y got close up to the north shore of the
eastern land they had seen, to which they gave the name of Staten Land,
in honour of the States of Holland.

The wind being favourable, they now stood through the Straits. On both
sides they observed sandy bays and good roadsteads, but the shores were
bare of trees and shrubs. There were, however, abundance of fish,
porpoises, penguins, and other birds. To the land on the starboard side
they gave the name of Maurice Land, being a part of Terra del Fuego.
The wind being north, they stood briskly on, steering west-south-west,
but again shifting to south-west, they were compelled to steer south.

They now met with long high waves, which rolled on in slow succession,
while the water appeared to be unusually blue, evident signs, as they
considered, that the great South Sea was before them, and that they had
made their way into it by a passage of their own discovering. Numbers
of seamews, or rather of albatrosses, larger than swans, their wings
when extended measuring six feet from tip to tip, came circling round
the ship, and even alighted on board, being so tame as to allow
themselves to be taken by the hand without even attempting to escape.
The wind was generally favourable, but with storms of rain and snow, the
sea running very high. As they steered south-west they saw land to the
north-west and north-north-west, the lofty snow-capped mountains of
Terra del Fuego. At length they came off a sharp point, the most
southern extremity of that land, to which they gave the name of Cape
Horn, in compliment to the port from which they had sailed.

Theirs were the first human eyes probably which had ever closely viewed
that now well-known promontory, although Drake may possibly have seen it
at a distance when scudding before the gale which drove the
sorely-battered _Golden Hind_ out of her course.

Having kept a bright look-out in all directions, and having seen no land
to the southward, they were now thoroughly convinced that they had
doubled the extreme end of the continent of South America, or rather of
the islands which lie off it.

Altering their course to the northward, they, on the 12th of February,
had attained the parallel of the western end of the Straits of Magellan,
and returning thanks to Heaven for their happy discovery, they
commemorated the event by a cup of wine, which was handed three times
round the ship's company. The officers, holding a consultation, agreed