42 
CALIFORNIA ILLUSTRATED. 
certain, whose pretensions were backed up by two hundred and 
forty pairs of such lungs. We had a light breeze and moored 
slowly out—the lights of the city gradually settling below the 
horizon. As we passed the islands an occasional light would 
appear and immediately vanish. Soon all nature was shrouded 
in darkness, and with the exception of an occasional creaking 
of the wheel, and a slight ripple at the prow, everything was 
still. 
In the morning we were running down along the coast of 
South America, the captain wishing to cross the equator, in 
order to fall in with the trade winds. We passed along very 
near the coast, having the Andes constantly in view, some of 
the peaks towering up, their heads buried in the blue ether of 
Heaven. 
We were often saluted by whales, sometimes coming up near 
the ship, throwing up a column of water, and passing under our 
keel, displaying to us their gigantic dimensions. We would 
sometimes run into schools of porpoises, extending almost to 
the horizon in every direction. We were constantly followed 
by sharks, accompanied by their pilots—the latter a most beau¬ 
tiful fish, from eight to twelve inches in length, striped in white 
and grey. It seemed strange that they should have been cre¬ 
ated to act as pilots to the “ terror of the deep.” The shark 
is always accompanid by one, and sometimes two or three. 
They generally swim a little in advance, but sometimes nestle 
along on the back of their huge master—as if to rest, and in 
case of emergency, are said to take refuge in his mouth. 
On the 6th we came in sight of “ Chimborazo,” the highest 
peak of the Andes, and the highest mountain on the western 
continent. It appears to penetrate the very heavens. It was 
surmounted by belts or layers of clouds, with sufficient space 
between to disclose the mountain. Below and above the first 
belt there was vegetation, above the second sterility, above the 
third, and towering on up, a covering of eternal snow. 
On the 12th we reached the Gallipagos islands, a group of 
volcanic formation, directly under the equator. They are not in¬ 
habited by man, but are the home of the terrapin. We passed 
very near, but as it was almost sunset, we did not lower our 
boat. We crossed the equator, and made one degree south 
