32 RIO DE JANEIRO CHAP, II 
almost till four in the evening. As soon as the sea breeze 
came we filled our sails, and carrying the ship over the 
anchor, tripped it, but were obliged to sail back almost as 
far as we had towed the ship in the morning. 
This day and yesterday the air was crowded in an 
uncommon manner with butterflies, chiefly of one sort, of 
which we took as many as we pleased on board the ship; 
their quantity was so large that at some times I may say 
many thousands were in view at once in almost any direc- 
tion you could look, the greater part of them far above our 
mast-heads. 
6th. No land breeze to-day, so we are confined in our 
disagreeable situation without a possibility of moving; 
many curses were this day expended on his Excellency. 
7th. Weighed and stood out to sea. As soon as we 
came to Santa Cruz the pilot desired to be discharged, and 
with him our enemy the guard-boat went off, so we were 
left our own masters, and immediately resolved to go ashore 
on one of the islands in the mouth of the harbour. There 
was a great swell, but we made shift to land on one called 
Raza, on which we gathered many species of plants and 
some insects. <Alstrémeria Salsilla was here in tolerable 
plenty, and Amaryllis mexicana. We stayed until about 
four o’clock, and then came aboard the ship heartily tired, for 
the desire of doing as much as we could in a short time had 
made us all exert ourselves, though exposed to the hottest 
rays of the sun just at noon-day. 
Now we are got fairly to sea, and have entirely got rid 
of these troublesome people, I cannot help spending some 
time in describing them, though I was not myself once in 
their town; yet my intelligence coming from Dr. Solander, 
and Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, a very sensible man, who 
was ashore every day to buy our provisions, I think cannot 
err much from truth. 
The town of Rio Janeiro, the capital of the Portuguese 
dominions in America, is situate on the banks of the river 
of that name, and both are so called, I apprehend, from the 
Roman Saint Januarius, according to the Spanish and 
