12 THE ANTARCTIC. 



Brazilian ocean-current, which here sets in to the 

 S.S.W., but this would later on have carried them 

 S.E. and E., especially in the eastern part, into which 

 the Portuguese immediately steered. The Falkland 

 Isles, on the other hand, are washed by the Falkland 

 Island current with a direction of N. or N.N.E., which 

 would also have carried the ships to the E. rather than 

 to the W. Still less does Vespucci's short description 

 serve for the east coast of Patagonia. The coast line 

 certainly extends from Cape Tres Puntas to Hilly Point 

 almost due north and south, and belongs to the peninsula 

 to the south of the Gulf of San Iago. This line, however, 

 reaches only a south latitude of 46^ to 48°, therefore 

 considerably to the north of the latitude indicated by 

 Vespucci. Moreover, the course thither lies still farther 

 to the S.W., and farther within the Falkland current 

 than the Falkland Isles themselves. 



If we regard the island of South Georgia as the 

 land discovered by Vespucci or the Portuguese ex- 

 pedition, the larger number of data seem fairly to agree. 

 In the first place the Portuguese steered to the S.E. 

 from Cananea ; of course they naturally fell in with the 

 Brazil-current, which must have given such poor sailing 

 vessels an appreciable southerly direction. But this 

 might farther on be equalised, for the Brazil-current 

 sweeps round to the east in the neighbourhood of 40 

 S. latitude. If the ships sailed on to the S.E. they 

 would enter the region of the westward drift-current 

 also tending east, and if the southerly course was 

 continued they might easily reach the neighbourhood of 

 South Georgia. The distance was estimated by Ves- 

 pucci on the 3rd of April to be 500 leghe or 2050 miles, 

 but, as before stated, land was not sighted till four days 

 later, so that an additional and probably not inconsider- 

 able distance must be allowed for. The exact distance 

 of the Bay of Cananea from the north coast of South 



