160 cook's second voyage dec. 



to abate, and at noon it fell calm, when we observed 

 in latitude 55° 20' S., longitude made from Cape 

 Deseada 3° 24' E. In this situation we were about 

 three leagues from the nearest shore, which was that 

 of an island. This I named Gilbert Isle, after my 

 master. It is nearly of the same height with the rest 

 of the coast, and shows a surface composed of several 

 peaked rocks unequally high. A little to the S.E. 

 of it are some smaller islands, and, without them, 

 breakers. 



I have before observed that this is the most deso- 

 late coast I ever saw. It seems entirely composed of 

 rocky mountains without the least appearance of 

 vegetation. These mountains terminate in horrible 

 precipices, whose craggy summits spire up to a vast 

 height ; so that hardly any thing in nature can ap- 

 pear with a more barren and savage aspect than the 

 whole of this country. The inland mountains were 

 covered with snow, but those on the sea-coast were 

 not. We judged the former to belong to the main of 

 Terra del Fuego, and the latter to be islands, so 

 ranged as apparently to form a coast. 



After three hours' calm, we got a breeze at S. E. by 

 E. and having made a short trip to south, stood in 

 for the land ; the most advanced point of which, that 

 we had in sight, bore E., distant ten leagues. This 

 is a lofty promontory, lying E.S.E. nineteen leagues 

 from Gilbert Isle, and situated in latitude 55° 26' S. 

 longitude 70° 25' W. Viewed from the situation we 

 now were in, it terminated in two high towers ; and 

 within them a hill shaped like a sugar-loaf. This 

 wild rock therefore obtained the name of York 

 Minster. Two leagues to the westward of this head 

 appeared a large inlet, the west point of which we 

 fetched in with, by nine o'clock, when we tacked in 

 forty-one fathoms water, half a league from the 

 shore : to the westward of this inlet was another, with 

 several islands lying in the entrance. 



During the night between the 19th and 20th, we 



