76 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



Erom the Cape cle Yerd islands to tlie coast of 

 Brazil, you see several different kinds of gulls^ wliich, 

 probably, are bred in the island of St. Paul. Some- 

 times the large bird called the Frigate Pelican, soars 

 majestically over the vessel, and the tropic bird comes 

 near enough to let you have a fair view of the long 

 feathers in his tail. On the line, when it is calm, 

 sharks of a tremendous size make their appearance. 

 They are descried from the ship by means of the dorsal 

 fin, which is above the water. 



On entering the bay of Pernambuco, the 

 ^Frigate Peii- j^^igate Pelican is seen watching the shoals 

 of fish from a prodigious height. It seldom 

 descends without a successful attack on its numerous 

 prey below. 



As you approach the shore, the view is 



Scenery »/ r± i 



charming. The hills are clothed with wood, 

 gradually rising towards the interior, none of them of 

 any considerable height. A singular reef of rocks runs 

 parallel to the coast, and forms the harbour of Pernam- 

 buco. The vessels are moored betwixt it and the 

 town, safe from every storm. You enter the harbour 

 through a very narrow passage, close by a fort built on 

 the reef. The hill of Olinda, studded with houses and 

 convents, is on your right hand, and an island thickly 

 planted with cocoa-nut trees adds considerably to the 

 scene on your left. There are two strong forts on the 

 isthmus, betwixt Olinda and Pernambuco, and a pillar 

 midway to aid the pilot. 



Pernambuco probably contains upwards 



Pernambuco. o o ^ i -r 



of fifty thousand souls. It stands on a flat, 

 and is divided into three parts ; a peninsula, an island, 

 and the continent. Though within a few degrees of 



