32 cook's first voyage dec. 



called Raza, he gathered many species of plants, and 

 caught a variety of insects. 



It is remarkable, that, during the last three or four 

 days of our staying in this harbour, the air was loaded 

 with butterflies : they were chiefly of one sort, but in 

 such numbers that thousands were in view in every 

 direction, and the greatest part of them above our 

 mast-head. 



We lay here from the 14th of November to the 7th 

 of December, something more than three weeks, 

 during which time Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, was 

 on shore every day to buy our provisions; Dr. Solander 

 was on shore once ; I was several times on shore my- 

 self, and Mr. Banks also found means to get into the 

 country, notwithstanding the watch that was set over 

 us. I shall, therefore, with the intelligence obtained 

 from these gentlemen, and my own observations, 

 give some account of the town, and the country 

 adjacent. 



Rio de Janeiro, or the river of Januarius, was pro- 

 bably so called from its having been discovered on 

 the feast-day of that saint ; and the town, which is 

 the capital of the Portuguese dominions in America, 

 derives its name from the river, which, indeed, is 

 rather an arm of the sea, for it did not appear to 

 receive any considerable stream of fresh water : it 

 stands on a plain, close to the shore, on the west side 

 of the bay, at the foot of several high mountains 

 which rise behind it. It is neither ill designed nor 

 ill built : the houses, in general, are of stone, and 

 two stories high ; every house having, after the manner 

 of the Portuguese, a little balcony before its windows, 

 and a lattice of wood before the balcony. I computed 

 its circuit to be about three miles ; for it appears to 

 be equal in size to the largest country towns in Eng- 

 land, Bristol and Liverpool not excepted : the streets 

 are straight, and of a convenient breadth, intersecting 

 each other at right angles ; the greater part, how- 

 ever, lie in a line with the citadel called St. Sebastian, 



