177^. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 175 



covery Christmas Island. I judge it to be about fif- 

 teen or twenty leagues in circumference. It seemed 

 to be of a semicircular form ; or like the moon in the 

 last quarter, the two horns being the north and south 

 points ; which bear from each other nearly north by 

 east, and south by west, four or five leagues distant. 

 This west side, or the little isle at the entrance into 

 the lagoon, upon which we observed the eclipse, lies 

 in the latitude of 1 5y' north, and in the longitude of 

 0% 30' east, determined by a considerable number 

 of lunar observations, which differed only 7' from the 

 time-keeper ; it being so much less. The variation 

 of the compass was 6 22J' E. ; and the dip of the 

 north end of the needle 11 54'. 



Christmas Island, like most others in this ocean, is 

 bounded by a reef of coral rocks, which extends but 

 a little way from the shore. Farther out than this 

 reef, oti the west side, is a bank of sand, extending a 

 mile into the sea. On this bank is good anchorage, 

 in any depth between eighteen and thirty fathoms. 

 In less than the first mentioned depth, the reef would 

 be too near ; and in more than the last, the edge 

 of the bank would not be at a sufficient distance. 

 During the time we lay here, the wind blew con- 

 stantly a fresh gale at east, or east by south, except 

 one or two days. We had, always, a great swell from 

 the northward, which broke upon the reef, in a pro- 

 digious surf. We had found this swell before we 

 came to the island ; and it continued for some days 

 after we left it. 



