o entirely naked, living in the woods like satyrs, painted and
disguised in a strange manner, and fled from us like so many wild deer.
They were very strong and agile, and threw stones at us, of three or
four pounds weight, from an incredible distance. We departed from this
cove on the 24th in the morning, and came that same day into the N.W.
reach of the straits, which is its last or most western reach. On the
25th we anchored in a good cove, within fourteen leagues of the South
Sea, where we proposed to await the return of our general, as the strait
at this place is only three miles broad, and he could not possibly pass
unseen.

After we had remained here a fortnight, in the depth of winter, our
victuals fast consuming, and our salted seals stinking most vilely, our
men fell sick and died pitifully, through famine and cold, as most of
them had not clothes sufficient to defend them from the extreme rigour
of winter. In this heavy distress, our captain and master thought it
best to depart from the straits into the South Sea, and to proceed for
the island of Santa Maria in lat. 37 deg. S. on the coast of Chili, which is
situated in a temperate climate, where we might find relief, and could
wait for our general, who must necessarily pass by that island. We
accordingly set sail on the 13th September, and came in sight of the
South Sea. The 14th we were driven back into the straits, and got into a
cove three leagues from the South Sea. We again stood out, and being
eight or ten leagues free of the land, the wind rose furiously at W.N.W.
and we were again forced to return into the straits, not daring to trust
to our sails in any stress of weather. We again got into the cove,
three leagues from the eastern mouth of the straits, where we had such
violent weather that one of our two remaining cables broke, and we were
almost in despair of saving our lives. Yet it pleased God to allay the
fury of the storm, and we unreeved our sheets, tacks, halyards, and
other ropes, and made fast our ship to the trees on shore, close by the
rocks. We laboured hard to recover our anchor again, which we could not
possibly effect, being, as we supposed, entirely covered over in the
ooze.

We were now reduced to one anchor, which had only one whole fluke; and
had only one old cable, already spliced in two places, and a piece of
another old cable. In this extremity of trouble it pleased God that the
wind came fair on the 1st October, on which we l