May 18 Friday – From Sam’s notebook:

Bright, sunny, mild—put on light overcoat for the deck. Mother Cary’s chicks very beautiful; bronze, shiny, metallic, broad stripe across tail; —built & carry themselves much like swallows. After luncheon I commenced feeding crumbs to a few over the stern, & in 15 minutes had a thousand collected from nobody knows where. We are very far from land, of course. They never rested a moment. This stormy Petrel is supposed to sleep on the water at night.

On deck, before supper. Very fine & sunny, but a breeze has sprung up—we have up a fore & main spencer, a staysail & fore-topsail. Shall have a sea to-morrow which will retard us. Have been making great speed up to this time.

Engine stopped—everybody interested, I indifferent, caring not a dam [MTNJ 2: 16-7].