5 



South Sea, that to the west of America the trade 

 winds of the south-east reach to a less distance 

 beyond the equator, than they do in the Atlantic 

 Ocean. In fact the difference, with which the 

 strata of air flow back from the two poles to- 

 ward the equator, cannot be the same in every 

 degree of longitude, that is to say, on points of 

 the Globe, where the continents have very differ- 

 ent breadths, and where they stretch away more 

 or less toward the poles. 



It is known, that in the passage from Santa 

 Cruz to Cumana, as in that from Acapulco to 

 the Philippine islands, the sailors are scarcely 

 ever under the necessity of touching the sails. 

 We pass those latitudes, as if we were descend- 

 ing a river, and we might deem it no hazardous 

 undertaking, if we made the voyage in an open 

 boat. Farther west, on the coast of St. Mar- 

 tha, and in the Gulf of Mexico, the trade wind 

 blows impetuously, and renders the sea very 

 stormy*. 



The wind fell gradually the farther we re- 

 moved from the African coasts: it was some- 

 times smooth water for several hours, and these 

 short calms were regularly interrupted by elec- 

 trical phenomena. Black thick clouds with 



* The Spanish sailors call the rough trade winds at Car- 

 thagena in the West Indies lot brisotes de Santa Martha ; and 

 in the Gulf of Mexico, las brizas pardas. These latter winds 

 are accompanied with a gray and cloudy sky. 



