1792. A t fun-fet Attowai bore by compafs s. 80 e . to s. 45 e . and Onehow
. Malch‘ 1 s_ ^ w _ (q s . 1 4 w . The wind remaining in the N .w . we flood on, and
about midnight palled the north point of Attowai at no great diflance ;
though the weather being very dark and hazy, prevented our feeing the
land.
Sunday 18. On funday morning we took our departure from the Sandwich iflands:
Attowai bearing by compafs a. 5 e . to s. 30 tv. 10 or 11 leagues dillant.
In the afternoon all the fails were furled on the main-mall, and we were
employed until fix in the evening in fixing the fifh, and fecuring the
head of the m ail; when the fails were again fet,' and we proceeded to the
e . n. e. The wind was generally to the weftward o f north, with cool
and pleafant, though generally cloudy weather, attended by a great fwell
from the N.w. which indicated the wind having blown with-much violence
in that direftion. The main-malt, after a trial of fome days in a
frefh gale with a heavy fea, not feeming to complain, the top-gallant mail
Friday ; 3. was on the 23d got up, and the ufual quantity o f fail carried. The N.w.
fwell had now almoft fubfided, and the wind veered round to N. E. with
which we flood to the n . n .w . The weather continuing dark and
gloomy prevented our making any obfervations on the folar eelipfe this
morning; but at noon our obferved latitude was 24° 43', longitude
209* 6'; and in the afternoon the variation was found to be 11° 5' eafl-
wardly.
Our courfe was direfled to the eaflward or northward as the wind veered,
which was moflly in the northern board, blowing a moderate breeze with
Thurfdaysg. pleafant weather. On the 29th, in latitude 270,1 got five fets of diflances
o f the moon and fun; the mean refult gave the longitude 214° 21' 15";
by the chronometer it was 2130 46' 30*';1 and by the dead reckoning,
211° 44'. This error in the dead reckoning feemed gradually to have
taken place fince our departure from Attowai; and many of the officers
having lately made feveral lunar obfervations with great accuracy, whofe
mean refult gave from 25" to 40' eafl of the chronometer, I was led to
believe, that our change of climate (the thermometer having fallen from
about 80 to about 66 fince leaving the Sandwich iflands,) had caufed
fome acceleration in its rate of going. From hence our progrefs was
attended
attended by a very fmooth fea, and in general by cloudy and gloomy ^ 92-
weather. The wind between n . by w. and n . n . e . blew fo gently, that 1---- ----- '
on the 7th of april we had only reached the latitude of 350 25'; longitude Saturday 7.
217° 24', .by the dead reckoning 214°42'; when we found ourfelves in the
midflof immenfe numbers of the fea blubber of the fpecies of the Medufa
Villilia; fo that the furface of the ocean as far as theeye could reach, was
covered with thefe animals in fuch abundance, that even a pea could hardly
be dropped clear of them. The largefl did not exceed four inches in
circumference; and adhering to them was found a worm o f a beautiful blue
colour, much refembling a caterpillar. This worm is about an inch and
a half long, thickefl toward the head, forming a three-fided-figure, its
back being the broadeft; its belly, or under part, was provided with a
fellooned membrane, with which it attached itfelf to the medufa villilia.
Along the ridge connecting the fides and back from the fhoulders to the
tail, on each fide, are numberlefs fmall fibres, about the eighth of an inch
in length, like the downy hair of infefts, but much more fubflantial;
probably intended to M ilt the animal in its progrefs through the water.
This worm or caterpillar Mr. Menzies. confidered to be a new genus.
We faw alfo in the forenoon a bird, which I took to be of the duck or
awke kind,(flying-to the n .w ., but at too great a diftance to difcover
its charatler.
Since our leaving the land we had been daily vifited by one or two
large birds, but not more at a time; which we fometimes took for the
quebrantahueffos, and at others for a fpecies of albatrofs. On funday, the Sunday 8-
weather being perfeftly calm, Mr. Menzies was fo fortunate as to determine
this point, by killing a brown albatrofs ; of the fame fort, I believe,
as are found in abundance about Terra del Fuego, diltinguilhed vulgarly
by the name of Mother Cary’s geefe, on account of the white rump,
ihape of the tail, &c. which referable the florm petrel, commonly called
Mother Cary’s chicken. This albatrofs had alfo a white mark, about the
eighth o f an inch wide, and two inches long, extending in a diagonal di-
reftion from the inner corner of its eye towards the neck. From tip to
tip of each wing it meafured feven feet; and, from the extremity of the
beak to that of the. tail, three feet.
: V ol. I . C c The