Travels in the Brasils. 



de jangado, of which a sketch may be found in Koster's travels in 

 Brazil. These jangadas put to sea with great safety ; they are 

 used for fishing, and conveying various articles from one part of 

 the coast to another, and they go very swiftly, as they are furnish- 

 ed with a stout sail fixed on a low mast. After our long voyage, 

 we would gladly have taken in a supply of fresh fishj' but this ob- 

 ject was not sufficiently important to induce us to sail up to the 

 jangado. We therefore steered in the direction of the coast, and 

 ^ about noon, had advanced so near it, that we could plamly recog- 

 nize the district of Goiana or Paraiba de Norte, in the Capetania 

 of Pernambuco. Our situation would have been very dangerous, had 

 we approached thus near the coast durmg the night, and with a 

 heavy wind ; but fortunately we had still sufficient time to tack about 

 and gain the open sea. However, a heavy gale, accompanied by rain, 

 arose during the night, and we were obliged to beat about for several 

 days. During this storm, the sea presented a terrific aspect ; the 

 roaring waves towered above the ship, and the interminable sur- 

 face of the ocean seemed to be on fire, 'j'housandsof light spots 

 and streaks, and even extensive surfaces glistened around us, and 

 every moment changed their form and situation. This light was 

 exactly similar to that produced by damp decayed trees, so often 

 seen in forests. Day after day the storm continued to rage with 

 unabated fury. W^had com^mitted a great error in approaching 

 so near the coast of Pernambuco, for storme are very frequent in 

 these parts during the winter of the torrid zone. The captain put 

 out to the open sea as well as the wind would permit, but we were 

 constantly obliged to tack about, and made but little way. Finally, 

 about eight days after we had first gained sight of land, the wind 

 abated, and enabled us to take a more direct course. We occasion- 

 ally measured the current of the sea, a precaution highly necessary, 

 as we were steering very near the coast. Large sea-fow l, mews or 

 petrels, hovered about the ship, but we w ere not able to shoot 

 any. We also occasionally saw the physalis, and flying fish, and 

 large cetacea spouted up the water through their spiracles. 



At noon, on the 9th of July, we once more gained sight of the 

 coast of Brazil^ in the neighbourhood of Buliia de todos os Santos. 

 We beheld beautiful chains of mountains, with thick clouds des- 

 cending over their summits. We could plainly see that partial 

 rain was falling, and at sea we experienced alternately heavy raia 

 and wind. We had reason to expect that in the evening, a smart 

 gale would blow from the coast, and we sailed forward during the 

 day ; but as the weather proved tranquil, we again stood out to 

 sea at night. On the 10th, the weather was fair, and the wind 

 favourable. We had passed the dangerous rocky islands called 

 Abrolhos, (which name is a contraction for Ahra os olhos, open the 

 eyes), and we could now steer in a direct course to Cabo Frio. In 

 he 22"* 23' south latitude, we observed a second species ot'pJiTjsalh^^ 



