Puerto Deseado

From early December 1615 until mid-January 1616 the Eendracht and Hoorn of the expedition of Jacob le Maire and Willem Schouten stayed at Puerto Deseado in what is now Argentina. The river there was known from previous explorers to be a good site to restock on supplies before entering the Strait of Magellan. When approaching the river on the 6th and 7th of December the ships nearly ran aground, but could finally be extracted. On the 8th they found King’s Island in the river, named by Olivier van Noort during his voyage around the world. Though initially they struggled to find water, eventually a good place to take drinking water was found. On the shore they found graves of people they described as 10 to 11 feet tall, adding to the common myth of the time that there were giants living in Patagonia. They managed to catch many fish and birds at Puerto Deseado. However, during cleaning and repairs the Hoorn caught fire and burnt down. It was unsalvageable and then expedition had to continue with a single ship. On 13 January the expedition continued further south towards Tierra del Fuego.

The image shows the experiences of the expedition at Puerto Deseado. According to the texts below the image: A. is the Smelt Bay (“Spieringsbaai”), where the Dutch abundantly caught fish they identified as smelts. B. is where the ships floated dangerously to the shore. C. is the bird’s island, where there were plentiful birds for the crew to hunt. D. Is the Lions Island (“Leeuweneiland”), named for its sea lions. E. is the King’s Island, where the ships were cleaned. F. Shows the burning yaght Hoorn. G. Is the place where they obtained drinking water with great effort. H. Are the graves of the Patagonians, which they observed to be 10 to 11 feet long. I and K are two sea lions. L. Are “deer with very long necks”, likely guanacos. M Are ”ostriches”, likely a species of rhea. N is a naturally grown rock shaped like a fork.