From Rio to Montevideo no incident occurred, but upon the Plata, during a storm, the Etoile was run down by a Spanish vessel, which broke her bowsprit, her beak head, and much of her rigging. The damages and the shock increased the leak of the ship, and forced her to return to Encenada de Baragan, where repairs were more easily managed than at Montevideo. It was impossible therefore to leave the river until the 14th of November.
[Illustration: New Zealand. Gravé par E. Morieu.]
Thirteen days later, both ships came in sight of Virgin Cape at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan, which they hastened to enter.
Possession Bay, the first they met with, is a large space, open to all winds and offering very bad anchorage. From Virgin Cape to Orange Cape is about fifteen leagues, and the stra
