Note (return) — Chapter IV · TRANSACTIONS AMONGST THE NATIVES OF NORTH AMERICA; DISCOVERIES ALONG THAT COAST AND THE EASTERN EXTREMITY OF ASIA, NORTHWARD TO ICY CAPE; AND RETURN SOUTHWARD TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. (continued 2)

The weather now began to clear up, and being able to see several leagues round us, I steered more to the northward. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 50° 1'; longitude 229° 26'.1 I now steered N.W. by N., with a fresh gale at S.S.E. and fair weather. But at nine in the evening, it began again to blow hard, and in squalls, with rain. With such weather, and the wind between S.S.E. and S.W. I continued the same course till the 30th, at four in the morning, when I steered N. by W. in order to make the land. I regretted very much indeed that I could not do it sooner; for this obvious reason, that we were now passing the place where geographers2 have placed the pretended strait of Admiral de Fonte. For my own part, I give no credit to such vague and improbable stories, that carry their own confutation along with them. Nevertheless, I was very desirous of keeping the American coast aboard, in order to clear up this point beyond dispute. But it would have been highly imprudent in me to have engaged with the land in weather so exceedingly tempestuous, or to have lost the advantage of a fair wind by waiting for better weather. This same day, at noon, we were in the latitude of 53° 22', and in the longitude of 225° 14'.