mountains of the Andes, or Cordelieras, was extremely high, and covered with snow; while the coast seemed quite rocky and barren, and the edge of the water skirted with precipices.  In some places, indeed, we observed several deep bays running; into the land; but their entrances were generally blocked up by numbers of small islands; and though it was not improbable but there might be convenient shelter in some of the bays, and proper channels leading to them, yet, as we were utterly ignorant of the coast, had we been driven ashore by the westerly winds, which blew almost incessantly we could not well have avoided the loss both of the ship and of our lives.

This continued peril which lasted above a fortnight, was greatly aggraved by the difficulties we found in working the ship; as the scurvy, by this time, had destroyed so great a number of our hands, and had in some degree infected almost the whole crew.  Neither did we, as we hoped, find the winds less violent as we advanced to the northward; for we had often prodigious squalls of wind, which split our sails, greatly damaged our rigging, and endangered our masts.  Indeed, during much the greatest part of the time we were upon this coast, the wind blew so hard that, in any other situation where we had sufficient sea-room, we should certainly have lain-to; but, in the present exigency, we were necessitated to carry both our courses and top-sails, in order to keep clear of this lee-shore.  In one of these squalls, which was attended by several violent claps of thunder, a sudden flash of fire darted along our decks, which dividing, exploded with a report like that of several pistols, and wounded many of our men and officers, marking them in different parts of their bodies.  This flame was attended by a strong, sulphurous stench, and was doubtless of the same nature with the larger and more violent flashes of lightning which then filled the air.

It were endless to recite minutely the various disasters, fatigues, and terrors, which we encountered on this coast, all of which went on increasing till the 22d of May; at which time the fury of all the storms we had hitherto encountered seemed to have combined for our destruction.  In this hurricane almost all our sails were split, and a great part of our standing rigging broken.  About eight in the evening, an overgrown mountainous wave took us upon our star-board quarter, and gave us so prodigious a shock that several of our shrouds broke with the jerk, to the great danger of our masts giving way, and our ballast and stores were so strangely shifted, that the ship heeled afterwards two streaks to port.  This was a most tremendous blow, and we were thrown into the utmost consternation, having the dismal apprehension of instantly foundering.  Though the wind abated in a few hours, yet, having no sails left in a condition to bend to the yards, the ship laboured exceedingly in a hollow sea, rolling gunwale too, for want of sail to keep her steady,