Ixxii AUVÈRTISEMEi^T. 



vigators fometimes fafter, and fometimes flower 

 than their calculation, according to the feafon of 

 each Pole, I could find a multitude of proofs of 

 this in Voyages round the World, among others, 

 in Captain Cook's fécond and thud Voyages. Thefe 

 Currents frequently interpole obftacles almoft in*- 

 furmountable to vefTel s making the land. For ex- 

 ample, when i'^ook left the ifland of Ta'iti, in De- 

 cember 1777, on his way to make difcoveries to- 

 ward the North, hedifcovered the Sandwich iflands 

 in purfuing that courfe, where he landed without 

 any difficulty, becaufe the Current of the South 

 Pole was in his favour; but when he returned 

 from the North, and wilhed to take in necelïary 

 refrefhments at thofe very iflands, he found the 

 Current from the South fo adverle, at the fame 

 feafon, that though he came within fight of them 

 on the 26th of November 1778, it took him more 

 than fix weeks tacking about, before he could find 

 proper anchoring ground, and could noi get to his 

 moorings, till the 17th January 1779. Accor- 

 dingly, the right feafon for landing on iflands which 

 areof ahigher Latitude than that from whence the 

 departure is taken, is the winter of it's Hemi- 

 fphere, as is evident from the example of his re- 

 turn to the fame iflands. 1 could multiply facts 

 in fupport of a theory fo important to Navigation, 

 were 1 not apprehenfive of encroaching on the 



patience 



