On the 22d, we saw a great many birds of the procellaria genus, in latitude 39° 37’ S and longitude 49° 16’ W. and we also met with shoals of porpoises of a very singular species.

On the 23d of December, we observed an eclipse of the moon; and about seven in the morning a bright cloud in the west, from which a stream of fire proceeded: it bore away to the westward, and about two minutes after we heard two loud explosions like that of a cannon; and then the cloud soon disappeared.

On the 24th, we caught a logger-head tortoise, which weighed one hundred and fifty pounds; and shot several birds, one of which was an albatros, that measured, from the tip of one wing to the other, nine feet one inch; and from the beak to the tail two feet one inch and a half. Some time after, we met with some birds of the same kind that measured fourteen feet from the tips of the wings.

The thermometer, in the middle of the day, was from 66 to 69; and in the evening 62, when the air was not so dry.

On the 29th, we saw several parcels of rock weed; and, from this time to the 30th, the weather was very unsettled; the wind sometimes blowing very hard, at others only a moderate gale; and then quite calm.

For several evenings, swarms of butterflies, moths, and other insects, flew about the rigging, which we apprehended had been blown to us from the shore. Thousands of them settled upon the vessel, Mr. Banks ordered the men to gather them up; and, after selecting such as he thought proper, the rest were thrown overboard; and he gave the men some bottles of rum for their trouble.

Voyaging Accounts