the South-Sea. 7 



15000 Trench Foot$ wherein they are grofly miftaken, 

 if a Degree contains 5 7060 Toifes, or Fathoms, and the 

 Sea League 2853 of thofe of the Chatelet at Paris, as 

 the Gentlemen of the Academy meafur'd it, by the 

 King's Order, in the Year 1672 5 for, according to that 

 Calculation, the League containing 171 18 Foot, the 

 Log-line ought to have, between every Knot, to anfwer 

 the Half-minute GMs, 47 Foot, 6 Inches, and 7 Tenths. 

 According to this Principle, the Knots being too fhorr, 

 I did not wonder that we made lefs Way than appear'd 

 by our Reckoning ; we could not but make one Ninth 

 and T 5i Parts, that is, about one Tenth lefs. 



I was confirm'd in this Opinion on the 3 1 ft of Janiz- 

 ary r when, having run about 100 Leagues fince the laft 

 Obfervation^ 1 found eight Leagues and one Third too 

 much in the Reckoning, and others found more ; but 

 in the Procefs of the Voyage, I was fenfible of.the Un- 

 certainty of the Log, which Experience and good Senfe 

 arc to corred, according to the Manner of Cafting ir, 

 and the Inequality of the Wind, which rarely continues 

 in the fame Degree of Force during the Interval of two 

 Hours that the. Log is not caft. The Setting of Currents 

 unknown, is ftill another Caufe of Uncertainty ; fo that 

 it often happened, that the Log-table anfwer'd exactly 

 with the Latitude obfei'v'd f and at other times- it fell our, 

 that inftead of retrenching thev were'fain to add to it. 



There were fome alfo, who relying on their Reckon- 

 ing, queftion'd whether it was really Land that had been 

 feen on the Wednesday Evening when on Thursday, the 

 4th of F ebruary, we again difcover'd Land at E. and 

 by S. which was not queftion'd to be the Ifland Hierro^HUxxo/JIand^ 

 or Ferro, by the Latitude obfervd, and our Run from 

 the Ifland of Pdlma y which was very exa<5t with the 

 Diftance between thofe two Iflands, 



Being fure of the Place we were in, we flood for the 

 Iflands of Cape Verde, with a gentle Gale at N. E. and 

 N.HE* which in three Days carry'd us to the Tropick, 



where,: 



