Friday the twenty-first another alcatraz and a rabo de junco were seen, and vast quantities of weeds as far as the eye could carry towards 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 backwards or forwards; wherefore they steered away from those shoals of weeds as much as they could.

Next day, being Saturday the twenty-second September, they saw a whale and several small birds.  The wind now veered to the south-west, sometimes more and sometimes less to the westwards; and, though this was adverse to the direction of their proposed voyage, the admiral to comfort the people, alleged that this was a favourable 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 south-west 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 prevented from rising to any height, they were still dissatisfied and terrified.

On Sunday the twenty-third of September, a brisk gale sprung up at W.N.W. with a rolling sea, such as the people had wished for.  Three hours before noon a turtle-dove was observed to fly over the ship; towards evening an alcatraz, a river fowl, and several white birds were seen flying about, and some crabs were observed among the weeds.  Next day another alcatraz was seen and several small birds which came from the west.  Numbers of small fishes were seen swimming about, some of which ware struck with harpoons, as they would not bite at the hook.

The more that the tokens mentioned above were observed, and found not to be followed by the so anxiously looked-for land, the more the people became fearful of the event, and entered into cabals against the admiral, who they said was desirous to make himself a great lord at the expence of their danger.  They represented that they had already sufficiently performed their duty in adventuring farther from land and all possibility of succour than had ever been done before, and that they ought not to proceed on the voyage to their manifest destruction.  If they did they would soon have reason to repent their temerity, as provisions would soon fall short, the ships were already faulty and would soon fail, and it would be extremely difficult