VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEAS.
9
calm and continued ſo till midnight; when it blew from the North Weſt, being, at this time, in the ſituation which I had often heard my old commander, Captain Cook, mention, as the poſition of the Iſle of Grand: I accordingly entertained great expectations of ſeeing it; more eſpecially as the birds appeared in great numbers during the whole of the day. In the evening we ſtood away to the Southward, in which direction I continued my courſe for the night. At day-lightMarch 18., on the eighteenth, the ſurface of the water was covered with feathers; and frequently in the forenoon we paſſed ſeveral birch twigs, as well as quantities of drift-wood and ſea-weed. Theſe appearances continued until noon of the ſame day, when our obſervation was in Latitude 40° 12′ South: Longitude by obſervation of Sun and Moon, 35° 34′ Weſt; and by mean of chronometers 34° 8′. At this time the appearance of the ſea had changed to a dirty green; which could not be the effect of the ſky, as it was very clear: thoſe tokens of land induced me to heave to and try for ſoundings with an hundred and fifty fathoms of line, but got no bottom, we had no ſooner got the lead in, when to our great aſtoniſhment, at three or four miles diſtance from us, the whole horizon was covered with birds of the blue petrel kind. At the ſame time black whales were ſeen ſpouting in every direction, and the boats purſued one to
