1 were to expeft to find the land faid to be difcovered by the
'February. r . . . _ _ . n r \----French, of which at this time we law not the leait ligns, we
Monday I. I „ n bore away Eaft.
I now made the fignal to the Adventure to keep at the
diftance of four miles on my ftarboard beam. At half an
hour paft fix, Captain Furneaux made the fignal to fpeak
with me; and, upon his coming under my ftern, he informed
me that he had juft feen a large float of fea or
rock, weed, and about it feveral birds (divers). Thefe
were, certainly, figns of the vicinity of land ; but whether
it lay to the Eaft or Weft, was not pollible for us to
know. My intention was to have .got into this .latitude four
or five degreesof longitude to the Weft of the meridian we
were now in, and then to have carried on my refearches to
the Eaft. But the W. and N. W. winds, we had had the
five preceding days, prevented me from putting this in execution.
The continual high fea we had lately had .from the N. E.,
N., N. W., and Weft, left me noreafon to believe that land
of any extent lay to the Weft. We therefore continued to
fleer to the E., only lying to a few hours in the night, and
T-ucfdayz in the morning refumed our courfe again, four miles North
and South from each other; the hazy weather not permitting
us to fpread farther. We pafled two or three fmall
pieces of rock weed, and faw two or three birds known
by the name of egg-birds ; but faw no other figns of land.
At noon we obferved, in latitude 48° 36' South, longitude
59° 35* Eaft. As we could only fee a few miles farther to the
South, and as it was not impoflible that there might be
land not far off in that direction, I gave orders to fleer S. f
E.; and made the fignal for the Adventure to follow, flie
being
being, by this movement, thrown a-ftern. The weather '773- \ v , February.
continuing hazy till half an hour paft fix o’clock in the -»--- -— >
evening, when it cleared up fo as to enable us to fee about Tue ay z'
five leagues round us.
Being now in the latitude of 490 13' South, without having
the leaft figns of land, I wore and flood again to the
Eaftward, and foon after fpoke with Captain Furneaux. He
told me that he thought the land Was to the N. W. of us;
as he had, at one time, obferved the fea to be fmooth when
the wind blew in that direction. Although this was not
conformable to the remarks we had made on the fea, I re-
folved to clear up the point, if the wind would admit of
my getting to the Weft in any reafonable time.
At eight o’clock in the morning of the 3d, being in the Wednef. 3.
latitude of 48° 56' South, longitude 6o° 47' Eaft, and upwards
of 30 to the Eaft of the meridian of Mauritius, I began to
defpair of finding land to the Eaft; and as the wind had
now veered to the North, refolved to fearch for it to the
Weft. I accordingly tacked and flood to the Weft with a
frefh gale. This increafed in fuch a manner, that, before
night, we were reduced to our two courfes; and, at laft,
obliged to lie to under the fore-fails, having a prodigious,
high fea from W. N. W., notwithftanding the height of the
gale was from N. by W. At three o’clock the next morn- Thurfday 4.
ing, the gale abating, we made fail, and continued to ply
to the Weft till ten o’clock in the morning of the 6th. Saturday 6.
At this time, being in the latitude of 48° 6' South, longitude
58° sa' Eaft, the wind feemingly fixed at W. N. W.;
and feeing no figns of meeting with land, I gave Over plying,
and bore away Eaft a little Southerly: being Satisfied,
that if there is any land hereabout, it can only be an ifle of
V ol. L H no