IO5
January, February, March, April,
d.
about 5
m.
0 north
May
7
0
June
8
0
July
9
0
Augufl .
10
3 °
September
10
3 °
October
8
0
November
6
0
December
5
0
We fleered away to the fouthward, keeping as near the wind as we could conveni-ently, without any thing remarkable till the 21ft of December, when we loft our trade-wind in the latitude of twenty degrees fifty-two minutes fouth ; and on the 30th wefaw the fun to the north of us at twelve o’clock at noon, as in the European parts it isto the fouth. But notwithstanding the fun’s being in or fo near our zenith, yet therefrefhing fouth-eafl gales make the weather cool and pleafant enough. Here I beganto confider what quantity of water we had left, and whether fufficient to carry usthrough, without touching at the Cape of Good Hope ; and upon examination I foundabout fixteen tuns, which I thought fufficient. However we continued our courfe inorder to get fight of the Cape, the better to regulate the future part of our reckoning ;and accordingly, January the 20th, about fix in the evening, I difcovered from thedeck the high land, called the Table Tand, we being then about fixty miles diflant.We flood in all night, and next day about four in the morning, by the falfe appear-ance of the high land up the country, the fecond mate, (who then had the morningwatch) being wholly unacquainted with the coafls, ran the fhip fo far into the bay,between Penguin and Coney Ifland, that had I not turned out at that very time, we hadall molt certainly perifhed, there being a very great fea rolling on the ffiore, no wind togovern the fhip, and no anchor ground. I ordered the boat to be hoifted out imme-diately, and the fhip to be towed about; and a fmall gale of wind rifing at the fametime, it pleafed God we got off fafe. Here we met with a vaft multitude of feals andlarge whales, that rolled and played about the fhip, following her fome diltancefrom the ffiore; alfo a great number of fowls, and particularly a fort called alcatros oralbotros, being a very large fierce bird, having feet like a duck, a crooked beak likean eagle, and a great quantity of feathers of the finefl down. I ffiot fe.veral of them,and found fome of them to meafure fourteen or fifteen feet from the tip of one wing tothe tip of the other, when extended. It would be too tedious to mention the greatvariety of other birds that are feen here, which therefore I will omit till my return, andpurfue my defign.
Accordingly this day at noon I took my departure from the Cape of Good Hope ,bearing fouth-eafl by .fouth, fixty-nine miles diltance. We continued our courfe■without meeting with any thing memorable, till the 25th of February, about whichtime we expected to difcover the iflands of St. Paul and Amflerdam ; but were pre-vented by a moll violent florm, which held us forty-eight hours, it being the moflterrible ever I met with. On the third day the florm ceafed, and the wind favoured uswith a flout pleafant gale. On the 7th of March following, and in the latitude of thirtydegrees thirty-five minutes fouth, and one hundred and twenty-nine miles to the eaflof the cape, we met the fouth-eafl trade wind again. On the 5th of April we madeChriflmas Ifland (fo called from its being firfl difcovered on that day). It lies in the
latitude