Slow Signal Fade ebooks

The hold of the vessel was filled with turtle oil
contained in large jars, the cabin was crammed with Brazil nuts,
and a great pile of sarsaparilla, covered with a thatch of palm
leaves, occupied the middle of the deck. We had, therefore, (the
master and two passengers) but rough accommodation, having to
sleep on deck, exposed to the wet and stormy weather, under
little toldos or arched shelters, arranged with mats of woven
lianas and maranta leaves. I awoke many a morning with clothes
and bedding soaked through with the rain. With the exception,
however, of a slight cold at the commencement, I never enjoyed
better health than during this journey. When the wind blew from
up river or off the land, we sped away at a great rate; but it
was often squally from those quarters, and then it was not safe
to hoist the sails. The weather was generally calm, a motionless
mass of leaden clouds covering the sky, and the broad expanse of
waters flowing smoothly down with no other motion than the ripple
of the current.


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