In the morning of the 28th I made the signal to the Adventure to spread four miles on my starboard beam; and in this position we continued sailing W.S.W., until four o’clock in the afternoon, when the hazy weather, attended with snow showers, made it necessary for us to join.  Soon after we reefed our top-sails, being surrounded on all sides with islands of ice.  In the morning of the 29th we let them out again, and set top-gallant-sails; still continuing our course to the westward, and meeting with several penguins.  At noon we were by observation in the latitude of 59 deg. 12’, longitude 19 deg. 1’ E., which is 3 deg. more to the west than we were when we first fell in with the field of ice; so that it is pretty clear that it joined to no land, as we conjectured.

Having come to a resolution to run as far west as the meridian of Cape Circumcision, provided we met with no impediment, as the distance was not more than eighty leagues, the wind favourable, and the sea seemed to be pretty clear of ice, I sent on board for Captain Furneaux, to make him acquainted therewith, and after dinner he returned to his ship.  At one o’clock we steered for an island of ice, thinking if there were any loose ice round it, to take some on board, and convert it into fresh water.  At four we brought-to, close under the lee of the island, where we did not find what we wanted, but saw upon it eighty-six penguins.  This piece of ice was about half a mile in circuit, and one hundred feet high and upwards, for we lay for some minutes with every sail becalmed under it.  The side on which the penguins were, rose sloping from the sea, so as to admit them to creep up it.

It is a received opinion, that penguins never go far from land, and that the sight of them is a sure indication of its vicinity.  The opinion may hold good where there are no ice islands; but where such are, these birds, as well as many others which usually keep near the shores, finding a roosting-place upon these islands, may be brought by them a great distance from any land.  It will, however, be said, that they must go on shore to breed, that probably the females were there, and that these are only the males which we saw.  Be this as it may, I shall continue to take notice of these birds whenever we see them, and leave every one to judge for himself.

We continued our course to the westward, with a gentle gale at E.N.E., the weather being sometimes tolerably clear, and at other times thick and hazy, with snow.  The thermometer for a few days past was from 31 to 36.  At nine o’clock the next morning, being the 30th, we shot one of the white birds, upon which we lowered a boat into the water to take it up, and by that means killed a penguin which weighed eleven pounds and a half.  The white bird was of the peterel tribe; the bill, which is rather short, is of a colour between black and dark blue, and their legs and feet are blue.  I believe them to be the same sort of birds that Bouvet mentions to have seen when he was off Cape Circumcision.