April laſt. This veſſel brought news to the court of the diſcovery, and the taking poſſeſſion, in the name of the King, of ſeveral ſmall iſlands in the South ſeas, to 27° of Latitude South of Lima. There is one iſland rather large, and has an excellent harbour. This iſland they have called Saint Charles; and the diſcovery was made by the King's frigate the Eagle, which the Viceroy of Peru ſent upon that expedition. They ſay that theſe iſlands are inhabited by ſavage Indians, but that they were very well diſpoſed; and that the country abounded with wood, fowls, hogs, and certain roots of which they made bread, perhaps caſſada."
"It would appear that the court means to make uſe of this diſcovery; and that they mean to build forts thereon, and to eſtabliſh a communication between theſe iſlands, and the continent of South America. It is probable that the famous Mr. Hudſon had diſcovered theſe iſles in his voyage round the world, and that the largeſt of them are called Davis's land. What renders this conjecture more probable is, that they found the interior inhabitants poſſeſſed of hatchets, ſpades and hoes."
