TO GUAHON. 235 



tliey generally go to the inner harbour, which is 

 one of the safest in the world. An east wind 

 obliged us to tack to the entrance of the inner 

 harbour, an attempt which Wilson thought dan- 

 gerous, on account of the many coral banks, and 

 which no ship had hitherto ventured. He advised 

 me rather to cast anchor here till the wind had 

 veered to the west, which it usually does in the 

 morning ; but as this would have taken me too 

 much time, and as we had already acquainted our- 

 selves with the nature of coral banks at lladack, 

 we resolved rather to attempt to work through 

 directly. According to the old custom, a sailor 

 was obliged to be on the mast-head, another on 

 the bowsprit, and the mate in the shrouds. We 

 were timely warned of every danger, and tack- 

 ing, to the great terror of W^ilson, who had al- 

 ready protested against all responsibility, fortu- 

 nately entered in safety the inner harbour. As 

 the entrance is so veiy narrow the Rurick was 

 obliged to be warped in: all hands were put in 

 motion ; and, at five o'clock, we were inside of 

 the harbour La Caldera de Apra. We here found 

 a deputy from the Governor of Agaha, who, in a 

 very polite letter, invited me and all my gentle- 

 men into the town, and had already sent us some 

 mules, which waited for us on the opposite shore 

 of the island Appapa, near the village of Piti. 

 I accepted the invitation with pleasure ; left Lieu- 

 tenant SchischmarefF to anchor near the fortress of 



