It Lies S.S.E. 1/2 E. Distant Seventeen Leagues From
The Isle Of Landfall.
The coast between them forms two bays, strewed with
rocky islets, rocks, and breakers.
The coast appeared very broken with many
inlets; or rather it seemed to be composed of a number of islands. The land
is very mountainous, rocky, and barren, spotted here and there with tufts
of wood, and patches of snow. At noon Cape Gloucester bore north, distant
eight miles, and the most advanced point of land to the S.E., which we
judged to be Cape Noir, bore S.E. by S., distant seven or eight leagues.
Latitude observed 54 deg. 13' S. Longitude, made from Cape Deseada, 54' E. From
Cape Gloucester, off which lies a small rocky island, the direction of the
coast is nearly S.E.; but to Cape Noir, for which we steered, the course is
S.S.E., distant about ten leagues.
At three o'clock we passed Cape Noir, which is a steep rock of considerable
height, and the S.W. point of a large island that seemed to lie detached, a
league, or a league and a half, from the main land. The land of the cape,
when at a distance from it, appeared to be an island disjoined from the
other; but, on a nearer approach, we found it connected by a low neck of
land. At the point of the cape are two rocks; the one peaked like a sugar-
loaf, the other not so high, and shewing a rounder surface; and S. by E.,
two leagues from the cape, are two other rocky islets. This cape is
situated in the latitude of 54 deg. 30' S., longitude 73 deg. 33' W.
After passing the two islets, we steered E.S.E., crossing the great bay of
St Barbara. We but just saw the land in the bottom of it, which could not
be less than seven or eight leagues from us. There was a space, lying in
the direction of E.N.E. from Cape Noir, where no land was to be seen: this
may be the channel of St Barbara, which opens into the straits of
Magalhaens, as mentioned by Frezier. We found the cape to agree very well
with his description, which shews that he laid down the channel from good
memoirs. At ten o'clock, drawing near the S.E. point of the bay, which,
lies nearly in the direction of S. 60 deg. E. from Cape Noir, eighteen leagues
distant, we shortened sail, and spent the night standing off and on.
At two o'clock in the morning of the 19th, having made sail, we steered
S.E. by E. along the coast, and soon passed the S.E. point of the bay of St
Barbara, which I called Cape Desolation, because near it commenced the most
desolate and barren country I ever saw. It is situated in the latitude of
54 deg. 55' S., longitude 72 deg. 12' W. About four leagues to the east of this
cape is a deep inlet, at the entrance of which lies a pretty large island,
and some others of less note. Nearly in this situation some charts place a
channel leading into the straits of Magalhaens, under the name of straits
of Jelouzel. At ten o'clock, being about a league and a half from the land,
we sounded, and found sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones and
shells.
The wind, which had been fresh at N. by W., began to abate, and at noon it
fell calm, when we observed in latitude 55 deg. 20' S., longitude made from
Cape Deseada 3 deg. 24' E. In this situation we were about three leagues from
the nearest shore, which was that of an island. This I named Gilbert Isle,
after my master. It is nearly of the same height with the rest of the
coast, and shews a surface composed of several peaked rocks unequally high.
A little to the S.E. of it are some smaller islands, and, without them,
breakers.
I have before observed that this is the most desolate coast I ever saw. It
seems entirely composed of rocky mountains without the least appearance of
vegetation. These mountains terminate in horrible precipices, whose craggy
summits spire up to a vast height, so that hardly any thing in nature can
appear with a more barren and savage aspect than the whole of this country.
The inland mountains were covered with snow, but those on the sea-coast
were not. We judged the former to belong to the main of Terra del Fuego,
and the latter to be islands, so ranged as apparently to form a coast.
After three hours calm we got a breeze at S.E. by E., and having made a
short trip to south, stood in for the land; the most advanced point of
which, that we had in sight, bore east, distant ten leagues. This is a
lofty promontory, lying E.S.E, nineteen leagues from Gilbert isle, and
situated in latitude 55 deg. 26' S, longitude 70 deg. 25' W. Viewed from the
situation we now were in, it terminated in two high towers; and, within
them, a hill shaped like a sugar-loaf. This wild rock, therefore, obtained
the name of York Minster. Two leagues to the westward of this head appeared
a large inlet, the west point of which we fetched in with by nine o'clock,
when we tacked in forty-one fathoms water, half a league from the shore; to
the westward of this inlet was another, with several islands lying in the
entrance.
During the night between the 19th and 20th we had little wind easterly,
which in the morning veered to N.E. and N.N.E., but it was too faint to be
of use; and at ten we had a calm, when we observed the ship to drive from
off the shore out to sea. We had made the same observation the day before.
This must have been occasioned by a current; and the melting of the snow
increasing, the inland waters will cause a stream to run out of most of
these inlets.
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