April 18S0. SPECIMENS — chanticleer — mistake. 433 



on ; but, having the chronometer and a sextant to take care of, 

 I waited till one of the men returned with a lantern. All 

 reached the boat before nine o'clock, without losing or injuring 

 any thing ; but the cargo of stones, for specimens, which each 

 brought back, delayed our returning progress materially. 



" At day-light (21st) we launched and stowed our boat, 

 and set out on our return. We reached the ship that after- 

 noon, well laden with fragments of Cape Horn. 



" 22d. Since the end of March the weather had been more 

 settled, and much finer than we had yet had it on any part of 

 the coast ; but our visit to Horn Island was only just in time, 

 for it soon changed again to blowing and raining. Being close 

 to the head of the cove, we did not feel the williwaws — though 

 they appeared to blow sharply enough about the middle of it. 

 I did not wonder at the American, whom we met in the Strait 

 of Magalhaens, saying that he saw ' marks of a very large 

 establishment for the head of this cove appeared to have been 

 colonized by the Chanticleer, so many remains of wooden roads 

 and wooden houses were visible every where. 



" 23d — 24th. Bad weather. I was waiting anxiously for an 

 opportunity of getting a true bearing of Diego Ramirez, from 

 the top of Kater Peak, or Cape Spencer, to cross the bearings 

 obtained from Henderson Island. 



" 25th. I went up to the summit of the Peak, but found so 

 thick a haze, that no distant object could be seen. Leaving 

 the instruments at the top, after taking a few angles, and obser- 

 vations of the sun for true bearings, I descended, and after- 

 wards examined St. Bernard Cove, which appeared to be a 

 good harbour. By comparing the old charts with this place 

 and Nassau Bay, I became convinced that there had been a 

 great mistake, and that the Bay of Nassau is, or rather was, 

 the bay of St. Francis ; and that the plan given in the Admi- 

 ralty charts is a very fair sketch of its west side, from False 

 Cape to Packsaddle Island ; but the bottom and east side of 

 the bay are evidently put in at random, and would have been 

 better left out to give place to the words, ' Land was seen in 

 this direction.' Neither in shape, bearings, distance, or 



VOL. I. 2 F 



