land might be found near Cape Circumcision. Besides, I was
tired of these high southern latitudes, where nothing was to be found
but ice and thick fogs. We had now a long hollow swell from the west, a
strong indication that there was no land in that direction; so that I
think I may venture to assert that the extensive coast, laid down in Mr
Dalrymple's chart of the ocean between Africa and America, and the Gulph
of St Sebastian, do not exist.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the fog receding from us a little, gave
us a sight of an ice island, several penguins and some snow peterels; we
sounded, but found no ground at one hundred and forty fathoms. The fog
soon returning, we spent the night in making boards over that space
which we had, in some degree, made ourselves acquainted with in the day.
At eight in the morning of the 28th, we stood to the east, with a gentle
gale at north; the weather began to clear up; and we found the sea
strewed with large and small ice; several penguins, snow peterels, and
other birds were seen, and some whales. Soon after we had sun-shine, but
the air was cold; the mercury in the thermometer stood generally at
thirty-five, but at noon it was 37 deg.; the latitude by observation was 60 deg.
4' S., longitude 29 deg. 23' W.
We continued to stand to the east till half-past two o'clock, p.m., when
we fell in, all at once, with a vast number of large ice-islands, and a
sea strewed with loose ice. The weather too was become thick and hazy,
attended with drizzling rain and sleet, which made it the more dangerous
to stand in among the ice. For this reason we tacked and stood back to
the west, with the wind at north. The ice-islands, which at this time
surrounded us, were nearly all of equal height, and shewed a flat even
surface; but they were of various extent, some being two or three miles
in circuit. The loose ice was what had broken from these isles.
Next morning, the wind falling and veering to S.W., we steered N.E.; but
this coarse was soon intercept
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