Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/161

] that one may oberve him trike the air with the lowermot wing, by which his body is immediately inclined in the oppoite direction.

We were teering our coure S.E.E. in order to pas between the ilands of St. Paul and Amterdam; but the wind having hifted to S.E. we were obliged to tack S.S.W.

7th. About nine o'clock in the evening, as we were in lat. 34° 45′ S. and long. 44° 5′ E. the wind melt very trong of ea-water. Had we been ailing in parts les known than thee, we hould have had reaon to apprehend that we were very near to ome iland. It is probable that the mell proceeded from a quantity of fucus detached from the outh coat of Madagacar, and carried a great way into the ea by the currents.

One of our ailors, in a fit of drunkennes, threw himelf into the ea. As the weather happened very fortunately to be calm he was taken up and put on board; but this immerion only increaed his drunkennes, and he would have thrown himelf again into the water if he had not been held fat.

We continued for twelve days with light breezes that hifted from S.S.W. to N.N.W. veering round by E. to direct our coure, as near as poible, o as to pas between the ilands of Amterdam