8 THE CANARY ISLANDS. [1690- 



she coii'd not gain npon us ; however, she pursu'd us six 

 Hours, till Night coming on we lost sight of her, and ran 

 back the false Course we had kept to escape him. We were 

 all of us convinc'd by this double Deliverance the same Day, 

 that we had been under the singular Protection of the 

 Almighty, and we render'd the Thanks that were due to his 

 Divine Favour. 



The 22d we took a sort of Curlew by hand, for it came 

 and perch'd upon our Sails : abundance of Purs ["AUouettes 

 de 3£er^'] follow'd us, flying about our Ship. 



The 28lh an innumerable Army of Porpuses past by us ; 

 at which Sight we were very well pleas'd ; they seem'd to us 

 to march really along in order of Battel, and they leap'd up 

 and down by turns, still keeping their Ptanks; they approach'd 

 so near to us that we struck one ; we darted at him with a 

 Trident, fasten'd at the End of a Pope: when they are 

 wounded they grow weak, through loss of Blood, and then 

 may be easily taken up : The blood of these Animals is hot ; 

 they bear their Young in their Bellies like Whales, Laman- 

 tines, and some other Fish ; the inside of their Body is very 

 like that of a Hog, but the Flesh is Oily and has an ill 

 taste. 



The 6th of Odoher we spy'd a Squadron of 13 great Dutch 

 Men of War, of which one gave us chase ; for, not knowing 

 what she was, we made the best of our way from her ; when 

 she came up to us, she hung out her Colours ; we did the 

 same, and then we both continu'd our several Courses, 



The 2 2d we discover'd the Canary Islands^ by Moonlight, 

 and fell in with the Trade-Winds, which never left us ; or, 

 rather, which we never left till we came in the 9th Degree. 

 By our Account we were 50 Leagues to the Wind-ward of 

 Fahna, between Forteventicra and the Grand Canaries. 



1 The archi])elago of the Canaries is situated near the polar limit of 

 the north-east trade winds, the prevailing breeze setting from the 

 north-east to north. 



