In this bay the Spaniards made their principall habitation, and called it the cittie of Saint Philip, and left it peopled; but the cold barrennes of the countrie, and the malice of the Indians, with whom they badly agreed, made speedie end of them, as also of those whom they left in the middle of the Straites, three leagues from Cape Froward to the east-wards, in another habitation.
We continued our course alongst this reach (for all the Straites is as a river altering his course, sometimes upon one poynt, sometimes upon another) which is some eight leagues long, and lyeth west north-west. From this we entred into a goodly bay, which runneth up into the land northerly many leagues; and at first entrance a man may see no other thing, but as it were a maine sea. From the end of this first reach, you must direct your course west south-west, and some fourteene or fifteene leagues lyeth one of the narrowest places of all the Straites; this leadeth unto another reach, that lyeth west and by north some six leagues.
Here, in the middle of the reach, the wind tooke us by the north-west, and so we were forced to anchor some two or three dayes. In which time, we went a shore with our boates, and found neere the middle of this reach, on the star-boord side, a reasonable good place to ground and trimme a small ship, where it higheth some nine or ten foote water. Here we saw certaine hogges, but they were so farre from us, that wee could not discerne if they were of those of the countrie, or brought by the Spaniards; these were all the beasts which we saw in all the time we were in the Straites.
In two tydes we turned through this reach, and so recovered the ilands of Pengwins; they lye from this reach [Note.] foure leagues southwest and by west. Till you come to this place, care is to be taken of not comming too neere to any poynt of the land: for being, for the most part, sandie, they have sholding off them, and are somewhat dangerous. [The ilands of Pengwins.] These ilands have beene set forth by some to be three; we could discover but two: and they are no more, except that part of the mayne, which lyeth over against them, be an iland, which carrieth little likelihood, and I cannot determine it. A man may sayle betwixt the two ilands, or betwixt them and the land on the larboord side; from which land to the bigger iland is, as it were, a bridge or ledge, on which is foure or five fathome water; and to him that commeth neere it, not knowing thereof, may justly cause feare; for it showeth to be shold water with his rypling, like unto a race.[151]