874 
THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
of fortifying narrow parts of the Strait in order to prevent vessels of any other nation 
than their own passing into the Pacific, as at this time it was not known that a passage 
existed round Cape Horn. The King approved of Sarmiento’s plans, and despatched a 
fleet of twenty- three ships, on board of which were numerous artificers, and large stores of 
ammunition and ordnance, to colonize and fortify commanding situations in the Strait. 
Owing to various mishaps on the voyage, Sarmiento did not arrive off Cape Virgins 
until the 1st February 1584, and then with only five vessels. Directly they anchored, 
the men were landed to form a colony, but one of the vessels being wrecked and three 
driven off by westerly gales, Sarmiento was left with 400 men and 30 women, with 
provisions for only eight months. Leaving 150 men under the command of Andres de 
Viedrua to found the City of Jesus, Sarmiento proceeded with the remainder overland to 
the bay now known as Port Famine, where he founded the city of San Felipe. The 
exact situation of the City of Jesus appears doubtful ; Burney says that in the chart of 
Olmedilla it is placed near Cape Possession, but Captain King thinks it was about half 
way between the first and second narrows. 
On the 25th May, Sarmiento left the town of San Felipe in charge of Juan Suarez 
and sailed in the “ Maria,” the only vessel remaining, for the Settlement of Jesus, 
off which he anchored ; but a violent tempest drove him out to. sea and forced him 
to bear up for Brazil, from whence he endeavoured to despatch supplies to his colony, 
but failed owing to a series of misfortunes. Nothing more was heard of either of 
the two settlements until January 1587, when Cavendish entered the strait and found 
fifteen men and three women remaining of the inhabitants of the town of San Felipe. 
Whilst these Spaniards were considering whether they should trust themselves on board 
an English ship, a fair wind arose, with which Cavendish proceeded through the strait. 
Cavendish gave the name of Port Famine to the bay in which the town of San Felipe 
was situated, a name which it bears to this day. He rescued one man, Tome Hernandez, 
from starvation, and another was rescued by Merick in 1590 ; these were the only two 
survivors of the 400 men and 30 women landed in 1584. 
Cavendish passed through the strait in 49 days in January and February 1587. 
Merick in January 1590 failed to get far beyond Cape Froward, the southern point of 
America, and Cavendish in his second voyage also failed to get farther than that Cape in 
April and May 1592; but Captain John Davis, who discovered the Falkland Islands in that 
} T ear, succeeded in passing through the Strait of Magellan in September. Westerly gales, 
however, forced him back from the Pacific again, and he eventually returned to Port 
Desire, being thus the second navigator to pass through from west to east. The next 
Englishman to pass was Sir John Hawkins in February and March 1594; he took 39 
days in sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In 1599 De Cordes, the first Dutchman 
who attempted this route, wintered in the strait, remaining there from April to September, 
finally passing into the Pacific on the 3rd of the latter month. On November 4th 
