P-35- . Being, on the 2d o f January, 1773, after..various bearings, arrived, in nearly
the fame.longitude, that; is afligned to Gape Circumcifion, and about ninety-five
league?, to the fouth of the latitude it is faid to lie in,, the weather at the fame
time being fo clear that land might be feen at fourteen or fifteen leagues diftance,
and no land prefenting itfelf to yiew, Captain Cook poncluded that what Bouvet
took for land was nothing but mountains of ice, furrounded by loofe, or field
ice. And the conjecture he himfelf had formed that it joined to the land,
now appeared highly improbable, i f it was not totally fet afide, as the fpace
between the northern edge of the ice, along which they failed, and their: route
tq the weft when fouth of it, no where exceeded one hundred leagues, and in
fome places not fixty.
P- 37* On the 8th, being in latitude 61° 12' fouth, Tongitude 31o 47’ eaft, they pafied
more, ice illands than they had feen for feveral days; and about four o’clock the
next morning bore down .to one which lay to leeward, with a view of taking
fome of the loofe ice on board. Having brought to, they hoifted out three
boats, and in about five or fix hours took up as much as yielded fifteen tons
of good freih. water. The pieces taken up were hard, and folid as a rock, and
fome of them were fo large that they were .obliged to break them with pickaxes
before they could be taken into the boats. The fait water which adhered to the
ice was fo trifling as not to be tailed; and after it had lain on the deck a ihort
time entirely drained off, and the water the ice yielded ,was perfectly fweet and
well .tailed. Part of the ice they broke in pieces, and put into caflcs; fome
they melted in the copper, _ apd filled the caiks with the water; and fome they*
kept on deck for prefent ufeé Captain Cook obferves, that the melting and
flowing away the ice is a little tedious, and takes up fonie time; otherwife it
would have,been the moil expeditions.way of watering he ever met with.
p jS Having got on board this fupply of water, and the Adventure about twothirds
as much; as he did not doubt of getting more whenever they were in
want, which they afterwards did as often as occafion required, without hefita-
tion; he now direbled his courfe more to the fouth.
p. 42. On the 17th, between eleven and twelve o’clock, they crofied the Antarblick,
circle, in longitude 390 35’¡eaft, and about 4, P. M. as they were fleering to the
fouth,
fouth, they obferved the whole fea in a manner covered with ice from the
direction of fouth-eaft round by the fouth to the weft. Thirty-eight icé iflânas
great and fmall were novV to be feen, befides loofe ice in abundance; and a's they
continued to advance to the fouth, it increafed in fuch a manner that they could
proceed no further, the ice being entirely clofed to the fouth', in the whole
extent from eaft to W. S. W. without the leáft ’appearance o f any opening.
This being the cafe, Captain Cook did not think'it ^rudént to perfevéïé in
getting farther to the fouth, efpecially as the fummer was already half fpent,
and it wolild have taken fome time1 to have got found the icèy even fuppofing
it have been practicable, which, however, ' appéâred very dôiibtful. He,
therefore, came to a'refoiution 4 o proceed dirééíly in fearch of the land
lately difcovered by the French. But finding'himfelf, on the ift of February,
in latitude 48®'30’ fouth, and longitude 58o 7 ’ eaft, nearly in the. "meridian of
the iilarid of Mauritius, where he had reàfon to expebl he fhould fall in. with
it, and not perceiving the leâft figps of lafid, he bore away to the eaft.
The fame day Captain Furneaux made the fignal to fpeak vvith Captain
Cook; and on his coming under the Refolution’s ftern, informed him .that; he
had juft feen a large float of fep or rock weeds^ and about it feveral birds
called Divers. Thefe were figns, undoubtedly, of the yiciriity of land, but
whether it lay to the eaft or the weft, it was not poifible for them to afcertain.
Captain Cook’s intention had been to have got into the fame latitude four or
five degrees of. longitude to the weftward of the meridian he then was in, and
after that to have carried on his refearches to the eaft, but the W. and Ñ. W.
winds that had prevailed for, the five preceding days, prevented him from
carrying this defign into execution.
O ir th e3d, being upwards ; of three degrees to. the. eaft of the .meridian of
Mauritius, he b.egan tp defpair of finding the land he fought for to the eaft;
and'the wind having veered. tp ..the, north,, he refoLved, to fearch fot it to thé
weftward. He accordingly tacked, and ftood to the weft, with a frefh gale:
thfs he continued to . do. till the 6th, when being again difappointed, he. gave
nver plying,, and. bore away eaft a little foulherly.
O a