104 HOPE ISLANDS. 



hill in the back-gTound so strong*ly reminded us of 

 the Peter Botte at Mam*itius^ that it was so named 

 upon our chart^ — it is 3311 feet in heig'ht^ the Cape 

 itself being' 1454 feet. For about six days lately 

 the weather has been very boisterous^ blowing" hard 

 from E.S.E. with a considerable sea. 



The weather having' at leng-th moderated^ I 

 yesterday and to-day visited the islands composing* 

 the gToup. A deep and clear channel of a mile in 

 width separates these islands^ the larg-er of which 

 is surrounded completely^ and the smaller partially^ 

 by an extensive reef. The former^ or western one^ 

 is merely a long* strip of heaped up coral and 

 shells^ with a little sand and some drift wood run- 

 ning- parallel to the outer edg*e of the reef^ in the 

 direction of the prevailing* wind. It is over-run 

 with low bushes^ and a few other plants^ such as 

 the larg'e purple-flowered Bossicea^ and Ipomoea 

 maritima. A long* bank of dead coral only a few 

 feet above hig'h-water mark, with an intervening* 

 ditch-like holloAV, separates it from the sea to the 

 eastward ; while on the other side, towards the 

 reetl, it is margined with tall mangToves. Small 

 and barren thoug'h this spot be, it is yet inhabited 

 by lizards and a species of rat. Besides the usual 

 waders on the reef, I found g^reat numbers of 

 doves and honeysuckers, and, among* the mang*roves, 

 fell in with and procured specimens of a very rare 

 king'lisher. Halcyon sordidus. Among* the man- 

 groves a rare shell, a species of Quoyiuy occurred. 



