INDIAN OCEAN. 197 



universe to call them into existence ; and by the same great 

 engine of nature they may be constantly changing. 



The information I have collected, if not perfectly accurate, is 

 certainly the most so that can be found. It has been drawn from 

 purely original sources ; nothing has been received at second hand. 

 I have examined the log-books, journals, maps, and charts of the 

 navigators themselves, and in most cases have questioned them 

 personally. Many of these facts have been received from several 

 quarters, and I have had opportunities to compare them with 

 others that have been offered before. Nantucket often had con- 

 firmed the information from New Bedford, and vice versa. When 

 the individuals were equally good in point of intelligence, and 

 their statements in any way differed, I have given both accounts ; 

 but if there was a decided difference in the intelligence of the 

 authority, I have adopted that which was held in the most general 

 estimation. 



Some of those whom I have examined, whose voyages were 

 of very recent date, or were connected with a train of remarkable 

 facts, I have considered separately, and have given their statements 

 as made to me verbally, or have taken extracts from their journals, 

 without placing their discoveries under the general heads. Their 

 brief statements of the most recent date will show most distinctly 

 that the field for discoveries is still prolific, and that there will be 

 a sufficiency of subjects in those seas to employ the enterprise of 

 our country for many generations to come. 



The currents have in many instances been given ; and from all 

 I could gather from the statements made to me, they are caused 

 by the winds rather than from any motion of the earth, and of 

 course are perpetually varying in such a manner that but little 

 reliance on the experience of any one can be placed. The varia- 

 tions of the needle I did not find noticed by many of the naviga- 

 tors. Captain Swain, of Newport, has noticed the variations in 



