OFF TO TEE JAPAN GROUNDS. 159 



the whaling captain's point of view. Peel Island, the 

 principal one of the cluster, has a perfect harbour in 

 Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie in comfort, 

 sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where 

 provisions, wood, and water are plentiful. There is no 

 inducement, or indeed room, for desertion, and the place 

 is healthy. It is colonized by Japs from the kingdom so 

 easily reached to the westward, and the busy little people, 

 after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable. 



Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had 

 quite a rapid run to the Bonins, carrying a press of sail 

 day and night, as the skipper was anxious to arrive 

 there on account of his recent injuries. He was still 

 very lame, and he feared that some damage might have 

 been done to him of which he was ignorant. Besides, 

 it was easy to see that he did not altogether like anybody 

 else being in charge of his ship, no matter how good 

 they were. Such was the expedition we made that we 

 arrived at Port Lloyd twelve days after clearing up our 

 last whale. Very beautiful indeed the islands appeared, 

 with their bold, steep sides clad in richest green, or, 

 where no vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand 

 fantastic shapes by the sea or the mountain torrents 

 carving away the lava of which they were all composed. 

 For the whole of the islands were volcanic, and Port 

 Lloyd itself is nothing more than the crater of a vast 

 volcano, which in some tremendous convulsion of nature 

 has sunk from its former high estate low enough to 

 become a haven for ships. 



I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there 

 is no doubt that getting in or out requires plenty of 

 nerve as well as seamanship. There was so little room, 

 and the eddying flaws of wind under the high land were 



