PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 17 



been seen, those who are wedded to the common chap 

 opinion above alluded to, may yet fancy such an ^— ~ <-• 

 island has existence ; although it is highly impro- fj)^ 

 bable that it should have escaped the observation, 

 not only of those who purposely went in search of 

 it, but of the numerous ships also which have of late 

 made the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

 Another opinion, not quite so general, (but which I 

 have heard repeatedly expressed with reference to 

 the coast of California), is, that of aquatic birds con- 

 fining their flight within certain limits, so that a 

 person who has paid attention to the subject will 

 know by the birds that are about him, without see- 

 ing the land, what part of the coast he is off. My 

 own experience does not enable me to offer any 

 remarks on the subject, except in the instance of the 

 St. Lawrence Islands, in Beering's Strait, the vici- 

 nity to which is always indicated by the Crested 

 Auk (alca crestatella). But the following fact may 

 be serviceable in adding weight to the opinion, pro- 

 vided it were not accidental ; and if so, it may still 

 be useful in calling the attention of others to the 

 subject. Off the River Plate, we fell in with the 

 dusky albatross (diomediafulginosa), and as we pro- 

 ceeded southward, they became very numerous ; but 

 on reaching the latitude of 51° S. they all quitted 

 us. We rounded the cape ; and on regaining the 

 same parallel of 51° S. on the opposite side, they 

 again came round us, and accompanied the ship up 

 the Chili coast. The pintados were our constant 

 attendants the whole way. 



From the time of our leaving England, the tem- 

 perature of the surface of the sea had been registered 

 every two hours. Off Cape Horn, I caused it to be 



vol. i. c 



