402 TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. [^September, 
the bulwarks, deluging the decks, and making the old 
ship stagger like a drunken man. We passed an un- 
comfortable night, for a great sea broke into the cabin 
skylight and wetted us all, and the ship creaked and 
shook, and plunged so madly, that I feared something 
would give way, and we should go to the bottom after 
all ; all night, too, the pumps were kept going, for she 
leaked tremendously, and it was noon the next day 
before she was got free of water. The wind had now 
abated, and we soon had fine weather again, and all 
hands were busy bending new sails and repairing the 
old ones. 
We caught at different times several dolphins, which 
were not bad eating. I did not see so much to admire 
in the colours of the dying dolphin ; they are not to be 
compared with the colours of the living fish seen in the 
blue transparent water. 
We were now getting rather short of provisions, owing 
to the increased number of mouths : our cheese and & 
ham were finished, — then our peas gave out, and we had 
no more pea-soup, — -next the butter came to an end, and 
we had to eat our biscuit dry, — our bread and pork, 
too, got very short, and we had to be put upon allow- 
ance. We then got some supplies from another ship ; 
but our voyage was so much prolonged, and we had 
adverse winds and another heavy gale, so that we were 
again in want, finished our last piece of meat, and had 
to make some scanty dinners off biscuit and water. Again 
we were relieved with a little supply of pork and some 
molasses, and so managed pretty well. 
We were in the Channel on the night of the 29th of 
