Dsccmbsr. anc^ f°me peterels. Thefe penguins differ not from thofe
' ' feen in other parts of the ■ world, except in fome minute particulars
diflinguifhable only- by naturalifts. Some of the
peterels were of the blue fort; but differed from thofe
before mentioned, in not having a broad b ill; and the ends
of their tail feathers were tipped with white inflead of dark
blue. ' But whether thefe were only the diftindtions betwixt
the male and female, was a matter difputed by our naturalifts.
We were now in the latitude of 58° 19' South, longitude
s.4° 39' Eaft, and took the opportunity of the calm to found;
but found no ground with a line of 220 fathoms. The calm
continued till fix in the evening, when it was fucceeded by
a.light breeze from-the Eaft, which afterwards increafed to
a frefli gale.
■ Monday as. In the morning of the 28th I made the fignal to the Adventure
to fpread four miles on my ftarboard beam;
and in this pofition we continued-failing W. S. W. until four
o’clock in the afternoon, when the hazy weather, attended
with fnow fhowers, made it neceflary for us to join. Soon
after we reefed our topfails, being furrounded on all fides
Tuefday 29. with iflands of ice. In the morning of the 29th we let
them out again, and fet top-gallant fails; ftill continuing
our courfe to the weftward; and meeting with feveral penguins.
At.noon we were, by obfervation, in the latitude of
59° 12-> longitude 190 1' Eaft; which is 3° more to the Weft
‘than we were when we firft fell in with the field ice; fo
that it is pretty clear that it joined to no land, as was con-
jedlured.
Having come toa refolution, to'run as far Weft as the meredian
of Cape Gircumcifion,provided we met with no impediment, as
the diftance was not more-than 80leagues, the wind favourable,
and
Tuefday 29.
and the fea feemed to be pretty clear of ice, I fent on
board for Captain Furneaux, to make him acquainted therewith
; and after dinner he returned to his fhip. At one
O’clock we fleered for an illand of ice, thinking, if there
were any loofe ice round it, to take fome on board, and
convert it into frelh water. At four we brought to, clofe
under the lee of the illand; where we did not find what we
wanted, but faw upon it eighty-fix penguins. This piece
of ice was about half a mile in circuit, and one hundred
feet high and upwards ; for we lay for fome minutes with
every fail becalmed under it. The» fide on which the penguins
were, rofe Hoping from the fea, fo as to admit them
to creep up it.
It is a received opinion, that penguins never go far
from land, and that the fight of them is a fure indication
of its vicinity. This opinion may hold goo'd where there
are no ice iflands ; but where fuch are, thefe birds, as well
as many others, which ufually keep near the fhores, finding
a roofting place upon thefe iflands, may be brought by
them a great diflance from any land. It will, however, be
faid, that they muft go on Ihore to breed; that probably
the females were there ; and that thefe are only the males
which we faw. Be this as it may, I lhall continue to take
notice of thefe birds whenever we fee them, and leave every
one to judge for himfelf.
We continued our courfe to the weftward, with a gentle
gale at E. N. E.; the weather being fometimes tolerably clear,
and at other times thick and hazy, with fnow. The therihometer
for a few days paft was from 31 to 36. At nine w .
o’clock the next morning, being the 30th, we Ihot one of * * ’ 3°'
the white birds; upon which we lowered a boat into the
V o l . I .• *F water