Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.1): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

32 SAItMIENTo''s COLONY, 1585. colony, and assisting in the recovery of his stranded ship ; she had, however, drifted off, and sunk near Baliia ; and all his boats were destroyed. Still Sanniento persevered in his zealous eiforts to succour his friends in the Strait ; and succeeded in procuring a vessel of fifty or sixty tons, which, loaded with arms and whatever he considered useful, sailed, and reached Rio de Janeiro a month after the departure of the first vessel (January 1585). He followed, but in the latitude of S9° met Avith a furious gale, which drove him back to Rio de Janeiro, where the vessel that had preceded him had returned in distress. Disappointed in his attempts to carry succour to the colony, he determined to go to Spain ; but on his voyage thither, to complete the catalogue of his misfortunes, his ship was captured by three Enghsh vessels, and taken to England, after which the ill-fated colony in the Strait was neglected, if not entirely- forgotten. Two months after Sarmiento's departure from the Sti'ait of Magalhaens, in the month of August, the middle of the winter of that region, the party belonging to the first establishment at Jesus set off by land, and joined that at San Felipe, with the unwelcome tidings of their deserted state. But as the provi- sions at San Felipe were insufficient to support all the people, Andres de Viedma, who, after Sarraiento's departure, had assumed the command, detached two hundred soldiers, under the command of Juan Iniguez, back to Jesus, for the purpose of communicating with any ship that might make her appear- ance, and awaiting the expected return of Sarmiento ; but the winter and following summer passed by without any relief. In this unhappy state, the colonists were obliged to think only of provichng for their safety, and built two boats ; in which fifty people embarked, besides Viedma, Suarez, a Franciscan friar named Antonio, and five Spanish women. They had not proceeded farther than Point Santa Brigida,* • From Sarmiento's description of the coast, Point Santa Brigida is the outward point of Nassau Island. (a) See Sarmiento's Voyage, p. 220. (rt) By Nassau Island is meant the land forming the south shore of the Second Narrow. — R. F.