106 



TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



the fish of prey, they rise sometimes singly, some- 

 times in shoals, several feet above the surface of the 

 water, into which they fall again after a flight of 

 forty or Mty paces, in a direction contrary to the 

 wind j sometimes they are cast by the wind upon 

 the quarter-deck, where they are taken by thti 

 sailors. Their enemies, the tunny fish (Scomber 

 Thynnus) and bonitoes {Sc, Pelamis), rival in ve- 

 locity the ship in full sail. They show incredible 

 strength in swimming, for they are able in the 

 midst of their most rapid course, to leap perpen- 

 dicularly above the surface, and plunge again head 

 foremost into the waves. They were here so nu- 

 merous, that the crew were able to procure a con- 

 stant supply for our table by harpooning them, or 

 taking them with strong hooks, to which a bunch 

 of feathers, in imitation of a flying-fish, was tied. 

 The largest of these fish which we took on board, 

 weighed seventy pounds. 



After we had entered this region of peace and 

 tranquillity, between the tropics, the cushions, 

 which were before placed round the tables, to 

 prevent the glasses, bottles, and plates from falling 

 down, were taken away, and the seamen looked 

 forward to a smooth and safe passage. Our 

 ship, carried on by the regular wind, sailed day 

 and night with equal rapidity, and the sailors found 

 on this passage, which resembled a party of pleasure, 

 leisure enough for games and amusements. They 

 conceived an idea of making a theatre of puppets ; 

 and the wanton Policinello, the pedantic Doctor, 



