baptized those of their number who had never before crossed the
equator; it was a holyday for them on board. About two o'clock in the
afternoon we perceived a sail in the S.S.W. We were not a little
alarmed, believing that it was the same brig which we had seen some days
before; for it was lying to, as if awaiting our approach. We soon drew
near, and to our great joy discovered that she was a Portuguese; we
hailed her, and learned that she came from some part of South America,
and was bound to Pernambuco, on the coasts of Brazil. Very soon after we
began to see what navigators call the _Clouds of Magellan_: they are
three little white spots that one perceives in the sky almost as soon as
one passes the equator: they were situated in the S.S.W.

The 1st November, we began to see great numbers of aquatic birds. Toward
three o'clock P.M., we discovered a sail on our larboard, but did not
approach sufficiently near to speak her. The 3d, we saw two more sails,
making to the S.E. We passed the tropic of Capricorn on the 4th, with a
fine breeze, and in longitude 33° 27". We lost the trade-winds, and as
we advanced south the weather became cold and rainy. The 11th, we had a
calm, although the swell was heavy. We saw several turtles, and the
captain having sent out the small boat, we captured two of them. During
the night of the 11th and 12th, the wind changed to the N.E., and raised
a terrible tempest, in which the gale, the rain, the lightning, and
thunder, seemed to have sworn our destruction; the sea appeared all
a-fire, while our little vessel was the sport of winds and waves. We
kept the hatches closed, which did not prevent us from passing very
uncomfortable nights while the storm lasted; for the great heats that we
had experienced between the tropics, had so opened the seams of the deck
that every time the waves passed over, the water rushed down in
quantities upon our hammocks. The 14th, the wind shifted to the S.S.W.,
which compelled us to beat to windward. During the night we were struck