32 RIO DE JANEIRO CHAP, n 



almost till four in the evening. As soon as the sea breeze 

 came we filled our sails, and carrying the ship over the 

 anchor, tripped it, but were obliged to sail back almost as 

 far as we had towed the ship in the morning. 



This day and yesterday the air was crowded in an 

 uncommon manner with butterflies, chiefly of one sort, of 

 which we took as many as we pleased on board the ship ; 

 their quantity was so large that at some times I may say 

 many thousands were in view at once in almost any direc- 

 tion you could look, the greater part of them far above our 

 mast-heads. 



6th. No land breeze to-day, so we^are confined in our 

 disagreeable situation without a possibility of moving ; 

 many curses were this day expended on his Excellency. 



ith. Weighed and stood out to sea. As soon as we 

 came to Santa Cruz the pilot desired to be discharged, and 

 with him our enemy the guard-boat went off, so we were 

 left our own masters, and immediately resolved to go ashore 

 on one of the islands in the mouth of the harbour. There 

 was a great swell, but we made shift to land on one called 

 Kaza, on which we gathered many species of plants and 

 some insects. Alstromeria Salsilla was here in tolerable 

 plenty, and Amaryllis mexicana. We stayed until about 

 four o'clock, and then came aboard the ship heartily tired, for 

 the desire of doing as much as we could in a short time had 

 made us all exert ourselves, though exposed to the hottest 

 rays of the sun just at noon-day. 



Now we are got fairly to sea, and have entirely got rid 

 of these troublesome people, I cannot help spending some 

 time in describing them, though I was not myself once in 

 their town ; yet my intelligence coming from Dr. Solander, 

 and Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, a very sensible man, who 

 was ashore every day to buy our provisions, I think cannot 

 err much from truth. 



The town of Eio Janeiro, the capital of the Portuguese 

 dominions in America, is situate on the banks of the river 

 of that name, and both are so called, I apprehend, from the 

 Eoman Saint Januarius, according to the Spanish and 



