James Cook - A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour on a voyage round the world, by Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, commencing the 25th of May 1768 - 23 Oct. 1770: No. 062

[page 62]

DISCRIPTION[sic] of part of the Coast of Terra del Fueg[o]

Shore as the winds will permit by using these Precautions you will be sure of either getting quite through the Straits in one Tide or to the Southward of SUCCESS BAY and it may be more prudent to put in there, should the wind be Southerly than to Attempt to weather Staten Land with a Sea Wind & Current, for I believe this to be the Chief reason why Ships have run a Risk of being drove on that Island- 

Strait La Mair is formed on the West by part of Terra Del Fuego & on the East by the West end of Staten Land or Island its Length & Breadth is about 15 Leagues each: about the Middle of the Strait is Success Bay on Terra Del Fuego side & about a ¼ of a League more to the Northward is Port Maurice a little Cove before which we Anchor'd in 12 fathom.
[note left margin] Discription[sic] of Straits de Maire

The Bay of Success is discovered immediately upon Entring[sic] the Strait from the Northward, there is likewise a good Land Mark near the South head to know it by, which is a Mark on the land like a land or broad road leading up from the Sea into the Country: this Bay is ½ a League Wide at the Entrance & lies in West 2½ Miles & hath good Anchorage in every part of it in 10: 8 & 7 fa.om clear ground, & affords plenty of exceeding good Wood & Water, the Wood is of the Birch kind but of a diffrent [sic]Quality to that in England or North America. there are likewise of the Winter Bark tree & some few others, Wild Selary. some Berrys like Cranberrys but grow.g on Bushes, very few Wild Fowls of any Sort & no fish Except Shell Fish, such as Muscels, [sic]Limpets &tc & what we saw of the interior parts of the Country is still more barren of the necessaries of life than the Sea, the few days we stay'd here, we had constant bad weather, the Winds from the SWSWSW. with rain Hail & Snow, Snow generally fell on the Hills every where with those winds when we had rain in the Bay or upon the Sea Coast, I observed the same in respect to Staten Land, but as it never froze, it did not lay long, yet it must render the Country Cold & barren and unfit for Cultivation. The Tides in Success Bay flows at the full & Change of the Moon about 4 or 5 o'Clock & riseth between 5 & 6 feet Perpendicular but in the Strait the flood runs 2 or 3 Hours longer, & there the Ebb or Southerly Current runs near Double the strength of the Flood or Northerly Current?

[left margin note] Discription[sic]  of Staten Land-
STATEN ISLAND lies nearest E.t & W.t  from what I could see & judge of it may be about 12 Leagues in length & 5 in Breadth on the Northside are the appearances of Bays or Harbours & the land is not destitute of Wood & Verdure, nor covered with Snow any more than Terra del Fuego.
On the SW side of the Cape of good Success (which forms the SW.t entrance of Strait Le Mair & is known by some rocks off it ) lies Valentines Bay the entrance of which we only saw. from this Bay, the land Trends to the WSW. for 20 or 30 Leagues it appears