On the 22d, the wind inclined from the westward, and the weather became fair; we had this day a set of distances of the sun and moon, which gave our longitude 182° 46' east, the time-keeper 182° 37' east, and the account 184° 10' east; the latitude 51° 03' south; the variation was now 13° 45' east, and the thermometer 48°. For three successive days we had lunar observations, by which it appeared that the reckoning a few days before had been more than a degree and a half to the eastward of the observations and time-keeper; but by our last distances of the sun and moon (26th) the ship was gaining on the account; these differences seem wholly to proceed from the sea, occasioned by the prevailing winds for the time; the easterly variation was decreasing, being now only 11° 00' east, in latitude 52° 42' south, and longitude 196° 11' east. We now very frequently heard the divers in the night, and as often saw them in the day; it is really wonderful how these birds get from or to the land, at such an immense distance from it as from 800 to 1000 leagues: they undoubtedly lay their eggs, and hatch them on shore, and yet we plainly perceived that those we met were of the penguin kind, and could not fly: from the slow progress such a bird can make in the water, it might be supposed that it would take them many years (were instinct to point out the direct and shortest course for them) before they could possibly reach any land, unless there are islands in these seas, and not far from our track, which have not yet been discovered.
I endeavoured, in sailing from New Zealand to Cape Horn, to keep as much as possible in a parallel between the tracks of the Resolution and Adventure; so that if any island lay between the parallels in which these ships sailed, we might have a chance of falling in with them. We have bad very variable weather for some days past, with equally variable winds, and a confused jumble of a sea, which the very frequent shifting of the wind occasioned.
On the 2d of November, by a lunar observation, we were in longitude 214° 27' east; the time-keeper gave 214° 19' east, and by account 213° 02' east; the latitude 55° 18' south, the variation was here 11° 00' east, and the height of the thermometer was 50°. From the 2d to the 6th, we had the winds from north by west to north-north-east: on the 6th and 7th, we had very good observations for the longitude by the sun and moon; the former gave 223° 57' east, and the latter 227° 58' east; the longitude by account was 226° 20' east, the latitude 56° 12' south: the variation increased again, being in this situation 12° 20' east, thermometer 46°.
From the 7th until the 17th, the weather was very variable, and the wind very unsettled, between the south-east and south-west quarters, attended with strong gales and dark hazy weather, with frequent showers of snow and hail; the thermometer was down at 42° in the cabin, where we sometimes had a fire, but in the open air it was at 35°; the showers were commonly accompanied with heavy gusts or squalls of wind. Notwithstanding we were, with these winds from the southward, subject to snow and hail, yet we frequently found that some of the gales which had blown from the northward were attended with a more piercing degree of cold. On the 18th, the weather became more moderate and fair, and the wind shifted to west, with a moderate breeze: we were now in longitude 261° 50' east, and latitude 55° 23' south, and had 14° 43' east variation. On the 19th, we found that the variation had increased, in a run to the eastward of 25 leagues, to 17° 30' east.
On the 22d, we had several good distances of the sun and moon, and found our longitude to be at noon 280° 22' east, by the time-keeper 281° 08' east, and by account 283° 09' east; the latitude was 57° 15' south; the variation of the compass increased very fast as we approached Cape Horn, being now 20° 30' east; and on the next day (23d) 22° 30' east; but a table of the variation will be inserted at the end of the chapter, where it will appear at one view.
We now very frequently fell in with high islands of ice. On the 24th, we had fresh gales with hazy and cold weather, and met so many ice islands, that we were frequently obliged to alter our course to avoid them. On the 25th, we had strong gales with very heavy and frequent squalls: as we were now drawing near Cape Horn, and in all the charts of Terra del Fuego which I had seen, there is an island laid down, bearing from the Cape about south-south-west, and called Diego Ramirez, distant from the land ten or twelve leagues; and as I do not find that the existence of such an island has ever been contradicted by any person who has sailed round this promontory, I determined to keep as near as possible in its parallel, the wind being from west-north-west to west-south-west, and the weather rather hazy; if I should make it, I could pass either within or without, as might be convenient; and it would be as good a land-fall as the Cape itself, as, in case the wind should incline to the southward, we should have offing enough to clear the land, which, to us who were upon a service that would not admit of any loss of time, was of consequence.
At noon on the 26th, we had a good meridian observation, and were exactly in the parallel of Diego Ramirez; and at eight A. M. an opportunity offered, for about an hour, for taking a set of distances of the sun and moon, of which both Mr. Bradley and myself availed ourselves; the result of which was (taking the mean of both observations, which agreed within a few miles) 292° 38' east, at the time of observation; so that we must then have been very near the place in which this island is laid down, for we could rely upon the observations: but as nothing appeared, we hauled in for the land, the looming of which we frequently saw, but the heavy black squalls which were constantly gathering upon it, rendered it too indistinct to be able to determine any particular point.
At this time several long strings of wild ducks flew past the ship: in the evening the weather cleared a little in the horizon, and we set the extremes of Terra del Fuego from north by west to west-north-west, distant about 10 leagues. We continued our course north-east, and I think we may safely venture to determine, that there is no island so situated from Cape Horn as this Diego Ramirez is said to be.
For several days before we made the land, and every day after we left it, until the 27th, we fell in with a great number of very high ice islands. Here also we met with divers and seals. We had got but a very small distance to the eastward of the cape, when the winds inclined to the northward, and from that to the north-east, and blew a fresh gale.
From the 27th of November until the 12th of December, we had the wind constantly in the north-east quarter, which I believe to be rather uncommon near Cape Horn for such a length of time; as ships in general, that are bound into the south sea, find it rather tedious getting to the westward round this cape.