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On the 27th, Captain Furneaux loft one of his petty officers.

With variable winds they advanced but flowly, and without meeting with any thing remarkable till the 23d, when they faw a feal, or, as fome thought, a fea-lion, which probably might be an inhabitant of one of the islands of Tristian de Cunha, being now nearly in their latitude.

At two in the afternoon on the 29th, they made the land of the Cape of Good Hope. The Table Mountain which is over the Cape Town, diftance 12 or 14 leagues, was a good deal obfcured by clouds, otherwise it might, from its height, have been seen at a much greater diftance. Between eight and nine o'clock this evening, the whole fea, within the compafs of their fight became at once, as it were, illuminated, or, what the feamen call, all on fire. This appearance of the fea, in fome degree, is very common; but the caufe is not fo generally known. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were of opinion it was occafioned by fea infects; Mr. Fofter, however, feemed not to favour this opinion. Some buckets of water, were drawn up from along-fide the fhip, which was found full of an innumerable quantity of small globular infects, about the fize of a common pin's head, and quite tranfparent.

In the morning they stood into Table Bay, and anchored in five fathom water. They had no fooner anchored than they were vifited by the captain of the port and Mr. Brandt. This laft gentleman brought off fuch things as could not fail of being acceptable to perfons coming from fea. The mafter attendant also visited them, according to custom, to take an account of the fhips; to enquire into the health of the crews; and, in particular, if the small-pox was on board; a thing they dread above all others at the Cape, and for thefe purposes a furgeon is always one of the vifitants.

Captain Cook waited upon the governor, accompanied by Captain Furneaux and the two Mr. Forfters. He received them with great politenefs, and promised every affiftance the place could afford.

After having visited the governor and fome other principal perfons of the place, they fixed at Mr. Brandt's, the ufual refidence of moft officers belonging to English fhips. This gentleman fpares neither trouble nor expence to make his house agreeable to those who favour him with their company, and to accommodate them with every thing they want.

Three or four days after them, two Dutch Indiamen arrived here from Holland, after a paffage of between four and five months, in which one loft, by the fcurvy and other putrid diseases, 150 men, and the other 41. They fent, on their arrival, great numbers to the hofpital in very dreadful circumstances.

It was the 18th of November before they had got ready to put to fea. During this ftay the crews of both fhips were ferved every day with fresh beef or mutton, new baked bread, and as much greens as they could eat. The fhips were caulked and painted; and, in every respect, put in as good a condition as when they left England.

Mr. Forfter, whose whole time was taken up in the purfuit of natural history and botany, met with a Swedish gentleman, one Mr. Sparrman, who had studied under Dr. Linnæus. He, by Captain Cook's confent, embarked as an affiftant to Mr. Forster, who bore his expences on board, and allowed him a yearly ftipend besides.

At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 22d they weighed, with the wind at north by weft. On the 25th they had abundance of albatroffes about them, feveral of which were caught with hook and line; and were very well relished by many of the people, notwithstanding they were at this time ferved with fresh mutton. Judging that they

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fhould foon come into cold weather, the captain ordered flops to be ferved to fuch as were in want; and gave to each man the fear-nought jacket and trowfers allowed them by the Admiralty.

A violent gale, which was attended with rain and hail, blew at times with fuch violence, that they could carry no fails; by which means they were driven far to the eastward of their intended courfe, and no hopes were left of reaching Cape Circumcifion. But the greatest misfortune that attended them, was the lofs of great part of their live ftock, which they brought from the Cape, and which confifted of fheep, hogs, and geefe. There was now a fudden tranfition from warm, mild weather, to extreme cold and wet, which made every man in the fhip feel its effects; for, by this time, the mercury in the thermometer had fallen to 38, whereas at the Cape it was generally at 67 and upwards. The night proved clear and ferene, and the only one that was fo fince they left the Cape; and the next morning the rifing fun gave fuch flattering hopes of a fine day, that they were induced to let all the reefs out of the top-fails. Their hopes, however, foon vanished; for by one o'clock P. M. the wind, which was at fouth-ealt blew with fuch strength as obliged them to take in all their fails, to ftrike top-gallantmafts, and to get the fpritfail-yard in. The three following days the wind abated.

On the 10th, the weather being hazy, they did not fee an ifland of ice, which they were fteering directly for, till they were lefs than a mile from it. It appeared to be about 50 feet high, and half a mile in circuit. It was flat at the top, and its fides rofe in a perpendicular direction, against which the fea broke exceedingly high. Captain Furneaux at firft took this ice for land, and hauled off from it, until called back by fignal. As the weather was foggy, it was neceffary to proceed with caution.

The hazy weather continued on the 11th and 12th, with fleet and fnow; fo that they were obliged to proceed with great caution on account of the ice iflands. Six of these they paffed this day; fome of them near two miles in circuit and fixty feet high. And yet, fuch was the force and height of the waves, that the fea broke quite over them. Captain Cook fays, "This exhibited a view which for a few moments was pleafing to the eye; but when we reflected on the danger, the mind was filled with horror. For were a fhip to get against the weather fide of one of these islands when the fea runs high, fhe would be dafhed to pieces in a moment."

From noon till eight o'clock in the evening, twenty ice iflands, of various extent, both for height and circuit, came in view. At about nine o'clock they found no ground with one hundred and fifty fathom of line.

At eight o'clock on the 14th, they brought to under a point of the ice, where they had smooth water: and the two captains fixed on rendezvouses in cafe of separation, and fome other matters, for the better keeping company.

Next day, the 15th, they had the wind at north-weft a small gale, thick foggy weather, with much fnow; their fails and rigging were all hung with icicles. The fog was fo thick, at times, that they could not fee the length of the fhip; and they had much difficulty to avoid the many islands of ice that furrounded them.

On the 17th, they faw many whales, one feal, penguins, fome white birds, another fort of peterel, which is brown and white, and not much unlike a pintado; and fome other forts. They found the fkirts of the loose ice to be more broken than ufual; and it extended fome diftance beyond the main field, infomuch that they failed amongst it the most part of the day; and the high ice islands without were innumerable. The weather was fenfibly colder than the thermometer feemed to point out, infomuch that the whole crew complained. In order to enable them to fupport this the better, the fleeves of their jackets, (which were fo fhort as to expofe their arms

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