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1769. January.

the back. The albatroffes we fkinned, and having foaked them in falt water till the morning, we parboiled them, then throwing away the liquor, ftewed them in a very little fresh water till they were tender, and had them served up with favoury fauce; thus dreffed, the dish was univerfally commended, and we eat of it very heartily even when there was fresh pork upon the table.

From a variety of obfervations which were made with great care, it appeared probable in the highest degree, that, from the time of our leaving the land to the 13th of February, when Monday 13. we were in latitude 49° 32', and longitude 90° 37, we had no current to the west.

February.

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At this time we had advanced about 129 to the weftward, and 3 and to the northward of the Streight of Magellan

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having been just three and thirty days in coming round the land of Terra del Fuego, or Cape Horn, from the east entrance of the Streight to this fituation. And though the doubling of Cape Horn is fo much dreaded, that, in the general opinion, it is more eligible to pafs through the Streight of Magellan, we were not once brought under our close reef'd topfails after we left the Streight of Le Maire. The Dolphin in her laft voyage, which fhe performed at the fame season of the year with ours, was three months in getting through the Streight of Magellan, exclufive

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clufive of the time that the lay in Port Famine; and I am perfuaded, from the winds we had, that if we had come by that paffage, we fhould not at this time have been in these feas; that our people would have been fatigued, and our anchors, cables, fails, and rigging much damaged; neither of which inconveniencies we had now fuffered. But fuppofing it more eligible to go round the Cape, than through the Streight of Magellan; it may ftill be questioned, whether it is better to go through the Streight. of Le Maire, or ftand to the eastward, and' go round Staten Land. The advice given in the Account of Lord Anfon's voyage is, "That tc all fhips bound to the South Seas, instead of "paffing through the Streight of Le Maire, "fhould conftantly pafs to the eastward of "Staten Land, and fhould be invariably bent

on running to the fouthward as far as the latitude of 61 or 62 degrees, before they endeavour to ftand to the weftward." But, in my opinion, different circumftances may at one time render it eligible to pass through the Streight, and to keep to the eastward of Staten Land at another. If the land is fallen in with to the weftward of the Streight, and the wind is favourable for going through, I think it would be very injudicious to lofe time by going round Staten Land, as I am confident that, by attending to the directions. X 2 which

1769.

February.

1769. February.

which I have given, the Streight may be paffed
with the utmost fafety and convenience: but if,
on the contrary, the land is fallen in with to the
eastward of the Streight, and the wind fhould
prove tempeftuous or unfavourable, I think it
would be best to go round Staten Land. But
I cannot in any cafe concur in recommending
the running into the latitude of 61 or 62, before
any
endeavour is made to ftand to the weftward.
We found neither the current nor the storms
which the running fo far to the southward is
fuppofed neceffary to avoid; and indeed, as the
winds almost conftantly blow from that quarter,
it is scarcely poffible to purfue the advice. The
navigator has no choice but to ftand to the
fouthward, close upon a wind, and by keep-
ing upon that tack, he will not only make fouth-
ing, but wefting; and, if the wind varies to.
wards the north of the weft, his wefting will be
confiderable. It will indeed, be highly proper
to make fure of a wefting fufficient to double
all the lands, before an attempt is made to stand
to the northward, and to this every man's own
prudence will of neceffity direct him.

We now began to have ftrong gales and heavy feas, with irregular intervals of calm and fine weather.

СНАР.

CHAP. VII.

The Sequel of the Paffage from Cape Horn to the newly discovered Ilands in the South Seas, with a Defcription of their Figure and Appearance; fome Account of the Inhabitants, and feveral Incidents that happened during the Courfe, and at the Ship's Arrival among them.

Ο

N the ift of March, we were in latitude

1769.

38° 44 S. and longitude 110° 33′ W. March. both by obfervation and by the log. This Wednef. 1. agreement, after a run of 660 leagues, was thought to be very extraordinary; and is a demonstration, that after we left the land of Cape Horn we had no current that affected the fhip. It renders it also highly probable, that we had been near no land of any confiderable extent; for currents are always found when land is not remote, and sometimes, particularly on the east fide of the continent in the North Sea, when land has been diftant 100 leagues.

Many birds, as usual, were constantly about the ship, fo that Mr. Banks killed no lefs than 62 in one day; and what is more remarkable, he caught two foreft flies, both of them

1769. March.

Wedne. I.

Wednef. 8.

Friday 24.

of the fame fpecies, but different from any that have hitherto been defcribed; these probably belonged to the birds, and came with them from the land, which we judged to be at a great diftance. Mr. Banks alfo, about this time, found a large cuttle-fifh, which had juft been killed by the birds, floating in a mangled condition upon the water; it is very different from the cuttlefishes that are found in the European feas; for its arms, instead of fuckers, were furnished with a double row of very fharp talons, which refemble those of a cat, and, like them, were retractable into a sheath of skin, from which they might be thrust at pleasure. Of this cuttle-fifh we made one of the best foups we had ever tafted.

The albatroffes now began to leave us, and after the 8th there was not one to be seen. We continued our courfe without any memorable event till the 24th, when fome of the people who were upon the watch in the night, reported that they faw a log of wood pafs by the ship; and that the fea, which was rather rough, became fuddenly as smooth as a mill pond. It was a general opinion, that there was land to windward; but I did not think myself at liberty to fearch for what I was not fure to find; though I judged we were not far from the islands that were discovered by Quiros in 1606. Our latitude was 22° 11′ S. and longitude 127° 55′ W.

On

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