doubtless of the same nature with the larger and more violent flashes
of lightning which then filled the air.

It were endless to recite minutely the various disasters, fatigues,
and terrors, which we encountered on this coast, all of which went
on increasing till the 22d of May; at which time the fury of all the
storms we had hitherto encountered seemed to have combined for our
destruction. In this hurricane almost all our sails were split, and a
great part of our standing rigging broken. About eight in the evening,
an overgrown mountainous wave took us upon our star-board quarter, and
gave us so prodigious a shock that several of our shrouds broke with
the jerk, to the great danger of our masts giving way, and our ballast
and stores were so strangely shifted, that the ship heeled afterwards
two streaks to port. This was a most tremendous blow, and we were
thrown into the utmost consternation, having the dismal apprehension
of instantly foundering. Though the wind abated in a few hours, yet,
having no sails left in a condition to bend to the yards, the ship
laboured exceedingly in a hollow sea, rolling gunwale too, for want
of sail to keep her steady, so that we every moment expected that our
masts, now very slenderly supported, would have come by the board. We
exerted ourselves, however, the best we could, to stirrup our shrouds,
to reeve new lanyards, and to mend our sails: But, while these
necessary operations were going on, we ran great risk of being driven
ashore on the island of Chiloe, which was not far from us. In the
midst of our peril, the wind happily shifted to the southward, and we
steered off the land with the main-sail only; at which time the master
and I undertook the management of the helm, while every one else,
capable of acting, were busied in securing the masts, and bending the
sails as fast as they could be repaired. This was the last effort of
that stormy climate; for, in a day or two after, we got clear of the
land, and found the weather more moderate than we had yet experienced
since passing the Straits of Le Maire.

Having now cruized in vain, for the other ships of the squadron,
during more than a fortnight, it was resolved to take advantage of
the present favourable weather, and the offing we had made from this
terrible coast, and to make the best of our way for the island of
Juan Fernandez. It is true that our next rendezvous was appointed off
Baldivia; yet, as we had seen none of our comp