18 cook's first voyage SEPT. 



CHAP. II. 



THE PASSAGE FROM MADEIRA TO RIO DE JANEIRO, WITH SOME 

 ACCOUNT OF THE COUNTRY, AND THE INCIDENTS THAT 

 HAPPENED THERE. 



On the 21st of September we saw the islands called 

 the Salvages, to the north of the Canaries ; when 

 tlie principal of these bore S. i^ W. at the distance 

 of about five leagues, we found the variation of the 

 compass by an azimuth to be 17° 50'. I make these 

 islands to lie in latitude 30"^ 11' North, and distant 

 58 leagues from Funchiale in Madeira, in the direc- 

 tion of S. 16 E. 



On Friday the 2Sd we saw the Peak of Teneriffe 

 bearing W. by S. i S. and found the variation of the 

 compass to be from 17° 22' to 16° 30'. The height 

 of this mountain, from which I took a new depar- 

 ture, has been determined by Dr. Heberden, who 

 has been upon it, to be 15,396 feet, which is but 148 

 yards less than three miles, reckoning the mile at 

 1760 yards. Its appearance at sunset w^as very strik- 

 ing ; when the sun was below the horizon, and the 

 rest of the island appeared of a deep black, the 

 mountain still reflected his rays, and glowed with a 

 warmth of colour which no painting can express. 

 There is no eruption of visible fire from it, but a 

 heat issues from the chinks near the top, too strong 

 to be borne by the hand when it is held near them. 

 We had received from Dr. Heberden, among other 

 favours, some salt which he collected on the top of 

 the mountain, where it is found in large quantities, 

 and which he supposes to be the true natriim or 

 niirum of the ancients : he gave us also some native 

 sulphur exceedingly pure, which he had likewise 

 found upon the surface in great plenty. 



