September, after enduring much bad weather.  They procured abundance of penguins and fish, at an island three miles south from Port Desire; killing to the number of 50,000 penguins, which are nearly as large as geese, and procured a vast quantity of their eggs, by which their people were greatly refreshed, and the sick restored.  Going up the river on the 5th October, and landing in the country, they found animals resembling stags, together with buffaloes, and ostriches in great numbers, and even found some of the nests of these birds, in which were as far as nineteen eggs.  The 20th, the admiral went ashore to view the country, leaving orders with those who were left in charge of the boats, not to leave them a moment on any account:  But they, having a mind also to see the country, ventured upon a short ramble, when they fell into an ambush of the savages, who slew three of their number, and wounded the fourth.  These savages were very tall portly men, painted, and armed with short bows, and arrows headed with stone.

Leaving Port Desire on the 29th September, they reached Cape Virgin at the entrance into the Straits of Magellan on the 24th November.  The land here is low and plain, and from the whiteness of the coast somewhat resembles the chalk cliffs of England in the channel.  In many attempts to enter the straits, they were beaten back by tempests of wind, accompanied by rain, hail, and snow.  They lost their anchors, and broke their cables, and sickness, together with contention, which is worse than any disease, were added to their other calamities.  All these so retarded the progress of the voyage, that it was near fifteen months after leaving Holland before they could make their way into the straits.  They observed the land to trend from Cape Virgin to the S.W. and the mouth of the straits to be fourteen miles distant from that cape, and half a mile wide.[72] On the 25th November, they saw some men on two islands near Cape Nassau, who shook their weapons at the Hollanders, as in defiance.  The Dutch landed, and pursued the savages into a cave, which they bravely defended to the last man, and were all slain on the spot.  Going now into this dark cave, the Dutch found the women and children of the slain savages, when the mothers, expecting present death to themselves and their infants, covered their little ones with their own bodies, as if determined to receive the first stab.  But the Dutch did them no other injury, except taking away four boys and two girls, whom they carried on ship board.

[Footnote 72:  These must necessarily be Dutch miles, 15 to the degree, each equal to nearly 4.66 English miles.  By the mouth of the straits in the text, must be understood what is called the Narrows of the Hope.—­E.]