26 AVOYAGETOTHE 



C H A P. 

 U. 



rock-weed were floating on the water, and great variety of 



« —— ' birds, fuch as albatroffes, flieerwaters, and ftormy petrels, 



December. Were flying about the veflels. The latitude then' was 

 ay 22. ^^o 25' South, and the longitude 54° 3^ Wefl:. 



1786. From this to the 2d January we in general had very 



Monday 2. tempcftuous Weather, attended with violent fqualls ; variety 

 of birds in great numbers were daily feen, fuch as Port 

 Egmont hens, albatrofles, petrels, penguins, &c. large 

 quantities of rock- weed conftantly floating in the water j 

 and it being much coloured, we were frequently induced 

 to found, but we never got any bottom with 120 fathom 

 line : at length, early in the morning of the 2d, we got 

 foundings in 7 2 fathom water, over a bottom of fine grey 

 fand, and immediately afterwards faw Falkland's Iflands, 

 the land then in flght bearing from South to South Eaft, 

 about feven leagues diftant. During the whole day we 

 had light variable winds, and very hazy weather, which 

 obliged us to p]y occafionally, and prevented our getting 

 in with the land. 



Tuefdayj. About clcvcn o'clock in the forenoon of the 3d, being 



about fix leagues diftant from the land, we faw fomething 

 from the maft-head which had greatly the appearance of 

 a fhip under fail bearing South Eaft of us, but on a nearer 

 approach it was found to be a rock whitened over with 

 the dung of birds ; it is fituated about three leagues from 

 the land. Our latitude at that time was 5 1° i' South, and 

 the longitude 58° 48'' Weft; in this fituation we had 

 foundings in 7 2 fathom water over a bottom of fine fand, 

 and as we ftood in fhore they leftened gradually. 



It 



