Soon after sunrise on Monday the first of October, an alcatraz came to the ship, and two more about ten in the morning, and long streams of weeds floated from east to west.  That morning the pilot of the admirals ship said that they were now 578 leagues west from the island of Ferro.  In his public account the admiral said they were 584 leagues to the west; but in his private journal he made the real distance 707 leagues, or 129 more than was reckoned by the pilot.  The other two ships differed much in their computation from each other and from the admirals pilot.  The pilot of Nina in the afternoon of the Wednesday following said they had only sailed 540 leagues, and the pilot of the Pinta reckoned 634.  Thus they were all much short of the truth; but the admiral winked at the gross mistake, that the men, not thinking themselves so far from home, might be the less dejected.

The next day, being Tuesday the second of October, they saw abundance of fish, caught one small tunny, and saw a white bird with many other small birds, and the weeds appeared much withered and almost fallen to powder.  Next day, seeing no birds, they suspected that they had passed between some islands on both hands, and had slipped through without seeing them, as they guessed that the many birds which they had seen might have been passing from one island to another.  On this account they were very earnest to have the course altered one way or the other, in quest of these imaginary lands:  But the admiral, unwilling to lose the advantage of the fair wind which carried him due west, which he accounted his surest course, and afraid to lessen his reputation by deviating from course to course in search of land, which he always affirmed that he well knew where to find, refused his consent to any change.  On this the people were again ready to mutiny, and resumed their murmurs and cabals against him.  But it pleased God to aid his authority by fresh indications of land.

On Thursday the fourth of October, in the afternoon, above forty sparrows together and two alcatrazes flew so near the ship that a seaman killed one of them with a stone.  Several other birds were seen at this time, and many flying-fish fell into the ships.  Next day there came a rabo de junco and an alcatraz from the westwards, and many sparrows were seen.  About sunrise on Sunday the seventh of October, some signs of land appeared to the westwards, but being imperfect no person would mention the circumstance.  This was owing to fear of losing the reward of thirty crowns yearly for life which had been promised by their Catholic majesties to whoever should first discover land; and to prevent them from calling out land, land, at every turn without just cause, it was made a condition that whoever said he saw land should lose the reward if it were not made out in three days, even if he should afterwards actually prove the first discoverer.  All on board the admirals ship being thus forewarned,