A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

found to be 4° 5' 30", and in the afternoon, 5° 56' E. The same day, at noon, we were in the latitudeof 43° 44', longitude 141° 56' W.At nine o'clock in the morning of the 12th, the longitude was observed as follows, viz.Self 1st set 139° 47' 15"Ditto, 2d set 140 7 30Mr Wales 1st set 141 22 15Mr Wales 2d set 140 10 0Mr Clerke 140 56 45Mr Gilbert 140 2 0--------------Mean 140 24 17-1/2 West.This differed from my reckoning only 2° 1/2. The next morning, in the latitude of 43° 3', longitude139° 20' W., we had several lunar observations, which were consonant to those made the day before,allowing for the ship's run in the time. In the afternoon we had, for a few hours, variable light airsnext to a calm; after which we got a wind from the N.E., blowing fresh and in squalls, attended withdark gloomy weather, and some rain.We stretched to the S.E. till five o'clock in the afternoon on the 14th, at which time, being in thelatitude of 43° 15', longitude 137° 39' W., we tacked and stood to the north under our courses,having a very hard gale with heavy squalls, attended with rain, till near noon the next day, when itended in a calm. At this time we were in the latitude of 42° 39', longitude 137° 58' W. In theevening, the calm was succeeded by a breeze from S.W., which soon after increased to a fresh gale;and fixing at S.S.W, with it we steered N.E. 1/2 E. in the latitude of 41° 25', longitude 135° 58' W.,we saw floating in the sea a billet of wood, which seemed to be covered with barnacles; so that therewas no judging how long it might have been there, or from whence or how far it had come.We continued to steer N.E. 1/2 E., before a very strong gale which blew in squalls, attended withshowers of rain and hail, and a very high sea from the same quarter, till noon, on the 17th. Beingthen in the latitude of 39° 44', longitude 133° 32' W., which was a degree and a half farther east thanI intended to run; nearly in the middle between my track to the north in 1769, and the return to thesouth in the same year, and seeing no signs of land, I steered north-easterly, with a view of exploringthat part of the sea lying between the two tracks just mentioned, down as low as the latitude of 27°, aspace that had not been visited by any preceding navigator that I knew of.[4][4] "The uncomfortable season of the year, the many contrary winds, and the total want ofinteresting incidents, united to make this run extremely tedious to us all, and the only pointwe gained by it, was the certainty that no great land was situated in the South Sea about themiddle latitudes."--G.F.On the 19th, being in the latitude of 36° 34', longitude 133° 7' W., we steered N. 1/2 W., having stillthe advantage of a hard gale at south, which the next day veered to S.E. and E., blew hard and bysqualls, attended with rain and thick hazy weather. This continued till the evening of the 21st, whenthe gale abated, the weather cleared up, and the wind backed to the S. and S.E.We were now in the latitude of 32° 30', longitude 133° 40' W., from this situation we steered N.N.W. till noon the next day, when we steered a point more to the west; being at this time in the latitudeof 31° 6', longitude 134° 12' W. The weather was now so warm, that it was necessary to put onlighter clothes; the mercury in the thermometer at noon rose to 63. It had never been lower than 46,