34 A VOYAGE TO [From Madeira, 
1801. the westward, and blew fresh ; so that on the 29th, our latitude was 
Tuesd^ b 29- 3 1° 2 ' and longitude 26 0 o' west. This was 17' to the south, and 
about 6° west of the situation usually assigned to Saxemberg ; an 
island which has been frequently sought by the East-India, and other 
ships, in the place which it still occupies in the charts ; and not find- 
ing it there, they have run a few degrees to the eastward, in the same 
parallel, but always without success. The opportunity which pre- 
sented itself of now adding 6° of longitude to the examined space, 
and on the opposite side, I should have thought myself culpable in 
neglecting ; and therefore, having placed the ship in the supposed 
parallel of the island, we steered due east for it ; adopting the same 
regulations for the look-out at night, as when searching for St. 
Paul's. 
We had seen an unusual number of pintado and sooty petrels on 
the preceding afternoon, as also of a brown bird, apparently one of 
the sea-swallow tribe, having a white belly and the form and size of 
a woodcock ; and this evening it was reported to me from the mast 
head, and confirmed by others on deck, that a turtle was seen lying 
upon the water. These indications of land gave me some hope that 
Wednes. 30. the long lost Saxemberg might be brought to light. On the follow- 
ing noon, the observed latitude was 30 0 41' and longitude 22 0 46'; 
October. and nothin g further had transpired to betoken the vicinity of land. 
Thursday 1. Next day, our observations gave 30 0 34' south, and 20 0 28' west; and 
I then steered east-south-east, a course which should have taken us 
almost directly over the supposed situation of Saxemberg, if the same 
current of 11' north had prevailed, as on the preceding day. But 
this not proving to be the case, our track lay a few miles to the 
south ; though sufficiently near for us to be satisfied of the non- 
existence of the island in the place assigned to it, if that could any 
longer admit of a doubt.* 
* At the Cape of Good Hope, in 1810, His Excellency the Earl of Caledon favoured 
me with the following extract from the log book of the sloop Columbus,— Long, master; 
returning to the Cape from the coast of Brazil. 
