But The Currents Among These Islands Set So Strongly To The North And North-West, That He Was Unable To Keep His Intended Course, And Was Still In Sight Of Fogo, One Of The Cape Verde Islands, On The 7th Of July.

This island is very high land on the south side, and looks at a distance like a great church

With a steeple at the east end, which is an exceedingly high rock, whence there usually breaks out much fire before the east winds blow, in the same manner as is seen at Teneriffe, Vesuvius, and Etna. From this last country of the Christians he held on his course S.W. till he came into only 5 deg. of north latitude, where he was becalmed, having till then been continually attended by the before-mentioned fog. The calms lasted eight days, with such violent heat as almost to burn the ships, and it was impossible during all that time for any of the people to remain below deck, and had not the sun been clouded with occasional rains, the admiral thought they would have been burnt up alive together with their ships. On the first day of the calm, being fair, nothing could withstand the heat, had not GOD relieved them with the rain and fog. Having therefore got a little way to the northwards into seven degrees of latitude, he resolved not to hold any farther to the south, but to sail due west in that parallel, at least till he saw how the weather settled, because he had lost many casks in consequence of the hoops starting with the great heat, and the corn and all other provisions were scorched up.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 237 of 789
Words from 65685 to 65968 of 219607