80 



The current drew u& toward the coast more 

 rapidly than we wished.* As we advanced, we 

 discovered at first the island of Fortaventnre 

 ( Forteventura) famous for the great number of 

 camels * which it feeds ; and a short time after 

 we saw the small island of Lobos in the chan- 

 nel which separates Fortaventura from Lance- 

 rote. We spent part of the night on the deck. 

 The moon illumined the volcanic summits of 

 Lancerote. the flanks of which, covered with 

 ashes, reflected a silver light. Antares threw 

 out it's resplendent rays near the lunar disk, 

 which was but a few degrees above the horizon. 

 The night was beautifully serene and cool. 

 Though we were but a little distance from the 

 west of Africa, and on the limit of the torrid 

 zone, the centigrade thermometer rose no high- 

 er than 18°. The phosphorescence of the ocean 

 seemed to augment the mass oif light diffused 

 through the air. I was able to read for the first 

 time the nonius of a sextant, by Troughton, of 

 two inches, the division of which was very mi- 



* These camels, which serve for labor, and sometimes for 

 food when salted, did not exist till the B6thencourts made the 

 conquest of the Canaries. In the sixteenth century, asses 

 were so abundant in the Isle of Fortaventura, that they be- 

 came wild and were hunted. Several thousands were killed 

 to save the harvest. The horses of Fortaventura are of sin- 

 gular beauty, and of the Barbary race. Noticias de la his- 

 toria general de las islas Canarias, par Don Jose de Viera, 

 t. ii, p. 436. 



