A Voyage Round the World. Anson George
latitude and 43° 16' we had only fine grey sand, with the same variation of depths, except that we once or twice lessened our water to forty fathom. After this, we continued in forty fathom for about half a degree, having a bottom of coarse sand and broken shells, at which time we were in sight of land, and not above seven leagues from it. As we edged from the land, we met with variety of soundings; first black sand, then muddy, and soon after rough ground with stones; but when we had increased our water to forty-eight fathom we had a muddy bottom to the latitude of 46° 10'. Hence, drawing towards the shore, we had first thirty-six fathom, and still kept shoaling our water, till at length we came into twelve fathom, having constantly small stones and pebbles at the bottom. Part of this time we had a view of Cape Blanco, which lies in about the latitude of 47° 10', and longitude west from London 69°. This is the most remarkable land upon the coast. Steering from hence S. by E. nearly, we, in a run of about thirty leagues, deepned our water to fifty fathom without once altering the bottom: and then drawing towards the shore with a S.W. course, varying rather to the westward, we had constantly a sandy bottom till our coming into thirty fathom, where we had again a sight of land distant from us about eight leagues lying in the latitudes of 48° 31'. We made this land on the 17th of February, and at five that afternoon we came to an anchor, having the same soundings as before, in the latitude of 48° 58', the souther-most land then in view bearing S.S.W., the northermost N.½E., a small island N.W., and the westermost hummock W.S.W. In this station we found the tide to set S. by W.; and weighing again at five the next morning, we an hour afterwards discovered a sail, upon which the Severn and Gloucester were both directed to give chase; but we soon perceived it to be the Pearl, which separated from us a few days after we left St. Catherine's, and on this we made a signal for the Severn to rejoin the squadron, leaving the Gloucester alone in the pursuit. And now we were surprised to see that on the Gloucester's approach the people on board the Pearl increased their sail, and stood from her. However, the Gloucester came up with them, but found them with their hammocks in their nettings, and every thing ready for an engagement. At two in the afternoon the Pearl joined us, and running up under our stern, Lieutenant Salt haled the commodore, and acquainted him that Captain Kidd died on the 31st of January. He likewise informed us that he had seen five large ships the 10th instant, which he for some time imagined to be our squadron: so that he suffered the commanding ship, which wore a red broad pendant exactly resembling that of the commodore at the main top-mast head, to come within gun-shot of him before he discovered his mistake; but then, finding it not to be the Centurion, he haled close upon the wind, and crowded from them with all his sail, and standing cross a ripling, where they hesitated to follow him, he happily escaped. He made them to be five Spanish men-of-war, one of them exceedingly like the Gloucester, which was the occasion of his apprehensions when the Gloucester chaced him. By their appearance he thought they consisted of two ships of seventy guns, two of fifty, and one of forty guns. It seems the whole squadron continued in chace of him all that day, but at night, finding they could not get near him, they gave over the chace, and directed their course to the southward.
Had it not been for the necessity we were under of refitting the Tryal, this piece of intelligence would have prevented our making any stay at St. Julian's; but as it was impossible for that sloop to proceed round the Cape in her present condition, some stay there was inevitable, and therefore the same evening we came to an anchor again in twenty-five fathom water; the bottom a mixture of mud and sand, and the high hummock bearing S.W. by W. And weighing at nine in the morning, we sent the two cutters belonging to the Centurion and Severn in shore to discover the harbour of St. Julian, while the ships kept standing along the coast, about the distance of a league from the land. At six o'clock we anchored in the bay of St. Julian in nineteen fathom, the bottom muddy ground with sand, the northermost land in sight bearing N. and by E., the southermost S. – ½E., and the high hummock, to which Sir John Narborough formerly gave the name of Wood's Mount, W.S.W. Soon after, the cutter returned on board, having discovered the harbour, which did not appear to us in our situation, the northermost point shutting in upon the southermost, and in appearance closing the entrance.
Being come to an anchor in this bay of St. Julian, principally with a view of refitting the Tryal, the carpenters were immediately employed in that business, and continued so during our whole stay at the place. The Tryal's main-mast having been carried away about twelve feet below the cap, they contrived to make the remaining part of the mast serve again; and the Wager was ordered to supply her with a spare main top-mast, which the carpenters converted into a new fore-mast. And I cannot help observing that this accident to the Tryal's mast, which gave us so much uneasiness at that time, on account of the delay it occasioned, was, in all probability, the means of preserving the sloop, and all her crew. For before this, her masts, how well soever proportioned to a better climate, were much too lofty for these high southern latitudes, so that had they weathered the preceding storm, it would have been impossible for them to have stood against those seas and tempests we afterwards encountered in passing round Cape Horn, and the loss of masts in that boisterous climate would scarcely have been attended with less than the loss of the vessel and of every man on board her, since it would have been impracticable for the other ships to have given them any relief during the continuance of those impetuous storms.
Whilst we stayed at this place, the commodore appointed the Honourable Captain Murray to succeed to the Pearl, and Captain Cheap to the Wager, and he promoted Mr. Charles Saunders, his first lieutenant, to the command of the Tryal sloop. But Captain Saunders lying dangerously ill of a fever on board the Centurion, and it being the opinion of the surgeons that the removing him on board his own ship in his present condition might tend to the hazard of his life, Mr. Anson gave an order to Mr. Saumarez, first lieutenant of the Centurion, to act as master and commander of the Tryal during the illness of Captain Saunders.
Here the commodore, too, in order to ease the expedition of all unnecessary expence, held a farther consultation with his captains about unloading and discharging the Anna pink; but they represented to him that they were so far from being in a condition of taking any part of her loading on board, that they had still great quantities of provisions in the way of their guns between decks, and that their ships were withal so very deep that they were not fit for action without being cleared. This put the commodore under a necessity of retaining the pink in the service; and as it was apprehended we should certainly meet with the Spanish squadron in passing the Cape, Mr. Anson thought it adviseable to give orders to the captains to put all their provisions which were in the way of their guns on board the Anna pink, and to remount such of their guns as had formerly, for the ease of their ships, been ordered into the hold.
This bay of St. Julian, where we are now at anchor, being a convenient rendezvous, in case of separation, for all cruizers bound to the southward, and the whole coast of Patagonia, from the river of Plate to the Streights of Magellan, lying nearly parallel to their usual route, a short account of the singularity of this country, with a particular description of port St. Julian, may, perhaps, be neither unacceptable to the curious, nor unworthy the attention of future navigators, as some of them, by unforeseen accidents, may be obliged to run in with the land, and to make some stay on this coast, in which case the knowledge of the country, its produce and inhabitants, cannot but be of the utmost consequence to them.
To begin then with the tract of country usually styled Patagonia. This is the name often given to the southermost part of South America, which is unpossessed by the Spaniards, extending from their settlements to the Streights of Magellan. This country on the east side is extremely remarkable for a peculiarity not to be paralleled in any other known part of the globe, for though the whole territory to the northward of the river of Plate is full of wood, and stored with immense quantities of large timber trees, yet to the southward of the river no trees of any kind are to be met with except a few peach trees, first planted and cultivated by the Spaniards in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres. So that on the whole eastern coast of Patagonia, extending near four hundred leagues in length, and reaching as far back as any discoveries have yet been made, no other wood has been found than a few insignificant shrubs. Sir John Narborough in particular, who was sent out by King Charles the Second expressly to examine this country and the Streights of Magellan, and who, in pursuance of his orders, wintered upon this coast in Port St. Julian and Port Desire, in the year 1670; Sir John Narborough, I say,