-177a.
December.
Wednefd. a j.
Thurfday 24..
Friday 25.
Saturday 3$,
on the 2 3d, We feized this opportunity to hoift out a
boat, and continue the experiments on the current, and
on the temperature of the fea. The fpecies of petrels
which were numerous about us, were likewife examined,
defcribed, and drawn this day, haying been flrot as they
hovered with feeming curiolity over our little boat.
We continued Handing foutherly, and even made a
good deal of wetting, the wind being S. S. E. The next
morning the wind blew pretty fre£h, and carried us paft
feveral iflands of ice ; fome whales, and a number of birds
appearing about us. Our ttrft Chriftmas day during this
voyage, was fpent with the ufual chearfulnels among officers
and pafiengers ; but among the Tailors, notwith-
ftanding the furrounding rocks of ice, with favage noife
and drunkennefs, to which they Teem to have particularly
devoted the day. The next morning we failed through a
great quantity of packed or broken ice, fome of which
looked dirty or decaying. Iflands of ice ftill furrounded
us, and ttn the evening, the fun fetting juft behind one of
them, .tinged its edges with gold, and brought upon the
whole mafs a beautiful fuffulion of purple. A dead calm
which fucceeded on the 2 7-th, gave us an opportunity of
hoiftirig the boat out, and going to flioot pinguins and
petrels. The chace of pinguins proved very unfuccefsful,
though it afforded great fport; the birds dived fo frequently,
continued fo long under water, and at times
flopped
flopped continually into and out of the water, making u
way with fuch amazing velocity in a flrait line, that
we were obliged to give over the purfuit. At laft we
came near enough to one, to wound it; but though we
followed it clofely, and fired above ten times with fmall
fliot, which we could obferve to hit, yet we were at laft
obliged to kill it with ball. When we took it up, we
perceived that its hard, gloffy plumage, had continually
turned the Ihot afide. This plumage is extremely thick,,
and confifts- o f long narrow feathers, which lie above
each other as clofely as fcales, and fecure thefe amphibious
birds againft the wet, in which they almoft conftantly
live. Their very thick fkin and their fat feem wifely appropriated
to them by nature, to relift the perpetual winter
of thefe unhofpitable climates; their broad belly, the-
fituation of their feet far behind, and their fins, which;
fupply the place of wings, are conftrudted with equal
wifdom to facilitate the progrefs of their otherwife lumpilh
bodies through the wafer. The one that we had now fliot'
Weighed eleven pounds and a half. The blue petrels,
which are feen throughout this immenfe ocean, and
which now fettled in flocks of feveral hundreds on the
fmooth furface of the water, were not worfe fitted out
againft the cold than the pinguins. Their plumage was ;
amazingly abundant, and increafed their bulk in a great;
proportion; and two feathers inftead of one, proceeded:
outs