Magellan Entered The Great South Sea On The 28th November, 1620, And
Proceeded Through That Vast Expanse, To Which He Gave The Name Of The
Pacific Ocean, For Three Months And Twenty Days, Without Once Having
Sight Of Land.
During a considerable part of this period they suffered
extreme misery from want of provisions, such as have been seldom heard
of.
All their bread and other provisions were consumed, and they were
reduced to the necessity of subsisting upon dry skins and leather that
covered some of the rigging of the ships, which they had to steep for
some days in salt water, to render it soft enough to be chewed. What
water remained in the ships was become putrid, and so nauseous that
necessity alone compelled them to use it. Owing to these impure and
scanty means of subsistence, their numbers daily diminished, and those
who remained alive became exceedingly weak, low-spirited, and sickly. In
some, the gums grew quite over their teeth on both sides; so that they
were unable to chew the tough leathern viands which formed their only
food, and they were miserably starved to death. Their only comfort under
this dreadful state of famine was, that the winds blew them steadily and
gently along, while the sea remained calm and almost unruffled, whence
it got the name of Pacific, which it has ever since retained.
In all this length of time, they only saw two uninhabited islands, which
shewed no signs of affording them any relief Sometimes the needle varied
extremely, and at other times was so irregular in its motions, as to
require frequent touches of the loadstone to revive its energy.
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