The 11th the boats were sent down the river in search of fresh water, on the south side, but found it all brackish and unpleasant.  They saw ostriches here, and a sort of beasts like harts, having wonderfully long necks, and extremely wild.  Upon the high hills, they found great heaps of stones, under which some monstrous carcass had been buried, some of the bones being ten or eleven feet long, which, if having belonged to rational creatures, must have been the bones of giants.[105] They here had plenty of good fish and fowls, but no water could be found for some days.

[Footnote 105:  Giants indeed; for thigh bones of ten or eleven feet long, and these are the longest in the human body, would argue men of thirty-one feet high!—­E.]

On the 17th December, the Unity was laid ashore on King’s island, in order to clean her bottom, and next day the Horn was hauled on shore for the same purpose, but providentially at the distance of about 200 yards from her consort:  For, on the 19th, while burning a fire of dry reeds under the Horn, which was necessary for the object in view, the flame caught hold of the ship, and they were forced to see her burn without being able to do any thing to extinguish the fire, as they were at least fifty feet from the water side.  They launched the Unity at high water on the 20th, and next day carried on board all the iron-work, anchors, cannon, and whatever else they had been able to save belonging to the Horn.

On the 25th some holes full of fresh water were found, which was white and muddy, yet well tasted, and of which a great quantity was carried on board, in small casks on the men’s shoulders.  At this place, they found great numbers of sea lions, the young of which are good to eat.  This creature is nearly as big as a small horse, their heads resembling lions, and the males having long manes on their necks of tough coarse hair; but the females have no manes, and are only half as large as the males.  They are a bold and fierce animal, and only to be destroyed by musket shot.

January 18th, 1616, they departed from Port Desire:  and on the 18th, being in lat. 51 deg.  S they saw the Sebaldine [or Faulkland] islands, as laid down by de Weert.  The 20th, being in lat. 53 deg.  S. and by estimation twenty leagues to the South of the Straits of Magellan, they observed a strong current running to the S.W.  The 22d the wind was uncertain, and shifting, and the water had a white appearance, as if they had been within the land; and holding on their course, S. by W. they saw land that same day, bearing from them W. and W.S.W. and quickly afterwards saw other land to the south.  Then attempting, by an E.S.E. course, to get beyond the land, they were constrained to take in their topsails, by the wind blowing hard at north.  In the forenoon of the 24th they saw land to starboard, at the distance of a league, stretching out to the east and south, having very high hills all covered with snow.