228 APPENDIX. 



nearly as much as in the ports of this coast, where the nights are 

 generally calm, till a land breeze from the eastward springs up. 

 This light message from the Cordillera is never troublesome, neither 

 does it last manyhours. "With these winds the sky is almost always 

 clear ; indeed, when the sky becomes cloudy it is a sure sign of little 

 or no sea breeze in summer, and probably a fall of rain : in the 

 winter it foretels an approaching northerly wind, with rain. 



In summer, ships anchor close to the land, to avoid being driven 

 out to sea by strong southerly winds ; but as the winter approaches 

 a more roomy berth is advisable, though not too far out, because 

 near the shore there is always an undertow, and the wind is less 

 powerful. Seamen should bear in mind that the course of the 

 winds on this coast, as in all the southern hemisphere, is from 

 north to south, by the west : that the hardest northerly blow, with 

 most sea, comes from the westward of north, and that, therefore, 

 they should get as much as possible under the shelter of rocks or 

 land to the westward of them, rather than of those which only 

 defend from north winds, ' Northers,' as they are called, give good 

 warning : an overcast sky ; little or no wind unless easterly ; a swell 

 from the northward; water higher than usual; distant land remar- 

 kably visible, besides being raised by refraction ; and a falling baro- 

 meter ; are their sure indications : but all northers are not gales : 

 some years pass without one that can be so termed ; though few years 

 pass in succession without ships being driven ashore on Valparaiso 

 beach. Thunder and lightning are rare : wind of any disagreeable 

 strength from the east is unknown. West winds are only felt while 

 a ' norther ' is shifting round, previous to the sky clearing and the 

 wind moderating. The violence of southerly winds lasts but a few 

 hours : that of a northerly gale seldom continues beyond a day and 

 a night, generally, indeed, not so long. 



Some persons say that the strength of northerly winds is not felt 

 to the northward of Coquimbo, but I have evidence of gales, with 

 heavy seas, at Copiapo : and Captain Eden informed me that he had 

 a very heavy gale of wind in H. M.S. ' Conway,' in latitude 25° S., 

 and longitude 90° W., where such an interruption to the usual 

 southerly winds was little expected. 



How to make passages is easy to tell, for there are but two ways. 

 When going northward, steer direct to the place, or as nearly so as 

 is consistent with making use of the steady winds which j)revail in 



