that day, but at night, finding they could not get near him, they gave over the chase, and directed their course to the southward.

(*Note. Captain Mitchel commanded the Pearl when the squadron started; but Captain Norris of the Gloucester had gone home sick from Madeira and several changes had taken place in the commands. The death of Captain Kidd caused fresh promotions. Captain Mitchel now commanded the Gloucester and Captain Murray the Pearl; while Lieutenants Cheap and Saunders had been promoted captains of the Wager and Trial.)

And now, had it not been for the necessity we were under of refitting the Trial, this piece of intelligence would have prevented our making any stay at St. Julian; but as it was impossible for that sloop to proceed round the Cape in the present condition, some stay there was inevitable; and, therefore, we sent the two cutters belonging to the Centurion and Severn in shore to discover the harbour of St. Julian, while the ships kept standing along the coast at about the distance of a league from the land. At six o'clock we anchored in the Bay of St. Julian. Soon after the cutters returned on board, having discovered the harbour, which did not appear to us in our situation, the northernmost point shutting in upon the southernmost, and in appearance closing the entrance.

Being come to an anchor in this Bay of St. Julian, principally with a view of refitting the Trial, the carpenters were immediately employed in that business, and continued so during our whole stay at the place. Here the Commodore, too, in order to ease the expedition of all unnecessary expense, held a consultation with his captains about unloading and discharging the Anna pink;* but they represented to him that they were so far from being in a condition of taking any part of her loading on board that they had still great quantities of provisions in the way of their guns between decks, and that their ships were withal so very deep that they were not fit for action without being cleared. This put the Commodore under the necessity of retaining the pink in the service; and as it was apprehended we should certainly meet with the Spanish squadron in passing the Cape, Mr. Anson thought it advisable to give orders to the captains to put all their provisions which were in the way of their guns on board the Anna pink, and to remount such of their guns as had formerly for the ease of their ships been ordered into the hold.

(*Note. The Industry pink had been unloaded and discharged on November 19th.)

CHAPTER 5.
FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS--TIERRA DEL FUEGO--THE STRAITS OF LE MAIRE.

A COUNCIL OF WAR.

The Trial being nearly refitted, which was our principal occupation at this Bay of St. Julian, and the sole occasion of our stay, the Commodore thought it necessary, as we were now directly bound for the South Seas and the enemy's coasts, to regulate the plan of his future operations. And therefore, on the 24th of February, a signal was made for all captains, and a council of war was held on board the Centurion. At this council Mr. Anson proposed that their first attempt, after their arrival in the South Seas, should be the attack of the town and harbour of Baldivia, the principal frontier place of the district of Chile. To this proposition made by the Commodore the council unanimously and readily agreed; and in consequence of this resolution instructions were given to the captains of the squadron, by which they were directed in case of separation to make the best of their way to the island of Nuestra Senora del Socoro, and to cruise off that island ten days; from whence, if not joined by the Commodore, they were to proceed and cruise off the harbour of Baldivia, making the land between the latitudes of 40 degrees and 40 degrees 30 minutes, and taking care to keep to the southward of the port; and if in fourteen days they were not joined by the rest of the squadron, they were then to quit this station, and to direct their course to the island of Juan Fernandez, after which they were to regulate their further proceedings by their former orders. And as separation of the squadron might prove of the utmost prejudice to His Majesty's service, each captain was ordered to give it in charge to the respective officers of the watch not to keep their ship at a greater distance from the Centurion than two miles, as they would answer it at their peril; and if any captain should find his ship beyond the distance specified, he was to acquaint the Commodore with the name of the officer who had thus neglected his duty.

These necessary regulations being established, and the Trial sloop completed, the squadron weighed on Friday, the 27th of February, at seven in the morning, and stood to sea.

From our departure from St. Julian to the 4th of March we had little wind, with thick, hazy weather and some rain. On the 4th of March we were in sight of Cape Virgin Mary,* and not more than six or seven leagues distant from it. The afternoon of this day was very bright and clear, with small breezes of wind, inclinable to a calm; and most of the captains took the opportunity of this favourable weather to pay a visit to the Commodore.

(*Note. Cape de las Virgenes, the south-eastern extremity of Patagonia at the entrance to the straits of Magellan.)

We here found, what was constantly verified by all our observations in these high latitudes,* that fair weather was always of an exceeding short duration, and that when it was remarkably fine it was a certain presage of a succeeding storm; for the calm and sunshine of our afternoon ended in a most turbulent night, the wind freshening from the south-west as the night came on, and increasing its violence continually till nine in the morning the next day, when it blew so hard that we were obliged to bring to with the squadron, and to continue under a reefed mizzen till eleven at night. Towards midnight, the wind abating, we made sail again; and steering south, we discovered in the morning for the first time the land called Tierra del Fuego. This indeed afforded us but a very uncomfortable prospect, it appearing of a stupendous height, covered everywhere with snow. As we intended to pass through Straits le Maire next day, we lay to at night that we might not over shoot them, and took this opportunity to prepare ourselves for the tempestuous climate we were soon to be engaged in; with which view we employed ourselves good part of the night in bending an entire new suit of sails to the yards. At four the next morning, being the 7th of March, we made sail, and at eight saw the land, and soon after we began to open the Straits.

THE EVE OF DISASTER.

About ten o'clock, the Pearl and the Trial being ordered to keep ahead of the squadron, we entered them with fair weather and a brisk gale, and were hurried through by the rapidity of the tide in about two hours, though they are between seven and eight leagues in length. As these Straits are often considered as the boundary between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and as we presumed we had nothing now before us but an open sea till we arrived on those opulent coasts where all our hopes and wishes centred, we could not help flattering ourselves that the greatest difficulty of our passage was now at an end, and that our most sanguine dreams were upon the point of being realised, and hence we indulged our imaginations in those romantic schemes which the fancied possession of the Chilean gold and Peruvian silver might be conceived to inspire. These joyous ideas were heightened by the brightness of the sky and the serenity of the weather, which was indeed most remarkably pleasing; for though the winter was now advancing apace, yet the morning of this day, in its brilliancy and mildness, gave place to none we had seen since our departure from England. Thus animated by these delusions, we traversed these memorable Straits, ignorant of the dreadful calamities that were then impending, and just ready