ky blackish beams.
The sky was at this time covered with small hard clouds (as we call such
a lie scattering about, not likely to rain) very thick one by another;
and such of them as lay next to the bank of clouds at the horizon were of
a pure gold colour to 3 or 4 degrees high above the bank. From these to
about 10 degrees high they were redder and very bright; above them they
were of a darker colour still, to about 60 or 70 degrees high, where the
clouds began to be of their common colour. I took the more particular
notice of all this because I have generally observed such coloured clouds
to appear before an approaching storm: and, this being winter here and
the time for bad weather, I expected and provided for a violent blast of
wind by reefing our topsails, and giving a strict charge to my officers
to hand them or take them in if the wind should grow stronger. The wind
was now at west-north-west a very brisk gale. About 12 o'clock at night
we had a pale whitish glare in the north-west which was another sign, and
intimated the storm be near at hand; and, the wind increasing upon it, we
presently handed our topsails, furled the mainsail, and went away only
with our foresail. Before 2 in the morning it came on very fierce, and we
kept right before wind and sea, the wind still increasing: but the ship
was very governable, and steered incomparably well. At 8 in the morning
we settled our foreyard, lowering it 4 or 5 foot, and we ran very
swiftly; especially when the squalls of rain or hail from a black cloud
came overhead, for then it blew excessive hard. These, though they did
not last long, yet came very thick and fast one after another. The sea
also ran very high; but we running so violently before wind and sea we
shipped little or no water; though a little washed into our upper deck
ports; and with it a scuttle or cuttlefish was cast up on the carriage of
a gun.

The wind blew extraordinary hard all Wednesday the 7th of June but abated
of its fierceness before night: yet it continued a brisk gale till about
the 16th, and still a moderate one till the 19th day; by which time we
had run about 600 leagues: for the most part of which time the wind was
in some point of the west, namely from the west-north-west to the south
by west. It blew hardest when at west or between the west and south-west,
but after it veered more southerly the foul weather broke up: this I
observed at other times also in these seas, that when the st