THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 175 



fultry; the thermometer being generally at 80*, and fome- M ?79- 



times at 83*. All this time, we had a confiderable fwell < •— > 



from the North Eaft ; and in no period of the voyage did 

 the ihips roll and {train fo violently. 



April. 



In the morning of the ift of April, the wind changed Thurfdayi. 

 from the South Eaft to the North Eaft by Eaft, and blew a 

 frefh breeze, till the morning of the 4th, when it altered Sunday 4. 

 two points more to the Eaft, and by noon increafed to a 

 ftrong gale, which lafted till the afternoon of the 5th, at- Monday 5. 

 tended with hazy weather. It then again altered its direc- 

 tion to the South Eaft, became more moderate, and was ac- 

 companied by heavy mowers of rain. During all this time, 

 we kept fleering to the North Weft, againft a flow but re- 

 gular current from that quarter, which caufed a conftant 

 variation from our reckoning by the log, of fifteen miles 

 a day. On the 4th, being then in the latitude 26 17', 

 and longitude 173* 30', we parled prodigious quantities 

 of what failors call Portuguefe men-of-war (holothuria phy- 

 Jails), and were alfo accompanied with a great number of 

 fea birds, amongft which we obferved, for the firft time, the 

 albatrofs and fheerwater. 



On the 6th, at noon, we loft the trade wind, and were Tuefdayg. 

 fuddenly taken a-back, with the wind from the North 

 North Weft. At this time, our latitude was 29 50', and 

 our longitude 170 1'. As the old running ropes were 

 constantly breaking in the late gales, we reeved what new 

 ones we had left, and made fuch other preparations, as 

 were neceifary for the very different climate with which 

 we were now fhortly to encounter. The fine weather we 

 met with between the tropics, had not been idly fpcnt. The 

 carpenters found fuflicient employment in repairing the 

 boats. The belt bower cable had been fo much damaged 

 4 by 



