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hundred inhabit it. The name of Moor is given by the Spaniards to 
all those who profess the Mohammedan religion, and by such all the 
islands to the west of Mindanao, and known under the name of the 
Sooloo Archipelago, are inhabited. 
The day we spent at Caldera was employed in surveying the bay, 
and in obtaining observations for its geographical position, and for 
magnetism. The flood tide sets to the northward and westward, 
through the straits, and the ebb to the eastward. In the bay we found 
it to run two miles an hour by the log, but it must be much more rapid 
in the straits. 
At daylight on the 1st of February, we got under way to stand 
over for the Sangboys, a small island with two sharp hills on it. One 
and a half miles from the bay we passed over a bank, the least water 
on which was ten fathoms on a sandy bottom, and on which a vessel 
might anchor. The wind shortly after failed us, and we drifted with 
the tide for some hours, in full view of the island of Mindanao, which 
is bold and picturesque. We had thus a good opportunity of mea¬ 
suring some of its mountain ranges, which we made about three thou¬ 
sand feet high. 
In the afternoon, a light breeze came from the southwest, and before 
sunset I found that we were again on soundings. As soon as we had 
a cast of twenty fathoms, I anchored for the night, judging it much 
better than to be drifting about without any knowledge of the locality 
and currents to which we were subjected. 
On the morning of the 2d, we got under way to proceed to the 
westward. As the bottom was unequal, I determined to pass through 
the broadest channel, although it had the appearance of being the 
shoalest, and sent two boats ahead to sound. In this way we passed 
through, continuing our surveying operations, and at the same time 
made an attempt to dredge; but the ground was too uneven for the 
latter purpose, and little of value was obtained. 
Shortly after passing the Sangboys, we had the island of Sooloo in 
sight, for which I now steered direct. At sunset we found ourselves 
within five or six miles of Soung Harbour; but there was not sufficient 
light to risk the dangers that might be in our course, nor wind enough 
to command the ship; and having no bottom where we were, I deter¬ 
mined again to run out to sea, and anchor on the first bank I should 
meet. At half-past eight o’clock, we struck sounding in twenty-six 
fathoms, and anchored. 
At daylight we determined our position by angles, and found it to 
correspond with part of the route we had passed over the day before, 
and that we were about fifteen miles from the large island of Sooloo. 
