*CHAPTER II.*
_*Heavy Weather; the Sargasso Sea*_*.*
The gale continued until the end of the fourth day, and we were south ofthe deep blue waters of the Gulf Stream, when it abated somewhat, andthough it continued to blow heavily, the sea was running more regularly,in long, even swells which made the motion of the bark lessdisagreeable, especially for me.
The studding sails were taken in, and the wind was hauled, in order thatthe Captain might be given an opportunity to determine our longitude.
The Captain found that we were not far off the course, as the wind hadblown mostly from north, and northeast and east. The sails weretrimmed, and, by sundown the wind veered around into the northwest andblew steadily, while the sea gradually subsided. We were now about twohundred miles to the eastward of Watling's Island, one of the Bahamas,also known as San Salvador, the first land in the New World discoveredby Columbus. The stars shone bright, and the bark, rolling easily,plowed the warm waters of the sub-tropic sea. I remained with Mr.Sargent long on deck that night, watching the phosphorence of the water,which in these latitudes, is sometimes very brilliant.
The morning dawned upon a tropic sea, for the bark had made goodprogress during the night, and we were well abreast of the largerislands of the Bahamas. The breeze was soft and balmy, and the ocean adeep, crystal blue, of a hue never seen except in these southernlatitudes. This is owing partly to the remarkable reflection of the skybut more to the extreme depth of the water. Myriads of flying fish rosein flocks from the water and fluttered away on both sides of the ship asthe bark glided through the weeds of the Sargasso Sea. The Sargassoweed is a genus by itself, which, thrust away to the south by the mightyocean currents, lies in a vast central pool, a great eddy between theGulf Stream and the Equatorial current; and here it revolves. It isocean born, and long ages have passed since it lost its habit of growingon the rocky sea-bottom. Forever floating it feeds among its brancheswhole families of crabs, cuttle-fish and mollusks, which like the plantitself, are found in no other seas.
The flying-fish interested me greatly, for I had read much about them.I noticed that their flight was as perfect as that of some kinds ofbirds, and that it very closely resembled that of the swallow, in thatit was a skimming, circling flight. I had read that the flying-fishrarely leaves the water unless pursued by a shark or some other fish towhich it is a prey; and that, on leaving the water it does not reallyfly, but, instead, emerges from the water on an upward plane, enablingit to skim along for some distance. I had read, also, that the fish isunable to remain in the air only while its wings are wet. This latterstatement is undoubtedly correct; but I observed that its flight wasperfect, the fish making use of its greatly elongated and highlydeveloped pectoral fins, as wings. I saw them flying singly and inflocks or schools, when they were not pursued by sharks and I wasthoroughly convinced that they did actually fly. They gyrated in the airexactly like swallows, and moved their wings very rapidly like birds.There seemed to be no limit to the length of their flight, for theywould rise from beneath the bows and fly away in a continuous line untillost to sight in the distance.
Once one dropped upon the deck in the night and the cook broiled it,assuring us that its flesh was very delicate, much like that of a freshwater perch; and indeed, so it proved to be.
The Captain had taken a course much further to the eastward than hewould ordinarily. Usually, in going to the Guianas, the route is throughthe Bahama group, by way of the Crooked Island Channel, thence throughthe Windward Passage, between Cuba and Haiti and across the Caribbeansea by the east end of Jamaica. But Mr. Sargent wished to go further tothe eastward so as to pass among the Leeward Islands, perhaps landingthere to await the return of the bark from the coast. This plan couldbe followed without detriment, as a little delay in reaching Guiana wasmore than likely to result in an improved market for the cargo. Thisexplains the unusual course of the _Ethelyn Hope_.