CAYO FLAMENCO. 2(51 



together with the magnificent Tournf/ortiagnnphaHoi(li;s, CHAP. XXI. 

 with silvery leiives and odoriferous flowers. The sailors j,^.,; ~~ 

 had been searching for langoustes ; but not fmdin;,' anv, 

 avenged themselves on the young pelicans perched on 

 the trees. The old birds hovered around, uttering 

 hoarse and plaintive cries, and the young defended 

 themselves with vigour, although in vain ; for the 

 sailors, armed with sticks and cutlasses, made cruel 

 havoc among them. " On our arrival," says Humboldt, 

 " a profound calm prevailed on this little spot of earth ; 

 but now every thing seemed to say, — Man has passed 

 here." 



On the morning of the 11th they visited the Cayo Cayo 

 Flamenco, the centre of which is depressed, and only 15 ^'^'"6"<^°- 

 inches above the surface of the sea. The water was 

 brackish, while in other cayos it is quite fresh, — a 

 circumstance difficult to be accounted for in small 

 islands scarcely elevated above tlie ocean, unless the 

 springs be supposed to come from the neighbouring 

 coast by means of hydrostatic pressure. Humboldt was 

 informed by Don Francisco le Maur, that in the bay of 

 Xagua, to the oast of the Jardinillos, fresh water gushes 

 up in several places from the bottom with t>uch force as 

 to prove dangerous for small canoes. Vessels sometimes 

 take in supplies from them ; and the lamantins, or 

 fresh-water cetacea, abound in the neighbourhood. 



To tlie east of Cape Flamenco they passed close to the Cayo de 

 Piedras de Diego Perez, and in the evening landed at '^ ^^ 

 Cayo de Piedras, two rocks forming the eastern extre- 

 mity of the Jardinillos, on which many vessels are lost. 

 They are nearly destitute of shrubs, the shipwrecked 

 crews having cut them down to make signals. Next 

 day, turning round the passage between tlie northern 

 cape of the cayo and the island of Cuba, they entered a 

 sea free from breakers, and of a dark-blue colour ; 

 the increase of temperature in which indicated a great 

 augmentation of depth. The thermometer was at 

 79-2° ; whereas in the shoal- water of the Jardinillos it 

 had been sctm as low as 72-7°, the f'i'- beinir from 77° to 



