Page:Colnett - Voyage to the South Pacific (IA cihm 33242).djvu/138

 tores, and they began to mend. In our coure, land birds, frequently flew on board, particularly mall grey owls, about the ize of a black-bird; we were viited alo by large horned owls, and brown hawks, as well as ome of the ize of our parrow-hawks. They did not, however, come in uch numbers as when we were off the Tres Marias and the Coat of California. From the above circumtances we were dipoed to believe, we were in the vicinity of land: But I was more particularly encouraged in my hopes of eeing land, when, in Latitude 20° 25′, and Longitude 113° 27′ Wet, having fallen in with five or ix wild ducks, the whaling mater purued them for ome time in the boat; but, though they were not hy, he was not o fortunate as to kill one of them. Having joined the track of my former voyage in the Argonaut from St. Blas, which tretched 4° 30′ more to the Wetward in the ame Latitude, I gave up the idea of the iland, which was the object of my immediate earch, laying to the Wetward of me; and not falling in with it on my return to Socorro, I cannot account for its ituation, unles, according to the opinion of ome modern hydrographers, it hould be the Iland Socoro itelf.