THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 35 



» 



watch, 34° 47'. The former is i" 43', and the latter 2" 14' seVember 



more Wefterly than the ifland of Fernando de Noronha, the • « ' 



fituation of which was pretty well determined during my late 

 voyage *. Hence I concluded that we could not now be 

 farther from the continent than twenty or thirty leagues at 

 moft; and perhaps not much lefs, as we neither had found- 

 ings, nor any other figns of land. Dr. Halley, however, in 

 his voyage, publifhed by Mr. Dalrymple, tells us f, tliat he 

 made no more than ofie hundred and tivo miles, meridian diftance, from 

 the ijland [Fernando de Noronha] to the coaft of Brafil; and 

 feems to think that currents could not be the ivhole cauf of his 

 making fo little. But I rather think that he was miftaken, 

 and that the currents had hurried him far to the Weft ward 

 of his intended courfe. This was, in fome meafure, con- 

 firmed by our own obfervations ; for we had found, during 

 three or four days preceding the 8th, that the currents fet 

 to the Weftvvard; and, during the laft twenty- four hours, 

 it had fet flrong to the Northward, as we experienced a dif- 

 ference of twenty-nine miles between our obferved latitude 

 and that by dead reckoning. Upon the whole, till fome 

 better aflronomical obfervations are made on fhore on the 

 Eaftern coaft of Brafil, I fhall conclude that its longitude is 

 thirty-five degrees and a half, or thirty-fix degrees Weft, at 

 moft. 



We proceeded on our voyage, without meeting with any oaober. 

 thing of note, till the 6th of 0(5lober. Being then in the Sunday 6. 

 latitude of 35° 15' South, longitude f 45' Weft, we met with 

 light airs and calms by turns, for three days fuccefTively. 

 We had, for fome days before, feen albatroftes, pintadoes, 

 and other petrels ; and here we faw three penguins, which 



* See Cook's Voyage, Vol. II. p. 278, f P. u. 



F 2. occafioned 



