264 PAUMOTU GROUP AND 



day they spoke the whale-ship Nassau, of New Bedford, bound to 

 Tahiti. 



On the 13th, they made the Rurick Chain. 



On the 15th they reached Aratica, or Carlshoff Island, on which 

 Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold had determined to land the party 

 intended to experiment in boring, consisting of fifteen men, under 

 Lieutenant Johnson, among whom were nine Kanakas and three sea- 

 men, the armourer with his forge, and a carpenter. 



They had much rain with frequent squalls. Until they reached the 

 latitude of 8° N., the wind prevailed from east-northeast ; then from 

 south to east, with frequent intermissions of calms; and from the 

 parallel of 5° N. to 8° S., northeast winds were experienced ; to the 

 southward of the latter parallel, northwest and north winds. Lieu- 

 tenant Johnson, agreeably to my orders, was put in charge of the 

 party to conduct the experiments.* 



By the 18th, they had succeeded in completing ail the arrangements, 

 when the brig left them in successful operation, to pursue her cruise 

 for thirty or forty days to the windward part of the group. 



On the 19th, they made Vincennes and Raraka Islands. 



On the 20th, they made Saken Island, which proved low, with but a 

 few trees on it : the greater part of the island is a reef. 



The next day they were up with the three small islands to the south- 

 ward of Saken, which they had been directed to look for and survey. 

 Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold found and surveyed them, and de- 

 signated the cluster as the Sea-Gull Group ; while to the three islands 

 he gave the names of Passed Midshipman Reid and Bacon, and 

 Quarter-Master Clute. Reid Island proved to be inhabited, and the 

 brig was boarded from it by two canoes. These contained four 

 natives, besides a toothless old man calling himself a missionary, who 

 readily consented to remain for the night on board: he was quite 

 tastefully and well covered with tattooing, in chequered marks, as 

 described on our former visit to this group. The others were not 

 tattooed. The Tahitians on board had no difficulty in understanding 

 them. 



The canoes were small and wretched, being only about five feet 

 long and two feet wide. The account these people gave of them- 

 selves was, that they had been residing on the island about a year, 

 and had been sent there in a Tahitian schooner, by order of the 

 Queen of Tahiti, for the purpose of raising food or productions useful 

 to man. 



* For orders, see Appendix X. 



