Page:Colnett - Voyage to the South Pacific (IA cihm 33242).djvu/154

 auages, indeed they became our ordinary food. Sea nakes were alo in great plenty, and many of the crew made a pleaant and nutritious meal of them.

We kept along the hore, under an eay ail, during the day and at night lay to. The winds were generally light and very variable, and we did not get off Acapulco till the nineteenth of December, the moon having then paed its full near three days, and the un approaching to its greatet Southern declination. As we had not lately experienced any changeable or bad weather, we entertained the pleaing hopes that the unfavourable eaon was nearly paed, but at un-et the blacket clouds I ever aw, gathered around us, and the ucceeding night produced rain, with thunder, lightning, and heavy qualls of wind from all points of the compas, but chiefly from South to Eat. The rain continued to pour, in never-ceaing torrents, throughout the following day; but on the winds inclining to the North of Eat the rain began to abate, and towards the evening it fell only in heavy howers, and faint lightning continued to gleam through the night; but it was not till ten o'clock A. M. on the twenty-firt, that the howers became moderate and we got ight of land: as we were within nine or ten leagues of it, with dark and unpromiing weather, we made ail off hore