The Fleet Sailed From
Brava On The 15th September, And On The 22d A Signal Was Made From The
Admiral For The Other Captains.
They found the admiral, James Mahu,
beyond hope of recovery; and that night he and his supercargo, Daniel
Restan, both died.
He was of a mild and gentle disposition, honest,
careful, diligent, and very kind to the seamen, and was much lamented by
the whole fleet. Opening the letters of the directors of the expedition,
which were directed to be opened in such a case, de Cordes was appointed
admiral, and Benningen vice-admiral; Sebald de Weert being promoted to
the command of the Faith, and Dirke Gernitsz China to that of the yacht.
These alterations did not please the seamen, who were attached to their
former commanders.
By the 4th October, the scurvy raged much among the seamen, especially
in the Hope, on which de Cordes ordered a day of prayer to be observed
in the fleet, to implore the mercy of God and a happy voyage. They were
then in the lat. of 1 deg. 45' S. At length the scurvy increased so much in
the Hope, that the admiral had not men enough to work his ship, and it
was resolved to steer for some island where fresh provisions might be
procured. They steered accordingly for Annobon, where they hoped to get
fresh meat and oranges. Towards night, the admiral, who sailed in the
van, fired a gun as a signal of seeing land, though all the pilots then
thought the land at the distance of 100 leagues. They accordingly
approached the land, and anchored on the coast of Manicongo, in lat.
3 deg. S.[85] They here lost company of the small ship belonging to St
Thomas, in which were eleven sound men, and some thought she had
deserted, while others thought she had run aground: But they afterwards
found she had gone to Cape Lope Gonzalves, where the men quitted her,
going aboard the ship of Baltazar Musheron, which was bound to America.
[Footnote 85: The latitude in the text falls near Point Palmas, on the
coast of Yumba, in what is called the Kingdom of Congo. Mayumba bay,
perhaps the Manicongo of the text, is in lat. 4 deg. 30' S.]
After several ineffectual attempts to procure refreshments for their
men on the coast of Africa and the island of Annobon, they put to sea on
the 3d January, 1599, from that island, with the intention of sailing
direct for the Straits of Magellan. The 22d they passed the shelves and
rocks on the coast of Brazil, called the Abrolhos. The 9th March, one
of the seamen in the vice-admiral's ship was hanged, for repeatedly
breaking open the cupboard belonging to the cook, and stealing bread.
About this time, the sick beginning to recover, got such good appetites
that their allowance was not sufficient. The 12th, being near the Rio
Plata, the sea appeared as red as blood, and some of the water being
drawn up was found full of small red worms, that leaped out of it like
fleas.
Sec. 2. The Fleet passes through the Straits of Magellan into the South
Sea, and is forced to return.
The 6th of April, the fleet got into the Straits of Magellan, and
towards evening cast anchor under the smaller of the two Penguin isles,
fourteen leagues within the mouth of the straits. They here saw vast
numbers of those birds called plongeons or divers, because they dive
into the water to catch fish. They killed there ten or fourteen of them
with sticks, and might have killed as many as would have served the
whole fleet, but would not lose the opportunity of a fair wind. The 9th
they proceeded through the straits; and next day the admiral sent fifty
men on shore, to look for inhabitants or cattle, but after travelling
three leagues along shore, they found nothing. They arrived in a fine
bay on the 15th, twenty-one leagues from the mouth of the straits,
called Muscle bay by the English, because of the great quantities of
muscles found there, and here they provided themselves abundantly with
fresh water and wood. The 17th they sailed between two rocky shores, so
close and so high that they hardly thought to have got through. The
mountains on both sides were covered with snow. On the 18th, they cast
anchor in a bay on the north side of the straits, in lat. 54 deg. S. called
Great bay, having good anchorage on fine sand. In this bay there are
three small islands, the least of which is farthest east.
In these parts, there grow great quantities of trees, resembling bay
trees, but somewhat higher, the bark of which is very bitter, and has a
hot taste like pepper.[86] They here found abundance of muscles, some of
which were a span long, and when boiled, the fish of three of them
weighed a pound. The wind being contrary, they lay here at anchor till
the 23d of August,[87] without taking the sails from the yards, to be
ready to sail on a change of wind. In the mean while they suffered much
from cold, in so much that they lost above an hundred men, among whom
was Captain Buckholt, who was succeeded by Baltazar de Cordes. Storms
were so frequent and violent during this time, that the ships could not
ride quietly at anchor, and the seamen were forced to be continually at
work to keep them right. They were also forced to go often on shore, in
rain, snow, and hail, to get in fresh water, wood, muscles, and such
other food as they could find, by which they were greatly fatigued. The
scarcity of victuals was so great, and the climate so severe, that they
were almost starved with hunger and cold, and their appetites so
insatiable, that they devoured roots or any thing else they could find,
raw and uncooked.
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