MENZIES' JOURNAL of VANCOUVER'S 



VOYAGE. 



APRIL TO OCTOBER, 1792. 



(Note. — The original spelling in Mensies' MS. has been retained in the printed 



Journal and index.) 



RECURRING to former Voyages in this part of the 

 Pacific, it appears that the North East Wind has 

 generally prevaild so far to the Northward as our 

 present situation, those who have made their passage more 

 westerly have met the variable winds in a much lower Lati- 

 tude particularly when the Sun is to the southward of the 

 Equator, from thence it would seem that a passage inclining 

 into the variable winds in a more westerly meridian instead 

 of an easterly course within the limits of the Trade wind 

 would have a better chance of succeeding sooner. 



Early this morning our attention was fixd on a number 

 of small substances floating on the surface of the water, 

 sometimes singly but generally collected in large patches of 

 which we were every moment passing vast quantities on both 

 sides of us & the sea appeard coverd wath them as far as 

 the eye could distinguish them within our horizon. A bucket 

 was lowered down in the water in which several of them 

 were pickd up & I found them to agree very nearly with 

 the Medusa vclclla of Linnaeus — a kind of sea blubber. 



The greatest number of them were small but the full 

 sizd ones were about 3 inches long, of an oval depressed 

 form & edgd with a very delicate blue gelatinous margin 

 minutely dotted with purple spots — The under side is some- 

 what concave & beset with papillae & soft pendulous filaments 

 particularly round the centre — The upper side is prominent 

 in the middle of a silvery tinge & concentrically striated — 

 having a thin erect pellucid membrane placd / diagonally, 

 which answers the purpose of a little sail in wafting it about 

 on the surface of the Ocean in search of its food. A won- 

 derful contrivance of nature in the locomotive powers of 

 an animal so seemingly helpless, & when it is disturbed or too 

 much harrassd either by the roughness of the sea strength 

 of the wind or other accidents it immediately turns over on 

 its back to elude the danger. 



17!(2. 

 April 8tb. 



Velella. 



