138 VOYAGE TO THE 



chap, named Oeno Island, after a whale-ship, whose master 

 **-^^~> supposed it had not before been seen ; but the disco- 

 I825 ver y belongs to Mr. Henderson of the Hercules. 

 It is so low that it can be discerned at only a very 

 few miles distance, and is highly dangerous to a 

 night navigation. As this was the next island I in- 

 tended to visit, every effort was made to get up to 

 it ; and at one o'clock in the afternoon of the 23d 

 December it was seen a little to leeward of us. We 

 had not time to examine it that evening, but on the 

 following morning we passed close to the reefs in 

 the ship, in order to overlook the lagoon that was 

 formed within them, and to search narrowly for an 

 opening into it. While the ship took one side of 

 the island, the barge closely examined the other, 

 and we soon found that the lagoon was completely 

 surrounded by the reef. Near the centre of it there 

 was a small island covered with shrubs ; and to- 

 wards the northern extremity, two sandy islets a 

 few feet above the water. The lagoon was in places 

 fordable as far as the wooded island ; but, in other 

 parts, it appeared to be two or three fathoms deep. 

 The reef is entirely of coral formation, similar to 

 Ducie's Island, and has deep water all round it. 

 Just clear of the breakers there are three or four 

 fathoms water ; the next cast finds thirteen fathoms ; 

 then follow rapidly thirty fathoms, sixty fathoms, 

 and no bottom at a hundred fathoms. We found 

 the south-western part of the reef the highest, and 

 the lagoon in that direction nearly filled up as far 

 as the island with growing coral. There were, of 

 course, no inhabitants upon so small a spot ; nor 

 should we have been able to communicate had there 

 been any, in consequence of a surf rolling heavily 



