i 08
I»aoAM. Cg°*tm) which are common among Alpine nations, and are-
become fo habitual that they are looked upon as ornamental.
Several perfons on board, unacquainted with natural
philofophy, Were very ferioufly afraid that the ice, when
it began to melt, would burft the calks in which it Was
packed, not confidering that its volume muft be greater in
its frozen than in its melted Rate, fince it floated on the
furface. The Captain, to undeceive them, placed a little
pot filled with ftamped ice in a temperate cabin, where it
gradually difiolved, and in that Rate took up confiderably
lefs fpace than before. Ocular demonftration always goes-
farther than the cleared: argumen tsbut reafoning never,
has lefs weight than with failors.
Sunday ij. On the 17th, in the forenoon, we crofied the antarflic
circle, and advanced into the-fouthern frigid zone, which,
had hitherto remained impenetrable to all navigators.
Some days before this period we had feen a new fpecies of
petrel, of a brown colour, with a white belly and rump,
and a large white fpot on the wings, which we now named
the antarctic petrel, as we faw great flights of twenty or
thirty of them hereabouts, of Which we Ihot many that
unfortunately never fell into the Ihip. About five o’clock,
in the afternoon, we had fight of more than thirty large
iflands of ice a-head, and perceived a ftrong white reflexion
from the Iky over the horizon. Soon after we
pafled through vaft quantities of broken ice, which looked:
honeyhoney
combed and fpungy, and of a dirty colour. This
continually thickened about us, fo that the fea became
very fmooth, though the wind was frefli as before. An
immenfe field of folid ice extended beyond it to the fouth,
as far as the eye could reach from the maft-head. Seeing
it was impoflible to advance farther that way, Captain
Cook ordered the {hips to put about, and flood north-eaft
by north, after having reached 6 7° 17 fouth latitude,
where many whales, fnowy, grey, and antardlic petrels,,
appeared in every quarter.
On the 1 9th and aoth we faw a bird, which a gentleman,
who had been at Falkland’s iflands, called a Port-
Egmont hen *, and which proved to be the fkua or great
northern gull (larus catarraBescommon in the high latitudes
of both hemifpheres. The appearance of this bird
was likewife conftrued into a prognoftick of land ; but our
difappointments had already been fo frequent in this re-
fpedt, that we were not eafily led to give credit to bare
afiertions. We faw a bird of this fpecies again on the
27th, when we had a great variety of all kinds of petrels-
and albatrofles around us. It always foared up to a great
height, perpendicularly over our heads, and looked down
upon us, as it Ihould feem with great attention, turning
its head now on one fide, and now on the orher. This
* T h is bird is mentioned in Lieutenant C o o t ’s voyage in- the Endeavour. See..
Hawkefworth, vdv.II. p. 283.
177a; •
JANUARY;!.-
Wednefd. 204.
was;