A General History And Collection Of Voyages And Travels - Volume X - By Robert Kerr


















































































































 -  When day broke next morning, Captains Baltazar de
Cordes and Sebalt de Weert, of the Fidelity and Faith, were extremely - Page 113
A General History And Collection Of Voyages And Travels - Volume X - By Robert Kerr - Page 113 of 431 - First - Home

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When Day Broke Next Morning, Captains Baltazar De Cordes And Sebalt De Weert, Of The Fidelity And Faith, Were Extremely Troubled At Not Seeing Any Of The Other Ships.

De Weert, who was now the senior captain, was also much troubled by the unprovided state of his ship,

Having no master, only two old pilots, and a very small number of seamen, mostly sick and weak through the cold and damp weather, though they kept a fire burning night and day.

The N.E. wind became so violent on the 16th September, that the two ships were every moment in danger of sinking. The gallery of the Faith was rent open above an inch, and the sea broke so violently over the Fidelity, that her men were almost constantly up to their knees in water. She likewise sprung a leak, owing to which they were forced to keep her pumps constantly going day and night, yet could hardly keep her afloat. At last, after much search, the leak was found and stopt. In this deplorable situation these two ships remained for twenty-four hours, spooning under bare poles. The seamen also became much dissatisfied, though allowed two ounces of dried fish a day to each man, with a reasonable quantity of biscuit. But they were much discontented with this scanty allowance, having been used in the straits to fill themselves with muscles, of which they could not now brook the want, so that the captains had much ado to pacify them.

In the night of the 26th September they fell in with the land to the north of the straits by mistake, thinking themselves to have been twenty leagues from the land; and in the morning the Faith was in great danger, as the wind drifted her towards the coast, on which were two rocks, which they avoided with the utmost difficulty. The Fidelity, which was a considerable way in front, had discovered the rocks in time, and had easily given them a wide birth. They were only three leagues from the straits when they fell in with the land; and as the westerly wind now blew so hard that they were unable to bear up against it, the two captains now resolved to regain the straits, and to wait there in some safe road or bay for a fair wind, when they did not doubt of rejoining the other ships, as it had been agreed to wait at the island of St. Mary on the coast of Chili for two months, in case of separation. About evening, therefore, of the 27th September, they arrived at the southern point of the straits' mouth, and were drifted by the current six or seven leagues within the straits, where they anchored in a very good road.

Sec. 3. Incidents during their second Residence in the Straits of Magellan.

From the 27th to the 30th of September they had tolerably good weather, but the wind then began to blow so furiously from the S.W. that they were forced to drop three anchors a-piece to keep them from being driven on shore.

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