Fuego which lies near Cape Horn.
As the sea now rose every moment, I was afraid or being caught here upon
a lee-shore, in which case there would have been very little chance of
my getting off, and therefore I tacked, and stood to the northward; the
latitude of the southermost point in sight being about 52 deg.3' S. As we
had now run no less than seventy leagues along the coast of this island,
it must certainly be of very considerable extent. It has been said by
some former navigators to be about two hundred miles in circumference,
but I made no doubt of its being nearer seven. Having hauled the wind, I
stood to the northward about noon; the entrance of Berkeley's Sound at
three o'clock bore S.W. by W. distant about six leagues. At eight in the
evening, the wind shifting to the S.W. we stood to the westward.

SECTION VI.

_The Passage through the Strait of Magellan as far as Cape Monday, with
a Description of several Bays and Harbours, formed by the Coast on each
Side._

We continued to make sail for Port Desire till Wednesday the 6th of
February, when about one o'clock in the afternoon we saw land, and stood
in for the port. During the run from Falkland's Islands to this place,
the number of whales about the ship was so great as to render the
navigation dangerous; we were very near striking upon one, and another
blew the water in upon the quarter-deck; they were much larger than any
we had seen. As we were standing in for Port Desire, we saw the Florida,
a store-ship that we expected from England; and at four we came to an
anchor off the harbour's mouth.

The next morning, Mr Dean, the master of the store-ship, came on board;
and finding from his report that his foremast was sprung, and his ship
little better than a wreck, I determined to go into the harbour, and try
to unload her there, although the narrowness of the place, and the
rapidity of the tides, render it a very dangerous situation. We got in
in the evening, but it blowing very hard in the night, both the Tamar
and the store-ship made signals of distress; I immediately sent my boats
to their assistance, who found that; notwithstanding they were moored,
they had been driven up the harbour, and were in the greatest danger of
being on shore. They were brought back, not without great difficulty,
and the very next night they drove again, and were again saved by the
same efforts, from the same danger. As I now found that the store-ship
was continually drivi