Sailing from Port Desire, the voyagers brought up off another island three leagues away from it, where they salted and dried the penguins they had taken. They now stood on in sight of land, until on the 6th of January they entered the Straits of Magellan. Here the squadron anchored near the first narrow or _angostura_, as the Spaniards called it. Soon afterwards lights were seen on the northern shore, which, as they were supposed to be signals, were answered from the ships. In the morning Cavendish sent off a boat towards the beach, where three men were seen making signals with a handkerchief. They were soon perceived to be Spaniards, who had fancied that the ships were manned by their countrymen; and great was their disappointment when they found out their mistake. Their history was a sad one. They were part of a colony which sailed from Spain in twenty-three large ships, carrying three thousand five hundred men, under the command of Don Pedro Sarmiento, with the title of Viceroy, it being the intention of the Spanish Government to found towns and erect forts on the shores of the narrowest part of the straits, so as to prevent the English or other nations from passing through them. The greater number of vessels had been wrecked or had turned back, but Pedro Sarmiento at length arrived at the straits in February, 1584, where he landed the colonists, and the foundations of two towns named Nombre de Jesus and San Felipe were laid, situated about seventy miles apart. The Viceroy himself was driven away by stress of weather, and Rivera, one of his officers, with the larger portion of the provisions intended to support the colonists during the winter, sailed for Spain. The unhappy settlers were thus left without food in that dreary region, to endure the inclemency of the winter. Numbers died of famine and cold. Month after month wore by. At length the settlers at Nombre de Jesus built two small barks, hoping to make their way to Brazil, but before they cleared the straits one was wrecked, and the survivors in the other vessel abandoned their project in despair. Of four hundred men and thirty women who had formed the inhabitants of San Felipe, only fifteen men and three women were alive when Cavendish discovered them. Cavendish at once undertook to convey them to Peru. After some demur, they agreed to accept his liberal offer, and sent a messenger, Tome Hernandez, to express their willingness to come on board. Just at this juncture a strong easterly gale springing up, the vessels were compelled to weigh and run before it, and the hapless colonists were left to their miserable fate. It was hopeless for Cavendish to try and turn back to their relief. As the vessel sped on, Hernandez showed them the wreck of a small bark called the _John Thomas_, which it was supposed had been left there by Drake.