Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/101

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road, and Mr Candish came into the harborough in a boat which he had made at sea; for his long boat and light-horseman were lost at sea, as also a pinnesse which he had built at Santos: and being abord the Desire he tolde our Captaine of all his extremities, and spake most hardly of his company, and of diuers gentlemen that were with him, purposing no more to go abord his owne ship, but to stay in the Desire. We all sorrowed to heare such hard speaches of our good friends; but hauing spoken with the gentlemen of the Galeon wee found them faithfull, honest, and resolute, in proceeding, although it pleased our Generall otherwise to conceiue of them.

The 20. of March we departed from Port Desire, master Candish being in the Desire with vs.

The eight of April 1592, wee fell with the Streights of Magellan, induring many furious stormes betweene Port Desire and the Streight. The 14. we passed through the first Streight. The 16. we passed the second Streight being ten leagues distant from the first. The 18. we doubled Cape Froward; which Cape lieth in 53. degrees and 1/2. The 21. wee were inforced by the fury of the weather to put into a small cooue with our ships, 4. leagues from the said Cape, vpon the South shoare, where wee remained vntil the 15. of May. In the which time wee indured extreeme stormes, with perpetual snow, where many of our men died with cursed famine, and miserable cold, not hauing herewith to couer their bodies, nor to fill their bellies, but liuing by muskles, water, and weeds of the sea, with a small reliefe of the ships store in meale sometimes. And all the sicke men in the Galeon were most vncharitably put a shore into the woods in the snowe, raine, and cold, when men of good health could scarcely indure it, where they ended their liue in the highest degree of misery, master Candish all this while being abord the Desire. In these great extremities of snow and cold, doubting what the ende would be, he asked our Captaines opinion, because he was a man that had good experience of the Northwest parts, in his 3. seuerall discoueries that way, imployed by the merchants of London. Our Captaine tolde him, that this snowe was a matter of no long continuance, and gaue him sufficient reason for it, and that thereby hee could not much be preiudiced or hindered in his proceeding. Notwithstanding he called together all the company, and tolde