Unicorn.
- E.]
On the 25th of October, when no person knew whereabouts they were except
Schouten, the company was informed that the design of the voyage was to
endeavour to discover a new southern passage into the South Sea; and the
people appeared well pleased, expecting to discover some new golden
country to make amends for all their trouble and danger. The 26th they
were in lat. 6 deg. 25' S. and continued their course mostly to the south
all the rest of that month, till they were in lat 10 deg. 30' S. The 1st
September they had the sun at noon to the north; and in the afternoon
of the 3d they had sight of the isle of Ascension, in 20 deg. S. otherwise
called the island of Martin Vaz, where the compass was observed to vary
12 deg. to the east of north. The 21st, in lat. 38 deg. S. the compass varied
17 deg. in the same eastern direction. The 6th December, they got sight of
the mainland of South America, appearing rather flat, and of a white
colour, and quickly after fell in with the north head-land of Port
Desire, anchoring that night in ten fathoms water with the ebb-tide,
within a league and a half of the shore. Next day, resuming their course
southwards, they came into Port Desire at noon, in lat. 47 deg. 40' S. They
had very deep water at the entrance, where they did not observe any of
the cliffs which were described by Van Noort, as left by him to the
northward on sailing into this haven, all the cliffs they saw being on
the south side of the entrance, which therefore might be those mentioned
by Van Noort, and misplaced in his narrative by mistake.
In consequence of this error, they overpassed Port Desire to the south,
so as to miss the right channel, and came into a crooked channel, where
they had four and a half fathoms water at full sea, and only fourteen
feet at low water. By this means the Unity got fast aground by the
stern, and had infallibly been lost, if a brisk gale had blown from the
N.E. But as the wind blew west from the land, she got off again without
damage. Here they found vast quantities of eggs upon the cliffs; and the
bay afforded them great abundance of muscles, and smelts sixteen inches
long, for which reason they called it Smelt Bay. From this place they
sent a pinnace to the Penguin Islands, which brought back 150 of these
birds, and two sea lions.
Leaving Smelt Bay on the 8th December, they made sail for Port Desire, a
boat going before to sound the depth of the channel, which was twelve
and thirteen fathoms, so that they sailed in boldly, having a fair wind
at N.E. After going in little more than a league, the wind began to veer
about, and they cast anchor in twenty fathoms; but the ground,
consisting entirely of slippery stones, and the wind now blowing strong
at N.W. they drifted to the south shore, where both ships had nearly
been wrecked. The Unity lay with her side to the cliffs, yet still kept
afloat, and gradually slid down towards the deep water as the tide fell.
But the Horn stuck fast aground, so that at last her keel was above a
fathom out of the water, and a man might have walked under it at low
water. For some time, the N.W. wind blowing hard on one side, kept her
from falling over; but, that dying away, she at length fell over on her
bends, when she was given over for lost; but next flood, coming on with
calm weather, righted her again. 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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 70 of 221
Words from 70482 to 71492
of 224764
