quest of. He therefore
ordered a line of two hundred fathoms to be tried, but without finding
any bottom. The current was now found to set to the southwest.

On Thursday, September 20th, two alcatrases came near the ship about two
hours before noon, and soon afterward a third. On this day likewise they
took a bird resembling a heron, of a black color with a white tuft on its
head, and having webbed feet like a duck. Abundance of weeds were seen
floating in the sea, and one small fish was taken. About evening three
land birds settled on the rigging of the ship and began to sing. These
flew away at daybreak, which was considered a strong indication of
approaching the land, as these little birds could not have come from any
far distant country; whereas the other large fowls, being used to water,
might much better go far from land. The same day an alcatras was seen.

Friday, the 21st, another alcatras and a rabo-de-junco were seen, and
vast quantities of weeds as far as the eye could carry toward the north.
These appearances were sometimes a comfort to the people, giving them
hopes of nearing the wished-for land; while at other times the weeds were
so thick as in some measure to impede the progress of the vessels, and
to occasion terror lest what is fabulously reported of St. Amaro in the
frozen sea might happen to them, that they might be so enveloped in the
weeds as to be unable to move backward or forward; wherefore they steered
away from those shoals of weeds as much as they could.

Next day, being Saturday, September 22d, they saw a whale and several
small birds. The wind now veered to the southwest, sometimes more and
sometimes less to the westward; and though this was adverse to the
direction of their proposed voyage, the admiral, to comfort the people,
alleged that this was a favorable circumstance; because, among other
causes of fear, they had formerly said they should never have a wind to
carry them back to Spain, as it had always blown from the east ever since
they left Ferro. They still continued, however, to murmur, alleging that
this southwest wind was by no means a settled one, and, as it never blew
strong enough to swell the sea, it would not serve to carry them back
again through so great an extent of sea as they had now passed over.
In spite of every argument used by the admiral, assuring them that the
alterations in the wind were occasioned by the vicinity of the land, by
which likewise the waves were p