179S- N. 62 E. A light breeze fpringing up foon after noon from the north,
C_,__ 1 we purfued our eaftwardly courfe, intending to -incline a little to the
fouthward. This, however, we were prevented doing, from the current
continuing to fet to the e . n . e . at the' rate of a mile per hour ; fo that
Eridiy 16. at noon the following day our obferved latitude was g° gi', and the longitude
2 6g° 32 '.
The tranquil ftate of the wind and fea, which with fo little interruption
had for fuch a length o f time attended us, now feemed likely to undergo
a very material change. A very heavy fwell rolled from the well-
ward, and the atmofphere became loaded with denfe, heavy clouds, particularly
between thé s, E. and s .w . ; in this direflion our view, was limited
to a very few miles. The wind now blowing a gentle breeze from
the n . w. a more loutherly courfe was purfued, in the hope of regaining
what we had loll by the current having driven us to the northward.
Towards midnight after about three hours calm, the wind came from the
fouthward, and obliged us to lieer again to the eallward; this I much
regretted, as we had not, with all our efforts, yet been able to gèt fo far
fouth, as the latitude affigned to the illand we were in quell-of, which
according to Lord Anfon’s voyage is Hated to be in g° 20', and by the
Buccaneers in 5° 15'. I could not help being appreheniive, that a continuation
of thefe adverfe winds and currents would oblige us to pafs to
the northward of the illand without feeing i t ; for, by our obfervations on
Saturday 17, faturday, after making every allowance, inllead of our being in latitude
g° 22', which was fhewn by the reckoning, the refults of our meridional
and double altitudes (which agreed extremely well together) proved our
latitude to be g" 46', and that we were alfo feveral miles to the eallward
of our account, the longitude being 270° 37'. The variation at this time
was 85;° eaftwardly.
Between this and the preceding noon, we had paffed over upwards of
a degree of longitude, without being able to fee far to the fouth of the
latitude of g” go', owing to very thick hazy gloomy weather; hence it
was very poffible, that we might have paffed to the northward of the
illand of Cocos. This was conlidered by fome on board to have been
highly probable, from the circumftance of our being now attended by
vail
R O U N D T H E W O R L D .
vail numbers of the different fpecies of birds that are generally found jjjgjk
frequenting the Ihores of the uninhabited tropical illands ; but this did '---- 3-— '
not amount to proof, as thofe birds might have been attradled to the
neighbourhood of our then fituation by the great numbers of bonitos,
albicores, and other fifties, with which the fea at that time abounded :
andas we were fuccefsful in taking as many of them as we could make ufe
of, they made us ample amends for the deficiency of turtle, which did
not appear to be an objefl of much regard, as I believe molt of us began
to be tired' of that food, which was only ufed to diverfify our other
provifions.
The currents with which we had met, Ihewed that little reliance
was to be placed on the longitude, -affigned to any land in this part of
the' ocean, from the teftimony of thofe who had fo long fince vilited thefe
regions, but who had not been provided with the means we poffefled for
afeertaining the ftrength and direflion of thefe ftreams.
- For fome days pall we had been fet confiderably to the eallward, and
as, from the feveral authorities I had confulted, it did not.appear that we
had,yet reached the moll eaftern fituation affigned to the illand in quef- -
tion, the prefumption was that it was Hill to the eallward of our prefent
track; and although I Ihould have been greatly mortified to have been
obliged to abandon an objefl that had fo much attrafled my attention,
yet, from the reduced ftate of our Water in confequence of this unex-
peftedly tedious paffage, and the worn-out and defeflive ftate of our water
calks, the reaching of the illand of Cocos became a matter more of
neceflity than choice; as I was very unwilling to enter any port in
the continent. There feemed, however, no profpeft of effecting this,
unlefs. we Ihould be able to Ihape fuch a courfe as would' counteraft
the ftrength of the adverfe north-eafterly current. For this purpofe,
with the wind at s.s.w. we [leered to the s . e ., and in the evening had
a tolerably diftinft view a-head, but the fouth-weft horizon was Hill ob-
feured in dark denfe clouds, and haze; the night was moftly calm, but
in the following morning the weather was ferene and clear, attended Sunday 18.
with a gentle breeze from the N.w., with which we-fteered to the fouth,
V o 1- III. 3 A and