Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836. Fitzroy Robert
met several canoes, with Indians, who endeavoured to stop her, and shot arrows at the crew; but, happily, without doing any mischief.
After the last boat's departure, Mr. Brisbane began to build a small vessel, and, while so employed, was visited by a party of natives, who conducted themselves very peaceably, and went away. Their visit, however, gave the shipwrecked people, now much reduced in number,57 reason to apprehend the return of a larger body, who might try to possess themselves of the property which was lying about on the shore; they therefore buried a great deal, and took means to preserve the rest by making preparations to repel attack. When Captain Stokes appeared with his two boats, the Sealers flew to their arms, calling out "the Indians, the Indians!" but in a very few minutes excess of joy succeeded to their sudden alarm.
Captain Stokes found the vessel lying on the rocks, bilged, and an utter wreck. The master and crew were extremely anxious to get away, he therefore embarked them, with as much of the property as could be carried, and succeeded (after another night in the boats, and a long pull of eighty miles,) in conveying them safely to the Beagle.
The following is an abstract of Captain Stokes's journal of his cruise to the western entrance of the Strait.
The Beagle sailed from Port Famine on the 15th of January, to explore the Strait westward of Cape Froward, and to fix particularly the positions of Cape Pillar, the rock called Westminster Hall, and the Islands of Direction, at the western entrance of the Strait.
For the first night Captain Stokes anchored in San Nicolas Bay, and in the evening examined a harbour58 behind Nassau Island, which Bougainville, in the year 1765, visited for the purpose of procuring wood for the French settlement at the Falkland Islands.
On the second night, after a day nearly calm, the Beagle was anchored in a cove to the eastward of Cape Froward, and the next day (17th) passed round the Cape, carrying a heavy press of sail against a dead foul wind. Captain Stokes's account of this day's beat to windward will give the reader an idea of the sort of navigation.
"Our little bay had screened us so completely from the wind, that though, when (at five A.M.) we weighed, the breeze was so light as scarcely to enable us, with all sail set, to clear its entrance; no sooner were we outside, than we were obliged to treble reef the topsails. We continued to beat to windward under a heavy press of sail; our object being to double Cape Froward, and secure, if possible, an anchorage ere night-fall under Cape Holland, six leagues further to the westward. At first we made 'boards' right across the Straits to within a third of a mile of each shore, gaining, however, but little. We then tried whether, by confining our tacks to either coast, we could discover a tide by which we might profit; and for that purpose I began with the north shore, for though we were there more exposed to violent squalls which came down the valleys, I thought it advisable to avoid the indraught of various channels intersecting the Fuegian coast; but having made several boards without any perceptible advantage, we tried the south shore, with such success that I was induced to keep on that side during the remainder of the day.
"And here let me remark, that in consequence of the westerly winds which blow through the western parts of the Straits of Magalhaens, with almost the constancy (as regards direction, not force) of a trade-wind; a current setting to the eastward, commonly at the rate of a knot and three quarters an hour, will be found in mid-channel. The tides exert scarcely any influence, except near either shore; and sometimes appear to set, up one side of the Straits, and down the other: the weather tide is generally shown by a rippling.(59)
"Heavy squalls off Cape Froward repeatedly obliged us to clew all up. By day their approach is announced, in time for the necessary precautions, by their curling up and covering with foam the surface of the water, and driving the spray in clouds before them.
"At last we doubled Cape Froward. This Cape (called by the Spaniards El Morro de Santa Agueda), the southernmost point of all America, is a bold promontory, composed of dark coloured slaty rock; its outer face is nearly perpendicular, and whether coming from the eastward or westward, it 'makes' as a high round-topped bluff hill ('Morro').
"Bougainville observes, that 'Cape Froward has always been much dreaded by navigators.'60 To double it, and gain an anchorage under Cape Holland, certainly cost the Beagle as tough a sixteen hours' beat as I have ever witnessed: we made thirty-one tacks, which, with the squalls, kept us constantly on the alert, and scarcely allowed the crew to have the ropes out of their hands throughout the day. But what there is to inspire a navigator with 'dread' I cannot tell, for the coast on both sides is perfectly clear, and a vessel may work from shore to shore."
From Cape Holland, the Beagle proceeded to Port Gallant, and during her stay there, Mr. Bowen ascended the Mountain de la Cruz. Upon the summit he found some remains of a glass bottle, and a roll of papers, which proved to be the memorials stated to have been left by Don Antonio de Cordova, and a copy of a document that had previously been deposited there by M. de Bougainville. With these papers was found a Spanish two-rial piece of Carlos III., which had been bent to admit of its being put into the bottle. It was with considerable difficulty that any of the writing could be decyphered, for the papers, having been doubled up, were torn, and the words defaced at the foldings, and edges.
Bougainville's memorial was in Latin. Cordova's, besides a document in Latin, was accompanied by an account of his voyage, written in four languages, Spanish, French, Italian, and English. The legible part of the former was as follows: —
Viatori Benevolo salus…
… que a periculose admodum naviga…
… Brasilie Bonarve et insularum…
.....
… incertis freti Magellanici portubus..
… historia astronomia..
… Boug....
… Boug.. Duclos et de la Giranda 2 navium.
… Primaris
… Comerson.. Doct med naturalista Regio accu.. m. Veron astronomo de Romainville hidrographio
… a rege Christianissimo demandans
… Landais Lavan Fontaine navium
Loco tenentibus et Vexillariis…
… itineris locus DD Dervi Lemoyne..
… Riouffe voluntariis.
… vives… scriba
The Latin inscription of Cordova was as follows: —
Anno Domini MDCCLXXXVIII Vir celeberrimus
DD Antonius de Cordova Laso de Vega navibus duabus (quarum nomina SS Casilda et Eulalia erant ad scrutamen Magellanici freti subsequendum unâque littorum, portuum aliorumque notabilium
… iter iterum fecit.
… e Gadibus classis tertio nonas Octobris habenas immittit quarto idus ejusdem Nova… vidit
A Boreali ad Austra… miserium postridie Kalendæ
Novembris emigravit.
Decimo quarto Kalendas Januarii Patagonicis recognitis
litoribus ad ostium appulit freti.
Tandem ingentibus periculis et horroribus tam in mari quam
in freto magnanime et constanter superatis et omnibus portubus atque navium fundamentis utriusque litoris correctissime cognitis ad hunc portum Divini Jose vel
Galante septimo idu Januarii pervenit ubi ad perpetuam rei memoriam in monte sanctissimæ crucis hoc monumentum reliquit.
Tertio et excelso Carolo regnante potente
Regali jussu facta fuere suo.
Colocatum fuit nono Kalendæ Februarii Anno MDCCLXXXIX.
together with a list of the officers of both vessels, and enclosing a memorial of Cordova's former
Including the master, there were on board, when cast away, twenty-two persons.
Bougainville Harbour, better known to Sealers by the name of 'Jack's Harbour.'
While the 'current' runs eastward for many days in mid-channel, or along one shore, it often happens that the 'stream of tide' either sets in a contrary direction, along each side of the Strait, or that it follows only the shore opposite to that washed by the 'current.' – R. F.
"Voyage autour du Monde." 1767.