Travels in North America. 7 



Feet long, and at leaft two Feet broad, and a Foot thick ; it has 

 a large Head : Every Part of it is extremely good and tender ; 

 they get a Juice out of the Bones, which is better than the £nelt 

 Marrow, The Eyes and the Edges of the two Sides, which they 

 call Relingues, are very delicate Bits. They throw the whole 

 Body into the Sea to fatten the Cod, whofe moil dangerous E- 

 nemy is the Flettan^ who will eat three of them at a Meal. — I 

 ihall fay nothing of the various Kinds of Birds which live upon 

 thefe Seas, and fubfift only by Filhing ; for here all are Fifhers. 

 Many Travellers have defcribed them, and have faid nothing on 

 this Head that deferves to be repeated. 



The 1 8th, the Wind fair, we think the Y/inds have carried 

 us a little too much to the South, and we fleer Weft North Weft, 

 to get into our Latitude. The Reafon is, we have not feen the 

 Sun thefe ten or twelve Days, and therefore could not obfervc 

 our Latitude. This frequently happens, and is what caufes the 

 greateft Danger of this Voyage. About eight in the Morning 

 we faw a fmall Veftel, which feemed to make towards us ; we 

 iaet it, and when we were near we enquired in v/hat Latitude w^ 

 were : It was an Englijh Ship, and the Captain anfwered in his 

 own Language : We thought we underftood him that v/e were 

 in 45 Degrees ; we could not greatly truft to this Account, for 

 he might be under the fame Miftake as ourfelves : However, we 

 took Courage, and as the Wind continued fair, we flattered our- 

 felves, if it did not change, we fhould have palled the Gulph ia 

 two Days. 



About four in the A^fternoon the Wind fell, which was a 

 Error of the P' Concern to us ; however, this faved us. At 

 lots and the dan ^1^^^^ Night the Horizon appeared very 

 JrouTconfelumces ^^^^ ^^^^^^ tho' every where elfe the 

 ^f'f Sky was very fere ne : The Sailors of the 



' Watch * made no fcruple to fay it was Land; 



the Officer made a Jeft of it, but when he found they perfifted 

 in the fame Opinion, he began to think they might be in the 

 right. By good Fortune there was very little Wind ; fo that we 

 hoped Day would appear, before we fhould come too near the 

 Land. At Midnight the Watch changed ; the Sailors who 

 fucceeded the firft, were direftly of their Opinion ; but their 

 Officer undertook to prove by good Reafons, that the Land 

 could not be there, and what they faw was only a Fog, which 

 would difperfe in the Morning ; he could not make them think 

 fo, and they continued pofitive in their Opinion, that the Sky 



* A Ship's Company is divided into four Bands, each of which are on Duty 

 £Qur Hours j each Band is commanded by an Officer, 



was 



