1 4 2 A V O Y A G E R O U N D T H E WO R L D .
February, ' nS then explored fix degrees of longitude to the weft of M.
Bouvet’s fuppofed land, and about feven degrees to the eaft
o f it. Captain Furneaux likewife, after failing over the
fpace where the Gulph of St. Sebaftian is delineated in the
charts, and pafftng between our two difcoveries of Georgia
and Sandwich Land, crofted the meridian of Cape Circum-
cifion, in the latitude of 5 40 S. without meeting with land.
From the joint authority of thefe two tracks, we have great
room to fuppofe, that Mr. des Loziers Bouvet faw only a field
of ice, with fiuch huge mountainous iflands of ice upon it,
as we fell in with on the 14 th of December, 1772 *. Some
of our officers were at that time ftrongly of opinion that
they faw land, as the ice bore a ftriking refemblance to it,
arid the French captain might be deceived in the fame manner.
Captain Cook was unwilling to leave it in doubt
whether there was land or not in the fituation of that field
of ice feen in the beginning of our voyage ; and therefore
directed his courfe acrofs it on the 23 d, without meeting
with any obftacles in his way, noy feeing a fingle ifland o f
ice in the fame fpot which had been covered with immerife
floating mafles about two years and two months before.
Being now well allured that there was no confiderable land
in this part of the ocean, we fleered to the northward, in
order to make the beft of our way towards the Cape of Good
* J5cc vol. I. p. g8,.
Hope-
A V O Y A G E ROUND THE WORLD. > 4 3
Hope. The winds being north-wefterly, and blowing very M’;7C5'
frelh, obliged us to make a great deviation to the eaft of
our proper courfe, till the firft of March, when we could wednefd. 1,
fleer diredtly towards the Cape. The wind, however, foon
fluffed! and blew from its former quarter at feveral intervals.
Its frequent changes occafioned great discontent
among our lhip’s company, whofe expectations of putting
an end to their diftrefles, were wound up to the higheft
pitch. The clouds had perhaps never before been fo attentively
examined, in order to find fome prognoftics of a
fair wind in their appearance, and the general uneafinefs and
impatience at an unfavourable change can fcarcely be de-
feribedi Our voyage had now lafted twenty-feven months
after leaving the Cape of Good Hope, fince which time we
had not touched at any European port, and lived chiefly
upon fait provifions. The fum total of all the days which
we had fpent on fliore at different iflands, and at very great
intervals of time, did not amount to more than one hun—■
dred and eighty, or about fix months.. This was the only
time of refrefhment in the courfe of our long voyage, and
yet during part of this, efpecially the laft year’s cruize, we
obtained no frefh provifions at feveral iflands. The run
from New Zeeland towards the Cape of Good Hope was by
far the longeft and moft difficult which we had ever made;;
for the trifling refrelhments which we obtained in Chrift-
mas Sound, and at the New Year’s Iflands, did not afford:
th&