252 
till we came off* the island Formentara, when we veered 
to S. W. 
Wednesday, October 23d. We followed the W. 
S. W. point till sun-set, and then tacked about to E. 
N. E. 
Thursday, October 24th. At noon we veered about 
to S. E. i E. The wind got fresh, and at three in the 
afternoon we were surrounded by a very strange me- 
teor. The sea rose all at once, and instead of rolling in 
the usual way, the waves darted up vertically in pyra- 
mids or transparent cones with very pointed tops, keep- 
ing in this form for a long while, and without inclining 
to either side, till at last they sunk down in a perpen- 
dicular direction. The cause of these phenomena, which 
were not unlike water spouts, might originate in the 
electricity of some thick clouds, which were hovering 
above us, and which very probably produced this vio- 
lent attraction to be in an equilibrium with the electri- 
city of the sea. At the same time the wind got up, 
and the ship dancing over these pointed pyramids gave 
us some smart shocks, and the great size of the masts 
and rigging being out of proportion with the size of the 
ship, augmented the violence of its motion. As the port 
holes were open, the sea rushed in from all sides; we 
had unfortunately but two pumps, one of which being 
outcf repair, and the other in a bad condition, we could 
not get rid of the water; besides, the holes and conduits 
by which it was to run off, were filled up with bales, or 
other things, so that the ship was in danger of sinking 
every moment from the torrents which rushed in, and 
could get no vent. The ship's hold and between decks 
were quite full, and as we had no coast in sight, there 
