92 



Natural History Bulleiin. 



night we saw numerous large fires along the coast, which we- 

 concluded were from kilns of some sort. For a while the 

 wind gave out almost entireh', and it w^as a question whether 

 we were going forward or being carried back by the current 

 of the Gulf Stream, which is here much less perceptible than 

 off the coast near Havana. 



In the morning we found ourselves near an exceedingh 

 picturesque coast, with high mountains towering above the 

 low-lying clouds. Some of the peaks were realh^ imposing, 

 although clothed to their summits wdth thick forests, with here 

 and there great patches of bare rocks showing in reddish 

 blotches among the green. 



No sign of human habitation was to be seen. The shore 

 was as desolate as a Patagonian coast, and we were at a loss 

 to know \Nhere Bahia Honda w^as, having pictured to our- 

 selves a village, at least, to mark the opening of the bay. A 

 small coasting schooner was creeping down from the east, and 

 we decided to hail her. in hopes of securing a pilot acquainted 

 with the channel into the bay. a place of ill repute to natural- 

 ists since the " Blake " was run aground there in the attempt 

 to get into the harbor under the guidance of an ignorant 

 native pilot. 



The coasting schooner being finally within hailing distance., 

 we found that oiu" port had been passed in the night, and 

 were forced to put back a few miles. Encountering another 

 native vessel, we fortunately secured a pilot who knew the 

 channel into Bahia Honda. He certainly earned his money. 

 The writer was the only person on board with any practical 

 knowledge of the Spanish language, and hence was expected 

 to act as interpreter between the pilot and the crew. Unfort- 

 unately, however, although able to get along moderately- 

 well under ordinary circumstances, his vocabulary did not 

 embrace a single word of nautical Spanish. Not a sail or 

 halliard, sheet, jib, or command of an}- kind could he name or 

 express or understand in Spanish. The pilot was soon on the 

 verge of insanity, and the mate completeh' beside himself at 

 the extraordinary commands delivered with apparent assur- 



