AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 405 



Chiff-chaffs, Tits, &c, were plentiful. The Spectacled Warblers 

 had bred, and we saw several old birds with broods of young on 

 the wing, some of which were preserved. As the ship did not 

 sail till midnight, we had plenty of time to skin all our specimens 

 on board, and early next morning found us at La Luz, the port of 

 Las Palmas, a spot designed by nature to be fair, but greatly 

 denied by man, who has turned it into a coaling station for his 

 ships, and stirred up in the making of his roads an unspeakable 

 quantity of dust. 



At Las Palmas we were most kindly received by Mr. Kichard 

 Blandy and Mr. A. Doorley, to whose energetic and well-timed 

 assistance we are largely indebted for the ultimate attainment of 

 the object we had in view. Through the instrumentality of these 

 gentlemen we were able to charter from the Gran Canary Coaling 

 Company the ' Pedro del Castillo,' a small steam-tug of about 25 

 tons, which proved a very efficient means of transport to the 

 Salvages. We were very fortunate in being able to do this, as, 

 although there is no lack of excellent schooners at Las Palmas, 

 we should scarcely have been able to undertake the journey in a 

 sailing vessel, for the time at our disposal was limited to about 

 twelve days, and the Salvages lie about 123 miles N. and by E. 

 magnetic from Las Palmas, i.e., almost dead in the eye of 

 the trade wind or brisa, which blows at this time of year with 

 great regularity, and at times — as we found out later on — with 

 considerable vigour. 



In addition to the ' Pedro,' her helmsman and engineers, we 

 secured the services of a boat's crew numbering four (Juan, 

 Francisco, Eneas, and Manuel), of one Miguel, who acted as 

 spokesman and (on shore) as cook, and of Pedro, a pilot from 

 Lanzarote, a silent man, brown and blear-eyed, presumably from 

 life-long contemplation of the wind's eye. A most well-disposed, 

 well-behaved, and obliging lot of men they proved, in spite of the 

 fact that we could only communicate our thoughts to them in pigeon 

 Spanish with the help of a dictionary and Ollendorf 's ' Manual.' 



The ' Pedro ' having taken in supplies, and all preparations 

 having been made, the following day (Sunday, 21st) saw us 

 steaming gaily out of the harbour about three o'clock on a sunny 

 afternoon, the warmth of which was tempered by the above- 

 mentioned brisa, which was blowing gently from its accustomed 

 quarter* We were in high spirits. Bafaello, the captain, blew 



