A Doubtful Island of the Pacific 



483 



During the sixty years following Sir 

 Edward Belcher's search in the doubtful 

 region (1837), there were, so far as I 

 am aware, no trustworthy observations 

 of land reported in that quarter,, unless 

 the somewhat vague statements and un- 

 certain memories of old-time whalemen 

 be excepted. Nevertheless nearly all 

 the standard charts, maps, and globes 

 continued to show in that neighbor- 

 hood, at least until lately, one or more 

 islands of doubtful existence and posi- 

 tion. It is said, moreover, that one or 

 more vessels have visited the field on 

 various occasions seeking guano islands 

 without finding any. 



In August, 1899, the Fish Commis- 

 sion steamer Albatross, Commander Jef- 

 ferson F. Moser, with a party of scien- 

 tific explorers under the direction of 

 Mr Alexander Agassiz, left San Fran- 

 cisco for the Marquesas, with instruc- 

 tions to traverse the doubtful region, 

 keeping a careful lookout for land w r ithin 

 sight. From Captain Moser' s reports I 

 draw the following notes : 



" Shortly after midnight, September 

 2d, we arrived in the vicinity of the 

 danger previously referred to, and 

 marked ' (?) Island ' on H. O. chart 

 No. 527, in lat. 17 10' N., long. 136 

 3' W., and reported under the name 

 of ' Island,' ' New Island,' ' Roca 

 Coral,' etc. This danger had pre- 

 viously been searched for by H. M. S. 

 Rattlesnake and H. M. S. Sulphur. The 

 following soundings were obtained by 

 the Albatross in that vicinity : 



"Station AA No. 8, lat. 17 13' N., 

 long. 136 09' W., 2,776 fms. 



"Station AA No. 9, lat. 16 62' N., 

 long. 136 12' W., 3,003 fms. 



"Station AA No.' 10, lat. 16 38' N., 

 long. 136 14' W., 3,088 fms." 



"At each of the first two stations the 

 operation of sounding occupied about 

 an hour, and during those times a bright 

 lookout was kept for laud, without re- 

 sult. At the last station a haul of the 



beam trawl was made after sounding, 

 the operation occupying from 8.04 a. m. 

 to 3,45 p. m. The lookout kept at this 

 time for land was likewise without re- 

 sult. The weather while in this vicin- 

 ity was clear and pleasant, with light 

 breeze from northeastward and smooth 

 sea ; horizon generally clear. It was 

 noted that at several points close to the 

 horizon low leaden cloud masses as- 

 sumed a hard, sharp, fixed form, hav- 

 ing the outline of and resembling dis- 

 tant high islands. Tropic birds were 

 constantly about, and the previous day 

 (Sept. 1st) several petrels were ob- 

 served. On the 3d sharks and tropic 

 birds were seen. The presence of this 

 animal 'life might add strength to the 

 presumption that land was somewhere 

 near, but similar animal life accom- 

 panied the vessel on the entire voyage, 

 and was no more abundant in this lo- 

 cality than at any other point on the 

 course. My opinion is that this danger 

 does not exist * within sight, under fair 

 conditions , of the locality over which the 

 soundings were made. ' ' 



Since the foregoing report was made all 

 indications of islands within this doubt- 

 ful region seem to have been omitted 

 from later charts issued by the United 

 States Hydrographic Office, which show 

 in that neighborhood only the deep 

 soundings recorded by the Albatross. 



Within recent years the establishment 

 of a steamship line between San Fran- 

 cisco and Tahiti, of which the sailing 

 route lies more or less within the ques- 

 tionable field, has given further oppor- 

 tunity for occasional search there. 



In March, 1902, Capt. Robert T. Law- 

 less, commanding the steamship Aus- 

 tralia, of the above-mentioned line, ob- 

 served, as he believes, certain indications 

 of shoal water, which he reported as 



*The words in italics were added by Com- 

 mander Moser in June, 1903, to his report, 

 originally made in September, 1899, after fur- 

 ther consideration of the possibility that the 

 island may exist beyond his range of vision 

 from the A/hatross. 



