rength of the
squadron; for three days before this we lost sight of the Severn and the
Pearl in the morning; and though we spread our ships, and beat about for
some time, yet we never saw them more; whence we had apprehensions that
they too might have fallen in with this land in the night, and, being
less favoured by the wind and the moon than we were, might have run on
shore and have perished.

After the mortifying disappointment of falling in with the coast of
Tierra del Fuego, when we esteemed ourselves 10 degrees to the westward
of it, we stood away to the south-west till the 22nd of April, when we
were in upwards of 60 degrees south, and by our account near 6 degrees to
the westward of Cape Noir.* And in this run we had a series of as
favourable weather as could well be expected in that part of the world,
even in a better season; so that this interval, setting the inquietude of
our thoughts aside, was by far the most eligible of any we enjoyed from
Straits le Maire to the west coast of America. This moderate weather
continued with little variation till the 24th; but on the 24th in the
evening the wind began to blow fresh, and soon increased to a prodigious
storm; and the weather being extremely thick, about midnight we lost
sight of the other ships of the squadron, which, notwithstanding the
violence of the preceding storms, had hitherto kept in company with us.

(*Note. Part of Tierra del Fuego near the southern outlet of the Straits
of Magellan.)

On the 25th, about noon, the weather became more moderate, but still we
had no sight of the rest of the squadron, nor indeed were we joined by
any of them again till after our arrival at Juan Fernandez, nor did any
two of them, as we have since learned, continue in company together.

The remaining part of this month of April we had generally hard gales,
although we had been every day since the 22nd edging to the northward.
However, on the last day of the month we flattered ourselves with the
hopes of soon terminating all our sufferings, for we that day found
ourselves in the latitude of 52 degrees 13 minutes, which, being to the
northward of the Straits of Magellan we were assured that we had
completed our passage, and had arrived in the confines of the Southern
Ocean; and this ocean being nominated Pacific,* from the equability of
the seasons which are said to prevail there, and the facility and
security with which navigation is there carried on, we doubted not but