A VO YAG E TOWARDS Hn THE SOUTH POLE.
'774- and the foe: continuing. I hauled to the Eaft, under courfes January. . o o’
i_— .---' and clofe-reefed topfails. But this fail we could not carry long;
for before eight o’clock in the evening, the wind increafed
to a perfeft ftorm, and obliged us to lye to, under the mizzen-
Snnday 16. ftayfail, till the morning of the 16th, when the wind having
a good deal abated, and veered to Weft, we fet the courfes,
reefed topfails, and flood to the South. Soon after, the weather
cleared up; and, in the evening, we found the latitude
to be 56° 48' S., longitude 1190 8' Weft.
W.e continued to fleer to the South, inclining to the Eaft,
Tuefday 18. till the 18th, when we flood to the S. W. with the wind at
S. E., being at this time in the latitude of 6i° 9' South, longitude
1160 i Well. At ten o’clock in the evening, it fell
Wednef. 19. calm, which continued till two the next morning, when a
breeze fprung up at North, which foon after increafed to a
frefh gale, and fixed at N. E. With this we fleered South till
Thurfday 20. noon on the 20th, when, being now in the latitude of 62° 34'
South, longitude 1160 24'Well, we were again becalmed.
In this fituation we had two ice iflands in fight, one of
which feemed to be as large as any we had feen. It could
not be lefs than two hundred feet in height, and terminated
in a peak not unlike the cupola of St. Paul’s church. At
this time we had a great weflerly fwell, which made it improbable
that any land fhould lie between us and the meridian
of 1331°. which was our longitude, under the latitude
we were now in, when we flood to the North. In all this
route we had not feen the leaft thing that could induce us to
think we were ever in the neighbourhood of any land. We
had, indeed, frequently feen pieces of fea-weed; but this, I
am well allured, is no fign of the vicinity of land ; for weed
is feen in every part of the ocean. - After a few hours calm,
6 we
AND ROUND THE WORLD.
we got a wind from S. E.; but it was very unfettled, and at- ■ ’774-
tended with thick fnow mowers; at length it fixed at S. by E., c—
and we flretched to the Eaft. The wind blew frefh, was piercing
cold, and attended with fnow and fleet.
On the 22d, being in the latitude of 62° 5' South, longitude Saturday 22.
1120 24' Weft, we faw an ice ifland, an antarélic peterel, feveral
blue peterels, and fome other known birds; but no one thing
that gave us the leaft hopes of finding land.
On the 23d at noon, we were in the latitude of 62° 22' S., Sunday 23.
longitude 11 o° 24'. In the afternoon, we palled an ice ifland.
The wind, which blew frefh, continued to veer to the Weft;
and at eight o’clock the next morning, it was to the North of Monday 24.
Weft, when I fleered S. by W. and S. S. W. At this time we
were in the latitude of 63° 20! South, longitude 1080 7' Weft,
and had a great fea from S. W. We continued this courfe till
noon the next day the 25th, when we fleered due South. Tuefday 2;.
Our latitude, at this time, was 65° 24' South, longitude 109°
31'Weft; the wind was at North; the weather mild, and not
unpleafant; and not a bit of ice in view. This we thought
a little extraordinary; as it was but a month before, and not
quite two hundred leagues to the Eaft, that we were in a
manner blocked up. with large iflands of ice in this very
latitude. Saw a fingle pintadoe peterel, fome blue peterels,
and a few brown albatrolles. In the evening, being under
the fame meridian, and in the latitude of 65° 44' South, the
variation was 190 27' Eaft; but the next morning, in the la- Wednef. 26.
titude of 66° so' South, longitude the'fame as before, it was
only 18° 20' Eaft: probably the mean between the two, is the
neareft the truth. At this time, we had nine fmall iflands in
fight; and foon after, we came, the third time, within the
antardlic polar circle, in the longitude of log6 31' Weft.
V o l . I. M m About