TO RADACK. 11 



jectiired that there were several other groups near 

 New Year's Island, I steered, by the aid of a faint 

 N. wind, to the S.W., to come again into the 

 parallel of 10", and then to take a westerly course. 

 The parallel 10° in longitude, 189° in Arrowsmith's 

 map, is strewed with such a great number of 

 islands that I could not miss them, even if the 

 tenth part of them existed. When the sun set, 

 w^e lost sight of New Year's Island, tliough we 

 were distant from it only a few miles, and tacked 

 during the night under few sails, to keep the ship 

 on one point. 



The 3d of January. — Latitude 9° 59' 4q" N., 

 longitude 189° 38', we continued our course to W., 

 saw a number of snipes, but no land, and were 

 soon, according to the ship's reckoning, in latitude 

 10° 2', longitude 189" 40\ I now thought it un- 

 necessary to go further to W., being convinced 

 that the islands marked on Arrowsmith's map are 

 not to be found here, and therefore ordered the 

 ship to tack to S.E., to try my luck in that direc- 

 tion. After we had followed this course till seven 

 o'clock in the evening, we were in latitude 9° 37', 

 seven miles west of the course of the preceding 

 year, without being able to descry land from the 

 mast-head. Immediately before sun set, we 

 punished a pelican for its temerity in flying so 

 close over our heads that we might have caught it 

 with our hands ; a shot brought it down into the 

 sea, and I sent out a boat, notwithstanding the 



