PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 9 



northward, scarcely affects the wind close in with 

 the cape. The greatest interruptions to which they 

 are liable are from the pamperos, which in the win- j'JS? 

 ter blow with great violence from the river Plate, 

 sweep past Rio Janeiro, extend to the before- 

 mentioned cape, and often beyond it, to a consider- 

 able offing. It was during the influence of one of 

 these gales that we approached Cape Frio, and had 

 no sooner opened the land on the western side of 

 the promontory, than we were met by a long rolling 

 swell from the south-west, gusts of wind, and un- 

 settled weather ; and at noon encountered a violent 

 squall, attended by thunder and lightning, which 

 obliged us to take in every sail on the instant. To- 

 wards sunset the weather cleared up, and we saw 

 Cape Frio, N. W. by W., very distant. 



Calms and baffling winds succeeded this boister- 

 ous weather, so that on the morning of the 11th we 

 were still distant from our port ; and the daylight 

 was gone, and with it the sea-breeze, before we could 

 reach a place to drop our anchor. It, however, some- 

 times happens, fortunately for those who are late in 

 making the entrance of the harbour, that in the in- 

 terval between the sea and land breezes, gusts blow 

 off the eastern shore, and ships, by taking advantage 

 of them, and at the same time by keeping close over 

 on that side, may succeed in entering the port. This 

 was our case ; and at nine at night we anchored 

 among the British squadron, under the command of 

 Rear-Admiral Sir George Eyre, who was the follow- 

 ing morning saluted with thirteen guns — a compli- 

 ment which would have been paid by the ships to 

 the authorities of the place, had it not been suspend- 



