DEPARTURE FROM SANTA CRUZ. 49 



CHAPTER IV. 



Passage from Teneriffe to Cumana. 



Departure from Santa Cruz — Floating' Seaweeds — Flying-fish — 

 Stars — Malignant Fever — Island of" Tobag;o — Death of a Pas- 

 senger — Island of Coche — Port of Cumana — Observations made 

 during the Voyage; Temperature of the Air; Temperature ot 

 the Sea ; Hygrometrical State of the Air ; Colour of the Sky and 

 Ocean. 



Having sailed from Santa Cruz on the evening of the chap, iv 

 25th of June, with a strong wind from the north-east, i^^^y^ 

 our travellers soon lost sight of the Canary Islands, the Santa Cruz. 

 mountains of which were covered with reddish vapour, 

 the Peak alone appearing at intervals in the breaks. 

 The passage from Teneriffe to Cumana was performed 

 in twenty days, the distance being 3106 miles. 



The wind gradually subsided as they retired from the changes of 

 African coast. Short calms of several hours occasionally '*^'"'^- 

 took place, which were regularly interrupted by slight 

 squalls, accompanied by masses of dark clouds, emitting 

 a few large drops of rain, but without thunder. To the 

 north of the Cape Verd Islands they met with large 

 patches of floating seaweed (^Fucus natans), which Fioatincr 

 grows on submarine rocks, from the equator to forty 

 degrees of latitude on either side. These scattered 

 plants, however, must not be confounded with the vast 

 beds, said by Columbus to resemble extensive meadows, 

 and which inspired with terror the crew of the Santa 

 Maria. From a comparison of numerous journals, it 

 appears that there are two such fields of seaweed in the 

 c 



