A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

about ten leagues.At three o'clock we passed Cape Noir, which is a steep rock of considerable height, and the S.W. point of alarge island that seemed to lie detached, a league, or a league and a half, from the main land. The land ofthe cape, when at a distance from it, appeared to be an island disjoined from the other; but, on a nearerapproach, we found it connected by a low neck of land. At the point of the cape are two rocks; the onepeaked like a sugar- loaf, the other not so high, and shewing a rounder surface; and S. by E., two leaguesfrom the cape, are two other rocky islets. This cape is situated in the latitude of 54° 30' S., longitude 73°33' W.After passing the two islets, we steered E.S.E., crossing the great bay of St Barbara. We but just saw theland in the bottom of it, which could not be less than seven or eight leagues from us. There was a space,lying in the direction of E.N.E. from Cape Noir, where no land was to be seen: this may be the channel ofSt Barbara, which opens into the straits of Magalhaens, as mentioned by Frezier. We found the cape toagree very well with his description, which shews that he laid down the channel from good memoirs. Atten o'clock, drawing near the S.E. point of the bay, which, lies nearly in the direction of S. 60° E. fromCape 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, andsoon passed the S.E. point of the bay of St Barbara, which I called Cape Desolation, because near itcommenced the most desolate and barren country I ever saw. It is situated in the latitude of 54° 55' S.,longitude 72° 12' W. About four leagues to the east of this cape is a deep inlet, at the entrance of which liesa pretty large island, and some others of less note. Nearly in this situation some charts place a channelleading into the straits of Magalhaens, under the name of straits of Jelouzel. At ten o'clock, being about aleague and a half from the land, we sounded, and found sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones andshells.The wind, which had been fresh at N. by W., began to abate, and at noon it fell calm, when we observed inlatitude 55° 20' S., longitude made from Cape Deseada 3° 24' E. In this situation we were about threeleagues from the nearest shore, which was that of an island. This I named Gilbert Isle, after my master. It isnearly of the same height with the rest of the coast, and shews a surface composed of several peaked rocksunequally 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 rockymountains 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 morebarren 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, andthe 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 trip to south, stood in for theland; the most advanced point of which, that we had in sight, bore east, distant ten leagues. This is a loftypromontory, lying E.S.E, nineteen leagues from Gilbert isle, and situated in latitude 55° 26' S, longitude70° 25' W. Viewed from the situation we now were in, it terminated in two high towers; and, within them,a hill shaped like a sugar-loaf. This wild rock, therefore, obtained the name of York Minster. Two leaguesto the westward of this head appeared a large inlet, the west point of which we fetched in with by nineo'clock, when we tacked in forty-one fathoms water, half a league from the shore; to the westward of this