On the 16th, being very near Cape Virgin Mary, they saw several men riding on the shore, who made signs for them to land. Having come to an anchor, they observed that the natives remained opposite the ship all night, shouting aloud, and keeping up large fires. In the morning the Captain went on shore, with a boat’s crew from each ship, and having made signs for the Indians to sit down, he gave them combs, buttons, knives, scissars, beads, &c. and pleased the women greatly by the distribution of some ribbands. He then intimated that he should be glad to accept some guanicoes and ostriches, in exchange for bill-hooks and hatchets, which he shewed them; but they were either really or designedly ignorant of his meaning. The tallest among these people was six feet seven inches, several others were from one to two inches shorter; but the general height was from five feet ten to six feet. They were muscular and well made, but their hands and feet very small, in proportion to the rest of their bodies. They were dressed in the skin of the guanico, with the hairy side to their bodies; and some of them wore a square piece of cloth, made of the hair of the guanico, and a hole being cut to admit the head through, it reached down to the knees: they wore likewise a kind of buskin from the middle of the leg to the instep, which was also conveyed under the heel, but the rest of the foot was bare: their hair, which was strait and coarse, was tied back with a cotton string; and their complexion was the dark copper. They rode on horses about fourteen hands high, and had dogs of the Spanish kind; both men and women rode astride, and the men were furnished with wooden spurs: some of the men had their arms painted, the faces of others were variously marked, and others again had the left eye enclosed by a painted circle. Their arms were two round stones, enclosed with leather, one of which was fastened at each end of a string eight feet in length: and one stone being held in the hand, the other was swung round the head with great force for some time, and then discharged at any mark they chose to strike. They likewise catch guanicoes and ostriches by means of this cord, which is thrown so, that the weight twists round and hampers the legs of the intended prey. Some of them were observed to devour the paunch of an ostrich raw, having only turned the inside outwards, and shook off some of the filth.
These people, who are great talkers, were often heard to say _Ca-pi-ta-ne_, on which they were successively addressed in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and French; but they had no knowledge of either of those languages. When they shook hands with any of the crew, they always said _chevow_; and they were amazingly ready in learning English words, and pronounced the sentence “Englishmen come on shore” with great facility.
As they seemed desirous of going on board, the Captain took eight of them into the boats, on which they instantly began singing for joy; but when they came into the ship, they expressed no kind of surprize at the novelties they beheld, till a looking glass being observed, they acted many antic gestures before it, occasionally walking to and from it, talking with earnestness, and laughing immoderately. They would drink nothing but water, but they eagerly ate every article of the ship’s provisions. They were highly pleased with some turkies and guinea-hens which were on board, nor did the hogs and sheep escape their attention. One of them making signs that he should be glad of some cloaths, the Captain gave him a pair of shoes and buckles, and presented the rest with a little bag each, in which he put new six-pences and halfpence, with a ribband passed through a hole in them, to hang round their necks: the remaining contents of the bag were, a looking-glass, a comb, some beads, a knife, a pair of scissars, some twine, and a few slips of cloth: being offered some tobacco, they smoked a few minutes, but did not seem to like it. The marines being exercised before them, they were terrified at the firing of the muskets, and one of them falling down, shut his eyes, and lay without motion, as if to intimate that he knew the destructive nature of those weapons.
It was with difficulty that they were at length prevailed on to go on shore; and one of them would not leave the ship till he had sung a long kind of prayer, and even petitioned to stay till evening, by pointing to the sun, and then moving his hand round to the western horizon. As soon as they were in the boat they began to sing, and did not cease till they reached the shore, where many of their companions pressed eagerly to be taken into the boat, and were highly affronted at being refused.
This day they turned into the Streight of Magellan with the flood-tide, and saw many people on horseback hunting the guanicoes, which ran up the country with prodigious swiftness. The natives lighted fires opposite the ships, and in the morning about 400 of them, with their horses feeding near them, were observed in a valley. This being the spot where Mr. Byron saw the Patagonians, some officers were sent towards the shore, but with orders not to land, as the ships were too far off to assist them in case of necessity. When they came near the land, many of the natives flocked towards them, among whom were women and children, and some of the very men they had seen the preceding day: these waded towards the boat, frequently calling out, “Englishmen come on shore;” and were with difficulty restrained from getting into the boat, when they found the crews would not land. Some bread, tobacco, and toys were distributed, but not an article of provisions could be obtained in return.
On the 23d the tide was so violent, that the ships were driven three several ways; but in the evening they were safely anchored. On Christmas-day they procured a quantity of celery from Elizabeth Island, which being boiled with portable soup and wheat, the crews breakfasted on it several days. Many huts were found on this island, and two dogs were seen; but the Indians had quitted it for the present. Many high mountains were observed, which, though it was then the midst of summer, were, in a great degree, covered with snow.
On the 26th they anchored in Port Famine Bay, and the sick were sent on shore, where a tent was erected for their reception, as was another for the accommodation of the sail-makers, and those who landed to get wood. On the 28th the empty water-casks were landed; and on this day great quantities of fish were catched, among which were smelts. When they arrived here, many of the people were very bad with the scurvy; but by the plentiful use of vegetables, and bathing in the sea, they all recovered in a very short time.
All hands were now employed in repairing and storeing the ships; and thousands of young trees were carefully taken up with the mould about them, to be carried to Falkland’s Islands, which produce no timber.
On the 17th of January, 1765, the Master of the Dolphin, who had been in search of anchoring-places, returned with an account, that he had found such as were proper for the purpose; and this day the Prince Frederick sailed for Falkland’s Islands.
They sailed on the 18th, and came to an anchor the next day, half a mile from the shore, opposite a current of fresh water, that falls rapidly from the mountains. As a more convenient anchoring-place, and at the same time better adapted for procuring wood and water, had been discovered, they sailed again the next day, and, on the 23d, came to an anchor in the bay near Cape Gallant, where they catched wild ducks in such numbers, as to afford them a very seasonable relief. Near this spot are very high mountains, one of which was climbed by the Master of the Swallow, with the hope of getting a view of the South Sea; but being disappointed in his expectation, he erected a pyramid, and having written the ship’s name and the date of the year, he left the same, with a shilling within the structure.
On the 24th they saw an animal that was as swift as a deer, and had a cloven foot; but in other respects it was like an ass. Near this spot the country has a most forbidding aspect:--the mountains on both sides of the Streight are of a stupendous height; the lower parts of them are covered with trees, above which a space is occupied by withered shrubs; higher up are fragments of broken rock, and heaps of snow; and the tops are totally rude, naked, and desolate.
On the evening of the 28th they saw a great smoke on the southern shore, and another on Prince Rupert’s Island; and the next morning some people being sent on shore for water, they had no sooner landed, than several of the natives came off in three canoes; and, having advanced towards the sailors, made signs of friendship, which being answered to their wish, they shouted aloud, and the English shouted in return. When the Indians came up they were eating the flesh of seals raw, and were covered with the skins, which stunk intolerably. They had bows, arrows, and javelins, the two last of which were pointed with flint. These people were rather low of stature, the tallest of them not exceeding five feet six inches, and their complexion was the deep copper colour.