Our comming to the Straites.
With our fayre and large wind, we shaped our course for the Straites; and the tenth of February we had sight of land, and it was the head land of the Straites to the north-wards, which agreed with our height, wherein we found our selves to be, which was in fifty two degrees and fortie minutes.
Within a few houres we had the mouth of the Straites open, which lyeth in fifty-two degrees, and fifty minutes. It riseth like the North Foreland in Kent, and is much like the land of Margates. It is not good to borrow neere the shore, but to give it a fayre birth; within a few houres we entred the mouth of the Straites, which is some six leagues broad, and lyeth in fifty-two degrees, and fifty minutes: doubling the poynt on the star-board, which is also flat, of a good birth, we opened a fayre bay, in which we might discry the hull of a ship beaten upon the beach. It was of the Spanish fleete, that went to inhabite there, in anno 1582, under the charge of Pedro Sarmiento,[150] who at his returne was taken prisoner, and brought into England.
Pedro Sarmiento buildeth San-Philip.
In this bay the Spaniards made their principall habitation, and called it the cittie of Saint Philip, and left it peopled; but the cold barrennes of the countrie, and the malice of the Indians, with whom they badly agreed, made speedie end of them, as also of those whom they left in the middle of the Straites, three leagues from Cape Froward to the east-wards, in another habitation.
We continued our course alongst this reach (for all the Straites is as a river altering his course, sometimes upon one poynt, sometimes upon another) which is some eight leagues long, and lyeth west north-west. From this we entred into a goodly bay, which runneth up into the land northerly many leagues; and at first entrance a man may see no other thing, but as it were a maine sea. From the end of this first reach, you must direct your course west south-west, and some fourteene or fifteene leagues lyeth one of the narrowest places of all the Straites; this leadeth unto another reach, that lyeth west and by north some six leagues.
Here, in the middle of the reach, the wind tooke us by the north-west, and so we were forced to anchor some two or three dayes. In which time, we went a shore with our boates, and found neere the middle of this reach, on the star-boord side, a reasonable good place to ground and trimme a small ship, where it higheth some nine or ten foote water. Here we saw certaine hogges, but they were so farre from us, that wee could not discerne if they were of those of the countrie, or brought by the Spaniards; these were all the beasts which we saw in all the time we were in the Straites.
In two tydes we turned through this reach, and so recovered the ilands of Pengwins; they lye from this reach Note. foure leagues southwest and by west. Till you come to this place, care is to be taken of not comming too neere to any poynt of the land: for being, for the most part, sandie, they have sholding off them, and are somewhat dangerous. The ilands of Pengwins. These ilands have beene set forth by some to be three; we could discover but two: and they are no more, except that part of the mayne, which lyeth over against them, be an iland, which carrieth little likelihood, and I cannot determine it. A man may sayle betwixt the two ilands, or betwixt them and the land on the larboord side; from which land to the bigger iland is, as it were, a bridge or ledge, on which is foure or five fathome water; and to him that commeth neere it, not knowing thereof, may justly cause feare; for it showeth to be shold water with his rypling, like unto a race.[151]
Betwixt the former reach, and these ilands, runneth up a goodly bay into the country to the north-wards. It causeth a great indraught, and above these ilands runneth a great tide from the mouth of the Straites to these ilands; the land on the larboord side is low land and sandy, for the most part, and without doubt, ilands, for it hath many openings into the sea, and forcible indraughts by them, and that on the starboord side, is all high mountaynous land from end to end; but no wood on eyther side. Before wee passed these ilands, under the lee of the bigger iland, we anchored, the wind being at north-east, with intent to refresh ourselves with the fowles of these ilands. Good provision in the Straites. They are of divers sorts, and in great plentie, as pengwins, wilde duckes, gulles, and gannets; of the principall we purposed to make provisions, and those were the pengwins; which in Welsh, as I have beene enformed, signifieth a white head. From which derivation, and many other Welsh denominations given by the Indians, or their predecessors, some doe inferre that America was first peopled with Welsh-men; and Motezanna, king, or rather emperour of Mexico, did recount unto the Spaniards, at their first comming, that his auncestors came from a farre countrie, and were white people. Which, conferred with an auncient cronicle, that I have read many yeares since, may be conjectured to bee a prince of Wales, who many hundreth yeares since, with certaine shippes, sayled to the westwards, with intent to make new discoveries. Hee was never after heard of.
The description of the pengwin.