Thurfday 22.
Sunday 25.
Monday 26;
Tuefday 27«
Thurfday 29.
fome of the following birds, viz. albatrofies, fheerwaters,
pintadoes, blue peterels, and Port Egmont hens. But thefe
frequent every part of the Southern Ocean in the higher latitudes
: not a bird, nor any other thing, was feen, that could
induce us to think that we had ever been in the neighbourhood
of any land.
The wind kept veering round from the South by the Weft
to N. N. W., with which we ftretched North till noon the next
day, when, being in the latitude of 29° 22', we tacked and
ftretched to the weftward. The wind foon increafed to a
very hard gale, attended with rain, and blew in fuch heavy
fqualls, as to fplit the moft o f our fails. This weather continued
till the morning of the 25th, when the wind became
more moderate, and veered to N. W. and V,; N. W., with
which we fleered and ftretched to N. E,, being, at that time,
in the latitude of 29° 51' longitude 136° 28' Weft. In the
afternoon, the fky cleared up, and the weather became fair
and fettled. We now met the firft tropic bird we had feen.
in this Tea-
On the 26th, in the afternoon, being in the latitude of 28°'
44', we had feveral obfervations of the fun and moon, which;
gave the longitude 135° 30' Weft. My reckoning at the fame-
time was 1350 27', and I had nooccafion to correft it fince I
left the land. We continued to ftretch to the North, with
light breezes from the weftward, till noon the next day,when
we were flopped by a calm; our latitude: at this time, being
27° S3'y longitude 1350 17' Weft. In the evening, the-
calm was fucceeded by a breeze from the N. andN. Wl, with
which we plyed to the North.
On the 29th, I fent on board the Adventure to- enquire
into the ftate of her crew, having heard that they were
fickly; and this I now found was but too true. Her cook was
dead, and about twenty of her belt men were down in the
fcurvy apd flux. At this time, we had only three men on the
lick lift, and only one of them attacked with the fcurvy. Several
more, however, began to fhew fymptoms of it, and were,
accordingly, put upon the wort, marmalade of carrots, rob
of lemons and oranges.
I know not how to account for the fcurvy raging more in
the one ftiip than the other; unlefs it was owing to the
crew of the Adventure being more fcorbutic when they arrived
in New Zealand than we were, and to their eating
few or no vegetables while they lay in Queen Charlotte’s
Sound, partly for want of knowing the right forts, and
partly becaufe it was a new diet, which alone was fufficient
for feamen to rejeft it. To introduce any new article of
food among feamen, let it be ever fo much for their good,
requires both the example'and authority of a commander;
without both of which, it will be dropt before the people
are fenfible of the benefits refulting from it. Were it ne-
ceflary, I could name fifty inftances in fupport of this remark.
Many of my people, officers as well as feamen, at
firft difliked celery, fcurvy-grafs, &c. being boiled in the
peas and wheat; and fome refufed to eat it. But, as this
had no effeft on my conduct, this obftinate kind of prejudice
by little and little wore off; they began to like it as
well as the others; and now, I believe, there was hardly a
man in the fhip that did not attribute our being fo free from
the fcurvy, to the beer and vegetables we made ufe of at
New Zealand. After this, I feldom found it neceflary to
order any of my people to gather vegetables, whenever we
came where any were to be got, and if fcarce, happy was
Vol, I. T he