322 NEJF GUINEA. [chap. 



considerable distance from the mainland, to which, however, it is 

 connected by shallow soundings and innumerable reefs and islets. 

 In order to reach it on the following day we decided not to anchor 

 for the night, as we had hitherto done on almost every occasion in 

 New Guinea waters, and therefore steered S.W. by W. on clearing 

 Pitt Strait, so as to pass midway between Popa and Misol, a course 

 that would apparently lead us well clear of all dangers. An hour 

 or two later, on. referring to a manuscript chart we had got from 

 Captain Hakkers, we were rather disconcerted to find a rock marked 

 exactly in the path of the A'essel, midway between Popa and the 

 Vienna Islands — a small group to the north of ]\Iisol. It was not 

 indicated on two other Dutch cliarts in our possession, and as the 

 night was dark and the passage not too wide when the doubtful 

 cartography and strong currents of these regions were taken into 

 consideration, we resolved to trust to Providence and ignore it. 

 Wliat its position, if any, may be I cannot say. Fortunately for us 

 it was not determined at the expense of the Marchcsa. 



At daylight next morning we were rather surprised to find 

 wdiat appeared to be a small island bearing nearly west. We had 

 expected to have cleared the group some time before, and, conclud- 

 ing that we had probably encountered a strong current, we kept on 

 our course. Our morning sights, however, placed us so far to the 

 west that we thought we had made a mistake, and took another 

 set. They confirmed the others, and shortly afterwards we sighted 

 high land far ahead, which we knew could be nothing else than the 

 large island of Cerani. Instead of encountering the current, we 

 had thus had it with us, and had far overrun our distance. Navi- 

 gation in these waters is exciting work, attended as it is by a 

 glorious uncertainty which keeps all one's faculties on the alert. 

 In this case we had to begin with Ijeen led into error l)y Great 

 Canary Island, partly owing to its wrong position on the chart, 

 and partly to its being of such low elevation that only a very 

 small portion of it was visible above the horizon, Wliat at day- 

 break we had taken to be a small island, was in reality Misol itself, 



