1772.
December. pigeon. Their back, and upper fide of their wings, their
feet and bills, are of a -blue grey colour. Their bellies, and
under fide of their wings, are white, a little tinged with
blue. The upper, fide of their quill feathers is a dark blue
tinged with black. A ftreak is formed by feathers nearly of
this colour, along the upper parts of the wings, and crofling
.the back a little above the tail. The end of the tail feathers
is alfo of the fame colour. Their bills are much broader than
any 1 have feen of the fame tribe; and their tongues are remarkably
broad. Thefe blue peterels, as 1 fhall call them,
are feen nowhere but in the fouthern hemifphere, from about
the latitude of sS°, and upwards. Thermometer at 33° in the
open air, at 3 2 in the fea at the fur face, and at 34 1 when drawn,
and minutes in drawing up from roo fathoms below it,
where it had been 16 minutes.
Timrfday 24. On the 24th the wind blew from N. W. to N. E. a gentle
gale, fair and cloudy. At noon we were by obfervation in the
latitude of y6° 31' South, and longitude. 31° 19' Eaft, the thermometer
at 35. And being near an ifland of ice, which was
about yo feet high, and 400 fathoms in circuit, I fent the
mailer in the jolly-boat to fee if any water run from if. He
foon returned with an account, that there was not one drop,
or any other appearances of thaw. In the evening we failed
through feveral floats, or fields of loofe ice, lying in the direction
of S. E. and N. W.; at the fame time we had continually
feveral ifiands of the fame compofition in fight.
Fijday 25. 0n the t,le wind veering round from the N. E. by
the -Eaft to South, it blew a gentle gale; with which we
flood to the W. S. W„ and at noon were in the latitude of 570
50' South, and longitude 39° 32' Eaft. The weather was fair
9 • and
and cloudy; the air flaarp and cold, attended with a hard froft. De^ 2b'er>
And, a l t h o u g h this was the middle of fummer with us, I >— -v--- -
much queftion if the day was colder in any part of England.
The wind continued at South, blew a frefti gale, fair and
cloudy weather, till near noon the next day, when we had Saturday 26.
clear fun-lhine, and found ourfelves, by obfervation, in the
latitude of 58° 31' South, longitude 26° 57' Eaft.
In the courfe of the laft twenty-four hours we palled'
through feveral fields of broken loofe ice. They were in
General narrow, but of a confiderable length, in the direction
of N. W. and S. E. The ice was fo clofe in one, that it
would hardly admit the Ihip through it. The pieces were
flat, from four to fix or eight inches thick, and appeared of
•that fort of ice which is generally formedin bays or rivers;
Others again were different; the pieces forming various-
honey-combed branches, exactly like coral rocks, and exhibiting
fuch a variety of figures as can hardly be conceived.
We fuppofed this ice to have broke from the main field
we had lately left; and which I was determined to get to--
the South of, or behind, if poflible ; in order to fatisfy my-
felf whether or no it joined to any land, as had been
conjectured. With this view I kept on to the weftward,.
with a gentle gale at South, and S. S. W. and foon after fix-
o’clock in the evening, we faw fome penguins, which occa-
fioned us to found j but we found no ground with i&o fathoms.
In the morning of the 27th, we faw more Ibofe ice, but Sunday- 37,.
not many ifiands; and thofe we did fee were but fmall.
The day being calm and pleafant, and the fea fmooth, we
hoifted out a boat, from which Mr. Forfter Ihot a penguin
andf