The gale continued till the evening of the 10th; then it abated; the wind shifted to the westward; and we had fair weather, and but little wind, during the night, attended with a sharp frost. The next morning, being in the latitude of 57° 56ʹ, longitude 130°, the wind shifted to N. E. and blew a fresh gale, with which we stood S. E., having frequent showers of snow and sleet, and a long hollow swell from S. S. E. and S. E. by S. This swell did not go down till two days after the wind which raised it had not only ceased to blow, but had shifted, and blown fresh at opposite points, good part of the time. Whoever attentively considers this, must conclude, that there can be no land to the south, but what must be at a great distance.
Notwithstanding so little was to be expected in that quarter, we continued to stand to the south till three o’clock in the morning of the 12th, when we were stopped by a calm; being then in the latitude of 58° 56ʹ south, longitude 131° 26ʹ east. After a few hours’ calm, a breeze sprung up at west, with which we steered east. The S. S. E. swell having gone down, was succeeded by another from N. W. by W. The weather continued mild all this day, and the mercury rose to 391⁄2. In the evening it fell calm, and continued so till three o’clock in the morning of the 13th, when we got the wind at E. and S. E., a fresh breeze, attended with snow and sleet. In the afternoon it became fair, and the wind veered to S. and S. S. W. In the evening, being then in the latitude of 58° 59ʹ, longitude 134°, the weather was so clear in the horizon, that we could see many leagues round us. We had but little wind during the night, some showers of snow, and a very sharp frost. As the day broke, the wind freshened at S. E. and S. S. E., and soon after, the sky cleared up, and the weather became clear and serene; but the air continued cold, and the mercury in the thermometer rose only one degree above the freezing point.
The clear weather gave Mr. Wales an opportunity to get some observations of the sun and moon. Their results reduced to noon, when the latitude was 58° 22ʹ south, gave us 136° 22ʹ east longitude. Mr. Kendal’s watch, at the same time, gave 134° 42ʹ; and that of Mr. Arnold, the same. This was the first and only time they pointed out the same longitude, since we left England. The greatest difference, however, between them, since we left the cape, had not much exceeded two degrees.
The moderate, and I might almost say the pleasant weather we had, at times, for the last two or three days, made me wish I had been a few degrees of latitude farther south; and even tempted me to incline our course that way. But we soon had weather which convinced us that we were full far enough; and that the time was approaching, when these seas were not to be navigated without enduring intense cold; which, by the bye, we were pretty well used to. In the afternoon, the serenity of the sky was presently obscured; the wind veered round by the S. W. to W., and blew in hard squalls, attended with thick and heavy showers of hail and snow, which continually covered our decks, sails, and rigging, till five o’clock in the evening of the 15th. At this time the wind abated and shifted to S. E., the sky cleared up; and the evening was so serene and clear, that we could see many leagues round us; the horizon being the only boundary to our sight.
We were now in the latitude of 59° 17ʹ south, longitude 140° 12ʹ east, and had such a large hollow swell from W. S. W. as assured us that we had left no land behind us in that direction. I was also well assured that no land lay to the south on this side 60° of latitude. We had a smart frost during the night, which was curiously illuminated with the southern lights.
At ten o’clock in the morning of the 16th, (which was as soon as the sun appeared,) in the latitude of 58° 51ʹ south, our longitude was 143° 10ʹ east. This good weather was, as usual, of short duration. In the afternoon of this day, we had again thick snow showers; but at intervals it was tolerably clear; and in the evening, being in the latitude of 58° 58ʹ south, longitude 144° 37ʹ east, I found the variation by several azimuths, to be 31ʹ east.
I was not a little pleased with being able to determine with so much precision, this point of the line, in which the compass has no variation. For I look upon half a degree as next to nothing; so that the intersection of the latitude and longitude just mentioned, may be reckoned the point, without any sensible error. At any rate the line can only pass a very small matter west of it.
I continued to steer to the east, inclining to the south, with a fresh gale at S. W. till five o’clock the next morning, when, being in the latitude of 59° 7ʹ S. longitude 146° 53ʹ E. I bore away N. E. and at noon north, having come to a resolution to quit the high southern latitudes, and to proceed to New Zealand, to look for the Adventure, and to refresh my people. I had also some thoughts, and even a desire, to visit the east coast of Van Diemen’s Land, in order to satisfy myself if it joined the coast of New South Wales.
In the night of the 17th, the wind shifted to N. W. and blew in squalls, attended with thick hazy weather and rain. This continued all the 18th, in the evening of which day, being in the latitude of 56° 15ʹ S. longitude 150°, the sky cleared up, and we found the variation by several azimuths to be 13° 30ʹ E. Soon after, we hauled up with the log a piece of rock-weed, which was in a state of decay, and covered with barnacles. In the night the southern lights were very bright.
The next morning we saw a seal, and towards noon some penguins, and more rock-weed, being at this time in the latitude of 55° 1ʹ, longitude 152° 1ʹ E. In the latitude of 54° 4ʹ, we also saw a Port-Egmont hen, and some weed. Navigators have generally looked upon all these to be certain signs of the vicinity of land; I cannot, however, support this opinion. At this time we knew of no land, nor is it even probable that there is any, nearer than New Holland, or Van Diemen’s Land, from which we were distant 260 leagues. We had, at the same time, several porpuses playing about us; into one of which Mr. Cooper struck a harpoon; but, as the ship was running seven knots, it broke its hold, after towing it some minutes, and before we could deaden the ship’s way.