CHAPTER XIV. 



NORTH PACIFIC ISLANDS. 



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WALKER'S ISLAND. " 



Walker's Island is laid down on our charts in latitude 4° north, 

 and longitude 149° west. The authority for it was derived from a 

 master of a whale-ship, whose name I regret not to be able to give, 

 having omitted to note it down when it was reported to me. Krusen- 

 stern gives its position as latitude 3° 54' north, and longitude 149° 25' 

 west. The Porpoise passed to the eastward of the situation as- 

 signed it, but did not see it. I was in hopes of being able to verify 

 its position or disprove its existence. Although I feel some doubts 

 of its existence, and am still under the impression, that notwith- 

 standing it lies many degrees removed from Fanning's Isle, it may 

 have been mistaken for it, I have retained it on the chart, from the 

 authority above quoted. There is another island, laid down on 

 some charts, between the above and Fanning's Island, called Sarah 

 Anne, in longitude 155° west. This I have omitted on our charts, 

 believing there is no reliance to be placed in its existence. It is de- 

 sirable that Walker's Island should be sighted, to ascertain its position 

 correctly. The accounts represent it as a lagoon island, with many 

 small islets on its rim. 



FANNING'S ISLAND. 



Fanning's Island was discovered by Captain Fanning, in the year 

 1798. It consists of three islands joined by a coral reef, enclosing an 

 extensive lagoon, which has an entrance on the west side. The island 

 is 9 miles east and west, by 6 miles north and south. The entrance is 

 sufficiently deep for a large-sized merchant vessel. There is a sand- 

 bank off the opening, on which a vessel may anchor in smooth water, 

 and be protected from the prevailing winds. Supplies of tropical 



