TO RIO JANEIRO. 43 
dence, and as we passed her our bosoms beat to the tune of Hail 
Columbia, played by the band. 
There is a feeling of security on entering the harbour of Rio, that 
I have seldom experienced elsewhere, not even in our own waters. 
The mountains seem as it were to afford complete protection from the 
winds and ocean. We anchored near Enxados or Hospital Island, 
and found the Peacock had arrived here three days before us, and 
that she was proceeding with her repairs rapidly. The vessels 
being altogether unfit for the southern cruise, it became necessary 
to effect the requisite repairs as speedily as possible. While I 
could not but deprecate the loss of time and the shortening of the 
season for our southern operations, I felt it an imperative duty that 
I owed to those who were engaged with me on this service, not to 
suffer them to go among the many dangers of a southern cruise badly 
provided with the means to secure them against ordinary accidents, 
and to encounter the weather we must anticipate. 
On our arrival I was told it was the beginning of the hot season, 
and that rains usually prevailed during the coming months. This 
was unpleasant news, particularly as I was desirous whilst making 
the necessary repairs on the vessels, to complete a set of astronomical 
observations, and to perform a series of experiments with the pendu- 
lums, &c. This information, however, I did not find to be correct, 
and from the examination of the meteorological tables (see Appendix 
XVII.) obligingly furnished me by John Gardner, Esq., an American 
gentleman residing at Rio, I am not disposed to credit this common 
saying. It therein appears that rain falls as often in other months 
as in December, and my experience during the time of our stay, 
corresponds with his tables. The first fortnight we had occasional 
rains, but before we left the harbour, our parties reported that the 
country was suffering from drought. 
Mr. Gardner has also obligingly favoured me with a table (see 
Appendix XVIII.) showing the monthly average of passages from 
the United States to Rio during eight years, from 1834 to 1841. 
The shortest passage occurred in the year 1835, and the longest in 
1840. The former by a very fast vessel in twenty-nine days; the 
latter by an ordinary merchant ship in ninety days. The Relief, 
our store ship, had one hundred days in 1838! but this includes 
touching three days at the Cape de Verdes. 
It will be seen that the average monthly passage does not vary 
but a few days throughout the whole eight years. The winter 
