Saturday 23.
Sunday 24.
Monday 25.
pace with our wilhes, blew in fuch ligh t airs, that we made
little way, till eight the next morning, when we had a freih
breeze from the South South Weft, with w hich we continued
to fteer Weft North Weft till the evening. At noon, w e
were in latitude 40° 35', longitude 146° 4 5 '; the latter deduced
from feveral lunar obfervations taken during the
night. T h e variation o f the needle we found to be 17' Eaft.
In the evening, we had ftrong fqually gales attended with
rain, and having paffed, in the courfe o f the day, feveral
patches o f green grafs, and feen a ihag, many fmall land
birds, and flocks o f gulls, it was not thought prudent, with
all thefe figns o f the vicinity o f land, to ftand on during
the whole night. We therefore tacked at midnight, and
fleered a few hours to the South Eaft, and at four in the
morning o f the 24th, again directed our courfe to the Weft
North Weft, and carried a prefs o f fail till feven in the evenin
g, when the wind ihifted from South South Weft to
North, and blew a fre ih gale. At this time we were in the
latitude o f 40° 57', and the longitude o f 1450 20'.
This fecond difappointment, in our endeavours to get to-
the North Weft, together with the boifterous weather we
had met with, and the little likelihood, at this time o f the
year, o f its becoming more favourable to our views, were
Captain Gore’s motives for now finally g iv in g up all farther
fearch for the iflands to the North o f Japan, and for ihap-
in g a courfe Weft South Weft, for the North part o f that
iiland. In the night, the wind ihifted to the North Eaft,
and blew a freih gale, w ith hard rain, and hazy weather,
which, by noon o f the brought us to the latitude o f
40° 18', in the longitude 144° o'. To-day we faw flights o f
wild ducks, a pigeon lighted on our rig gin g, and many
birds.