Streight of Magellan to Port Famine
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In the morning of the 23d, we weighed with the wind at S. by W. and worked between Elizabeth and Bartholomew’s island: before the tide was spent, we got over upon the north shore, and anchored in ten fathom. Saint George’s Island then bore N.E. by N. distant three leagues; a point of land, which I called PORPOIS POINT, N. by W. distant about five miles; and the southermost land S. by E. distant about two miles. In the evening, we weighed and steered S. by E. about five miles along the north shore, at about one mile’s distance, with regular soundings, from seven to thirteen fathom, and every where good ground. At ten o’clock at night, we anchored in thirteen fathom; Sandy Point then bearing S. by E. distant four miles; Porpois Point W.N.W. three leagues; and Saint George’s Island N.E. four leagues. All along this shore the flood sets to the southward; at the full and change of the moon, it flows about eleven o’clock, and the water rises about fifteen feet.
The next morning, I went out in my boat in search of Fresh Water Bay; I landed with my Second Lieutenant upon Sandy Point, and having sent the boat along the shore, we walked abreast of her. Upon the Point we found plenty of wood, and very good water, and for four or five miles the shore was exceedingly pleasant. Over the Point there is a fine level country, with a soil that, to all appearance, is extremely rich; for the ground was covered with flowers of various kinds, that perfumed the air with their fragrance; and among them there were berries, almost innumerable, where the blossoms had been shed: we observed that the grass was very good, and that it was intermixed with a great number of peas in blossom. Among this luxuriance of herbage we saw many hundreds of birds feeding, which from their form, and the uncommon beauty of their plumage, we called
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 35, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/072.html