'4 Cordovans Voyage of Duco'vevy 



to draw together the accounts of all expeditions to the Strait 

 of Magellan which had been published in the different parts 

 of Europe; in which they were zealously assisted by Captain 

 "Don Alexander Malespina, of the department of Cadiz ; who 

 not only parted with his own collection of Voyages, but used 

 every endeavour to procure from other persons such books as 

 he himself did not possess. 



Ail these preparations being concluded, and the commander 

 satisfied that he now had on- board every thing requisite for the 

 proper fulfilment of the enterprise, he ordered the vessel to be 

 completely cleared on the fjth of October, and to be in perfect 

 readiness to put to sea on the following morning. 



SECTION IL 



Voyage from Cadiz to the Strait of Magellan,^ 



Having received from the Captain-general of the Fleet our 

 final instructions and orders, authorising us to undertake the 

 expedition, "vve set sail from Cadiz, at break of day, on Sunday 

 the 9th of October, with an easy wind from the land, and an 

 ebbing tide. The little wind we had being variable, we made 

 but small progress; so that at night we were still within sight 

 of the town. This weather lasted all night: however, in the 

 morning early we had a distant view of Cape Spartel, on the 

 coast of Africa. By observations of our latitude at mid-day, 

 and from the longitude indicated by the time-pieces, as well as 

 from our position according to the sea-chart, we found that the 

 currents had carried us towards the south-east quarter, — a thing 

 very common in these parts, on account of their general setting 

 into the Strait of Gibraltar. In the evening we directed our 

 course for the Canary Islands, which we reached without meet- 

 ing with any tlhng remarkable on the passage. 



The time-pieces. No. l6 of Berthoud and No. 71 of Arnold, 

 kept an uniform pace : but No. 15 of the former artist gave 

 room, from our first setting out, to suspect its accuracy ; as its 

 movements differed continually from those of the other two. 



During the passage to the Canaries, no considerable setting 

 of the waters was perceived ; the errors occasioned by them in 

 our reckoning mutually counterbalancing each otlier. 



At day-break of the lOth, we discovered the islands Grand 



* The name in the Spanish iangiiage is MugaUanes, and pronounced nearly 

 tims in P^nglisli — Magalyanes, tiie tliiid syllable being accented. The Itaiiaas 

 spell it MagaglimifiSy which is equivalent to the fo«mur. 



3 



