The history of a voyage to the Malouine (or Falkland) Islands, made in 1763 and 1764, under the command of M. de Bougainville, in order to form a settlement there: and of two voyages to the Streights of Magellan, with an account of the Patagonians / Translated from Dom Pernety's Historical journal, written in French.

  • Antoine-Joseph Pernety
Date:
1773
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The history of a voyage to the Malouine (or Falkland) Islands, made in 1763 and 1764, under the command of M. de Bougainville, in order to form a settlement there: and of two voyages to the Streights of Magellan, with an account of the Patagonians / Translated from Dom Pernety's Historical journal, written in French. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Streights of Magellan were little known. The accounts we had of it till this time, though many in number, were not to be depended upon ; the obfervations were either deficient in exadnefs or in perfpicuity. This has determined me to give thofe of our two French Captains, and a chart of the Streights, cor¬ rected according to their obfervations. It may be conjedured, and indeed with great appearance of probability, that the Malouine Iflands formerly made a part of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego, and that they were feparated from them by violent earthquakes, which opened a paffage for the fea through a cleft caufed by the eruption, and formed in time the channel, by which thofe iflands are divided from the continent. This conjecture is the more reafonable, as the Terra del Fuego took its name from the volcanos, which were fuppofed to have been feen there, and as at fome diftance from that part of the Malouine Iflands, where we have made our fettlement, the hills and vallies fhew clearly, by the diforder of the beds of free hone, and the irregular heaps in which they lie, that this confufion is the effed of earthquakes. See what is faid on this fubjed in my journal. But what will aftonifh the Reader is, that a country fo exten- five as the Malouines fhould neither be inhabited by men, nor by any of thofe quadrupeds, which are commonly met with among the Patagonians j and that the fmall fpider with long legs, which is called in France Faucbeufe, and the little brown cricket called Cri-cri, which is alfo found in chimneys, are the only two infeds we law there. It is lefs wonderful, that we fhould not meet with any of the reptile fpecies, as travellers allure us, that there are none to be found in the territory of Chily, which lies to the Weft of Patagonia, in the fame parallel with the Malouine Iflands. Another motive, which induces me to believe, that the Ma¬ louines were originally joined to Patagonia, is, that there are no trees on them, and that the whole coaft to the Eaft of the Pata¬ gonians, and of Terra del Fuego, is without trees, to about 25 leagues