>773*
Octob er .
'Saturday 23
.Monday -45
•ever, with the thoughts of having at leaft attempted what
we could not hope to fee accompliftied.
The wind, which had drifted during our interview with
thefe favages, blew right off Ihore, and was very unfavourable.
It encreafed towards evening into a hard gale, during
which we hauled our wind, and flood on different tacks for
fear of being blown too far from the coaft. Heavy rains
attended this gale, and penetrated every cabin in the Ihip.
Squalls were likewife frequent, and fplit fome old fails,
which were not fit to refill the violence of the tempeft.
We had not expedted fuch a rough reception in the latitude
of 40° fouth, and felt the air from the bleak mountains of
New Zeeland very cold and uncomfortable, the thermometer
being at 50 degrees in the morning. A few hours of
moderate and almoft calm weather fucceeded thefe boifterous
beginnings, after which the gale frelhened to the fame
height as the night before. By day it abated again, and
permitted us to run in fhore, but every night it encreafed
and blew in furious gulls, which demanded all our atten-r
tion. On the 24th, in the evenings we had reached the
entrance of Cook’s Strait, and faw Cape Pallifer before us j
but the next morning a gale fprung up, which was already
fo. violent, at nine o’clock, that we were forced to hand our
fails and lay to, under a fingle one. Though we were
fituated under the lee of a high and mountainous coaft, yet
.the waves rofe to a vaft height, ran prodigiously long, and
were
A V O Y A G E R.OUND THE WORLD. 487
were difperfed into vapour as they broke by the violence of October
the ftorm. The whole furfaceof the fea was by this means
rendered hazy, and as the fun Ihone out in a cloudlefs
fky, the white foam was perfedtly dazzling. The fury of
the wind ftill encreafed fo as to tear to pieces the only fail
which we had hitherto dared to Ihew, and we rolled about
at the mercy of the waves, frequently (hipping great quantities
of water, which fell with prodigious force on the-
decks, and broke all that flood in the way.. The continual
drain flackened all the rigging and ropes m the fir ip,
and loofened every thing, in fo much that it gradually gave-
way and prefented to our eyes a general fcene of confulion.
In one of the deeped rolls the arm-cheft on the quarterdeck
was torn out of its pla.ce and overfet, leaning againft
the rails to leeward. A young gentleman, Mr. Hood, who.
happened to be juft then to leeward of it, providentially
efcaped by bending down when he faw the cheft falling, fo
as to remain unhurt in the angle which it formed with the
rail. The confufion of the elements did not feare etery
bird away from u s : from time to time a black fhear-
water hovered over the ruffled furface of the fea, and artfully
withflood the force of the tempeft, by keeping under
the lee of the high tops of the waves. The afpeft e f the-
oeean was at onGe magnificent and terrific : now on the-
fummit of a broad and heavy billow, we overlooked an un-
meafurable expanfe of fea, furrowed into-numberlefs deep.
channels y
F b?