•776- portable, The nights are, neverthelefs, often clear and
.Au&uft. 7,
—v---- • ierene.-
Tuefday 13. At nine o’clock in the morning of the 1:3th, we arrived
before Port Praya, in the ifland of St. Jago, where we faw
two Dutch Eaft India Ihips, and a fmall brigantine at anchor.
As thn Difcovery was not there, and we had expended
but little water in our paflage from Teneriffe, I did not
think proper to go in, but flood to the Southward. Some
altitudes of the Sun were now taken, to afcertain the true
time. The longitude by the watch, deduced therefrom, was
23° -48' Weft; the little ifland in the bay bore Weft North
Weft, diftant near three miles, which will make its longitude
23” s >'• The fame watch, on my late voyage, made
the longitude to be 230 30 Weft; and we obferved the latitude
to be 14° 53' 30" North.
Wedner. 14. The day after we left the Cape de Verde Iflands, we loft the
North Eaft trade wind 4 but did not get that which blows
Friday jo . from the South Eaft till the 30th, when we were in the latitude
of 2° North, and in the twenty-fifth degree of Weft
longitude.
During this interval*, the wind was moftly in the South
Weft quarter. Sometimes it blew frefh, and in fqualls; but
for the moft part a gentle breeze. The calms were few,
a n d of ihort duration. Between the latitude of 12° and of
f North, the weather was generally dark and gloomy,
* On.the 18th, I funk a bucket with a thermometer feventy fathoms below the
furface of the fea, where it remained two minutes; and it took three minutes more to
haul it up. The mercury in the thermometer was at 66, which before, in the air,
flood at 78, and in the furface of the fea at 79. The water which came up in the
■bucket contained, by Mr. Cavendiih’s table, A y 7 payt fait; and that at the furface
of-the.fea A , 4- As this laft was taken up after a fmart Ihower of rain, it.might be
lighter on that account. »Captain Cook's log-book.
■ g HkltU
with frequent rains, which enabled us to fave as much water
as filled moft of bur empty calks.
Thefe rains, and the clofe fultry weather accompanying
them, too often bring on ficknefs in this paflage. Every
bad confequence, at leaft, is to be apprehended from them;
and commanders of ihips cannot be too much upon their
guard, by purifying the air between decks with fires and
fmoke, and by obliging the people to dry their clothes at
every opportunity. Thefe precautions -were eonftantly obferved
on board the Refolution * and Difcovery; and we
certainly profited by them, for we had now fewer fick than
on either of my former voyages. We had, however, the
mortification to find our fhip exceedingly leaky in all her
upper works. The hot and fultry weather we had juft
palled through, had opened her feams, which had been
badly caulked at firft, fo wide, that they admitted the rain
water through as it fell. There was hardly a man that
could lie dry in his bed ; and the officers in the gun-room
were all driven out of their cabbins, by the water that-,came
through the fides. The fails in the fail-room got wet; and
before we had weather to dry them, many of them were
much damaged, and a great expence of canvas and of time
became necefiary to make them in fome degree ferviceable.
Having experienced the fame defeat in our fail-rooms on
my late voyage, it had been reprefented to the yard officers,
who undertook to remove it. But it did not appear to me
that any thing had been done to. remedy the complaint.
* The particulars are mentioned in his log-book. On the 14th of Auguft, a fire
was made in the well, to. a ir the ihip below. - On the 15th, the fpare fails were aired
upon deck, and a fire made to air the fail-room. On the 17th, cleaned and fmoked
betwixt decks, arid the bread-room aired with fires. On the 21ft, cleaned and fmdked
betwixt decks j and on the 22d, the men’s bedding was fpread on deck to air.
V o l . ’-I; E To