irty
fathoms. We here had plenty of several sorts of fish, as silver-fish,
snappers, bonitoes, cavallos, pollocks, old wives, and cray-fish of
great size. The wind blows here generally off the shore, sometimes in
heavy squalls, but for the most part calm, and where we were moored the
water was very smooth, owing to the winding of the shore. Mr Selkirk
told us it had never blown towards the land above four hours, all the
time he had been there. It is all hills and vallies, and would doubtless
produce most plants usual in such climates, if manured and cultivated,
as the soil promises well in most parts, and already grows turnips and
some other roots, which I suppose were formerly sowed. It has plenty of
wood and water, and abundance of wild goats.

There are such numbers of great sea-lions and other seals of various
sorts, all having excellent furs, in every bay, that we could hardly
walk about along shore for them, as they lay about in flocks like sheep,
their young ones bleating for their dams like so many lambs. Some of
these sea-lions are as big in the body as an English ox, and they roar
like lions. They are covered with short hair of a light colour, which is
still lighter on the young ones. I suppose they live partly on fish and
partly on grass, for they come on shore by means of their fore paws,
dragging their hind parts after them, and bask themselves in the sun in
great numbers. They cut near a foot deep of fat, and we killed a good
many of them for the sake of their oil, which is of good quality, but
they are difficult to kill. Both sea-lions and seals were so numerous on
the shore, that we had to drive them away before we could land, and they
were so numerous as is hardly credible, making a most prodigious noise.

There are but few birds. One sort, called _pardelas_ by the Spaniards,
burrow in the ground like rabbits, and are said to be good eating. There
are also _humming-birds_, not much larger than bumble bees, their bills
no thicker than a pin, their legs proportional to their bodies, and
their minute feathers of most beautiful colours. These are seldom taken
or seen but in the evenings, when they fly about, and they flew
sometimes at night into our fire. There is here a sort of cabbage tree,
of the nature of a palm, producing small cabbages, but very sweet. The
tree is slender and straight, with circular knobs on the stem fourteen
inches above each other, and having no leaves except at the top. The
branch