132 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



gators. A single rabbit littered during the voyage, and was 

 let loose upon the island with her progeny : these multiplied so 

 rapidly that in two years they eat every green thing which its 

 soil produced. Porto Santo was therefore, for a time, abandoned. 



During their residence there, however, Gonzalez and Vax 

 noticed with wonder a strange and perpetual appearance in the 

 horizon to the southwest. A thick, impenetrable cloud hovered 

 over the waves, and thence extended to the skies. Some be- 

 lieved it to be a dreadful abyss, and others a fabulous island, 

 while superstition traced amid the gloom Dante's inscription on 

 the portal of the Inferno : 



Abandon hope, all ye who enter here ! 



Gonzalez and Vax bore this state of suspense with the im- 

 patience of seamen, while from dawn to sunset the meteor, or 

 the portent, preserved its uniform sullen aspect. At last they 

 started in pursuit. It was urged, by a Spaniard named Juan de 

 Morales, that the shadows hanging in the air could be accounted 

 for by supposing that the soil of an island in the vicinity, being 

 shaded from the sun by thick and lofty trees, exhaled dense and 

 opaque vapors, which spread throughout the sky. As the ship 

 advanced, the towering spectre was observed to thicken and to 

 expand until it became horrible to view. The roaring of the sea 

 increased, and the crew called on Gonzalez to flee from the fear- 

 ful scene. But soon the weather became calm, and deeper 

 shadows were observed through the portentous gloom. Faint 

 images of rocks seemed to the excited crew the menacing figures 

 of giants. The atmosphere was now transparent ; the hoarse 

 echo of the waves abated ; the clouds dispersed, and the wood- 

 lands were unveiled. The seamen rested on their oars, while 

 Gonzalez admired the wild luxuriance of nature in a spot which 

 superstition had so long dreaded to approach. A rivulet, issu- 

 ing from a glen, whose paler verdure formed a striking contrast 

 with the deep green of venerable cedars, seemed to pour a 



