130 EAST PRUSSIA TO THE GOLDEN GATE 



With all our misfortunes we still have reason to re- 

 joice. As much as we had to suffer, we had at least the 

 satisfaction of seeing some extraordinary sights, which 

 recompensed me at least abundantly for the hardships 

 we had met. 



There are hundreds of ships sailing around the cape 

 that do not even see land at a distance, while we had the 

 advantage of obtaining a broad day view of the cape as 

 well as of the Diego Eamirez Islands, when we had al- 

 ready made up our mind that it would be our unavoidable 

 fate to cruise the South Sea for weeks only amidst ice and 

 snowstorms. We, too, had sailed a whole day along the 

 romantic coast of the "Fireland" (tierra del fuego) and 

 passed the Strait Le Maire on a bright day, which is in 

 itself an unusual occurrence, as only very experienced 

 sea faring men who know the cape and its surroundings 

 well and who have passed it often will dare to pass 

 through this narrow strait. The only conditions which 

 can tempt them to risk this trip are bright weather and 

 light, favorable wind (by which I mean West and North- 

 West wind) which will enable them to make the run in 

 daylight; otherwise they prefer to sail around Staten 

 Island, foregoing thereby the pleasure of seeing the inter- 

 esting points I have mentioned. Everything seemed to 

 come my way during this long voyage so that, notwith- 

 standing the many hardships and privations, I cannot 

 find much reason for complaint, but rather see good cause 

 for satisfaction. 



Let us therefore be thankful that my voyage around 

 the cape terminated so satisfactorily. 



One can safely consider the dangers of Cape Horn over- 

 come as soon as the Eamirez Islands are passed, for the 

 difference between the South Sea and the Atlantic is 

 pronounced in many respects, and it rarely occurs that a 

 vessel which has once reached this point is buffeted back 

 again over the meridian of Cape Horn. 



The Northwest and West-Northwest winds, which blew 

 during the next few days, compelled us again to take a 

 Southwestern direction till we had reached the sixty-first 



