68 



it' O RTE R ' S J O L Fa\ AL. 



culatecl to afford shelter to vessels navigating those seSis, 

 and engaged in the whale fishery. Indeed, it was the 

 source of much regret to me, and to ail on board, that the 

 state of the weather prevented our having a better view of 

 a coast that has excited so much the attention of mankind, 

 from the description given by the most celebrated naviga- 

 tors. Had circumstances permitted, I should have anchor- 

 ed in the bay of Good Success, so minutely described by 

 captain Cook. 



The land we first made and attempted to weather, wasv 

 Cape San Diego, on the coast of Staten Land, and the ap- 

 pearance was dreary beyond description. Perhaps, how- 

 ever, the critical situation of the ship, the foaming of the 

 breakers, the violence of the wind, and the extreme hazi- 

 ness of the weather, may, ail combined, have served to 

 render the appearance more dreadful. But from tlie im- 

 pression made by its appearance then, and from the de- 

 scription given by others, I am induced to believe, that no 

 part of the world presents a more horrible aspect than Sta- 

 ten Land. The breakers appeared to lie about half a mile 

 from the shore ; while we were standing oft^, the whole sea, 

 from the violence of the current, appeared in a foam of 

 breakers, and nothing but the apprehension of immediate 

 destruction could have induced me to venture through it. 

 But, thanks to the excellent qualities of the ship, we recei- 

 ved no material injury; although we were pitching our 

 forecastle under with a heavy press of sail, and the violence 

 of the sea was such, that it was impossible for any man to 

 stand without grasping something to support himself. Our 

 making the breakers in the manner we did proved most 

 fortunate ; for had we passed through the streights without 

 discovering the land, (which would have been the case had 

 we been one mile farther north,) I should have supposed 

 myself to the east of Staten Land ; and after running the 

 distance which I believed necessary to clear Cape St» 

 John's, have steered a course that would have entangled us 

 in the night with the rocks and breakers about Cape Horn. 

 Had this happened, thick and hazy as the weather conti- 

 nued, our destruction would have been inevitable, as we 

 could not have seen the danger one hundred yards from 

 the ship, had we even been apprehensive and on the look- 

 out for it, which would not have been the case. 



