g6 ovalle's historical relation of chile. 



which is, in the good qualities of the fea^ land, and iflands of the ftraight, as well as 

 of the fhore on both fides, and of the good parts that are in it, and of fome particularly 

 fo fecure, that the Ihips rid in them without being faftened, being as fafe as if they 

 had been in a box. 



Among the reft the Hollanders celebrate much the twenty-fifth port, called the 

 Famous ; and it is fo much fo, that George Spilberg, their general, gave it that name, 

 for the excellent reception they found there : they faw the whole earth about covered 

 with various fruits of various colours, and of excellent tafte. To delight them the 

 .more, there was a fine brook of excellent water that fell from a high rock, and watered 

 all the valley entering into the port ; and befides thefe five and twenty ports or har- 

 bours, there were many others in the remaining part of the ftraight, which might 

 be a third of it, all which were very remarkable. 



There is a harbour called De la Pimienta, or the Pepper Harbour, for the fake of 

 fome trees they found in it, whofe barks had a moft aromatick fmell, and a tafte of 

 pepper, fomething more burning and quick than that of the Eaft-Indies. When the 

 Nodales palTed this way, they gathered a great deal of this bark ; and authors fay, that 

 when they brought it to Seville, it was fo valued there, that it was fold for fixteen 

 ryals, or two crowns a pound. 



The fame authors report, that they found cinnamon-trees, which bore good cinna- 

 mon ; and in the fecond narrow pafTage fome others, that bear a fort of black fruit j 

 of moft excellent tafte and favour. In other places they faw moft beautiful woods 

 and groves, pleafant plains, agreeable valleys, intervals of great beauty, with high 

 mountains ; fome covered with fnow, from whence there defcended lovely ftreams j 

 others all cloathed with greens of various forts ; and in them they defcried many 

 animals going to and fro, fuch as deer, oftriches, and others, as alfo great variety 

 of moft beautiful birds of all colours j and among the reft they killed one fo large, 

 that meafuring one of its wings, they found it above a yard long ; and they were fo 

 tame that they flew to the fhips, and fufi^ered themfelves to be handled : they found 

 alfo another fort of large birds, which they called fea-geefe, every one of which, after 

 they had been plumed and pulled, weighed eight pounds of Caftile ; and they were 

 fo numerous, that the ground was covered with them, fo that they killed what quan- 

 tities they pleafed. They faw another fort of bird, much of the fhape of a pigeon, all 

 white, only with red bills, and red feet ; all which were a grand entertainment to 

 them as they failed along. They commend alfo the harbour, which they call Moft 

 Beautiful, where the city of St. Philip was founded ; there they faw the traces of 

 feveral animals, which ufed to come to drink in thofe chryftal fountains. After 

 the third ftraight place, there is to be feen a moft excellent harbour, called the Shell- 

 Harbour, by reafon of the vaft quantities of oyfters and other ftiell-fifh that they 

 found there, which fufficed to feed the whole fleet feveral days, carrying away with 

 them a good provifion likewife for their voyage, all owning that they were better 

 than thofe of Europe. 



There are found in the great canal of the ftraight feveral iflands,which are as eftimable 

 as the Terra Firma ; they are generally in the wideft part, where the fea is feven 

 or eight leagues over ; the chief are thofe of St. Lawrence and St. Stephen, otherwife 

 called the ifland Barnevelt. Before they came to thefe, they found other iflands, 

 which they called the Pinguin Iflands, for the great quantity of that fort of birds that 

 are bred there. There is another, called the Holy King's Ifland, which is in a river, 

 which enters into the ftraights, and they faw in it many leals. Others of thefe iflands 

 are named Sevaldo, from the name of him th»t difcovered them, near which there 



were 



