if we give credit to the original position of
this land, fixed by Texiera, it lay to the W. by S.; and as the Company's
Land,[94] Staten Island,[95] and the famous land of Jeso,[96] were also
supposed to lie nearly in the same direction, together with the group first
mentioned, according to the Russian charts, we thought this course deserved
the preference, and accordingly hauled round to the westward, the wind
having shifted in the afternoon to the northward. During this day we saw
large flocks of gulls, several albatrosses, fulmars, and a number of fish,
which our sailors called grampuses; but, as far as we could judge, from the
appearance of those that passed close by the ships, we imagined them to be
the _kasatka_, or sword-fish, described by Krascheninnikoff, to whom I
refer the reader, for a curious account of the manner in which they attack
the whales. In the evening, a visit from a small land-bird, about the size
of a goldfinch, and resembling that bird in shape and plumage, made us keep
a good look-out for land. However, at midnight, on trying for soundings, we
found no ground with forty-five fathoms of line.

On the 17th, at noon, we were in latitude 45 deg. 7', by observation, longitude
154 deg. 0'. The wind now again coming to the westward, obliged us to steer a
more southerly course; and, at midnight, it blew from that quarter a fresh
gale, accompanied with heavy rain. In the morning, we saw another land-
bird, and many flocks of gulls and peterels bending their course to the
S.W. The heavy N.E. swell, with which we had constantly laboured since our
departure from Lopatka, now ceased, and changed suddenly to the S.E. In the
forenoon of the 18th; we passed great quantities of rock-weed, from which,
and the flights of birds above-mentioned, we conjectured we were at no
great distance from the southernmost of the Kuriles; and, at the same time,
the wind coming round to the S., enabled us to stand in for it. At two, we
set studding-sails, and steered W.; but the wind increasing to a gale, soon
obliged as to double reef the top-sails; and, at midnight, we judged it
necessary to try for soundings. Accordingly we hove to; but, finding no
bottom at seventy-five fathoms, we were encouraged to persevere, and again
bore away W., with the wind at S.E. This course we kept till two in the
morning, when the weather becoming thick, we hauled our wind, and steered
to the S.W. till five, when a violent storm reduced us to our