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Updated: May 4, 2025
When we were at sea, he kept a running account, in his head, of the ship's way the number of knots and the courses; and if the courses did not vary much during the twenty-four hours, by taking the whole progress, and allowing so many eighths southing or northing, to so many easting or westing; he would make up his reckoning just before the captain took the sun at noon, and often came wonderfully near the mark.
While the storm was at its height the man at the wheel was thrown across the deck by a sudden jump of the wheel and severely injured, breaking three of his ribs and fracturing his collar-bone . Thorn's seamanship during the trying period was first class. After the gale blew itself out, a fresh breeze succeeded, which enabled them rapidly to run down their southing.
As, therefore, I felt confident of being able to push along the shore if we should once gain it, I was anxious to effect the latter object in any part rather than incur the risk of hampering the ships by a vain, or, at least, a doubtful attempt to force them through a body of close ice several miles wide, for the sake of a few leagues of southing, which would soon be regained by coasting.
He seemed to sink into sleep, and the skipper, who went up on deck, paced to and fro a while before he stopped by the wheel and turned to the helmsman. "You can let her come up a couple of points. We may as well make a little southing while we can," he said. Charly, who was steering, looked up with suggestive eagerness. "Then he's not going for the Aleutians?" "No," answered Dampier dryly.
By the Observed Latitude at Noon I find the Ship hath only made 22 Miles Southing since the last Observation two days ago, whereas the Log gives 55 Miles, a Proof that there is a Current setting to the Northward.
I rowed gayly on, pleased with the auspicious beginning of the voyage, hoping at the close of the month to be at the mouth of the river, and far enough south to escape any inconvenience from a sudden freezing of its surface, for along its course between its source at Pittsburgh and its debouchure at Cairo the Ohio makes only two hundred and twelve miles of southing, a difference of about two and a half degrees of latitude.
For these 2 days past we have steer'd due West, and yet we have by observation made 16 Miles Southing 6 Miles Yesterday and 10 to-day; from which it should seem that there is a Current setting to the Southward and Westward withall, as I should suppose. Monday, 10th. Longitude in per Observation 233 degrees 27 minutes West. Tuesday, 11th. Variable light Airs and Clear weather.
"Mainsail haul!" and the ponderous mainyard was swung round, bringing with it the maintopsail and topgallant yards with all their acreage of canvas: the foreyards followed suit, when the captain shouted, "Haul of all;" and, after the final order, "Brace sharp!" the Nancy Bell might have been seen heading a sou'-south-east course in lieu of her former direction to the westwards, and gaining more southing by the change.
By morning no more than a faint air was blowing from the eastward, and, unable to make appreciable southing by it, Captain Davenport hauled up full-and-by on the port track. He was afraid of that terrible westerly current which had cheated him out of so many ports of refuge. All day the calm continued, and all night, while the sailors, on a short ration of dried banana, were grumbling.
Ahmed Kaptan fixed them, by solar observations, in north lat. 26 13', so that we made only one mile of southing. It ignores the porphyritic sub-range in which the "Mother of the Villages" lies: and it brings close to the east of it the tall peaks of the Tihamat-Balawiyyah' which, from this point, rise like azure shadows on the horizon. Finally, it corrupts Umm el-Karayat to Feyrabat.
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