Judging That We Should Soon Come Into Cold
Weather, I Ordered Slops To Be Served To Such As Were In Want; And Gave To
Each Man The Fearnought Jacket And Trowsers Allowed Them By The Admiralty.
The wind continued easterly for two days, and blew a moderate gale, which
brought us into the latitude of 39 deg.
4', and 2 deg. of longitude west of the
Cape, thermometer 52-1/2[1] The wind now came to W. and S.W.; and on the
29th fixed at W.N.W., and increased to a storm, which continued, with some
few intervals of moderate weather, till the 6th of December, when we were
in the latitude of 48 deg. 41' S., and longitude 18 deg. 24' E. This gale, which
was attended with rain and hail, blew at times with such violence that we
could carry no sails; by which means we were driven far to the eastward of
our intended course, and no hopes were left me of reaching Cape
Circumcision. But the greatest misfortune that attended us, was the loss of
great part of our live stock, which we had brought from the Cape, and which
consisted of sheep, hogs, and geese. Indeed this sudden transition from
warm, mild weather, to extreme cold and wet, made every man in the ship
feel its effects. For by this time the mercury in the thermometer had
fallen to 38; whereas at the Cape it was generally at 67 and upwards. I now
made some addition to the people's allowance of spirit, by giving them a
dram whenever I thought it necessary, and ordered Captain Furneaux to do
the same.
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