I should
not, however, omit to mention that Captain Runciman managed to bring
away with him four excellent York hams, which he presented to us, and
one of which we had to-day at dinner.
_Wednesday, October 4th_.--At 6 a.m., on going on deck I found we were
hove-to under steam and closely-reefed sails, a heavy gale blowing
from the south-west, right ahead. The screw was racing round in the
air every time we encountered an unusually big wave; the spray was
dashing over the vessel, and the water was rushing along the
deck--altogether an uncomfortable morning. As the sun rose, the gale
abated, and in the course of the day the reefs were shaken out of the
sails, one by one, until, by sunset, we were once more under whole
canvas, beating to windward. There were several cries of 'land ahead'
during the day, but in each case a closer examination, through a
glass, proved that the fancied coast-line or mountain-top existed only
in cloud-land.
_Thursday, October 5th_.--We made the land early, and most
uninteresting it looked, consisting, as it did, of a low sandy shore,
with a background of light clay-coloured cliffs. Not a vestige of
vegetation was anywhere to be seen, and I am quite at a loss to
imagine what the guanacos and ostriches, with which the chart tells us
the country hereabouts abounds, find to live upon.
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