CHAPTER XL 



ASSUMPTION ISLAND. 



EARLY on the morning following our departure 

 from Glorioso, Assumption Island was sighted. 



Assumption, like Glorioso, as I have previously 

 mentioned, is of coral formation, but apparently 

 of a much older date. It is about two miles long 

 by a mile in width, at the broadest part, and is 

 less thickly wooded than Glorioso. The central 

 part is almost bare of vegetation, the only growth 

 being a few low bushes (hibiscus), and a thin wiry 

 grass which springs from the cracks and fissures 

 in the coral. At one end of the windward side 

 is a mass of drifted sand, about 60 feet in height, 

 covered with low straggling bushes, while on the 

 leeward side there are a few casuarina trees, and 

 in one spot on the shore three cocoanut palms. 



The shore is composed of sand, but the island 

 itself is a rock-like mass of coral. Close to the shore 

 are some deep wells containing water, but whether 

 salt or fresh we were unable to ascertain. These 

 wells are perfectly circular, and apparently of 

 natural formation. That there is a constant supply 



