[44] In the Illustrated News of March 27th, 1869, there is a drawing of some Patagonians: these are represented almost exactly as they are described in the text, for some of them have their shoulders bare, and the skins let down below the waist as here described.
[45] Probably in the ship which fled away, as will be mentioned later. Lisbon Ac. note.
[46] Amoretti, the editor of Pigafetta, observes, that whilst the fleet was in the river of Santa Cruz, between 50 deg. and 40 deg. South latitude, there was, on the 11th of October, an eclipse of the Sun, “which (he says) the Portuguese and Spanish writers mention, and which is registered in the astronomical tables:” and he judges it to be an error of Castanheda putting this phenomenon on the 17th of April, and his attributing to Magellan the calculation of longitude of which he speaks. Barros also mentions an eclipse of the sun in April. It is noteworthy that neither our pilot’s narrative nor Pigafetta mentions a phenomenon which still in those times did not happen without causing some impression on men’s minds, or at least without exciting public curiosity. Lisbon Ac. note.
I am indebted to the courtesy of the Astronomer Royal, Mr. G. B. Airy, for the following information, which confirms Castanheda and Barros: “1520, April 17. There was certainly (from our own calculations) a total solar eclipse about 1.20 p.m. Greenwich time. But in the Art de verifier les dates, in which the extreme Southern eclipses are not included, none is mentioned for April 17: consequently the eclipse was a Southern eclipse, crossing the South Atlantic.”
[47] This is the famous strait which till this day is named the Strait of Magellan, for the eternal and glorious memory of the famous Portuguese who discovered it. Castanheda says that Magellan, on account of arriving there on the 1st of November, gave it the name of All Saints’ bay, and in the answer which André de S. Martin gave to the inquiries made to him about that navigation, he also names the channel that of All Saints’ (Barros, Dec. 3, liv. 5, cap. 9). The anonymous Portuguese, the companion of Duarte Barbosa, whom we have quoted above, and who sailed in the “Victoria,” says that at first the navigators called it the Strait of the Victoria, because that ship was the first which sighted it. (Ramusio, 3rd edition, tom. i. page 370). Lisbon Ac. note.
[48] Alvaro de Mesquita, a Portuguese, and cousin of Magellan, was captain of this ship which went to explore the passages of the Straits, and did not return, and its pilot was Estevan Gomes, also a Portuguese. This Estevan Gomes had been requesting the Emperor Charles V. to confide to him a few caravels to go and discover new lands; but as the proposal and enterprise of Mazellan then interposed itself, and was preferred and accepted, Estevan Gomes continued after that to be a great enemy of the illustrious captain, and now profited by the opportunity to revenge himself on him, and to give vent to his rabid envy. He conspired, therefore, with others against the captain of his ship, Alvaro de Mesquita; they put him in irons, and brought him thus to Spain with the ship, telling the Emperor that Magellan was crazy, and had lied to His Majesty, because he did not know where Banda was, nor Maluco. Besides this, they brought accusations against Mesquita of having counselled and persuaded Magellan to use the severity and cruelty with which he punished the first conspirators, etc. (V. the Letter of Transylvanus and Castanheda, liv. 6, cap. 8). Lisbon Ac. note.
[49] The ships S. Antonio and Conception were sent on this exploration of the Straits; they were with difficulty able to double the Cape Possession, named thus in Bougainville’s map, and in others. They at length entered a narrow opening, which in the maps is named the first gut, and they proceeded thence to another bay, which is named Boucant bay, or Boucam. At the end of this they entered into another strait, named the second gut, and having passed that, they came out into another bay larger than the former ones. Then, seeing that the strait was prolonged and offered an outlet to the ships, they returned with the good news to Magellan, who was waiting for them, and on seeing him, they fired off all their artillery and shouted for joy. The fleet then sailed together as far as the third bay, and as they found two channels, Magellan despatched the two vessels, S. Antonio and Conception, to examine whether the channel, which took the S.W. direction, would issue into the Pacific sea. Here it was that the ship S. Antonio deserted, going ahead of its companion for that purpose. The other two ships, Victoria and Trinity, meanwhile entered the third channel, where they waited four days for the explorers. During this interval, Magellan despatched a well equipped boat to discover the cape with which the strait ought to terminate: this having been sighted, and the boat returning with the news, all shed tears of consolation, and they gave to this cape the name of Cape Desire; it is that which is at the outlet of the strait on the South side. They then turned back to seek for the ships Conception and S. Antonio, and leaving marks by which this one might steer, in case of its having lost the way (for they were still ignorant of its desertion), they sailed forward until they came out into the Pacific Ocean. Lisbon Ac. note.
[50] The Paris Manuscript has “fully in 52 degrees.” Lisbon Ac. note.
[51] Pigafetta remarks: In the strait in which they were, in the month of October, the night was only of three hours; and Transylvan says that, in November the navigators found the night of little more than five hours; and that on one night they saw to the left hand many fires. It is from this that that country came to be called Terra do fogo. Lisbon Ac. note.
[52] The Paris MS. has, and also others which were, &c. Pigafetta places these two islands in 15 deg. and 9 deg. South latitude. See Amoretti’s note, p. 45, upon their situation, in which he supposes them to be in the archipelago of the Society Islands. In some maps they are designated by the name of Infortunadas. Lisbon Ac. note.