sis of our fate, for almost immediately afterwards, the wind
came again to the S.W., and if it had continued in that quarter, our
destruction would have been inevitable.

SECTION II.

_The Passage from Cape Pillar, at the Western Entrance of the Streight
of Magellan, to Masafuero; with some Account of that Island._

I took my departure from Cape Pillar, which I make to lie in the
latitude of 52 deg.45'S., and in the longitude 75 deg. 10'W. of the meridian of
London, and as soon as I got clear of the streight, steered to the
northward along the coast of Chili. Upon examining what quantity of
fresh water we had now on board, I found that it amounted only to
between four and five and twenty tons, which I thought not sufficient
for so long a voyage as was probably before us; I therefore hauled to
the northward, intending to make the island of Juan Fernandes, or
Masafuero, that we might increase our stock before we sailed to the
westward.

In the middle of the night of the 16th, we had the wind first to the
S.S.E. and then to the S.E. with which we kept away N.W. and N.N.W. in
high spirits, hoping that in a short time we should be in a more
temperate climate: We had the misfortune, however, very soon to find
ourselves disappointed, for on the 18th, the wind came to the N.N.W. and
blew directly from the point upon which we were steering. We had now got
about a hundred leagues from the streight's mouth; our latitude was
48 deg.39'S., and we were, by account, 4 deg.33'W. of Cape Pillar; but from this
time, till the 8th of May, the wind continued unfavourable, and blew a
continued storm, with sudden gusts still more violent, and much rain and
hail, or rather fragments of half-melted ice: At intervals also we had
thunder and lightning, more dreadful than all the past, and a sea which
frequently laid the whole vessel under water.

From the time of our clearing the streight, and during our passage along
this coast, we saw a great number of sea-birds, particularly
albatrosses, gannets, sheerwaters, and a thick lumpish bird, about as
big as a large pigeon, which the sailors call a Cape-of-Good-Hope hen:
They are of a dark-brown or blackish colour, and are therefore sometimes
called the black gull: We saw also a great many pintado birds, of nearly
the same size, which are prettily spotted with black and white, and
constantly on the wing, though they frequently appear as if they were
walking upon the water, like the peterels,