The grounds on which this expedition was founded were as follow. The opinion advanced by Columbus, of the possibility of reaching the East Indies by sailing to the west, was assumed as certainly well founded, though he had not been able to accomplish it; and it was asserted, that it could not be attended with any insuperable difficulty to sail from the South Sea, then recently discovered, to the Molucca Islands. The grand desideratum was to find a passage westwards, from the Atlantic Ocean into the new-found South Sea, which they expected might be met with through the Rio de la Plata, or by some other opening on that eastern coast of South America. Should this succeed, Spain might then reap the benefit of both the Indies; since, if this discovery were made by way of the west, it would then fall expressly within the grant of the papal bull to Spain.
In consequence of these proposals, it was agreed that Magellan and the other adventurers were to be furnished by the crown of Spain with five ships, manned by 234 men, with provisions for two years; and that the adventurers should reap a twentieth part of the clear profit, the government of any islands they might discover to be vested in them and their heirs for ever, with the title of Adelantado. The agreed, fleet of five ships was accordingly fitted out for the expedition at Seville, consisting of the Trinidada, in which Magellan sailed as admiral, and having a Portuguese pilot named Stephen Gomez; the Santa Vittoria, commanded by Don Luis de Mendoza; the St Antonio, Don Juan de Carthagena; the St Jago, Don Juan Serrano; and the Conception, Don Gaspar de Quixada. According to some authors, the number of men in these five ships amounted to 237, though by most they are said to have been 250, among whom were thirty Portuguese, upon whom Magellan chiefly depended for naval skill; as he likewise did greatly upon Serrano, who had left the service of Portugal in like manner with himself, after having served for many years in India, and some time in the Moluccas, of which islands they were now going in search.
SECTION II.
Proceedings of the Voyage from Seville to Patagonia, and wintering there.
Great hopes of success were entertained from this voyage, from the known experience of the commanders, although its real object was carefully concealed by Magellan, who merely gave out to the other adventurers that it was intended for the discovery of new countries, by which they believed themselves bound to the certain acquisition of gold. They set sail from Seville, in high expectations of acquiring riches, on the 10th of August, 1519. The 3d October, the fleet arrived between Cape Verd and the islands of that name. After being detained by tedious calms on the coast of Guinea for seventy days, they at last got to the south of the line, and held on their course to the coast of Brazil, of which they came in sight in about the latitude of 23° S. They here procured abundant refreshments of fruits, sugar-canes, and several kinds of animals.
Proceeding about 2 1/2 degrees farther south, they came into a country inhabited by a wild sort of people, of prodigious stature, fierce and barbarous, and making a strange roaring noise, more like the bellowing of bulls, than human speech. Notwithstanding their prodigious bulk, these people were so nimble that none of the Spaniards or Portuguese were swift enough to overtake them. At this place there was a fine river of fresh water, the mouth of which was fully seventeen leagues wide, in which there were seven islands, the largest of which they named the island of St Mary, where they procured some jewels.[2] Proceeding along this coast towards the south, they fell in with two islands so abounding in seals and penguins, that they might have laden all their five ships with them in a short time. The penguins are a black, heavy, unwieldy fowl, extremely fat, covered with a sort of down instead of feathers, and having a bill like that of a raven; drawing their entire subsistence from the sea, as fish is their only food.
[Footnote 2: These jewels may possibly have been a few pearls. The indications in the text are too vague to afford even a guess at the situation of the river and its seven islands; only it may be mentioned, that the most northern part of the coast of Patagonia is in lat. 38° S. and that no river answering the description in the test is to be found on all that coast--E.]
They next advanced to about the latitude of 49° 30' S. where they were forced to remain for five months, owing to the severity of the weather, it being now winter in these southern parts. They here passed their time very unpleasantly, and for a long time believed the country to be uninhabited, but at length a savage came to visit them. He was a brisk jolly fellow, very merrily disposed, and came towards them singing and dancing. On coming to the shore of the haven in which the ships had taken refuge, he stood there for some time, throwing dust upon his head. This being observed, some persons were sent ashore to him in a boat, and making similar signs of peace; and he came along with them on board, without any appearance of fear or hesitation. The size and stature of this person was such as in some measure entitled him to be deemed a giant, the head of one of the ordinary-sized Spaniards only reaching to his waist, and he was proportionally large made. His body was painted all over, having a stag's horn delineated on each cheek, and large circles round the eyes. The natural colour of his skin was yellow, and his hair was white. His apparel consisted of the skin of a beast, clumsily sewed together, covering his whole body and limbs from head to foot. The beast of which this was the skin, was as strange as the wearer, being neither mule, horse, nor camel, but partaking of all three, having the ears of a mule, the tail of a horse, and the body shaped like a camel. The arms of this savage consisted of a stout bow, having for a string the gut or sinew of that strange beast; and the arrows were tipped with sharp stones, instead of iron heads.
The admiral made this man be presented with meat and drink, of which he readily partook, and seemed to enjoy himself very comfortably, till happening to see himself in a mirror which was given him among other toys, he was so frightened that he started back and overturned two of the men, and did not easily recover his composure. This giant fared so well, that several others came to visit the ships, and one of them behaved with so much familiarity and good humour, that the Europeans were much pleased with him. This person shewed them one of the beasts in the skins of which they were cloathed, from which the foregoing description must have been taken.[3] Being desirous to make prisoners of some of these giants, Magellan gave orders for this purpose to some of his crew. Accordingly, while amusing them with toys, they put iron shackles on their legs, which at first they conceived had been fine ornaments like the rest, and seemed pleased with their jingling sound, till they found themselves hampered and betrayed. They then fell a bellowing like bulls, and imploring the aid of Setebos in this extremity, whom they must therefore have conceived some good and compassionate being, as it is not to be conceived they would crave relief from an evil spirit. Yet the voyagers reported strange things, of horrible forms and appearances frequently seen among these people, such as horned demons with long shaggy hair, throwing out fire before and behind: But these seem mere dreams or fables.
[Footnote 3: This must have been a Lama, Paca, or Chilihueque, of the camel genus, vulgarly called Peruvian sheep.--E.]