28 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAli 
1 ^. resumed our course to the northward, over that 
June 25 , of last year, excepting that we steered inside of 
Pelican Island, and to leeward of Island 4. We 
passed several large sting-rays asleep on the 
surface of the sea, which our people ineffectually 
endeavoured to harpoon. On the former island 
large flights of pelicans were seen, and upon the 
sand-bank, to the southward of it, there was a 
flock of two or three hundred young birds. 
The breeze not being sufficient to carry us to 
Night Island before dark, the anchor was dropped 
in eleven fathoms muddy bottom, two miles to 
the eastward of Island 8. The Dick and San 
Antonio anchored close to us. During the night 
we had a fresh breeze from S.E.b.E., and, not 
having any island or reef to shelter us from the 
swell, we were obliged to drop a second anchor 
to retain our position. The San Antonio drove 
for some distance, but the Dick rode through 
the night without driving, although she had but 
forty fathoms of cable out. 
26. On weighing the next morning, we made sail 
to the N.b.W,, but, from the compass-box not 
being quite straight in the binnacle, we made 
a N.b.W. J W. course, which was not discovered 
until we had nearly paid dear for our neglect ; 
for we passed close to a rock which I intended to 
have gone at least a mile to windward of. It 
