A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10: Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10: Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
From thence they proceeded to the latitude of 39° S. where they
anchored. They here left two of their ships behind them, and continued
on with four only, that which had formerly belonged to Nuno being one of
these. They next came into a bay, in lat. 49° S. called _Bahia de las
Ilhas_, or the Bay of Islands, where Magellan is said to have wintered
with his ships, when he went to discover the straits which now bear his
name. They entered this bay on the 20th June, and anchored within
musket-shot of the shore. They here found Indians cloathed in skins,
their legs downwards from the knees, and their arms below the elbows,
being naked. These Indians were a subtle, great, and well-formed race,
strong, and tall in stature, being armed with bows and arrows. Six of
the English going here on shore to fetch water, four of the Indians came
into their boat before they landed, to whom the Englishmen gave bread
and wine; after eating and drinking of which heartily they went on
shore, and when at some distance, one of them cried to them, and said,
_Magallanes! este he minha terra_; that is, Magellan, this is my
country. Being followed by the sailors, they slew two of them with their
arrows; one of whom was an Englishman, and the other a Hollander; on
which the others made their escape to the boat, and put off from the
shore.
Leaving this place on the 17th of August, they came to the mouth of the
straits on the 21st or 22d, but did not enter them till the 24th, owing
to the wind being contrary. The entry into the straits is about a league
in breadth, both sides being naked flat land. Some Indians were seen on
the north side, making great fires; but none appeared on the south side
of the straits. This strait is about 110 leagues long, and a league in
breadth; and for about half-way through, is straight and without
turnings; from thence, to about eight or ten leagues from the farther
end, it has some capes and turnings, at one of which there is a great
cape or head-land, which seems as if it went down to join the southern
land; and here the passage is less than a league across, after which it
again runs straight. Although there are thus some crooks and turnings,
none of them are of any importance, or any dangerous obstacle. The
western issue of these straits, about eight or ten leagues before coming
out, begins to grow broader, and is then all high-land on both sides to
the end; as likewise all the way, after getting eight leagues in from
the eastern entrance, the shores along these first eight leagues being
low. In the entry to the straits, we found the stream to run from the
South Sea to the North Sea, or Atlantic.
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