1768. ROUND THE WORLD. 19 



On the next day, Saturday the 24th, we came into 

 the north-east trade wind, and on Friday the 30th saw 

 Bona Vista, one of the Cape de Verd islands ; we 

 ranged the east side of it, at the distance of three 

 or four miles from the shore, till we were obliged to 

 haul off to avoid a ledge of rocks which stretch out 

 S. W. by W. from the body, or S. E. point of the 

 island, to the extent of a league and a half. Bona 

 Vista, by our observation, lies in latitude 16 N. and 

 longitude 21° 51' West. 



On the 1st of October, in latitude 14° & N. and 

 longitude 22° 10' W. we found the variation by a 

 very good azimuth to be 10° 37' W. and the next 

 morning it appeared to be 10°. This day we found 

 the ship five miles a head of the log, and the next 

 day seven. On the third, hoisted out the boat to 

 discover whether there was a current, and found one 

 to the eastward, at the rate of three quarters of a 

 mile an hour. 



During our course from Tenerifte to Bona Vista 

 we saw great numbers of flying fish, which from the 

 cabin windows appear beautiful beyond imagination, 

 their sides having the colour and brightness of bur- 

 nished silver ; when they are seen from the deck they 

 do not appear to so much advantage, because their 

 backs are of a dark colour. We also took a shark, 

 which proved to be the Squaliis Carcharias of 

 Linnasus. 



Having lost the trade wind on the 3d, in latitude 

 12° 14', and longitude 22° 10', the wind became 

 somewhat variable, and we had light airs and calms 

 by turns. 



On the 7th, Mr. Banks went out in the boat and 

 took what the seamen call a Portuguese man of war ; 

 it is the Holuthuria Phy sails of Linnaeus, and a spe- 

 cies of the Mollusca. It consisted of a small bladder 

 about seven inches long, very much resembling the 

 air-bladder of fishes, from the bottom of which de- 

 scended a number of strings, of a bright blue and 



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