near us; which was whirled round like the fly of a jack as
it was carried upwards. During the time thefe fpouts lafted,
we had, now and then, light puffs of wind from all points
of the compafs; with fome few flight fliowers of rain,
which generally fell in large drops; and the weather continued
thick and hazy, for fome hours after, with variable
light breezes of wind. At length the wind fixed in its old
point, and the Iky refumed its former ferenitv. Some of
t h e f e fpouts appeared, at times, to be ftationary: and, at
other times, to have a quick, but very unequal, progreflive
motion, and always in a crooked line, fometimes one way
and fometimes another; fo that, once or twice, we obferved
them to crofs one another. From the afcending motion of
the bird, and feveral other circumftances, it was very plain
to us that thefe fpouts were caufed by whirlwinds; and
that the water in them was violently hurried upwards, and
did not defcend from the clouds, as I have heard fome affert.
The firft appearance of them is by the violent agitation and
rifing up of the water; and, prefently after, you fee a round
column or tube forming from the clouds above, which apparently
defcends till it joins the agitated water below. I
fay apparently, becaufe I believe it not to be fo in reality,
but that the tube is already formed from the agitated
water below, and afcends, though at firft it is either
too fmall or too thin to be feen. When the tube is formed,
or becomes vifible, its apparent diameter increafeth until it
is pretty large; after that, it decreafeth; and, at laft, it
breaks or becomes invifible towards the lower part. Soon
after, the fea below refumes its natural ftate, and the tube
is drawn, by little and little, up to the clouds, where it is
diflipated. The fame tube would fometimes have a vertical,
and fometimes a crooked or inclined direction. The moft
rational
rational account I have read of water fpouts is in Mr. Fal- u'Hconer’s
Marine Dictionary, which is chiefly collected from 1--------<
the philofophical writings of the ingenious Dr. Eranklin. I Monda)" 7-
have been told that the firing of a gun will diffipate them ;
and I am very forry I did not try the experiment, as we
were near enough, and had a gun ready for the purpofe;
but as foon as the danger was paft, I thought no more about
it, being too attentive in viewing thefe extraordinary meteors.
At the time this happened the barometer flood at 29,
75-, and the thermometer at 56.
In coming from Cape Farewell to Cape Stephens', I had a
better view of the coaft than I had when I paffed in my
former voyage, and obferved that, about fix leagues to the
Eaft of the firft mentioned cape, is a fpacious bay, which is
covered from the fea by a low point of land. This is, I believe,
the fame that Captain Tafman anchored in on the 18th
of December 1642, and by him called Murderer’s Bay, by
reafon of fome of his men being killed by the natives. Blind
Bay, fo named by me in my former voyage, lies to the S. E.
of this, and feems to run a long way.in-land to the South ;
the fight, in this direction, not being bounded by any land.
The wind having returned to the Weft, as already mentioned,
we refumed our courfe to the Eaft; and at day-light
the next morning (being the 18th), we appeared off Queen Tuefday 18.
Charlotte’s Sound, where we difcovered our confort the Adventure,
by the fignals Ihe made to us ; an event which
every one felt with an agreeable fatisfaffion. The frefh.
wefterly wind now died away, and was fucceeded by light
airs from the South and S. W.; fo that we had to work in,
with our boats a-head towing. In the doing of this, we
difcovered a rock, which we" did not fee in my former voy-
Vol. I. P age.