Page:First Voyage Round the World.djvu/297

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ALVO'S LOG-BOOK.
215

the S.E. and a quarter S. of us. Afterwards, on the morning of the 3rd, we set sail for the South, and we sounded, and found 4, 5, 6, and 7 fathoms, always increasing in depth; and this day we took the sun in 68° 30'; it had 13° 35' declination, and our latitude came to 35°.

Saturday, 4th February, we anchored in a depth of seven fathoms, the ship San Antonio having got leaky, and we were there till the 5th, and afterwards we weighed on the 6th, and stood on ths south course, and at night we anchored in eight fathoms, and remained there till next day.

The 7th we set sail to reconnoitre better the coast, and we saw that it trended S.E.¼S.; after that we took another tack and anchored in 8 fathoms, and there we took the sun in 66° 30', and it had 12° 15' declination, with which our distance from the equinoctial line to the south came to be 35¾°; after that we sailed the same day, and at night we anchored in 9 fathoms, and stood for Cape Santanton [Cabo Blanco] it was to the south in 36°, and this was Tuesday, the 7th.

On the 8th we set sail from the said point, and it is north and south with Montevidi, and 27 leagues distant from it; this coast runs N. and S. [the width of the Rio de la Plata is 27 leagues]; from that place forward we went along the coast round the cape of St. Polonia; after that the coast trends from N.E. to S.W, The said cape is in 37° and the land sandy and very low, it has sea of shallow depth for a distance of two leagues from land, of 8, 9, and 10 fathoms; so we ran all this day to the S.W., and the night and day.

Thursday, 9th of February, I took the sun in 63¼°; it had 11½° declination, and the altitude came to be 38° 30'; the coast can be sounded, and not very high nor mountainous, and we made out many smokes along the coast; this coast runs E.W.¼ N.W. S.E., and the point is called Punta de las Arenas.

On the 10th I took the sun in 62°⅓, and it had 11° 8'