92 
CBUISE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGEB. 
U.S. flag-ship Lancaster , and a match with the Bahia 
Cricket Club, all tended to make our stay agreeable, 
which at length was cut short by the appearance of 
a case of yellow fever. The sufferer was landed, and 
on the 25th September we sailed to secure against 
the spread of the disease by seeking a colder climate. 
A section was now commenced across the Atlantic 
to the Cape of Good Hope. When clear of the land, 
sail was made, and with a pleasant breeze we raced 
on into cooler and healthier latitudes. It had been 
intended to sight and make a short stay off the little 
island of Trinidad, a rocky and barren spot, sur- 
rounded with a dangerous shore of almost unap- 
proachable, sharp, rugged rock, over which generally 
a rough and turbulent surf breaks, affording security 
to innumerable sea-birds, for whose refuge it seems 
expressly formed. 
Owing, however, to unfavourable winds and other 
causes, we were unable to get nearer than 300 miles; 
so our course was altered for Tristan d’Acunha. 
During the passage the usual programme of sound- 
ing and trawling was carried out when opportunities 
offered. The ocean seems teeming with animated 
organisms. The drift nets, which are always trailing 
behind us, get filled in a short time with immense 
numbers of little living creatures, pretty-looking red 
and blue cockles, sea-nettle, and various other in- 
habitants of the deep, many of the most minute size 
and delicate form and tint. 
