m
i764- and the next morning had fifty-two November. , . fathom with the fame ,
— *— j ground: our latitude was 420' 34 8., longitude 58° t y W.; the Monday I 2> . . . _ _ variation pEggcBj
On Monday the 12th, about four o’clock in the afternoon,
as I was walking on the quarter-deck, all the people upon the
forecaftle called out at once“ Land right ahead}” it was then
very black almoft round the horizon, and-we had had much
thunder and lightning; I looked forward under the forefail,
and upon the lee bow, and faw what at firft appeared to be an
ifland, riling in two rude craggy hills, but upon looking to
leeward I faw land joining to it, and running a long way
to the fouth eaft: we were then fleering S. W. and I fent
officers to the maft-head to look out upon the weather beam.»
and they called out that they faw land alfo a great' way to
the windward. I immediately brought to, and founded; w e
had Hill fifty-two fathom, but I thought that we Wefe embayed
and rather wifhed than hoped that we fhould get
clear before night. We mad's fail and fleered' E.S.E. the-
land ftill having the fame appearance, and1 the hills looking
blue, as they generally do1 at a little diffiancC in' dark rainy
weather, and now many of the people faid that they faw1
the fea break upon the fandy beaches'; but having fleered
out for about an hour, what we had taken for land, vaniflied
all at once, and to our great aftonilhment appeared to have-
been a fog-bank. Though I had been almofl continually at fea
for feven and twenty years, I had never feen filch a deception
before; others however have been equally deceived; for the
raafter o f a Ihip, not long fince, made oath, that he had feen
an ifland between the weft end of Ireland and Newfoundland,
and even diftinguifhed the trees that grew upon it.
Yet it is certain that no fuch ifland1 exifts, at leaft it could
never be found, though feveral fllips were afterwards fent
out
out on purpofe to Leek it. And I am fure, that i f the weather »76+-
had not cleared up foon enough for us to fee what we had. 3--- £—->
taken for land difitppear, every man on board would freely Wwityw..
have made oath, that land had been difcovered in this fitua-
tion. Our latitude this day was 43” 46' S., longitude 6o°5' W .;
and the variation 19“ 30'E.
The next day, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the wea- TucHay 13.
ther being extremely fine, the wind fluffed at once to the
S. W. and began to blow frelh, the fky at the fame time becoming
black to windward: in a few minutes all the people
that were upon the deck were alarmed with a fudden and
unufual noife, like the breaking o f the fea upon the fhore.
I ordered the topfails to be handed immediately; but before
it could be done, 1 faw the fea approaching at fome diftance,
in vaft billows covered with foam; I called to the people to
hawl up the fore fail, and let go the main liheet inftantly 5
for I was perfuaded that i f we had any fail out when the
guft reached us, we Ihould either be overfet, or lofe all our
mails. It reached us however before we could raife, the
main tack, and-laid us upon our beam ends: the main tack
was then cut, for it was become impoffible to caftit o f f ; and
the main fliect ftruck down the Firft Lieutenant, bruifed him
dreadfully, and beat out three of his teeth:. the main top-
fail, which was not quite handed, was fplit to pieces.- If
this fquall, which came on with lefs warning and more violence
than any I had ever feen, had taken us in the night, I
think the Ihip mull have been loft. When it came on we
obferved feveral hundred of birds flying before it, which ex -
preffed their terror by loud Ihrieks ; it lafted about twenty
minutes, and then gradually fubfided. The Tamar fplit her
main fail, but as Ihe was to leeward of. us, fhe had more
time to prepare. In- a Ihort time it began to blow very hard
C 3 again,