of Direction, and the wind came to the west, it became absolutely necessary for me to carry sail, that I might clear them.  Soon after we lost sight of the Swallow, and never saw her afterwards.[48] At first I was inclined to have gone back into the streight; but a fog coming on, and the sea rising very fast, we were all of opinion that it was indispensably necessary to get an offing as soon as possible; for except we pressed the ship with sail, before the sea rose too high, it would be impracticable either to weather Terra del Fuego on one tack, or Cape Victory on the other.  At noon, the Islands of Direction bore N. 21’ W. distant three leagues, Saint Paul’s cupola and Cape Victory in one, N. distant seven leagues, and Cape Pillar E. distant six leagues.  Our latitude, by observation, was 52 deg. 33’, and we computed our longitude to be 76 deg.  W. Thus we quitted a dreary and inhospitable region, where we were in almost perpetual danger of shipwreck for near four months, having entered the streight on the 17th of December 1766, and quitted it on the 11th of April 1767; a region where, in the midst of summer, the weather was cold, gloomy, and tempestuous, where the prospects had more the appearance of a chaos than of nature, and where, for the most part, the vallies were without herbage, and the hills without wood.

[Footnote 48:  How very vexatious this was to the Swallow’s crew, the reader has to learn from the account of Carteret’s voyage.—­E.]

SECTION III.

A particular Account of the Places in which we anchored during our Passage through the Streight, and of the Shoals and Rocks that lie near them.

Having cleared the streight, we steered a western course.  But before I continue the narrative of our voyage, I shall give a more particular account of the several places where we anchored, plans of which are deposited in the Admiralty-office for the use of future navigators, with the shoals and rocks that lie near them, the latitude, longitude, tides, and variation of the compass.

I. CAPE VIRGIN MARY.  The bay under this cape is a good harbour, when the wind is westerly.  There is a shoal lying off the cape, but that may easily be known by the rock-weed that grows upon it:  The cape is a steep white cliff, not unlike the South Foreland.  Its latitude, by observation, is 52 deg. 24’ S. and its longitude, by account, 68 deg. 22’ W. The variation of the needle, by the medium of five azimuths and one amplitude, was 24 deg. 30’ E. In this place we saw no appearance either of wood or water.  We anchored in ten fathom, with coarse sandy ground, about a mile from the shore, Cape Virgin Mary bearing N. by.  W. 1/2 W. distant about two miles, and Dungeness Point S.S.W. distant four miles.  We anchored here on the 17th of December, and sailed the next day.  There is good landing, on a fine sandy beach, all along the shore.