foot, to enter upon this adventure, at his own rifque and that of his friends.

This gentleman entered into the defign, with all the vivacity natural to his country, and that peculiar fervour which conftitutes the fpirit of adventure. He accordingly, after having received the neceffary encouragement from government, built and fitted out at St. Malo, a frigate of 20 guns and 100 men, together with a ftout floop, fit for the defigned fervice, having about 150 people, including fome Acadian families on board the two veffels, which were.commanded by marine officers, under the conduct of M. de Bougan

ville.

The first part of the plan formed by this gentleman, and which he had avowedly taken up from the reading of Lord Anfon's voyage, confifted in the finding out, and the making of a fettlement on the Malouine iflands.

Among the advantages propofed from this fettlement, befides the opening of a trade with the Portugueze, Spaniards, and Patagonians, it was fuppofed that it would have been an useful ftation and place of refreshment) and not confiderably out of the way) for the French East India fhips to touch at in their voyages. With respect to the prefent expedition, if the great and hoped for difcoveries were made in the pacific ocean, this fettlement must be of the greateft confequence towards the converting of them to advantage.

The French, after having touched at the Brazils (where they met with a cordiality and friendship very different from what the English are faid generally to have ex

perienced there) and at Monte Video, a Spanish fettlement in the river of Plata, where they took in a quantity of flock for the ufe of the intended colony, arrived at length at the FalkFeb. 1764. land's Iflands, where they formed an establishment, and built a fmal! fort. The French

feemed for fome time very fanguine in the fupport of this new fettlement, and the immenfe quantities of wild fowl, fifh, and amphibious animals which they met with, made the means of living very easy.

Their difcoveries in the pacific ocean did not, however, answer the vait expectations that were formed, nor did there feem any immediate profpect of profit to the adventurers, which could repay the great expences they were at in the purfuit. The Spaniards had befides at all times been very jealous of any difcoveries, much more of fettlements, to be made by any other European nation in that part of the world; and though in the prefent intimate ftate of alliance and union between the courts of France and Spain, the former might probably be indulged with any advantages that could be derived from this project; it is also to be fuppofed, that as the design and effect of our voyages thither became known, the fame agreement in fentiments and politics would readily induce them to put a ftop to an undertaking, which would have eftablished a precedent directly contrary to that claim of an exclufive right to all the Magellanic regions, on which the King of Spain intended to found his plea, in oppofition to our eftablifhment there. Whatever the political motives might have been, [4] 3

M. de

M. de Bouganville, about two years after the fettlement had been made, was fent by his court to Spain, where a ceffion of it was concluded, by which the French relinquished all claims which they had pretended from either the difcovery or the poffeffion; and he, having undoubtedly received at leaft a compenfation for his expences, carried a Spanish governor and fome troops thither in the year 1766, from Buenos Ayres, to whom he refigned the poffeffion, and who changed the name from Port Louis, which the French had given it, to Port Solidad.

Thefe islands lie in about 51 degrees and a half of fouthern latitude, and about 100 leagues on this fide of the ftreights of Magellan. They feem to confift of two great islands and a number of fmall ones; the great ones being divided by a found or freight of very confiderable length, and the land every where cut into and interfected by almoft numberless bays, many of which run very deep into the country, and, as well as the found, are dotted with fmall islands. Our fettlement at Port Egmont lies upon a fmall island, adjoining to the greater and most western of the two confiderable islands, and Port Solidad, on the eaftern and leffer of the principal iflands.

Commodore Byron is faid to have reprefented thefe islands in a yery favourable point of view; that he fuppofed the great ones to be fix or feven hundred miles in circumference, the harbour at Port Egmont admirable, plenty of water, and an exuberance of very long herbage, the foil deep, and to all appearance good, plenty of iron pre, and an indication of other

minerals; but the country, fo far as it had been discovered, deftitute of wood. Wild fowl were alfo in the greatest abundance, and geese in particular fo plenty, that they killed about an hundred a day for the ufe of each fhip, only by pelting them with ftones.

This account is not only confirmed, but exceeded, in thofe given by the French, who magnify the temperature and goodness of the climate, run encomiums on the excellence of the fish, which they caught in great quantities, and defcribe the numbers of wild-fowl and penguins almost as incredible; they also found the fea-lions and wolves very numerous, which are valuable, both for their skins, and the vast quantities of oil they afford: this they computed at no lefs than four hogheads a-piece from the full-grown ones. They alfo add, that their horfes and cattle of every fort, which feemed nearly dead at the time of their being landed, recovered and throve in a moft furprizing degree, and kept themfelves in excellent condition through every feafon of the year, without their being housed, or any attention paid to them. They alfo found great quantities of good turf for firing, a matter of the greatest confequence in fo high a latitude, and a country totally deftitute of wood. The islands bore no marks of having ever been inhabited, and were totally deftitute of quadrupeds, except a kind of wild-dog, or animal that feemed between the wolf and the fox kind.

Thefe favourable accounts have however been much called in queftion here, upon the report of the British officer who fucceeded Mr. Byron upon that station; and who

is faid to have represented the climate as nearly intolerable, the whole country as a confufed mafs of islands and broken lands, the foil a bog, encumbered with bar ren mountains, and beaten with, almoft, perpetual ftorms, while the boafted plenty of provifions was come to nothing, geefe in particular being very fcarce. It was farther faid, that the plants which fprung from the feeds they had carried from Europe, withered in the growth, and never arrived at any degree of perfection, and that even the hardy fir, which withftands the auftere winter of the northern regions, funk under the rigour of this inhofpitable cli

mate.

Under the latitude in which we have obferved thefe iflands to lie, a continual fummer or fpring is certainly not to be expected; the forms in particular are frequent, and remarkably boisterous in all the Magellanic quarter, and the cold in the high fouthern latitudes is well known to be more fevere, than in equal degrees of the northern. If the account however, which is attributed to Mr. Byron, be the real one communicated by him, much refpect is due to it; as well from his rank, character, and long experience in the fervice, as from the particular knowledge in that part of the world, which he fo dearly acquired in Lord Anfon's expedition. The French accounts alfo not only confirm, but even go beyond his in every favour able part of the defcription. As to vegetables, thofe which they brought from Europe, and planted for the ufe of the kitchen garden, grew to admiration: in the raifing of corn they were unfuccefsful;

the blades fhot up very well, and produced well-looking ears; but thefe were hollow, and totally deftitute of grain. They however, with more temper and justice than we feem to have done, instead of rafhly condemning the climate or foil, only conclude, that to raise corn would require fome manure, and a better degree of culture than they had beftowed upon it. Indeed it does not feem, that a country abounding in grafs can be unfavourable to vegetation in general, or that the climate can be extraordinarily fevere, where cattle thrive to admiration, and live abroad the year through, without even the fhelter of woods to protect them from the inclemency of the weather. As to the scarcity, or total abfence, of geefe or any other kind of wild-fowl, at particular feafons, it concludes nothing; as moft kinds of them are probably migratory in every part of the world.

It does not appear, that either of the fettlements on these islands knew of the other; nor are we certainly informed whether our government was acquainted with the purchase made by the Spaniards, or of their taking poffeffion of the French fettlement, previous to the period of which we are going to treat. However this was, we find, that in the year 1769 we had a frigate and a floop upon that ftation, and captain Hunt, of the Tamar frigate, being on a cruize off the islands, fell in Nov. 28. with a Spanish schooner belonging to Port Solidad taking a furvey of them, the captain of which, according to his orders, he warned to depart from that coaft, as belonging to his Britannic, ma

[4] 4

jelty.

jefty.

The fchooner however returned in two days after, and brought on board a Spanish officer, with letters and a prefent from Don Philip Ruez Puenta, governor of Port Solidad. Thefe letters were couched in terms of the great eft civility; the governor affected not to believe the account he had received from the captain of the fchooner; to attribute capt. Hunt's being in those feas to chance or distress of weather, and upon that prefumption to offer him every act of friendship and kindness in his power; but if it fhould be otherwife, reminded him of the violation of treaties; afferted his mafter's dominion; charged him with an infult to his flag, and authorized the officer to warn him in form to depart at the fame time defired a written anfwer, and that he would also correspond with the officer.

Capt. Hunt, in anfwer, afferted the fole dominion of his Britannic majefty, as well by right of difcovery as of fettlement, and warned him in his name, and by his orders, to leave the islands; and, in order to enable him the better to remove his effects, allowed him fix months from the date of the letter to prepare for his departure. The Spanish officer made a formal proteft, as well upon the grounds we have mentioned, as upon captain Hunt's refufing to let him vifit the fettlement, and his threatening to fire into the Spanish fchooner, upon her attempting to enter the harbour; he alfo protefted against the captain's going to Solidad, which he had propofed in an amicable manner, and declared that it fhould be confidered as an in

fult,

This produced, about a fortnight after, another letter, another anfwer, and another proteft. About two months after this tranfaction, two Spanish frigates of confiderable force, with troops on board for the new fettlement, Feb. 20. arrived at Port Egmont under pretence of wanting water: the commander in chief wrote a letter to captain Hunt, in which he expreffed great aftonishment at feeing an English flag flying, and a kind of fettlement formed charged him with a violation of the last peace, and protefted against the act in all its parts; at the fame time declared that he would abstain from any other manner of proceeding, till he had acquainted his Catholic Majefty with this difagreeable tranfaction. Captain Hunt, as before, founded his poffeffion on the claim of right, juftified his conduct by the orders of his fovereign, and again warned the Spaniards to depart totally from thofe iflands. The frigates continued eight days at Port Egmont, and were fupplied by our people with water; the captains and officers behaved with civility, and declined going on shore, though permiffion was offered by captain Hunt.

As these transactions feemed indicative of fome fuch confequences as followed, captain Hunt thought it proper to depart as foon after for England with an account of them as he could, and having accordingly arrived at Plymouth, fent an exprefs June 3, immediately to the ad- 1770. miralty. The Favourite floop, captain Maltby, fucceeded the Tamar at Port Egmont, and with the Swift, captain Farmer, each of 16

guns,

guns, formed the whole force upon that station. This was however foon leffened, the Swift having been unluckily loft in the ftreights of Magellan, where he had gone to make discoveries, and was by some means overfet: the crew, except three, were fortunately faved; but were ftill liable to perish by the most dreadful of all calamities, if the fortune and conftancy of a fmall part of the crew had not faved the whole. Thefe, in the open cutter, undertook a voyage of about three weeks in the moft boisterous feas in the world, and, having happily arrived at Port Eg, mont, brought the Favourite to the relief of their diftreffed brethren.

ご

It was not long after this lofs, when a Spanish frigate June 4th. put into Port Egmont, under pretence that the had been 53 days from Buenos Ayres, and was diftreffed for water; but three days after, her conforts, confifting of four other frigates, alfo arrived, and it foon appeared that they had been only 26 days at fea, had parted from the first in a gale of wind, and instead of being on their way to Port Solidad, were now arrived at the place of their deftination. These five frigates carried 134 pieces of cannon, and had between 16 and 1700 men, including foldiers and marines, on board; befides which they had brought with them a train of artillery, and other materials, fufficient to have invefted a regular fortification, inftead of a wooden block-houfe, which had not a port-hole cut in it, and only four pieces of cannon, which were funk in the mud, to defend it.

A Spanish broad pendant was

immediately hoifted, on the arrival of the four laft frigates, and as no doubt of their intentions now remained, captain Farmer ordered most of the officers and men who had belonged to the Swift to come on fhore to the defence of the fettlement, and captain Maltby to bring the Favourite nearer into the cove.. Upon the first motions of the Favourite, one of the Spanish frigates fent an officer on board, to acquaint captain Maltby, that if he weighed they would fire into him: he however got under fail, regardless of this menace; and the frigate fired two fhots, which fell to leward of him; and three of the Spaniards got under way, and -worked to windward as he did. In the mean time captain Maltby fent an officer on board the Spanish commodore, to know the reason why one of his fhips had fired at him; to which he answered, that the fhots were only fired as fignals.

From the first appearance of the fhips, captain Farmer had been active in clearing the ftores out of the blockhoufe, and in endeavouring to make it as defenfible as its nature would permit. Their four pieces of cannon, which were 12 pounders, were planted on a battery that covered the landing-place, but were fo fwallowed up, as we have already obferved, in water and mud, as to be rendered entirely useless; thefe he had removed to the block-house, and had the platform cleared, and portholes cut out for them. In the mean time, both the captains wrote to the June 8th. Spanish commodore, that as he had received the refreshments which he

flood in need of, they defired, in

the