49 



and 28th degrees of latitude. In the vast basin 

 of the Atlantic, at six or seven hundred leagues 

 from the coasts of Africa, the vessels from Eu- 

 rope bound to the West Indies, find their sail- 

 ing accelerated before they reach the torrid 

 zone. More to the north, under 28 and 35 

 degrees, between the parallels of Tenerift and 

 Ceuta, in 46 and 48 degrees of longitude, no 

 constant motion is observed ; there, a zone of 

 140 leagues in breadth separates the equinoctial 

 current, the tendency of which is towards the 

 west, from that great mass of water which runs 

 towards the east, and is distinguished for it's ex- 

 traordinary high temperature. To this mass of 

 waters, known by the name of the Gulf-stream*, 

 the attention of naturalists was directed in 1776 

 by the curious observations of Franklin, and Sir 

 Charles Blagden. It's direction having lately 

 become an important object of investigation 

 among the English and American navigators, 

 we must go farther back, to take a more general 

 view of this phenomenon. 



The equinoctial current drives the waters of 

 the Atlantic towards the coasts inhabited by the 

 Mosquito Indians, and towards those of Hon- 

 duras. The New Continent, stretching from 

 south to north, forms a sort of dyke to this cur- 



* Sir Francis Drake had already observed this extraordi- 

 nary movement of the waters, but he was unacquainted with 

 their elevated temperature. 



VOL. I. E 



