■xrtxirj -r?.-oe5aa»tE r. .-
58 CEUISMONIES llEMARKS. Feb.
at the time, and talk of it long afterwards, cannot easily be
iudo-ed of without being an eye-witness. _
Durin- the early ages of navigation, before the invention oi
the compass, somewhat similar, though really ceremonious
rites were observed in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian vessels,
when they passed the more remarkable promontories then
known. A modern voyager, Kotzebue, notices this subject m a
manner which appears to me so sensible, that I shall quote his
words without affecting to add another remark.
“ On the 11th of October we crossed the Equator, at twenty-
five degrees west longitude, reckoning from Greenwich. Hav-
ino- saluted the southern hemisphere by the firing of guns, our
crew proceeded to enact the usual ceremonies. A sailor, who
took pride in having frequently passed the line, directed the
performance with much solemnity and decorum. He appeared
as Neptune, attired in a manner that was meant to be terribly
imposing, accompanied by his consort, seated on a gun-carriage
instead of a shell, drawn by negroes, as substitutes for
tritons. In the evening the sailors represented, amidst general
applause, a comedy of their own composition.
“ These sports, while they serve to keep up the spirits ot the
men, and make them forget the difficulties they have to go
through, produce also the most beneficial influence upon their
health ; a cheerful man being much more capable of resisting
a fit of sickness than a melancholy one. I t is the duty of commanders
to use every innocent means of maintaining this temper
in their crews ; for, in long voyages, when they are several
months together wandering on an element not destined by nature
for the residence of man, without enjoying even occasionaUy the
recreations of the land, the mind naturally tends to melancholy,
which of itself lays the foundation of many diseases, and sometimes
even of insanity. Diversion is often the best medicine, and
used as a preservative, seldom fails of its effect.”-(K o tz eb u e ’s
Voyage, 1823-26.) . ^ ^ ^
Before sunset on the 19th we saw the island of Fernando
Noronha, with its singular peak towering aloft, and at midnight
anchored in the roadstead.
»!
1832. FERNANDO NORONHA. 59
Next morning I landed with difficulty for observations, the
surf being so high that any common boat would have been
swamped. By taking great care, our broad and well-built whaleboats
landed the instruments and a small party, and re-embarked
them afterwards, without accident.
We landed in a small bay under the (so called) citadel, hut
there is a safer and in every way preferable landing-place about
a mile to the northward. My object being chiefly to take
sights of the sun, for time, and compare the chronometers used '
on shore as soon as possible with those on board, I preferred
landing as near as I could to the place where the lamented
Captain Foster observed :—but it was difficult to ascertain
the house in which his pendulum observations were made. Not
even the governor could tell me, for he had arrived since Captain
Foster’s departure; and most of the inhabitants of the
island had changed their dwellings frequently, being all exiles
from Brazil.
The governor was a major in the Brazilian service, born at
Pernambuco, and under his command were tw'o hundred black
troops, and about eight hundred human beings, only thirty
of whom were women, and a very few children.
We obtained some fire-wood from one of the islets northward
of the principal island ; but it was full of centipedes and
other noxious insects, from which it was not easy to free it
even by charring and washing. Water we did not try to get,
because of the heavy surf, but there is no scarcity of it on
the island. Neither live-stock nor vegetables could be procured
from the apathetic inhabitants.
This place is rather picturesque ; and the lofty barren peak,
already mentioned, is conspicuous from every point of view.
Near the summit is a station from which a look-out is kept,
not only over all the island, hut over many leagues of the surrounding
sea ; so that neither ship nor boat can approach
or depart, during daylight, without being noticed.
No boats are allowed to he kept on the island, and no
intercourse is held with shipping without permission and the
strictest inspection.
We sailed from Fernando Noronha the same evening, passed
|il
I
Hi' ii
' i ::
i" :i7
-ii
¡'Il