D e S ,r . no eloulls were to be feen, yet the denfity o f the atmofphere in confe,
'— -v--- ' quenee of an aknoft continual dry haze or fog, fometitnes partial, and
at others general, was fuch, that diftant objects were not difeernible, and
thofe in our immediate neigbourhood were frequently obfcured. The
inconvenience however was. not felt in the fame degree by ,thofe whofe
occupations confined them to the ffiore.
On quitting Monterrey the preceding: year, I had made fome remarks
on the heat and cold at that time, but I had no opportunity of making any
freffi experiments for this purpofe on our late vifif. Our climate at fea
was much more uniform ; the mean height o f the mercury in tilt' thermometer
was about 62°, without varying more than 5“ in elevation or
depreffion; though, in a few inftances, for an hour or two in the day»
the heat was opprefli ve, and fome of the ■ nights were extremely cold»
The mercury in the barometer >vas alfo very uniform, not defcending
lower than 2g --goK^ or rifing above go1»- ag‘°th!; nor did the fhores indicate
their being fubjeft to frequent ftorms, or hard gales Of wind;
though it is imagined that the wind fometimes blows very ftrong from the
s .-e ., weft, and n .w . , at the diftance o f a few leagues from the coaft,.
from the heavy billows that roll in thofe directions, ,and break with great
fury on the ffiore. The furf that prevented our landing at Buena Ventura,
was attributed by the Spanifh refidents to the diftant operation o f
a ftrong foutherly gale, as the fwell came from that quarter. The n.w .
winds, however, are byfar the moll general, and occafion great difficulty
in paffing along thefe ffiores to the northward. The practice o f the
Spaniards is to ftand a great diftance into the ocean, until they, reach
far to the northward o f the ■ parallel of the port, whither they are-
bound, and then fleer for the land ; but from our obfervations, during
the time we were- navigating thefe ffiores, fuch a precaution did not appear
by any means ncceifary, at leaft at that feafon of the year; and
as this coaft had now been explored, and the direction of its ffiores and
epnfpiouous places .afcertained, fo far as our furvey had extended, I
was convinced that veffels,1 with the winds we had from the bay o f St.
Franoifco to point Conception, or indeed further to the northward»
would make as good a paffage with the affiftanee of the land-winds,
which
which in general blow from the eaft and fouth-caft to the north-weffward,
as they could make with the fea breeze to the fouth-eaftward, fince the
land wind prevails during a larger proportion o f the twenty-four hours
than the lea breeze, and frequently blows ftronger; befides which, mod
failing veffels would gain fome advantage, in the day time, by turning:
to windward with the fea; breeze, which generally blows fteadily and
moderately, over a fea that is frnooth and tranquil.
The abfence of rain, in the dry feafon, is in fome meafure compenfa-
ted by the- dews, Thefe frequently fall very heavily, ■ and tend to pre-
ferve the produftions o f nature from being' intirely deftroyed, though
not in fufficient quantity to keep in conftant aflion the fprings of vegetation.
Hence the dreary afpeft o f the country in moft fituations, which
is further increafed by the- general fcarcity o f running water, as’ the
whole country affords but a few fmall ftreams.
This very material difadvantage, fo repeatedly ftated already, we now
found to continue to the moft fouthern'extent of our refearches; the
country, however, did not* feem wholly deftitute o f this valuable article,
though it did not frequently difcover itfelf on its furface; and I entertain
little doubt, that by digging wells to a proper depth, a fufficient And'
excellent fupply for all domeftic purpofes would be obtained in moft
places. A t leaft, the recourfe that had been had to expedients o f this
nature, as well by ourfelves, as at fome of the miffions and Prefidios,
juftified me in this opinion; but the Spaniards, contented with the brackiffi
pools o f water, already formed to their hand, for the fupply of their
fhipping, are too inaftive to fearch for better, or to draw into one ftream
the feveral fmall branches that exift on the furface for a fmall extent, and
then are loft, either by exhalation from the fun, or the abforption o f the
thirfty foil. -
The climate feems to be as healthy at St. Diego, and in the canal of
S'* Barbara, as at Monterrey ; the falubrity o f which was mentioned on
our former vifit. The foil of the country, at leaft that fmall portion of
it that fell under my immediate infpeftion, at and to the northward of
St. Diego along the fea coaft, appeared o f a light and fandy nature, varying
in point of fertility; yet none feemed to be naturally fteril, al-
3'R 2 though
<79'3'-
-D-ecember.