2 July 1859

July 2. Ship making little progress. Weather excessive hot. We often observed great numbers of flying fish - they resemble a herring but have wings and fly especially when pursued by the “Bonito” a fish as large as a grilse a few yards above the water like birds. One flew on the deck and was caught by one of the sailors who cooked it for his lunch.

Campbell, Alexander. Letters and papers, 1859 - 1870. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 50

July 2nd. A splendid morning with a nice cooling breeze which feels very agreeable as we turn out from our berths. Sometime about midnight some disturbance arose between the captain and his men, it is said of a very disgraceful character. This region is noted on account of calms that prevail between the expiration of the North East and the beginning of the South East trade winds which sometimes detain ships for a week or two. Last week I forgot to note the captain's abuse to the chief mate. He is a quarreling fiend always serpent like, curling up and hissing and spitting his venom at someone. The breeze awoke up after sunset and at bedtime we were going at a cheerful rate.

Booth, Thomas. Papers, 1857 - 1859. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2002/56