In All This Route We Had Not Seen The Least Thing That
Could Induce Us To Think We Were Ever In The Neighbourhood Of Any Land.
We
had, indeed, frequently seen pieces of sea-weed; but this, I am well
assured, is no sign of the vicinity of land; for weed is seen in every part
of the ocean.
After a few hours calm, we got a wind from S.E.; but it was
very unsettled, and attended with thick snow-showers; at length it fixed at
S. by E., and we stretched to the east. The wind blew fresh, was piercing
cold, and attended with snow and sleet. On the 22d, being in the latitude
of 62 deg. 5' S., longitude 112 deg. 24' W., we saw an ice island, an antartic
peterel, several blue peterels, and some other known birds; but no one
thing that gave us the least hopes of finding land.
On the 23d, at noon, we were in the latitude of 62 deg. 22' S., longitude 110 deg.
24'. In the afternoon, we passed an ice island. The wind, which blew fresh,
continued to veer to the west; and at eight o'clock the next morning it was
to the north of west, when I steered S. by W. and S.S.W. At this time we
were in the latitude of 63 deg. 20' S., longitude 108 deg. 7' W., and had a great
sea from S.W. We continued this course till noon the next day, the 25th,
when we steered due south. Our latitude, at this time, was 65 deg. 24' S.,
longitude 109 deg. 31' W.; the wind was at north; the weather mild and not
unpleasant; and not a bit of ice in view. This we thought a little
extraordinary, as it was but a month before, and not quite two hundred
leagues to the east, that we were in a manner blocked up with large islands
of ice in this very latitude. Saw a single pintadoe peterel, some blue
peterels, and a few brown albatrosses. In the evening, being under the same
meridian, and in the latitude of 65 deg. 44' S., the variation was 19 deg. 27' E.;
but the next morning, in the latitude of 66 deg. 20' S., longitude the same as
before, it was only 18 deg. 20' E.; probably the mean between the two is the
nearest the truth. At this time, we had nine small islands in sight; and
soon after we came, the third time, within the antartic polar circle, in
the longitude of 109 deg. 31' W. About noon, seeing the appearance of land to
the S.E., we immediately trimmed our sails and stood towards it. Soon after
it disappeared, but we did not give it up till eight o'clock the next
morning, when we were well assured that it was nothing but clouds, or a fog
bank; and then we resumed our course to the south, with a gentle breeze at
N.E., attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet.
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