for slops, and were all furnished for the climate.

On Friday the 2d of November, after administering the proper oaths to
the lieutenants of both ships, I delivered them their commissions; for
till this time they acted only under verbal orders from me, and expected
to receive their commissions in India, whither they imagined we were
bound. We now began to see a great number of birds about the ship, many
of them very large, of which some were brown and white, and some black:
There were among them large flocks of pintadoes, which are somewhat
larger than a pigeon, and spotted with black and white. On the 4th, we
saw a great quantity of rock weed, and several seals: The prevailing
winds were westerly, so that being continually driven to the eastward,
we foresaw that it would not be easy to get in with the coast of
Patagonia. On the 10th, we observed the water to change colour, but we
had no ground with one hundred and forty fathom. The next day we stood
in for the land till eight in the evening, when we had ground of red
sand with forty-five fathom. We steered S.W. by W. all night, and the
next morning had fifty-two fathom with the same ground: Our latitude now
being 42°34' S., longitude 58°17' W., the variation 11°1/4 E.

On Monday the 12th, about four o'clock in the afternoon, as I was
walking on the quarter-deck, all the people upon the forecastle called
out at once, "Land right a-head;" it was then very black almost round
the horizon, and we had had much thunder and lightning; I looked forward
under the fore-sail, and upon the lee-bow, and saw what at first
appeared to be an island, rising in two rude craggy hills, but upon
looking to leeward I saw land joining to it, and running a long way to
the south-east: We were then steering S.W. and I sent officers to the
mast-head to look out upon the weather-beam, and they called out that
they saw land also a great way to the windward. I immediately brought