bones were broken: It happened also, that in his fall
he struck two other men, one of whom was so much hurt that he continued
speechless till the 24th, and then died, though the other had only one
of his toes broken. We had now no less than sixteen upon the sick list,
and by the 1st of January, the number was increased to forty; we had
buried three, among whom was the quarter-master, George Lewis, who was a
diligent, sober man, and the more useful, as he spoke both the Spanish
and Portuguese languages. The diseases by which we suffered, were
fluxes, and fevers of the putrid kind, which are always contagious, and,
for that reason alone, would be more fatal on board a ship than any
other. The surgeon's mate was very soon laid up, and those who were
appointed to attend the sick, were always taken ill in a day or two
after they had been upon that service. To remedy this evil, as much as
it was in my power, I made a very large birth for the sick, by removing
a great number of people from below to the half deck, which I hung with
painted canvas, keeping it constantly clean, and directing it to be
washed with vinegar, and fumigated once or twice a day. Our water was
well tasted, and was kept constantly ventilated; a large piece of iron,
also, used for the melting of tar, and called a loggerhead, was heated
red-hot, and quenched in it before it was given out to be drank. The
sick had also wine instead of grog, and salep or sago every morning for
breakfast: Two days in a week they had mutton broth, and had a fowl or
two given them on the intermediate days; they had, besides, plenty of
rice and sugar, and frequently malt meshed; so that perhaps people in a
sickly ship had never so many refreshments before: The surgeon also was
indefatigable; yet, with all these advantages, the sickness on board
gained ground. In the mean time, to aggravate our misfortune, the ship
made more than three feet water in a watch; and all her upper works were
very open and loose.

By the 10th of January, the sickness began, in some degree, to abate,
but more than half the company were so feeble, that they could scarcely
crawl about. On this day, being in latitude 22 deg. 41' S., longitude, by
account, 300 deg. 47' W. we saw many tropic birds about the ship.

On the 17th, being in latitude 27 deg. 32' S., longitude 310 deg. 36' W., we saw
several albatrosses, and caught some bonettas. The ship was this day ten
miles to the southward of her account.

On