A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 10 | Page 5

of Spain with five
ships, manned by 234 men, with provisions for two years; and that the
adventurers should reap a twentieth part of the clear profit, the
government of any islands they might discover to be vested in them and
their heirs for ever, with the title of Adelantado. The agreed, fleet of
five ships was accordingly fitted out for the expedition at Seville,
consisting of the Trinidada, in which Magellan sailed as admiral, and
having a Portuguese pilot named Stephen Gomez; the Santa Vittoria,
commanded by Don Luis de Mendoza; the St Antonio, Don Juan de
Carthagena; the St Jago, Don Juan Serrano; and the Conception, Don
Gaspar de Quixada. According to some authors, the number of men in
these five ships amounted to 237, though by most they are said to have
been 250, among whom were thirty Portuguese, upon whom Magellan
chiefly depended for naval skill; as he likewise did greatly upon
Serrano, who had left the service of Portugal in like manner with
himself, after having served for many years in India, and some time in
the Moluccas, of which islands they were now going in search.
SECTION II.
_Proceedings of the Voyage from Seville to Patagonia, and wintering
there_.
Great hopes of success were entertained from this voyage, from the
known experience of the commanders, although its real object was
carefully concealed by Magellan, who merely gave out to the other
adventurers that it was intended for the discovery of new countries, by
which they believed themselves bound to the certain acquisition of gold.
They set sail from Seville, in high expectations of acquiring riches, on

the 10th of August, 1519. The 3d October, the fleet arrived between
Cape Verd and the islands of that name. After being detained by
tedious calms on the coast of Guinea for seventy days, they at last got
to the south of the line, and held on their course to the coast of Brazil,
of which they came in sight in about the latitude of 23° S. They here
procured abundant refreshments of fruits, sugar-canes, and several
kinds of animals.
Proceeding about 2 1/2 degrees farther south, they came into a country
inhabited by a wild sort of people, of prodigious stature, fierce and
barbarous, and making a strange roaring noise, more like the bellowing
of bulls, than human speech. Notwithstanding their prodigious bulk,
these people were so nimble that none of the Spaniards or Portuguese
were swift enough to overtake them. At this place there was a fine river
of fresh water, the mouth of which was fully seventeen leagues wide, in
which there were seven islands, the largest of which they named the
island of St Mary, where they procured some jewels.[2] Proceeding
along this coast towards the south, they fell in with two islands so
abounding in seals and penguins, that they might have laden all their
five ships with them in a short time. The penguins are a black, heavy,
unwieldy fowl, extremely fat, covered with a sort of down instead of
feathers, and having a bill like that of a raven; drawing their entire
subsistence from the sea, as fish is their only food.
[Footnote 2: These jewels may possibly have been a few pearls. The
indications in the text are too vague to afford even a guess at the
situation of the river and its seven islands; only it may be mentioned,
that the most northern part of the coast of Patagonia is in lat. 38° S. and
that no river answering the description in the test is to be found on all
that coast--E.]
They next advanced to about the latitude of 49° 30' S. where they were
forced to remain for five months, owing to the severity of the weather,
it being now winter in these southern parts. They here passed their time
very unpleasantly, and for a long time believed the country to be
uninhabited, but at length a savage came to visit them. He was a brisk
jolly fellow, very merrily disposed, and came towards them singing and

dancing. On coming to the shore of the haven in which the ships had
taken refuge, he stood there for some time, throwing dust upon his head.
This being observed, some persons were sent ashore to him in a boat,
and making similar signs of peace; and he came along with them on
board, without any appearance of fear or hesitation. The size and
stature of this person was such as in some measure entitled him to be
deemed a giant, the head of one of the ordinary-sized Spaniards only
reaching to his waist, and he was proportionally large made. His body
was painted all over, having a stag's horn delineated on each cheek, and
large circles round the eyes. The natural