May.] ARRIVAL AT NEW-YORK. 251 



tion, and present an aspect of the most dreary description, the sea 

 roaring and surging against them on every side. The two largest are 

 nearly connected with each other, thus forming a kind of harbour, or 

 place of shelter, for a boat, on the north-west side, where it is some- 

 times practicable to land, if a few boobies and their eggs be consid- 

 ered a sufficient inducement ; and these can only be found in the month 

 of November. 



Two small rocks lie off to the south-south-west of the large ones, and 

 another small one lies off to the north-east, all above water. The large 

 rocks are about one hundred feet above the level of the sea, and may 

 be seen at the distance of ten or twelve miles, when they will appear, 

 from nearly all points of the compass, like three sails. There are no 

 dangers around them, more than one cable's length distance, that do 

 not show themselves above water ; and fish may be caught here in 

 abundance ; the fishermen may be caught likewise, if they are not on 

 the look-out for the enormous sharks, which are very numerous among 

 these rocks. 



The course of the current here is north-west-by-west, from one to 

 one and a half miles an hour, which is very apt to throw the navigator 

 out of his reckoning, unless he be very particular in his astronomical 

 observations. 



April \%th. — We now continued our course towards the United 

 States ; and on Thursday lost the south-east trades in lat. 4° 15' north. 

 For the two following days we had light variable winds, attended with 

 heavy falls of rain. 



April 1 6th. — On Sunday we took the north-east trade-winds, in lat. 

 7° 45' north, long. 33° 27' west, which blew strong from north-north- 

 east to north-east-by-east, attended with pleasant weather, which con- 

 tinued for the remainder of the month. 



April 30th. — On Sunday the north-east trade-winds left us in lat. 

 29° 30' north, long. 64° 20' west, and on the following day we took 

 the wind from south-south-west, with fair weather, which lasted about 

 twenty-four hours ; after which we had light variable winds and occa- 

 sional foul weather for the remainder of the voyage. 



May 8th. — On Monday we arrived at the port of New- York, with 

 a cargo of rising six thousand fur-seal skins ; and I had the satisfac- 

 tion of finding all my friends and relations in good health. Thus ends 

 this journal of a voyage of twenty-one months and eighteen days ; 

 during which I had suffered more bodily fatigue, and encountered more 

 formidable dangers, than I had experienced in either of my former 

 voyages. 



Though many warm hearts bounded with joy to greet my safe return, 

 the reception I met with from my owners was, to my utter astonish- 

 ment, cold and repulsive. I had congratulated myself on having made 

 such a voyage as would give satisfaction to all parties ; but to my ex- 

 treme mortification, soon discovered that my pleasing anticipations 

 were not to be realized. The Tartar did not return laden with silver 

 and gold, and therefore all my toils and dangers, privations and hard- 

 ships, were counted as nothing. Is the pleasure of a safe return to the 

 bosom of my home always to be thus imbittered by some appalling dis- 



