1845.] LEAVE FOR BATAN. 305 



Islands, she for a cruize in that neighbourhood, for exer- 

 cise, and ourselves for Batan, Meia-co-shimas, Loo-Choo, 

 Korean Islands, &c. On the 14th, we passed close to 

 the Pratas Bank, the weather fine, with light winds, but 

 rather hazy. At noon, just as we were about to send the 

 crew to dinner, we found ourselves embayed by the shoals 

 which had not been distinguished by the man on the look- 

 out at the mast-head. We fortunately tacked, and cleared 

 these difficulties, which, at night, would have proved of 

 dangerous importance, although a course very wide of 

 these dangers might have been adopted, had it not been 

 our object to make this close examination by day. One 

 thing, of which we were not before aware, was discovered; 

 viz., that the line bounding the Pratas dangers is not 

 circular, but, as far as we could observe, runs in bays 

 formed by projecting points of the reef. After clearing 

 these dangers, our course was directed for Batan, with 

 the view of completing some unfinished parts of that 

 group, which the present condition of the weather seemed 

 to favour, or even, failing in this, to complete our stock, 

 and obtain a more eligible departure for verifying the 

 Longitude of the Meia-co-shimas. 



We reached our anchorage at St. Domingo on the 7th 

 of May, and on mentioning my intention of attempting a 

 landing on the Island of Ibayat (considered almost inac- 

 cessible) the Dominican Padres of the convents volun- 

 teered not only to accompany us, and afford their valuable 

 aid, as interpreters, but also their almost absolute power 

 in procuring the services of the native population of that 

 island, who, although termed Indies Christianas, are very 

 little removed from Los Bravos (wild Indians), or those 



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