to efiförce it; for] fmall as the fö in tiïy was ^hfch I intended5,
to take away,for our future good, yet it might appear to my
people like robbing them of life; and fome, who were lefs pa—
tient than their companions, I expected would very ill brook
it. However, on my reprefenting the nec'effity of guarding,
againft delays that might be óccafibned in our Voyage-by
contrary Winds, or other caufésy arid promifing tb enlarge
upon the allowance as We goton, they chearfully agreed1 to*
fpy propofal. It was accordingly fettled, that every peffon.
fhmiTd receive offe a jth o‘f a prittrtd df bread fi>r bfëikfaft;
and the fame quantity for dinner; fo that by omitting the
proportion for fupper, We had 4;y days .allowance.
Monday the 25th. At rióbti fobie hoddies camö fö near
to us, that one of them Was caught by harid. This bifd
was about the lize of a fmah pigeon-. I divided it, With its
entrails, into 18 portions, and by a well-known method vat
fea, -of, TVbg Jbail have f0is * f it was dillributed,1 With the
allowance Of bread and .water for dinner, and eat up-bones-
and an; witb fait water for fauce. I obferved thé latitude
130 32' S'; longitudfe mkdfe is 6' 19' W ; cömfè hf W».
diftance 108 miles.
In the evetiirig, federal boobies flying Wery near to us}-
We had the goód ibrtunö t ó catch óriè cd'thém. This ;Bird
is as. large as a duck: like thé noddy, it has received
its name from fearften, fbr buffering iffdlf tb'be caught on
the malts and yards' of flips. They are the molt preemptive
proofs of being in the neighbourhood of land cff- aby
fea-fowl we are acquainted with. I directed the bird fö be
* One perfon tu rn sh is back on th e objecft.that is to.be divided: another then poults'
feparately to -the portions, a t each o f th em afk in g aloud5 tc W h o fhall have this ? to
which the firft anfwers by naming fomebody. T h is impartial method o f divifiori gives
every m an an equal chance o f the heft mare.
9 killed
killed for fuppei,, and the blood to pg given to thiee of the jySg.
people who were die inofh diftrefled .for; want of food. t j
The body, with the entrails, beak, and.feet, I. divided into |
18 (hares, with an allowance of bread, yhich ,1 made
a merit of granting,' we: made'. agppd fupper, -compared
■ with our ufual fare.
Triefday the a6th. Frelh breezes; from the S E, with TuefdayaS.
-fine1 weather, -jIn the morning we Caught another booby,
;fo that Providence appeared to be relieving our wants in
an extraordinary manner. • Towards noon, we paffed a
great'many pieces of the branches pf trees, fpme .of which
appeared to have been no -long time in the water. I had a
good pbfervation for the latitude, and found our fftuafriqh
to be in 13° 41' longitude, by Recount, from Tofpa, 39*
is ' W ; .ppprfe-^i Ps° W* miles. The;peGyple wercjc^epjoyed
at.the addition ,tb their dinner, which was (lil’crjbuted
in the fame manner as on the preceding evening; giving
the bdopd <|o thpfe w|rp[were fhp, moft in want of fopd. ,
To ipakefhp bre^l a -little favoury, mpft of the people
frequently dipped; itl^i fait watb'r" ;',h|ut I gej^paby .broke
mine -into fmall pieces, and eat it in my.: allpwamce.. of
water, out of a cocoa-nut (hell, with a fpoon; economically
avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, fo that
I was as long at dinner as i f it had been a rnuph more
plentiful meal.
The weather was now ferene, which, neverthelpfs, was -
not without its inconveniences, for we began to. feel diftrefs
of a different kind from that which we had lately been ac-
.-cuftomed tpbuffer. The heat of the fun was fo powerful,
that feveral of the people were feized with a languor and
faintnefs, which made life indifferent. We were fo fortu-
• nate as to catch two boobies in the evening: their ftomachs .
C c 2 contained