QUONIAMBEC.
[Fac-simile of a copperplate engraving in the English version of Thevet’s Portraitures and Lives appended to North’s Plutarch (Cambridge, England) p. 86. Thevet in his text says of this “giant-like man,” “I have seen him and sufficiently observed him upon the River of Janaira. He had a great body, proportionably gross, exceeding strong. His portraiture I brought from that country, with two green stones in his cheeks and one on his chin.”—Ed.]
This last sneer is in Fletcher’s worst vein. The etymology of “Pentagones” is all his own. Magellan’s people say distinctly that they named the Patagonians from their large feet,—taking the phrase “large feet” from the large shoes which they wore to protect their feet from cold. The language is distinct: “Their shoes go four inches above the great toe, and the space is filled with straw to keep them from the cold.” These shoes, of this same form, are figured by modern artists, who have drawn for us the Tehuelches of to-day. It is quite possible that the false etymology which made “Patagonian” mean “Five-cubit man” was the real foundation for the general notion of the gigantic size of the race.
From these winter quarters Magellan despatched the “Sant Iago” to examine the coast. The vessel was unfortunately lost on the rocks, but all the crew were saved. Two sailors returned to the rest of the squadron with news of the disaster, and the commander sent back supplies. They were near a hundred miles away from him, but he kept them supplied with provisions; and they were able to rescue a part of the stores and equipage of their vessel. At the end of two months, in which they encamped upon the shore, they rejoined him. It is observed that with them the winter was so cold that for water for their daily use they were obliged to melt ice.
After taking possession of Patagonia in the name of the King of Spain, by planting a standard on a hill which they called Monte Cristo, Magellan sailed on the 24th of August from this inhospitable bay. He now carried out the cruel sentence of the Court on Juan de Carthagena and the priest Pedro Sanches. He landed them with a supply of biscuit and wine, and left them to their fate.
Two days after, following the coast, he entered the River of Santa Cruz and narrowly escaped shipwreck there. He was able to supply himself with wood, water, and fish. On the 11th of October he observed an eclipse of the sun.[1601]
Still keeping on, during the 21st of October, the day which the Church consecrated to the “Eleven thousand Virgins,” they discovered a strait, to which Magellan gave that name. It was the entry to the famous channel, four hundred and forty miles long, according to his estimate, which has for so many years borne his name. The depth of water near the shore, which has since been observed, attracted the attention of the Spaniards. The mountains which looked down upon it were high, and covered with snow.
