CHAPTER XII. 



ALDABRA ISLAND. 



Very soon after leaving Assumption we sighted 

 the island of Aldabra. I had previously no idea 

 that the circumference of this island was so 

 great— at the lowest computation it must be 

 one hundred miles. 



Aldabra is undoubtedly a huge atoll of very 

 ancient formation. The coral of which it is formed 

 is, like that of Assumption, of a deep brown 

 colour. The lagoon enclosed by this atoll is very 

 large, with several outlets into the sea, how many, 

 we were unable to estimate in the time at our 

 disposal. The principal outlet is situated on the 

 leeward side, and, as the anchorage is marked 

 on the charts as if it were in the mouth of this 

 passage, we steamed up and dropped anchor 

 clear of the tide " rip." The place, however, 

 proved to be totally unsafe, owing to the rush 

 of water entering the lagoon. Indeed, the tide 

 came in with such violence that " Valhalla " 

 soon dragged her anchor. We therefore put to 

 sea again, cruising off the leeward side of the 



