17S 
A VOYAGE TO 
1779 * 
April. 
'-r —■J 
Sunday 11. 
Monday 12. 
Tuefday 13. 
ward, we faw this day a tropic bird, and alfo feveral other 
kinds of lea-birds; fuch as puffins, fea-parrots, Iheerwaters, 
and albatroffes. 
On the eleventh, at noon, we were in latitude 35 0 30', 
longitude 165° 45'; and during the courfe of the day, had 
fea-birds, as before, and paffied feveral bunches of fea-weed. 
About the fame time, the Difcovery paffied a log of wood; 
but no other ligns of land were feen. 
The next day the wind came gradually round to the Eaffc, 
and increafed to fo ftrong a gale, as obliged us to ftrike our 
top-gallant yards, and brought us under the lower fails, 
and the main top-fail clofe reefed. Unfortunately w'e were 
upon that tack, which was the molt difadvantageous for 
our leak. But, as we had always been able to keep it under 
with the hand pumps, it gave us no great uneafinefs, till 
the 13th, about fix in the afternoon, when we were greatly 
alarmed by a fudden inundation, that deluged the whole 
fpace between decks. The water, which had lodged in the 
coal-hole, not finding a fufficient vent into the well, had 
forced up the platforms over it, and in a moment fet every 
thing afloat. Our fituation was indeed exceedingly diftreff- 
ing; nor did we immediately fee any means of relieving 
ourfelves. A pump, through the upper decks into the coal- 
hole, could anfwer no end, as it would very foon have been 
choaked up by the fmall coals ; and, to bale the water out 
with buckets, was become impradficable, from the number 
of bulky materials that were waffied out of the gunner’s 
ftore-room into it, and which, by the fhip’s motion, were 
toffed violently from fide to fide. No other method was 
therefore left, but to cut a hole through the bulk-head (or 
partition) that feparated the coal-hole from the fore-hold, 
and by that means to make a paffiage for the body of water 
into 
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