by plantain-trees, the fruit of which is an excellent
food. This place is subject to severe thunder-storms, with much rain, in
September.

[Footnote 45: Harris erroneously names these the islands of Cape Verd,
which are at a vast distance from Sierra Leona. The Banana isles are in
lat. 8 deg. N. and long. 12 deg. 30' W. from Greenwich. In Hakluyt these are
called the isles of Madrabumba, and are said to be ten leagues from the
point of Sierra Leona.--E.]

Leaving these islands and the African coast on the 10th September, and
holding their course W.S.W. obliquely across the Atlantic, they fell in
with a great mountain in Brazil, on the 31st of October, twenty-four
leagues from Cape _Frio_. This mountain has a high round top, shewing
from afar like a little town. On the 1st November, they stood in between
the island of St Sebastian and the main; where they carried their things
on shore, and erected a forge, and built a pinnace, repairing also every
thing that was out of order, in which work they were detained till the
23d of November. Sailing from this place on the 26th, they fell in with
the coast of South America again in lat. 47 deg. 20' S. whence they
proceeded along shore till they came to lat. 48 deg. S. finding a steep
beach all along. On the 27th of November they came to a harbour, into
which Candish first entered, giving it the name of Port Desire, from
that of his ship.[46] Near this harbour they found an island or two well
stocked with seals, and another in which there were vast numbers of grey
gulls.[47]

[Footnote 46: As laid down in modern maps, the latitude of Port Desire
is only 47 deg. 15' S.]

[Footnote 47: Probably penguins.--E.]

This haven of Port Desire was found very favourable for careening and
graving of ships, as the tide there ebbed and flowed considerably. At
this place the savages wounded two of the Englishmen with their arrows,
which were made of canes or reeds, tipt with sharpened flints. These
savage natives of the country round Port Desire were exceedingly wild
and rude, and as it would seem of a gigantic race, as the measure of one
of their foot marks was eighteen inches long.[48] This agrees well with
the assertion of Magellan, though some pains have been taken to
represent that as fabulous. Magellan called this country Patagonia, and
its inhabitants Patagons, meaning to signify that they were five cubits,
or _seven feet and a half high_. Hence, as the Portuguese are not
commonly