island nearly sixty miles long could not liave“ been made :
yet, as the weather was in general fine, and other circumstances
favourable, the chart will be found sufficiently
correct for most practical purposes. As the chart and the
nautical and hydrographical details are given in the Appendix,
I propose at present to relate only such particulars
of the cruise as seem likely to interest the general
reader.
9th of October.—At daybreak we got under weigh and
stood to sea through a passage discovered by the boats ; it
was so extremely narrow, that the least deviation from the
course brought us close to the rocks. We were regulated in
steering by two marks on the land, which lie in the same
straight line with the centre of the passage; these it is
necessary to keep always together: but not conceiving that
such nicety was required while sailing out, the marks were
allowed to separate, by which we found ourselves in a
minute or two within a few yards of a coral reef, the ragged
tops of which were distinctly seen two or three feet below
the surface, whilst, at the same time, the leadsman on the
opposite side sounded in nine fathoms. This early proof
of the danger of navigating amongst coral, by teaching us
the necessity of extreme caution, was of great importance
to us in our future operations.
As the coast lying between Napakiang and the Sugar
Loaf had already been examined, we proceeded a t once
round that island, which, from its having the. same aspect
on every bearing, and being quite different in shape from
any land in this quarter, is an excellent land-mark for
navigators. The natives call it Eegooshcoond, or castle*.
The English name was given, I believe, by Captain
Broughton.
Having rounded this peak and stood in for the northwest
side of the Great Loo-choo, where there is a deep
bight, a small island was observed close in shore, behind
which it was thought there might be shelter for ships; the
coast, however, being unknown to us, it was not thought
safe to carry the brig very close in, and a boat was therefore
dispatched with an officer to reconnoitre: he returned
at eight o’clock to say tha t there was a harbour in the m a i n
land, the entrance to which lay on the inside of the s m a l l
island mentioned before; but that the passages were narrow
and winding, and that a more careful examination was
necessary before the brig could venture in.
11th of October.—In the morning we again stood in,
* We first discovered the meaning of this word by hearing one of the
natives apply it to the castle on the chess board: he used the same terjn when
drawings of towers and castles were shewn to him.
T