THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
179 
into the well. However, before that could be done, it was 1779. 
neceffary to get the calks of dry provifions out of the fore- 
hold, which kept ns employed the greateft part of the night; 
fo that the carpenters could not get at the partition till the 
next morning. As foon as the paffage was made, the greateft wednef. 14, 
part of the water emptied itfelf into the we$, and enabled 
us to get out the relf with buckets. But the leak was now 
fo much increafed, that we were obliged to keep one half of 
the people conftantly pumping and baleing, till the noon of 
the 15th. Our men bore, with great cheerfulnefs, this ex- Thurfday 15. 
ceflive fatigue, which was much increafed by their having 
no dry place to deep in ; and, on this account, we began to 
ferve their full allowance of grog. 
The weather now becoming more moderate, and the 
fwell lefs heavy, we were enabled to clear away the reft of 
the cafks from the fore-hold, and to open a fufficient paffage 
for the water to the pumps. This day we faw a greenifh 
piece of drift-wood, and fancying the water coloured, we 
founded, but got no bottom with a hundred and ftxty fa¬ 
thoms of line. Our latitude, at noon this day, was 41 0 52', 
longitude 161 0 15'; variation 6° 30' Eaft; and the wind foon 
after veering to the Northward, we altered our courfe three 
points to the Weft. 
On the -16th, at noon, we were in the latitude of 42 0 12', Friday 16. 
and in the longitude of 160 0 5'; and as we were now ap¬ 
proaching the place where a great extent of land is faid 
to have been feen by De Gama, we were glad of the op¬ 
portunity which the courfe we were fleering gave, of con¬ 
tributing to remove the doubts, if any fhould be ftill 
entertained, refpecfting the falfehood of this pretended 
difcovery. For it is to be obferved, that no one has 
ever yet been able to find who John de Gama was, 
A a 2 when 
