Ch.V. south AMERICA. 353 



6 min. S. Cn the 25th in the latitude of 45 deg. 

 6 min. and 34 deg. 47 min. eaft of the fame meri- 

 dian, we again found the latitude by obfervation to be 

 8 minutes lefs than that by account. But afterwards 

 they agreed till we had paiTed the bank, when on the 

 i2thof Augull, 1 6 degrees two minutes eaft of Con- 

 ception, our latitude by obfervation, w^as 45 degrees 

 . 58 minutes, an excefs of juft 30 minutes beyond that 

 by the reckoning ; and this great difference had com- 

 menced on the 9th, when we were in 45 deg. 22 min. 

 latitude, and 19 deg. i min. eaft of Conception. 



From this difference it is manifeft that, on the weft 

 fid^ of the bank, betwixt it and Cape Breton, that is 

 under the meridian of Placentia, the currents fet to 

 the northward, agreeably to the opinion of the pilots 

 in thofe feas, who all declare that the fea fets into the 

 gulph of Canada by the ftreight betwixt cape Roze, 

 the nioft weftern point of the ifland of Newfoundland, 

 and the north cape in the ifle Roy ale and difcharges 

 itfeif by the ftreight of Beliile, formed by the main 

 land and the north point of Newfoundland : and we 

 feniibly found ,on making the coaft, that the waters 

 carried the fhip northward. 



On the 12th of Auguft in the morning, we faw a 

 great number of thofe kinds of fea-fowl which always 

 keep near the fhore, and particularly feveral gulls, 

 from which with the ccurfe vv^e had fleered from the 

 time of our cominganto foundings on the 2d of Au- 

 guft, we concluded ourfeives to be not far from land, 

 having alfo diminifhed our longitude exa6i:ly 1 1 de- 

 grees. In this conjedlure we were foon confirmed by 

 weeds, pieces of wood and boughs floating on the wa- 

 ter, and at twelve o'clock we adually made the land, 

 though at a great diftance. At four o'clock in the af- 

 ternoon vv^e had a plain fight of it ; but being low and 

 level we were obliged to ftiorten fail and lie to, till the 

 following day, v/hen at half an hour after fix in the 

 morning, we faw the ifland of Efc atari, which lies 

 Vol. IL A a about 



