The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron (Commodore in a Late Expedition Round the World) Containing an Account of the Great Distresses Suffered by Himself and His companions on the Coast of Patagonia, From the Year 1740, till their Arrival in England, by Byron, John - 1768

[iv], viii, 257 pp. Lrg. 8vo, rebound in half leather and marbled boards with new endpapers. Half title perimeter repaired with tissue, some soiling to gutter of frontis and title page not affecting image or text, otherwise a very good clean copy. John "Foulweather Jack" Byron entered the Royal Navy in 1731. As midshipman he sailed to South America on HMS Wager, part of George Anson's squadron. Upon approaching Patagonia the Wager encountered a terrible storm and the crew was shipwrecked. The survivors divided into two teams and proposed that one team would head towards Rio de Janeiro via the Straights of Magellan and the other one led by Byron to sail north up the Chilean coast in open boats to meet the Spaniards. Sabin notes "Admiral Byron's narrative of the loss of the Wager is one of the most thrilling accounts in the language , and supplied his illustrious descendant with many particulars for the shipwreck in 'Don Juan'". Miraculously he lived to tell the tale, and later went on to assume the position of Governor of Newfoundland. Incidentally, in December of 2006 the British Scientific Exploration Society with the help of the Chilean Navy , has located what they believe to be a section of the hull of the wreck of HMS Wager. It is awaiting carbon dating.
Cox II p. 281, Sabin 9730