240 VOYAGE TO THE 



having thus escaped notice was, tliat all the i.slands, 

 except the three last-mentioned, were expunged from 

 the charts ; and it was not until 1823 that they re- 

 appeared on Arrowsmith's map, on the authority of 

 M. Abel Remusat. 



Near these islands we found strong currents, run- 

 ning principally to the northward ; but none of them 

 equalled in strength that which is said by the 

 Japanese to exist between Bonin-sima and Fat- 

 sisio, which indeed was so rapid that it obtained the 

 name of Kourosi-gawa, or Current of the Black 

 Gulf;* nor did their directions accord, as the kou- 

 rosi-gawa is said to set from east to west. At parti- 

 cular periods, perhaps, these currents may be greater 

 than we found them, and may also run to the west- 

 ward, but they are certainly not constant. To the 

 southward of Jesso, Captain Broughton experienced 

 a set in the opposite direction — that is, from west to 

 east, and so did Admiral Krusenstern. With us, as 

 has been mentioned before, the set was to the north- 

 ward. 



June 16th. I had spent as much time in low lati- 

 tudes, fixing the positions of all these islands, as was con- 

 sistent with my orders, and it became necessary to make 

 the best of our way to the northward; which we did, in 

 the hope of being more successful in our search for the 

 the land expedition than we were the preceding year. 

 At first we stood well to the eastward, in order to get 

 nearly into the meridian of Petropaulski, that we might 

 not be inconvenienced by easterly winds, which appear 

 to be prevalent in these seas in the summer time ; and 



* Description cl'un Grouppe d'lles peu connu, par M. Re- 

 musat. 



