150 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



We kept on in this way 



"until we could no longer spare our gasoline, in an ef- 

 fort to crowd the southwest wind so hard that we could 

 slip by without bumping into the coast of Ecuador. We 

 did not make much westing for three days, and almost 

 ran over Malpelo Island again." 



While the mechanic was on watch in the engine-room a con- 

 necting rod bearing was allowed to burn out. For two days we 

 nosed our way southward by sail, until a new bearing was cast 

 and polished by the Engineer. 



"We resumed the struggle. Every hour or so the 

 Old Man (of the Sea) turned the wind on a little 

 stronger. Just to tease us he would pull the wind a 

 little more to the westward at night making believe he 

 had given up. 



"Finally, on November 8, after seven days continuous 

 battle, when we were too close to the coast of Ecuador for 

 comfort, and when our gasoline supply was low, con- 

 sidering the three months ahead before we could re- 

 plenish it, the wind shifted to the south enabling us to 

 proceed westward." 



This long attack of bad luck gave the sailors a grand opportunity 

 for expressing their various superstitions. Erickson's explanation 

 for the delay was finally adopted as probably the correct one — 

 someone had left port without paying his bills. And when the 

 men in the forecastle had been exonerated on this charge, the 

 "scientifics" were accused. 



These two weeks were by no means wasted. Rarely had we 

 been in a more interesting region, from the standpoint of the 

 oceanographer. Stations had been occupied every other day. 

 The area was characterized by a low sea-surface salinity. This 

 was doubtless the result of the torrential rains and the large supply 

 of fresh water dumped by the rivers into the Gulf of Panama. 



At our first station we found the temperature at the surface 

 81° Fahrenheit, while it was only 61° at the 60-meter depth, and 

 36° at 3000 meters. The surface-life was rich, just as on the 

 other side of the canal. 



