[ 476 ] 



Whilft we. were in this fituation we loft fight of the pacquet- 

 boat, but we continued our courfe fleering S. W. p when we ob- 

 ferved many birds, fome of which were black, with a white 

 fpot on their bread, the wings long, beak rather large, belly 

 prominent, and tail like a pair of fciffarsi; others again were 

 entirely white; whilft fome were grey, with a fingle large 

 feather. We likewife faw other birds, which dived often under 

 the water, named bobos. 



During great part of March the wind frefhened in the day, 

 and fell at night, particularly a little before the new moon r , 

 (which happened on the 29th,) after which we had often calms, 

 the wind having before blown from the N. W. to the N. on this 

 fame day (viz. the 29th) we faw an ifland at funfet, which is 

 faid to be called Socorro % by which name it is not to be found in 

 the French maps, nor in the Hiftory of California f . We had a 

 view of it whilft it lay to the Ea'ftward at the diftance of 9 or ro 

 leagues, which with difficulty we gained to windward", wifhing 

 to fail as nearly as poffible upon the meridian of that ifland. 



On the 30th we endeavoured to approach nearer to Socorro, 

 when it lay W. N. W. x at the diftance of four leagues, but 



p Sudoefte quarta al oefte. 

 1 Tixera. 



r Great attention to the moon, and its fuppofed effects on the weather,, 

 is tobeobfevved in other parts of this journal. 



5 This ifland, in Dr. Robertfon's map, is placed in 19 N. Lat. and 

 94 W. Long, from Fero. 



c This is probably the hiftory of that country publifhed by Miguel 

 Vcncgas (a Mexican Jefuit) at Madrid, in 1758, which was translated 

 mto Englifh, and printed at London in 1759. It is not at all extraor- 

 dinary however that this ifland mould not be mentioned in that account,, 

 ns Venegas chiefly defcribes the E. coaft of California. Socorro is con- 

 iiderably to the South of that Peninfula* 



* Orzando. 



* Quarta al oefle* 



we 



