to Central America. 3935 



cochineal, skins of the jaguar and of tiger-cats, black beans (frijoles), 

 bananas, plantains, pine-apples, living peccaries led by tawny Indians, 

 fresh-water Chelonias sold by more than half-naked negroes, stinking 

 meat spread out under small, hot, wooden sheds, &c. &c. ; all these 

 things forcibly impress on the mind of the stranger the fact that he 

 is far indeed from old Europe, and that he must be wide awake to 

 observe all worth noting as curious, interesting, or instructive to him- 

 self or others. 



On the 6th of April we again embarked, doubled Cape Blanco, and 

 then lost sight of land. 



April 7. Passed the islands of Buenos Ayres and Curazao, and saw 

 the mountainous outline of Oruba. Small flying fish numerous. 



April 8 : (lat. 14 25; long. 76 16). Saw today, for the first time, 

 the large flying fish with black pectoral fins (Exocetus Noveboracen- 

 sis ?), noticed by Mr. Gosse in his most interesting work on the Natu- 

 ral History of Jamaica, a book which I took out with me, and which 

 made many hours pass very agreeably that would have appeared long 

 and dreary without so lively a companion. 



April 9 : (lat. 19 51 ; long. 79 10). Large patches of Sargassum 

 are floating around us ; it is very long since we saw any. Smaller 

 flying fish numerous. 



April 11. A Tringa came and rested on board. 



April 12. Passed near the Santanilla, or Swan's Island, a small, low, 

 sandy, arid, uninhabited and dismal bit of land. A few sea-birds and 

 shrubs are the only living productions of this island. In the night, a 

 small shoal of porpoises surrounded the vessel : they announced their 

 arrival by loud, short, and frequent snortings, and left long, luminous, 

 phosphorescent tracks in the sea wherever they passed. The island 

 of Santanilla was wrongly marked on my map and on the captain's : 

 we compared our observations, and found it to lie in long. 83 e 51 7 W., 

 and lat. 17° 25 ; N. ; whereas on my map it is placed in long. 84° 10' 

 W., long. 17 Q 15' N. The island being low, vessels might easily be 

 grounded on it during a dark night. 



April 13. After passing the Zapotilla Kays, near which the sea 

 was covered with circular brown Medusae, and doubling Cape Mana- 

 bique, we entered the fine Bay of Sto. Thomas de Guatemala, having 

 safely crossed the Atlantic in fifty-three days. In a future paper, I 

 shall continue to note such of my subsequent proceedings on land as 

 may appear likely to prove interesting to the readers of the ' Zoologist.' 



Julian Deby. 



Bloquemont, May, 1853. 



