ribed it in our trip up the
Amazon. It is about twelve feet in length; and a quiver containing a
dozen little pieces of very hard wood, sharp at one end, and fitted with
a bit of cotton-wadding at the other. Concealed by the luxuriant
foliage of the forest, the Indian, resting his sarbacan on the branch of
a tree, waits the near approach of his prey; then blowing out one of the
little polished arrows from the tube with his mouth, he invariably
strikes the ape, and brings him to the ground. What ensures the success
of this mode of hunting is, that it is carried on without the slightest
noise, and a whole troop of apes may be killed without their discovering
whence the death-dealing darts proceed. When we were on the Amazon we
did not know that the poor monkeys were killed in this way. I forgot to
mention before the beautiful regularity of the land and sea-breezes
which we experienced at this place. It was the dry season of the year,
and the air was wonderfully bright and clear. The atmosphere being in a
state of equilibrium (so the doctor told us), was ready to obey even the
slightest impulse, and to rush towards any spot where rarefaction was
taking place. Thus, at about ten in the morning, as the rays of the sun
gain power and shed their influence over the earth, the air from the sea
begins to move towards it. As rarefaction increases, so does the
strength of the wind, till by three or four in the afternoon it rushes
in with great force, creating a considerable sea, and if a vessel is not
well moored, driving her before it. Captain Frankland knew what to
expect, and was therefore prepared for the emergency.

On the afternoon of our return to Valparaiso, we put to sea. From the
cause I have mentioned respecting the strength of the sea-breeze, it is
necessary to make a good offing from the land. We therefore stood off
shore till we had sunk the tops of the Andes below the horizon. The
name of the _Pacific_ was given to this ocean by the Spaniards, who
first crossed the Isthmus of Panama, under the belief that the whole sea
was always as calm as was then the portion they beheld. Storms, if less
frequent, are certainly not less violent than in other portions of the
world. We certainly very frequently experienced the fickleness of the
elements. As we were about to haul up to the northward, the wind
suddenly shifted round to that very quarter, and then shifted somewhat
to the eastward. We stood away on the st