on of E.N.E. from Cape Noir, where no land was to be seen: this
may be the channel of St Barbara, which opens into the straits of
Magalhaens, as mentioned by Frezier. We found the cape to agree very well
with his description, which shews that he laid down the channel from good
memoirs. At ten o'clock, drawing near the S.E. point of the bay, which,
lies nearly in the direction of S. 60 deg. E. from Cape Noir, eighteen leagues
distant, we shortened sail, and spent the night standing off and on.

At two o'clock in the morning of the 19th, having made sail, we steered
S.E. by E. along the coast, and soon passed the S.E. point of the bay of St
Barbara, which I called Cape Desolation, because near it commenced the most
desolate and barren country I ever saw. It is situated in the latitude of
54 deg. 55' S., longitude 72 deg. 12' W. About four leagues to the east of this
cape is a deep inlet, at the entrance of which lies a pretty large island,
and some others of less note. Nearly in this situation some charts place a
channel leading into the straits of Magalhaens, under the name of straits
of Jelouzel. At ten o'clock, being about a league and a half from the land,
we sounded, and found sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones and
shells.

The wind, which had been fresh at N. by W., began to abate, and at noon it
fell calm, when we observed in latitude 55 deg. 20' S., longitude made from
Cape Deseada 3 deg. 24' E. In this situation we were about three leagues from
the nearest shore, which was that of an island. This I named Gilbert Isle,
after my master. It is nearly of the same height with the rest of the
coast, and shews a surface composed of several peaked rocks unequally high.
A little to the S.E. of it are some smaller islands, and, without them,
breakers.

I have before observed that this is the most desolate coast I ever saw. It
seems entirely composed of rocky mountains without the least appearance of
vegetation. These mountains terminate in horrible precipices, whose craggy
summits spire up to a vast height, so that hardly any thing in nature can
appear with a more barren and savage aspect than the whole of this country.
The inland mountains were covered with snow, but those on the sea-coast
were not. We judged the former to belong to the main of Terra del Fuego,
and the latter to be islands, so ranged as apparently to form a coast.

After three hours calm we got a breeze at S.E. by E., and having made a
short