PEMBLICO. A small bird whose cry was deemed ominous at sea as presaging wind.
PEMMICAN. Condensed venison, or beef, used by the hunters around Hudson's Bay, and largely provided for the Arctic voyages, as containing much nutriment in a small compass. Thin slices of lean meat are dried over the smoke of wood fires; they are then pounded and mixed with an equal weight of their own fat. It is generally boiled and eaten hot where fire is available.
PEN. A cape or conical summit. Also, the Creole name for houses and plantations in the country. Also, an inclosure for fishing on the coast.
PENA, OR PENON. High rocks on the Spanish coasts.
PENANG LAWYER. A cane, with the administration of which debts were wont to be settled at Pulo-Penang.
PENCEL. A small streamer or pennon.
PENDANT. See [Pennant].
PENDANT. A strop or short piece of rope fixed on each side, under the shrouds, upon the heads of the main and fore masts, from which it hangs as low as the cat-harpings, having an iron thimble spliced into an eye at the lower end to receive the hooks of the main and fore tackles. There are besides many other pendants, single or double ropes, to the lower extremity of which is attached a block or tackle; such are the fish-pendant, stay-tackle-pendant, brace-pendant, yard-tackle-pendant, reef-tackle-pendant, &c., all of which are employed to transmit the efforts of their respective tackles to some distant object.—Rudder-pendants. Strong ropes made fast to a rudder by means of chains. Their use is to prevent the loss of the rudder if by any accident it should get unshipped.
PENDULUM. A gravitating instrument for measuring the motion of a ship and thereby assisting the accuracy of her gunnery in regulating horizontal fire.
PENGUIN. A web-footed bird, of the genus Aptenodytes, unable to fly on account of the small size of its wings, but with great powers of swimming and diving: generally met with in high southern latitudes.