184 CAPTUEE OF TUETLES 



tint is, no doubt, owing to the perfect calm which pervades 

 those regions. Whenever the agitation is propagated to a 

 certain depth, a very fine sand, or a mass of calcareous 

 particles suspended in the water, renders it troubled and 

 milky. There are shallows, however, which are distin- 

 guished neither by the colour, nor by the low temperature 

 of the waters ; and I believe that phenomenon depends on 

 the nature of a hard and rocky bottom, destitute of sand 

 and corals ; on the form and declivity of the shelvings ; the 

 swiftness of the currents ; and the absence of the propa- 

 gation of motion towards the lower layers of the water. 

 The cold frequently indicated by the thermometer, at the 

 surface of the high banks, must be traced to the molecules 

 of water which, owing to the rays of heat and the nocturnal 

 cooling, fall from the surface to the bottom, and are 

 stopped in their fall by the high banks ; and also to the 

 mingling of the layers of very deep water, that rise on the 

 shelvings of the banks as on an inclined plane, to mix with 

 the layers of the surface. 



Notwithstanding the small size of our bark, and the 

 boasted skill of our pilot, we often ran aground. The 

 bottom being soft, there was no danger ; but, nevertheless, 

 at sun-set, near the pass of Don Cristoval, we preferred to 

 lie at anchor. The first part of the night was beautifully 

 serene : we saw an incalculable number of falling-stars, all 

 following one direction, opposite to that from whence the 

 wind blew in the low regions of the atmosphere. The 

 most absolute solitude prevails in this spot, which, in the 

 time of Columbus, was inhabited and frequented by great 

 numbers of fishermen. The inhabitants of Cuba then em- 

 ployed a small fish to take the great sea- turtles; they 

 fastened a long cord to the tail of the reves (the name 

 given by the Spaniards to that species of Echeneis*). The 



* To the sucet or grtaican of the natives of Cuba, the Spaniards have 

 given the characteristic name of reves, that is, " placed on its back, 

 or reversed." In fact, at first sight, the position of the back and the 

 abdomen is confounded. Anghiera says : " Nostrates reversum appellant, 

 quia versus venatur." I examined a remora of the South Sea during the 

 passage from Lima to Acapulco. As he lived a long time out of the 

 water, I tried experiments on the weight he could carry before the bladea 

 of the disk loosened from the plank to which the animal was fixed j but 





