e to get
off some water, and other refreshments, which he granted.

We soon learnt that this was the sickly season, and that the rains were
so great as to render it extremely difficult to get any thing down from
the country to the ships: It happened also, unfortunately, that the
small-pox, which is extremely fatal here, was at this time epidemic; so
that I permitted no man to go ashore who had not had that distemper, and
I would not suffer even those that had to go into any house.

We procured, however, a supply of water and some cattle from the shore,
and caught abundance of fish with the seine, which was hauled twice
every day: We found also in the valley where we got our water, a kind of
large purslain, growing wild in amazing quantities: This was a most
welcome refreshment both raw as a sallad, and boiled with the broth and
pease; when we left the place we carried away enough of it to serve us a
week.

On the 28th, at half an hour after twelve, we weighed and put to sea; at
half an hour after six in the evening the peak of Fuego bore W.N.W.
distant twelve leagues, and in the night the burning mountain was very
visible.

This day I ordered hooks and lines to be served to all the ship's
company, that they might catch fish for themselves; but at the same time
I also ordered that no man should keep his fish more than
four-and-twenty hours before it was eaten, for I had observed that
stale, and even dried fish, had made the people sickly, and tainted the
air in the ship.

On the first of October, in lat. 10 deg. 37' N. we lost the true trade-wind,
and had only light and variable gales; and this day we found that the
ship was set twelve miles to the northward by a current; on the third we
found a current run S. by E. at the rate of six fathom an hour, or about
twenty miles and a half a day: On the seventh we found the ship nineteen
miles to the southward of her reckoning.

On the 20th, our butter and cheese being all expended, we began to serve
the ship's company with oil, and I gave orders that they should also be
served with mustard and vinegar once a fortnight during the rest of the
voyage.

On the 22d we saw an incredible number of birds, and among the rest a
man-of-war bird, which inclined us to think that some land was not more
than sixty leagues distant: This day we crossed the equator in longitude
23 deg. 40' W.

On the 24th, I ordered the ship's company to be served with brandy, and
reserved the wine f