300 FALKLAND ISLANDS. 



he discovered there, Isabel, in honour of his 

 queen. After leaving the straits he was driven 

 south, by a succession of storms, as far as lati- 

 tude 55°, where he discovered a cluster of 

 islands — anchored, and spent some days on 

 shore. Leaving these islands, he was assailed 

 by another violent storm, and was driven further 

 south, even beyond the 57th degree, " where," 

 says the writer of his voyage, " we beheld the 

 extremities of the American coast, and the con- 

 fluence of the Atlantic and Southern oceans." 

 This was on the 28th of October, 1578. 



From these notices it would appear that 

 the northern coast of Tierra del Fuego was first 

 discovered by Magellan, when in the service of 

 Spain ; and the south-western coast and some 

 islands in that direction by Sir Francis Drake, 

 in the service of England, who probably dis- 

 covered the southern extremity of the Ame- 

 rican continent, now called Cape Horn. 



So little was known of the southern and 

 eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego as late as the 

 year 1774, that Cook, the greatest of English 

 navigators, while on his second voyage, when 

 actually in sight of Cape Horn, could not as- 



