Appendix B: Sentiment Phrases From A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, by section. (no location) Not lovable , like the Sandwich Islands , but beautiful in its own way ! A strictly North American beauty -- snow-splotched mountains , huge pines , red-woods , sugar pines , silver spruce ; a crystalline atmosphere , waves of the richest color ; and a pine-hung lake which mirrors all beauty on its surface . CALIFORNIA The engines and tenders were succeeded by a baggage car , the latter loaded with bullion and valuable parcels , and in charge of two `` express agents . '' Each of these cars is forty-five feet long . TRUCKEE A man came in and said that when the cars were gone he would try to get me a room , but they were so full that it would be a very poor one . It was then 11:30 P.M. , and I had not had a meal since 6 A.M. ; but when I asked hopefully for a hot supper , with tea , I was told that no supper could be got at that hour ; but in half an hour the same man returned with a small cup of cold , weak tea , and a small slice of bread , which looked as if it had been much handled . The forest was thick , and had an undergrowth of dwarf spruce and brambles , but as the horse had become fidgety and `` scary '' on the track , I turned off in the idea of taking a short cut , and was sitting carelessly , shortening my stirrup , when a great , dark , hairy beast rose , crashing and snorting , out of the tangle just in front of me . JOURNEY It lies at a height of 6,000 feet , and the snow-crowned summits which wall it in are from 8,000 to 11,000 feet in altitude . The air is keen and elastic . It is a weariness to go back , even in thought , to the clang of San Francisco , which I left in its cold morning fog early yesterday , driving to the Oakland ferry through streets with side-walks heaped with thousands of cantaloupe and water-melons , tomatoes , cucumbers , squashes , pears , grapes , peaches , apricots -- all of startling size as compared with any I ever saw before . Other streets were piled with sacks of flour , left out all night , owing to the security from rain at this season . I pass hastily over the early part of the journey , the crossing the bay in a fog as chill as November , the number of `` lunch baskets , '' which gave the car the look of conveying a great picnic party , the last view of the Pacific , on which I had looked for nearly a year , the fierce sunshine and brilliant sky inland , the look of long RAINLESSNESS , which one may not call drought , the valleys with sides crimson with the poison oak , the dusty vineyards , with great purple clusters thick among the leaves , and between the vines great dusty melons lying on the dusty earth . From off the boundless harvest fields the grain was carried in June , and it is now stacked in sacks along the track , awaiting freightage . In the dusty orchards the apple and pear branches are supported , that they may not break down under the weight of fruit ; melons , tomatoes , and squashes of gigantic size lie almost unheeded on the ground ; fat cattle , gorged almost to repletion , shade themselves under the oaks ; superb `` red '' horses shine , not with grooming , but with condition ; and thriving farms everywhere show on what a solid basis the prosperity of the `` Golden State '' is founded . Very uninviting , however rich , was the blazing Sacramento Valley , and very repulsive the city of Sacramento , which , at a distance of 125 miles from the Pacific , has an elevation of only thirty feet . The mercury stood at 103 degrees in the shade , and the fine white dust was stifling . In the late afternoon we began the ascent of the Sierras , whose sawlike points had been in sight for many miles . The dusty fertility was all left behind , the country became rocky and gravelly , and deeply scored by streams bearing the muddy wash of the mountain gold mines down to the muddier Sacramento . There were long broken ridges and deep ravines , the ridges becoming longer , the ravines deeper , the pines thicker and larger , as we ascended into a cool atmosphere of exquisite purity , and before 6 P.M. the last traces of cultivation and the last hardwood trees were left behind . -LRB- 1 -RRB- In consequence of the unobserved omission of a date to my letters having been pointed out to me , I take this opportunity of stating that I traveled in Colorado in the autumn and early winter of 1873 , on my way to England from the Sandwich Islands . The letters are a faithful picture of the country and state of society as it then was ; but friends who have returned from the West within the last six months tell me that things are rapidly changing , that the frame house is replacing the log cabin , and that the footprints of elk and bighorn may be sought for in vain on the dewy slopes of Estes Park . They were all very diminutive , five feet one inch being , I should think , about the average height , with flat noses , wide mouths , and black hair , cut straight above the eyes and hanging lank and long at the back and sides . The men carried short bows and arrows , one of them , who appeared to be the chief , having a lynx 's skin for a quiver . So sharp and frequent are the curves on some parts of the ascent , that on looking out of the window one could seldom see more than a part of the train at once . At Cape Horn , where the track curves round the ledge of a precipice 2,500 feet in depth , it is correct to be frightened , and a fashion of holding the breath and shutting the eyes prevails , but my fears were reserved for the crossing of a trestle bridge over a very deep chasm , which is itself approached by a sharp curve . This bridge appeared to be overlapped by the cars so as to produce the effect of looking down directly into a wild gulch , with a torrent raging along it at an immense depth below . One of these sheds is twenty-seven miles long . Truckee , the center of the `` lumbering region '' of the Sierras , is usually spoken of as `` a rough mountain town , '' and Mr. W. had told me that all the roughs of the district congregated there , that there were nightly pistol affrays in bar-rooms , etc. , but as he admitted that a lady was sure of respect , and Mr. G. strongly advised me to stay and see the lakes , I got out , much dazed , and very stupid with sleep , envying the people in the sleeping car , who were already unconscious on their luxurious couches . The cars drew up in a street -- if street that could be called which was only a wide , cleared space , intersected by rails , with here and there a stump , and great piles of sawn logs bulking big in the moonlight , and a number of irregular clap-board , steep-roofed houses , many of them with open fronts , glaring with light and crowded with men . We had pulled up at the door of a rough Western hotel , with a partially open front , being a bar-room crowded with men drinking and smoking , and the space between it and the cars was a moving mass of loafers and passengers . On the tracks , engines , tolling heavy bells , were mightily moving , the glare from their cyclopean eyes dulling the light of a forest which was burning fitfully on a mountain side ; and on open spaces great fires of pine logs were burning cheerily , with groups of men round them . Mountains -- the Sierras of many a fireside dream -- seemed to wall in the town , and great pines stood out , sharp and clear cut , against a sky in which a moon and stars were shining frostily . It was a sharp frost at that great height , and when an `` irrepressible rigger , '' who seemed to represent the hotel establishment , deposited me and my carpetbag in a room which answered for `` the parlor , '' I was glad to find some remains of pine knots still alight in the stove . This man , the very type of a Western pioneer , bowed , threw himself into a rocking-chair , drew a spittoon beside him , cut a fresh quid of tobacco , began to chew energetically , and put his feet , cased in miry high boots , into which his trousers were tucked , on the top of the stove . He said he had horses which would both `` lope '' and trot , that some ladies preferred the Mexican saddle , that I could ride alone in perfect safety ; and after a route had been devised , I hired a horse for two days . I was afterwards told that the usual regular hours of sleep are not observed there . The accommodation is too limited for the population of 2,000 , -LRB- 2 -RRB- which is masculine mainly , and is liable to frequent temporary additions , and beds are occupied continuously , though by different occupants , throughout the greater part of the twenty-four hours . Men 's coats and sticks were hanging up , miry boots were littered about , and a rifle was in one corner . There was no window to the outer air , but I slept soundly , being only once awoke by an increase of the same din in which I had fallen asleep , varied by three pistol shots fired in rapid succession . This morning Truckee wore a totally different aspect . A sleepy German waiter seemed the only person about the premises , the open drinking saloons were nearly empty , and only a few sleepy-looking loafers hung about in what is called the street . Putting a minimum of indispensables into a bag , and slipping on my Hawaiian riding dress -LRB- 3 -RRB- over a silk skirt , and a dust cloak over all , I stealthily crossed the plaza to the livery stable , the largest building in Truckee , where twelve fine horses were stabled in stalls on each side of a broad drive . Some ladies , he said , used the horn of the Mexican saddle , but none `` in the part '' rode cavalier fashion . I could not ride any distance in the conventional mode , and was just going to give up this splendid `` ravage , '' when the man said , `` Ride your own fashion ; here , at Truckee , if anywhere in the world , people can do as they like . '' In no time a large gray horse was `` rigged out '' in a handsome silver-bossed Mexican saddle , with ornamental leather tassels hanging from the stirrup guards , and a housing of black bear 's - skin . I strapped my silk skirt on the saddle , deposited my cloak in the corn-bin , and was safely on the horse 's back before his owner had time to devise any way of mounting me . All was bright with that brilliancy of sky and atmosphere , that blaze of sunshine and universal glitter , which I never saw till I came to California , combined with an elasticity in the air which removed all lassitude , and gives one spirit enough for anything . On either side of the Truckee great sierras rose like walls , castellated , embattled , rifted , skirted and crowned with pines of enormous size , the walls now and then breaking apart to show some snow-slashed peak rising into a heaven of intense , unclouded , sunny blue . At this altitude of 6,000 feet one must learn to be content with varieties of Coniferae , for , except for aspens , which spring up in some places where the pines have been cleared away , and for cotton-woods , which at a lower level fringe the streams , there is nothing but the bear cherry , the raspberry , the gooseberry , the wild grape , and the wild currant . None of these grew near the Truckee , but I feasted my eyes on pines -LRB- 4 -RRB- which , though not so large as the Wellingtonia of the Yosemite , are really gigantic , attaining a height of 250 feet , their huge stems , the warm red of cedar wood , rising straight and branchless for a third of their height , their diameter from seven to fifteen feet , their shape that of a larch , but with the needles long and dark , and cones a foot long . Pines cleft the sky ; they were massed wherever level ground occurred ; they stood over the Truckee at right angles , or lay across it in prostrate grandeur . Their stumps and carcasses were everywhere ; and smooth `` shoots '' on the sierras marked where they were shot down as `` felled timber , '' to be floated off by the river . To them this wild region owes its scattered population , and the sharp ring of the lumberer 's axe mingles with the cries of wild beasts and the roar of mountain torrents . The track is a soft , natural , wagon road , very pleasant to ride on . The horse was much too big for me , and had plans of his own ; but now and then , where the ground admitted to it , I tried his heavy `` lope '' with much amusement . I had only a glimpse of him , and thought that my imagination had magnified a wild boar , but it was a bear . I walked for nearly an hour , heated and hungry , when to my joy I saw the ox-team halted across the top of a gorge , and one of the teamsters leading the horse towards me . He said that the woods in the neighborhood of Tahoe had been full of brown and grizzly bears for some days , but that no one was in any danger from them . I took a long gallop beyond the scene of my tumble to quiet the horse , who was most restless and troublesome . Then the river became broad and still , and mirrored in its transparent depths regal pines , straight as an arrow , with rich yellow and green lichen clinging to their stems , and firs and balsam pines filling up the spaces between them , the gorge opened , and this mountain-girdled lake lay before me , with its margin broken up into bays and promontories , most picturesquely clothed by huge sugar pines . It lay dimpling and scintillating beneath the noonday sun , as entirely unspoilt as fifteen years ago , when its pure loveliness was known only to trappers and Indians . In the dense forests which bound it , and drape two-thirds of its gaunt sierras , are hordes of grizzlies , brown bears , wolves , elk , deer , chipmunks , martens , minks , skunks , foxes , squirrels , and snakes . The sinking sun is out of sight behind the western Sierras , and all the pine-hung promontories on this side of the water are rich indigo , just reddened with lake , deepening here and there into Tyrian purple . The peaks above , which still catch the sun , are bright rose-red , and all the mountains on the other side are pink ; and pink , too , are the far-off summits on which the snow-drifts rest . Indigo , red , and orange tints stain the still water , which lies solemn and dark against the shore , under the shadow of stately pines . An hour later , and a moon nearly full -- not a pale , flat disc , but a radiant sphere -- has wheeled up into the flushed sky . The sunset has passed through every stage of beauty , through every glory of color , through riot and triumph , through pathos and tenderness , into a long , dreamy , painless rest , succeeded by the profound solemnity of the moonlight , and a stillness broken only by the night cries of beasts in the aromatic forests . LAKE TAHOE Lake Tahoe is before me , a sheet of water twenty-two miles long by ten broad , and in some places 1,700 feet deep . From A Woman’s Journey Round the World, by section. (no location) DEPARTURE FROM VIENNA -- STAY IN HAMBURGH -- STEAMERS AND SAILING VESSELS -- DEPARTURE FROM HAMBURGH -- CUXHAVEN -- THE BRITISH CHANNEL -- FLYING-FISH -- THE PHISOLIDA -- CONSTELLATIONS -- PASSING THE LINE -- THE `` VAMPEROS '' -- A GALE AND STORM -- CAPE FRIO -- ARRIVAL IN THE PORT OF RIO JANEIRO . I arrived in Hamburgh on the 12th of May ; and , as early as the 13th , might have embarked on board a fine fast-sailing brig , which , besides , was christened the `` Ida , '' like myself . THE 4TH OF JULY The 4th of July was a beautifully fine day , for those who could remain quietly on shore ; but for those on board ship it was bad enough , as there was not the slightest breath of wind stirring . 5th July . Nothing is so changeable as the weather : yesterday we were revelling in sunshine , and today we were surrounded by a thick , dark fog ; and yet this , bad as it was , we found more agreeable than the fine weather of the day before , for a slight breeze sprang up , and at nine o'clock in the morning , we heard the rattling of the capstan , as the anchor was being weighed . Unfortunately , great fears are entertained that this watering-place can not exist much longer , as every year the island decreases in size , from the continual falling away of large masses of rock , so that some day the whole place may disappear into the sea . From the 5th to the 10th of July , we had continued stormy and cold weather , with a heavy sea , and great rolling of the ship . They glittered and shone with an intensity of color which surpassed even those of the rainbow . JOURNEY On the first of May , 1846 , I left Vienna , and , with the exception of slight stoppages at Prague , Dresden , and Leipsic , proceeded directly to Hamburgh , there to embark for the Brazils . I had a second most interesting meeting on the steamer from Prague to Dresden , namely , with the widow of Professor Mikan . With a heavy heart I saw this fine vessel set sail . I had now before me a long voyage , which could not be made under two months at the least , and which , possibly , might last three or four . On board a steamer everything is agreeable and luxurious ; the vessel pursues her rapid course independent of the wind , and the passengers enjoy good and fresh provisions , spacious cabins , and excellent society . In sailing vessels all this is very different , as , with the exception of the large East Indiamen , they are not fitted up for passengers . In them the cargo is looked upon as the principal thing , and in the eyes of the crew passengers are a troublesome addition , whose comfort is generally very little studied . The captain is the only person who takes any interest in them , since a third or even the half of the passage-money falls to his share . Besides this , the motion of a sailing vessel is much stronger than that of a steamer ; on the latter , however , many affirm that the eternal vibration , and the disagreeable odour of the oil and coals , are totally insupportable . The passenger is there a complete slave to every whim or caprice of the captain , who is an absolute sovereign and holds uncontrolled sway over everything . Even the food depends upon his generosity , and although it is generally not absolutely bad , in the best instances , it is not equal to that on board a steamer . On rare occasions , ham , eggs , fish , pancakes , or even skinny fowls , are served out . It is very seldom , in small ships , that bread can be procured . The most suitable are : portable soup and captain 's biscuit -- both of which should be kept in tin canisters to preserve them from mouldiness and insects -- a good quantity of eggs , which , when the vessel is bound for a southern climate , should first be dipped in strong lime-water or packed in coal-dust ; rice , potatoes , sugar , butter , and all the ingredients for making sangaree and potato-salad , the former being very strengthening and the latter very cooling . These can be purchased very cheaply in any seaport town . The office of washerwoman is filled by a sailor , so that it may easily be imagined that the linen does not return from the wash in the best possible condition . When the sailors are employed in shifting the sails , great care must be taken to avoid injury by the falling of any of the ropes . But all these inconveniences are comparatively trifling ; the greatest amount of annoyance begins towards the end of the voyage . At sea he allows her to wear an easy neglige , but in port she must appear in full dress . Not a sign of the long voyage , of the storms , of the glowing heat she has suffered , must be visible . Then begins an incessant hammering , planing , and sawing ; every flaw , every crack or injury is made good , and , to wind up , the whole vessel is painted afresh . The worst of all , however , is the hammering when the cracks in the deck are being repaired and filled up with pitch . I have described them merely to prepare , in some degree , those who have never been to sea . Very often we hardly know how a steamer or a sailing vessel looks , much less the mode of life on board them . I speak from experience , and know too well what I myself suffered on my first voyage , simply because , not having been warned beforehand , I took nothing with me save a small stock of linen and clothes . At present I will proceed with the progress of my voyage . We embarked on the evening of the 28th of June , and weighed anchor before daybreak of the 29th . The voyage did not commence in any very encouraging manner ; we had very little , in fact almost no wind at all , and compared to us every pedestrian appeared to be running a race : we made the nine miles to Blankenese in seven hours . Luckily the slow rate at which we proceeded was not so disagreeable , as , at first , for a considerable period we beheld the magnificent port , and afterwards could admire , on the Holstein side , the beautiful country houses of the rich Hamburghers , situated upon charming eminences and surrounded by lovely gardens . The opposite side , belonging to Hanover , is as flat and monotonous as the other is beautiful . About here the Elbe , in many places , is from three to four miles broad . This water , although of a dirty and thick appearance , is said to possess the valuable quality of resisting putridity for years . As there was not now a breath of wind , we were entirely at the mercy of the stream , and began drifting back . The four cabin places were taken by Count B -- , myself , and two young people who hoped to make their fortune sooner in the Brazils than in Europe . In the steerage , besides two worthy tradesmen , was a poor old woman who was going , in compliance with the wish of her only son , who had settled in the Brazils , to join him there , and a married woman whose husband had been working as a tailor for the last six years in Rio Janeiro . People soon become acquainted on board ship , and generally endeavor to agree as well as possible , in order to render the monotony of a long voyage at all supportable . On the 1st of July we again set sail in rather stormy weather . Towards evening we saw some dolphins , called also _ tummler _ , or tumblers , as well as several gulls , which announced to us that we were fast nearing the sea . A great many vessels passed quickly by us . they could turn to account the storm and wind which swelled out their sails , and drove them rapidly towards the neighbouring port . We grudged them their good fortune ; and perhaps we had to thank this specimen of Christian love on our part , that on the 3rd of July , we had not got further than Cuxhaven , seventy-four miles from Hamburgh . We visited the town , as well as the bathing establishment and the lighthouse , and afterwards actually proceeded as far as a place called the `` Bush , '' where , as we were told , we should find a great abundance of strawberries . In consequence of this , the young people were obliged to give up the idea of an excursion to the Bush , and defer all dancing with pretty girls until their arrival in another hemisphere , for it was fated that they should not set foot in Europe again . The transition from the Elbe to the North Sea is scarcely perceptible , as the Elbe is not divided into different channels , but is eight or ten miles broad at its mouth . It almost forms a small sea of itself , and has even the green hue of one . We were , consequently , very much surprised , on hearing the captain exclaim , in a joyful tone , `` We are out of the river at last . '' In the afternoon , we bore in sight of the island of Heligoland , which belongs to the English , and presented really a magical appearance , as it rose out from the sea . It is a barren , colossal rock ; and had I not learned , from one of the newest works on geography , that it was peopled by about 2,500 souls , I should have supposed the whole island to have been uninhabited . On three sides , the cliffs rise so precipitously from the waves , that all access is impossible . We sailed by the place at a considerable distance , and saw only the towers of the church and lighthouse , in addition to the so-called `` Monk , '' a solitary , perpendicular rock , that is separated from the main body , between which and it there sparkles a small strip of sea . All we poor `` land-lubbers '' were suffering from sea sickness . We awaited with impatience the rising of the sun , which would display to our gaze two of the mightiest powers in Europe . Luckily , the day was fine and clear , and the two kingdoms lay before us , in such magnificence and proximity , that the beholder was almost inclined to believe that a sister people inhabited both countries . Opposite Dover , at the narrowest part of the channel , we distinguished , on the French coast , Cape Grisnez , where Napoleon erected a small building , in order , it is said , to be at least able to see England ; and , further on , the obelisk raised in memory of the camp at Boulogne , by Napoleon , but completed under Louis Philippe . The wind being unfavourable , we were obliged , during the night , to tack in the neighborhood of Dover . The great darkness which covered both land and sea rendered this maneuvre a very dangerous one ; firstly , on account of the proximity of the coast ; and , secondly , on account of the number of vessels passing up and down the channel . To avoid a collision , we hung out a lantern on the foremast , while , from time to time , a torch was lighted , and held over the side , and the bell frequently kept sounding : all very alarming occurrences to a person unused to the sea . For fourteen days were we prisoners in the 360 miles of the Channel , remaining very often two or three days , as if spell-bound , in the same place , while we were frequently obliged to cruise for whole days to make merely a few miles ; and near Start we were overtaken by a tolerably violent storm . During the night I was suddenly called upon deck . In the wake of the vessel I behold a streak of fire so strong that it would have been easy to read by its light ; the water round the ship looked like a glowing stream of lava , and every wave , as it rose up , threw out sparks of fire . The track of the fish was surrounded by dazzling inimitable brilliancy , and far and wide everything was one dazzling coruscation . This extraordinary illumination of the sea is of very unfrequent occurrence , and rarely happens after long-continued , violent storms . The captain told me that he had never yet beheld the sea so lighted up . We had full leisure to contemplate Eddystone Lighthouse , which is the most celebrated building of the kind in Europe , as we were cruising about for two days in sight of it . Its height , and the boldness and strength with which it is built , are truly wonderful ; but still more wonderful is its position upon a dangerous reef , situated ten miles from the coast ; at a distance , it seems to be founded in the sea itself . We often sailed so near the coast of Cornwall , that not only could we plainly perceive every village , but even the people in the streets and in the open country . The land is hilly and luxuriant , and appears carefully cultivated . During the whole time of our cruising in the Channel , the temperature was cold and raw , the thermometer seldom being higher than 65 to 75 degrees Fah . The captain threw several pieces of white crockeryware , as well as a number of large bones overboard , to show how beautifully green such objects appeared as they slowly sank down beneath the sea ; of course this can only be seen in a perfect calm . In the evening we were greatly delighted by numbers of moluscae shining through the water ; they looked exactly like so many floating stars , about the size of a man 's hand ; even by day we could perceive them beneath the waves . They are of a brownish red , and in form resemble a toadstool ; many had a thick pedicle , somewhat fimbriated on the under part ; others , instead of the pedicle , had a number of threads hanging down from them . 4th August . This was the first day that it was announced by the heat that we were in a southern latitude ; but , as was also the case the following day , the clear dark blue sky that generally overarches the Mediterranean in such exceeding loveliness , was still wanting . We were now off Morocco , and were fortunate enough today to perceive a great number of bonitos . Every one on board bestirred himself , and on every side fish hooks were cast overboard ; unluckily only one bonito allowed himself to be entrapped by our friendly invitations ; he made a dart at the bait , and his good-natured confidence procured us a fresh meal , of which we had long been deprived . The sun was rising as the little island of Porto Santo greeted our sight . It is formed of peaked mountains , which , by their shape , betray their volcanic origin . A few miles in advance of the island stands the beautiful Falcon Rock , like a sentinel upon the look-out . We sailed past Madeira -LRB- 23 miles from Porto Santo -RRB- the same day , but unluckily at such a distance that we could only perceive the long mountain chains by which the island is intersected . Near Madeira lie the rocky Deserta Islands , which are reckoned as forming part of Africa . Near these islands we passed a vessel running under reefed sails before the wind , whence the captain concluded that she was a cruiser looking after slavers . On the 7th of August we neared the Canary Isles , but unfortunately , on account of the thick fog , we could not see them . We now caught the trade wind , that blows from the east , and is anxiously desired by all sailors . We were now in daily expectation of greater heat and a clearer sky , but met with neither . The atmosphere was dull and hazy , and even in our own raw fatherland the sky could not have been so overcast , except upon some days in November . Every evening the clouds were piled upon one another in such a way that we were continually expecting to see a water-spout ; it was generally not before midnight that the heavens would gradually clear up , and allow us to admire the beautiful and dazzling constellations of the South . The captain told us that this was the fourteenth voyage he had made to the Brazils , during which time he had always found the heat very easily borne , and had never seen the sky otherwise than dull and lowering . He said that this was occasioned by the damp , unhealthy coast of Guinea , the ill effects of which were perceptible much further than where we then were , although the distance between us was 350 miles . In the tropics the quick transition from day to night is already very perceptible ; 35 or 40 minutes after the setting of the sun the deepest darkness reigns around . The difference in the length of day and night decreases more and more the nearer you approach the Equator . At the Equator itself the day and night are of equal duration . All the 14th and 15th of August we sailed parallel with the Cape de Verde Islands , from which we were not more than 23 miles distant , but which , on account of the hazy state of the weather , we could not see . During this period we used to be much amused by small flocks of flying-fish , which very often rose from the water so near the ship 's side that we were enabled to examine them minutely . They are generally of the size and color of a herring ; their side fins , however , are longer and broader , and they have the power of spreading and closing them like little wings . When they were flying at some distance from the ship they really looked like elegant birds . We very frequently saw the bonitos also , who were pursuing them , endeavor to raise themselves above the water , but they seldom succeeded in raising more than their head . It is very difficult to catch one of these little denizens of the air , as they are to be secured neither by nets or hooks ; but sometimes the wind will drive them , during the night , upon the deck , where they are discovered , in the morning , dead , not having sufficient strength to raise themselves from dry places ; in this way I obtained a few specimens . Today , August 15th , we enjoyed a most interesting sight . We happened , exactly at 12 o'clock , to be in the sun 's zenith , and the sunbeams fell so perpendicularly that every object was perfectly shadowless . We put books , chairs , ourselves in the sun , and were highly delighted with this unusual kind of amusement . Luckily we had chanced to be at the right spot at the right time ; had we , at the same hour , been only one degree nearer or one degree further , we should have lost the entire sight ; when we saw it we were 14 degrees 6 ' -LRB- a minute is equal to a nautical mile -RRB- . All observations with the sextant -LCB- 9 -RCB- were out of the question until we were once more some degrees from the zenith . 17th August . Shoals of tunny-fish , -LRB- fish four and five feet long , and belonging to the dolphin tribe , -RRB- were seen tumbling about the ship . A harpoon was quickly procured , and one of the sailors sent out with it on the bowsprit ; but whether he had bad luck , or was unskilled in the art of harpooning , he missed his mark . The most wonderful part of the story , though , was that all the fish disappeared as if by magic , and did not appear again for some days ; it seemed as if they had whispered and warned each other of the threatened danger . All the oftener , however , did we see another inhabitant of the sea , namely , that beautiful mollusca , the physolida , called by the sailors Portugiesisches Segel-schiff ; -LRB- Portuguese sailing-ship . -RRB- When floating upon the surface of the sea , with its long crest , which it can elevate or depress at pleasure , it really resembles a delicate tiny little sailing vessel . Necessity , however , is the mother of invention ; so I manufactured a knitting needle of wood , unravelled some thick string , and in a few hours possessed a net . Very soon afterwards a mollusca had been captured , and placed in a tub filled with sea water . The little creature 's body is about six inches long and two inches high ; the crest extends over the whole of the back , and in the middle , where it is highest , measures about an inch and a half . Both the crest and body are transparent , and appear as if tinged with rose color ; from the belly , which is violet , are suspended a number of threads or arms of the same color . After the animal was dead , the crest remained erect , and the body perfectly filled out , but the beautiful rose color gradually changed to white . 18th August . Between 1 and 2 degrees , or 3 degrees North latitude , frequent changes in the weather are very common . The deck was instantaneously transformed into a lake , while at the same time the wind had so completely fallen that even the rudder enjoyed a holiday . We were now very near the Equator , and , like all other travellers , wished very much to see the celebrated constellations of the south . I myself was most interested in the Southern Cross ; and , as I could not find it among the stars , I begged the captain to point it out to me . With his help , we really did discover in the spangled firmament four stars , which had something of the form of a somewhat crooked cross , but were certainly not remarkable in themselves , nor did they excite the least enthusiasm amongst us . A most magnificent spectacle was , on the contrary , formed by Orion , Jupiter , and Venus ; the latter , indeed , shone so brilliantly that her gleams formed a silver furrow across the waves . The great frequency of falling stars is another fact that I can not corroborate . They are , perhaps , more frequent than in cold climates , but are far from being as common as is said : and as for their size , I saw only one which surpassed ours ; and this appeared about three times as large as an ordinary star . The first are bright , and , like the Milky Way , are formed of numberless small stars , invisible to the naked eye ; the latter presents a black appearance , and is said to be produced by the absence of all stars whatever from this part of the heavens . One of the passengers had brought with him a bottle or two of champagne to celebrate the event : the corks sprang gaily in the air , and with a joyful `` huzza , '' the health of the new hemisphere was drunk . This is at present the case in most vessels , as such amusements seldom end without drunkenness and disorder . Long before passing the line , we passengers had frequently spoken of all the sufferings and tortures we should be subjected to at the Equator . One expected headache or colic ; a second had pictured to himself the sailors falling down from exhaustion ; a third dreaded such a fearful degree of heat , that it would not only melt the pitch , -LCB- 11 -RCB- but would so dry up the ship , that nothing but continual throwing water over it could prevent its catching fire ; while a fourth feared that all the provisions would be spoilt , and ourselves nearly starved to death . We all remained in perfectly good health ; not a sailor sank exhausted ; the ship did not catch fire ; and the provisions were not spoilt -- they were just as bad as before . 3rd September . From 2 to 3 degrees South latitude the wind is very irregular , and frequently excessively violent . Today we passed the 8 degrees South latitude , without seeing land , which put the captain in the best of humors . He explained to us , that if we had seen land , we should have been obliged to retrace our course almost to the line , because the current sets in with such violence towards the land , that the voyage could only be made at a proper distance . 7th September . Between 10 and 20 degrees South latitude we again met with very peculiar prevalent winds . They are called vamperos ; and oblige the sailor to be always on his guard , as they spring up very suddenly , and are often extremely violent . We were overtaken by one during the night , but , luckily , it was not of the worst kind . On the 9th and 11th of September , we encountered some short gusts of the vamperos , the most violent being the last . 12th and 13th of September . The first was termed by the captain merely `` a stiffish breeze ; '' but the second was entered in the log -LCB- 12 -RCB- as `` a storm . '' The stiffish breeze cost us one sail ; the storm , two . During the time it lasted , the sea ran so high , that it was with the greatest difficulty we could eat . With one hand we were obliged to grasp the plate , and at the same time to hold fast on to the table , while , with the other , we managed , with considerable difficulty , to convey the food to our mouth . At night , I was obliged to `` stow '' myself firmly in my berth with my cloaks and dresses , to protect my body from being bruised black and blue . On the morning of the 13th , I was on deck at break of day . The helmsman led me to the side of the vessel , and told me to hold my head overboard , and inhale the air . I looked round in astonishment , and imagined that I must already be able to see the land : it was , however , still far distant , the soft perfume being merely drifted to us by the wind . It was very remarkable that inside the ship this perfume was not at all perceptible . The sea itself was covered with innumerable dead butterflies and moths , which had been carried out to sea by the storm . The horizon , however , was lowering and hazy , and the sun had not force enough to tear the murky veil asunder . We looked forward with joy to the next morning , but during the night were overtaken by another storm , which lasted until 2 o'clock . The ship 's course was changed , and she was driven as far as possible into the open sea ; so that , in the end , we were glad enough to reach , the next day , the same position we had occupied the morning before . Today we caught no glimpse of land ; but a few gulls and albatrosses from Cape Frio warned us that we were near it , and afforded us some little amusement . They swam close up to the ship 's side , and eagerly swallowed every morsel of bread or meat that was thrown to them . The sailors tried to catch some with a hook and line , and were fortunate enough to succeed . They were placed upon the deck , and , to my great surprise , I perceived that they were unable to raise themselves from it . If we touched them , they merely dragged themselves , with great difficulty , a few paces further , although they could rise very easily from the surface of the water , and fly extremely high . One of the gentlemen was exceedingly anxious to kill and stuff one of them , but the superstition of the sailors was opposed to this . They said that if birds were killed on board ship , their death would be followed by long calms . We yielded to their wishes and restored the little creatures to the air and waves , their native elements . This was another proof that superstition is still deep-rooted in the minds of sailors . Of this we had afterwards many other instances . Empty casks or logs of wood were also very frequently thrown overboard during a calm -- probably as sacrifices to the deities of the winds . On the morning of the 16th of September we at last had the good fortune to perceive the mountains before Rio Janeiro , and soon singled out the Sugarloaf . Immediately at the entrance of the bay are several conical rocks , some of which , like the Sugarloaf , rise singly from the sea , while others are joined at the base , and are almost inaccessible . -LCB- 13 -RCB- Between these `` ocean mountains , '' if I may be allowed the expression , are seen the most remarkably beautiful views ; now extraordinary ravines , then some charmingly situated quarter of the town , presently the open sea , and the moment after some delightful bay . From the bay itself , at the end of which the capital is built , rise masses of rock , serving as foundations to different fortifications . Ships are obliged to pass as near as possible to one of the largest of the latter , namely , Santa Cruz , in order that their papers may be examined . From this fortress , to the right , stretches the beautiful mountain range of the Serados-Orgoas , which , in conjunction with other mountains and hills , fringes a lovely bay , on the shores of which lie the little town of Praya-grande , some few villages and detached farmhouses . At the extremity of the principal bay , stands Rio Janeiro , surrounded by a tolerably high chain of mountains -LRB- among which is the Corcovado , 2,100 feet high -RRB- , behind which , more inland , is the Organ Mountain , which owes its name to its many gigantic peaks placed upright one against the other like the pipes of an organ . The highest peak is 5,000 feet high . One portion of the town is concealed by the Telegraph Mountain , and several hills , on which , besides the Telegraph , there is a monastery of Capuchin monks and other smaller buildings . Of the town itself are seen several rows of houses and open squares , the Great Hospital , the Monasteries of St. Luzia and Moro do Castello , the Convent of St. Bento , the fine Church of St. Candelaria , and some portions of the really magnificent aqueduct . Close to the sea is the Public Garden -LRB- passeo publico -RRB- of the town , which , from its fine palm trees , and elegant stone gallery , with two summer-houses , forms a striking object . To the left , upon eminences , stand some isolated churches and monasteries , such as St. Gloria , St. Theresa , etc. . In addition to all this , the many vessels , partly in the harbor before the town , partly anchored in the different bays , the rich and luxuriant vegetation , and the foreign and novel appearance of the whole , help to form a picture , of whose beauties my pen , unfortunately , can never convey an adequate idea . It rarely happens that a person is so lucky as to enjoy , immediately on his arrival , so beautiful and extensive a view as fell to my lot ; fogs , clouds , or a hazy state of the atmosphere , very often conceal certain portions , and thus disturb the wonderful impression of the whole . Whenever this is the case , I would advise every one , who intends stopping any time in Rio Janeiro , to take a boat , on a perfectly clear day , as far as Santa Cruz , in order to behold this peculiarly beautiful prospect . It was almost dark before we reached the place of anchorage . We were first obliged to stop at Santa Cruz to have the ship 's papers examined , and then appear before an officer , who took from us our passports and sealed letters ; then before a surgeon , who inspected us to see that we had not brought the plague or yellow fever ; and lastly , before another officer , who took possession of different packets and boxes , and assigned us the spot to anchor in . It was now too late for us to land , and the captain alone proceeded on shore . With a light heart did we all retire to rest ; the goal of our long voyage had been attained without any misfortune worthy of being mentioned . A cruel piece of intelligence was in store for the poor tailor 's wife alone ; but the good captain did not break it to her today , in order to let her enjoy an undisturbed night 's rest . THE ELBE The Elbe is here so wide , that we could hardly see its banks , and the swell so strong , that sea-sickness began to manifest itself among our company . On the 2nd of July , we again attempted to weigh anchor , but with no better success than the day before .