112 EAST PRUSSIA TO THE GOLDEN GATE 



throughout this, as well as part of the next month. It 

 was a hard trial for our patience, our good humor and, I 

 may add, our state of health. Fortunately, I did not suf- 

 fer, but managed to keep myself well, as I assured you at 

 the very beginning of my letter; of course I suffered from 

 tooth-ache once in a while, but that hardly counts for 

 much, or is worth mentioning. 



After we had reached the South-Western ocean current, 

 which runs along the Brazilian coast from Cape Frio to 

 Cape St. Eoque, which took place on the third of August, 

 the unfavorable weather continued and could have been 

 compared to our disagreeable, damp, fall weather at 

 home. Even the inhabitants of the sea left us, though the 

 water remained clear and transparent; further South we 

 would meet a North-Caper or whaler once in a long while. 

 On the other hand, we now found ourselves daily in the 

 company of sea-birds, sometimes thousands of them. We 

 observed the first arrivals on the fourth of August, when 

 about half a dozen of Cape-Doves put in an appearance. 

 This is a species, which remained with us, following the 

 ship day after day, whether we were close to the shore 

 or not, until we reached Valparaiso. These pretty white 

 birds which accompanied us in large flocks resembled 

 our geese in size and shape but they had very strong, 

 crooked beaks and sharp black claws; their long wings 

 and head as well as tail were speckled with black. The 

 wind was unusually changeable and blew at times from 

 four directions in one day, now light, then again so strong 

 that even the top-sails seemed to be more than sufficient. 

 The breeze was mostly Southern or Western and if it 

 happened once in a while that a more favorable change 

 took place, we were not benefited enough by it to help 

 us very materially in our onward progress. On the con- 

 trary, it often happened that such a change brought with 

 it a roughness which was not agreeable. 



Notwithstanding the fact that these Northern air-cur- 

 rents caused many disagreeable movements on board, 

 they were welcomed as dispensers of moments of recrea- 

 tion. 



