’?” • sours of the climate likewife violently affected the live Iheep,
which we had embarked at the Cape of Good Hope. They
were covered with eruptions, dwindled to mere fkeletons,
and would hardly take any nouriftiment. Our goats and
fows top, mifcarried in the tempeftuous weather, or their
off-fpring were killed by the cold.- In fhort, we felt, from
the numerous concurrent circumftances, that it was time
to abandon the high fouthern latitudes, and retire to fome
port, where our crew might obtain refrefhments, and
where we might fave the few ffieep, which were intended
as .pre-ferns to-the natives of the South-fea illands.
■ On the i 6 th, being-in about 58 degrees of fouth latitude,
we faw the fea luminous at night, though not to
fuch a degree as we had obferved it near the Cape, but only
by means of fome fcattered fparks. This phenomenon was
however remarkable, on account of the high latitude we
were in, and the .cold weather, our thermometer being at
3 3i ° at noon. We faw the fouthern lights again during
the nights of the 1 6th and 1 9 th ; and this laft time, the
columns formed an arch' aerofs the-iky, rather brighter
than any we had hitherto feen. We now flood to the
n o r t h -eaftward, in order to reach the fouth end of New-
Zeeland; and on this courfe we had ftropg gales, and frequently.
faw 'weeds, efpecially rock-weeds, together with
numbers of petrels, and other birds'. We were much amufed
by a Angular chace of feveral fkuas or great grey gulls,
after
after a large white albatrofs. The fkuas feemed to get the mIrch.
better of this bird,' notwithftanding its length of wings,
and whenever they overtook it, they endeavoured to attack
it under the belly, probably knowing that to be the molt
defeneelefs part ; the albatrofs on thefe occafions had no
other method of efeaping, than by fettling on the water, where
its formidable beak feemed to keep them at bay. The
fkuas are in general very ftrong and rapacious birds, and
in the Ferro Illands- frequently tear lambs to pieces, and
carry them away to their nefls. The albatroffes do not--
feem to be fo rapacious, but live upon fmall marine animals,
efpecially of the rrwllufca,. or blubber clafs. They,
appeared in great numbers around us, as we came to. the
northward of 50 degrees fouth, only few folitary birds
having gone fo far to the fouth as we had penetrated; from
whence it may be inferred, that they are properly inhabitants
of the temperate zone.
As we flood to the northward, we alfo obferved more
feals every day, which came from the coaft of New Zeeland;
A large trunk of a tree, and feveral bunches of weeds were
feen on the 25 th, and greatly exhilarated the fpirits of-our Thurfday 2*.
labors. Soon after, the land was defcried, bearing N. E.
by E. at a vaft diftance. About five o’clock in the afternoon
we were within a few miles of it,, and faw fome high
mountains inland, and a broken rocky coaft before us, where
feveral inlets feemed.to indicate an extenfive bay or found..
Wei