We Found Few Things Of Any
Value, Except Great Numbers Of Cassia Trees, And Many Others Which
Produce Certain Nuts, To Describe Which And Many Other Curious Things
Would Occasion Great Prolixity.
We spent ten months in this voyage, but
finding no precious minerals, we agreed to bend our course to a different
quarter.
Accordingly orders were issued to lay in a stock of wood and
water for six months, as our pilots concluded that our vessels were able
to continue so much longer at sea.
Having provided ourselves for continuing the voyage, we departed with a
south-east wind, and on the 13th of February, when the sun had already
begun to approach the equinoctial on its way to our northern hemisphere,
we had gone so far that the south pole was elevated fifty-two degrees
above the horizon, so that we had now lost sight not only of the Less but
of the Great Bear; and by the 3d of April we had got 500 leagues from the
place of our last departure[8]. On that day, 3d April, so fierce a tempest
arose at S.W. that we had to take in all our sails and scud under bare
poles, the sea running mountains high, and all our people in great fear.
The nights now were very long, as on the 7th April, when the sun is near
the sign of Aries, we found them to last fifteen hours, the winter now
beginning. While driving amid this tempest, we descried land on the 2d of
April[9] at about twenty leagues distance.
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