only
wind which will carry you through it, soon brings you back the short
distance to the westward, which you lose by steering an easterly course
round Cape John."--E.]

SECTION VII.

_The Sequel of the Passage from Cape Horn to the newly discovered
Islands in the South Seas, with a Description of their Figure and
Appearance; some Account of the Inhabitants, and several Incidents that
happened during the Course, and at the Ship's Arrival among them_.

On the 1st of March, we were in latitude 38 deg. 44' S. and longitude 110 deg.
33' W. both by observation and by the log. This agreement, after a run
of 660 leagues, was thought to be very extraordinary; and is a
demonstration, that after we left the land of Cape Horn we had no
current that affected the ship. It renders it also highly probable, that
we had been near no land of any considerable extent; for currents are
always found when land is not remote, and sometimes, particularly on the
east side of the continent in the North Sea, when land has been distant
one hundred leagues.

Many birds, as usual, were constantly about the ship, so that Mr Banks
killed no less than sixty-two in one day; and what is more remarkable,
he caught two forest flies, both of them of the same species, but
different from any that have hitherto been described; these probably
belonged to the birds, and came with them from the land, which we judged
to be at a great distance. Mr Banks also, about this time, found a large
cuttle-fish, which had just been killed by the birds, floating in a
mangled condition upon the water; it is very different from the
cuttle-fishes that are found in the European seas; for its arms, instead
of suckers, were furnished with a double row of very sharp talons,
which resemble those of a cat, and, like them, were retractable into a
sheath of skin, from which they might be thrust at pleasure. Of this
cuttle-fish we made one of the best soups we had ever tasted.

The albatrosses now began to leave us, and after the 8th there was not
one to be seen. We continued our course without any memorable event till
the 24th, when some of the people who were upon the watch in the night
reported that they saw a log of wood pass by the ship; and that the sea,
which was rather rough, became suddenly as smooth as a mill-pond. It was
a general opinion, that there was land to windward; but I did not think
myself at liberty to search for what I was not sure to find; though I
judged