370 cook's VOYAGE TO NOV. 



small land birds, and had many porpusses playing 

 round us. 



On the 6th, at day-light, we altered our course to 

 the south-south-west; but at eight in the evening we 

 were taken back, and obliged to steer to the south- 

 east. On the 7th, at noon, we saw a small land bird, 

 our latitude, by observation at this time, being 33° 52', 

 and longitude 148° 42'. On the 9th, we were in 

 latitude 31° 46', longitude 146° 20', when we again 

 saw a small land bird, a tropic bird, porpusses, flying- 

 fishes, and had a great swell from the east-south-east. 

 We continued our course to the south-west, having 

 the winds from the northward, without any remark- 

 able occurrence, till the 12th, when we had a most 

 violent gale of wind from the same quarter, which 

 reduced us to the fore-sail, and mizen-stay-sail ; and, 

 as the weather was so hazy that we were not able to 

 see a cable's length before us, and many shoals and 

 small islands are laid down in our charts, in this part 

 of the ocean, we brought-to, with our heads to the 

 south-west. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 

 27° SQ\ longitude 144° 25'. In the morning of the 

 13th, the wind shifting round to the north-west, 

 brought with it fair weather ; but though we were at 

 this time nearly in the situation given to the island 

 of St. Juan, we saw no appearance of land. We now 

 bore away to the south-west, and set the top-sails, 

 the gale still continuing with great violence. At 

 noon, the latitude, by observation, was 26° 0', longi- 

 tude 143° 40', and variation 3° 50' E. In the after- 

 noon, we saw flying-fish and dolphins, also tropic 

 birds and albatrosses. We still continued to pass 

 much pumice-stone; indeed, the prodigious quantities 

 of this substance which float in the sea, between 

 Japan and the Bashee Islands, seem to indicate, that 

 some great volcanic convulsion must have happened 

 in this part of the Pacific Ocean; and, consequently, 

 give some degree of probability to the opinion of 

 Mr. Muller, which I have already had occasion to 



