TO GUAHON. 229 



quarter before eleven, we descried the island of 

 Guahon, twelve miles distant, to the W. S. AV. 

 As, according to Arrowsmith*s chart, we could 

 not expect to see Guahon before passing the lon- 

 gitude of Zarpane, this latter is, probably, laid 

 down incorrectly. Zarpane may, perhaps, be 

 a little higher than Guahon. I estimate the first 

 at from three to four hundred toises high. On 

 the western part of its southern point lies a small 

 island, of inconsiderable height. We found the 

 latitude of the southern point of Zarpane, to be 

 14° 00' 58'' ', longitude, according to the chrono- 

 meters, 214° 39' 46". I steered directly between 

 the two islands, keeping in the middle of the 

 strait, which I took to be free from danger, but 

 which is not at all the case, as I afterwards learnt. 

 In the middle of it, a little nearer to Zarpane, 

 there is a shoal, which lies only three fathoms 

 under water, and might have been dangerous even 

 to our Rurick, which draws only twelve feet 

 water, if the waves had run high ; large ships have 

 therefore to be cautious, even when the water is 

 smooth, of striking on this bank, as it is not laid 

 down on any chart. The Spaniards in Guahon 

 affirm that, in a high sea, the breakers may be seen 

 over this shoal. At noon, Zarpane lay to the north- 

 west 20°, distant from us eight miles and three 

 quarters, but did not afford an inviting prospect, 

 as we saw only naked rocks. I now steered up to 

 the northern point of the island of Guahon, which. 



Q 3 



