At the distance of fourteen leagues from the Bay of Good Success, in the direction of S.W.1/2 W. and between two and three leagues from the shore, lies New Island.  It is about two leagues in length from N.E. to S.W. and terminates to the N.E. in a remarkable hillock.  At the distance of seven leagues from New Island, in the direction of S.W. lies the isle Evouts; and a little to the west of the south of this island lie Barnevelt’s two small flat islands, close to each other; they are partly surrounded with rocks, which rise to different heights above the water, and lie twenty-four leagues from the streight of Le Maire.  At the distance of three leagues from Barnevelt’s islands, in the direction of S.W. by S. lies the S.E. point of Hermit’s islands:  These islands lie S.E. and N.W. and are pretty high:  From most points of view they will be taken for one island, or a part of the main.

From the S.E. point of Hermit’s islands to Cape Horn the course is S.W. by S. distance three leagues.

In the chart I drew of this coast, from our first making land to the cape, which includes the Streight of Le Maire, and part of Staten Land, I have laid down no land, nor traced out any shore, but what I saw myself, and thus far it may be depended upon:  The bays and inlets, of which we saw only the openings, are not traced; it can, however, scarcely, be doubted but that most, if not all of them, afford anchorage, wood and water.  The Dutch squadron, commanded by Hermit, certainly put into some of them in the year 1624:  And it was Chapenham, the vice-admiral of this squadron, who first discovered that the land of Cape Horn consisted of a number of islands.  The account, however, which those who sailed in Hermit’s fleet have given of these parts, is extremely defective; and those of Schouton and Le Maire are still worse:  It is therefore no wonder that the charts hitherto published should be erroneous, not only in laying down the land, but in the latitude and longitude of the places they contain.  I will, however, venture to assert, that the longitude of few parts of the world is better ascertained than that of the Streight of Le Maire, and Cape Horn, in the chart now alluded to, as it was laid down by several observations of the sun and moon that were made both by myself and Mr Green.[82]

[Footnote 82:  This chart is necessarily omitted.  Krusenstern, speaking of the observations respecting the position of Cape St John, says, “There are few cities in Europe, the geographical longitude of which is determined with the same degree of accuracy as that of this barren rock, in one of the roughest and most inhospitable islands of the globe.  But how infinitely important is this accuracy to the safety of shipping!” He verified Cook’s determination of the longitude of this cape.—­E.]

The variation of the compass on this coast I found to be from 23 deg. to 25 deg.  E. except near Barnevelt’s islands and Cape Horn, where we found it less, and unsettled:  Probably it is disturbed here by the land, as Hermit’s squadron, in this very place, found all their compasses differ from each other.  The declination of the dipping-needle, when set upon shore in Success Bay, was 68 deg. 15’ below the horizon.