Page:Narrative of a Voyage around the World - 1843.djvu/74

 26 successively within a mile and a half of the shore surf, and an outer roller about half a mile from us on the last tack. The weather during the whole day was thick and hazy over the land, followed at nightfall by thunder, lightning, and rain. These symptoms of the approach of the bad season rendered me doubly anxious to get to the northward, as our crew were not at this period in the best condition, and the moist heat we experienced was very oppressive.

At daylight the weather hazy, and Cape Blanco still in sight. A short distance to the westward we observed a sandy sloping bluff, off which a shelf, apparently composed of sand, with conical studded rocks, extended a considerable distance to seaward. On a sandy islet near the bluff, two very remarkable ears jutting up, off which we tacked in thirteen and a half fathoms, sand.

On the 2nd, atmosphere hazy, breeze freshened considerably, which on the 3rd reduced us to double reefs, gradually decreasing towards daylight, when the Volcan de Leon, as well as that of Viego, were plainly seen, and particularly well defined. These strong breezes just at the point we met them, viz. off the Punta Santa Catalina, are the prevailing gusts termed Papagayos, which blow with great force out of that Gulf, and frequently cause the loss of spars. Many fish of large size were seen, and several dolphin caught.

At noon we had reached Point Desolada — a most