July.] 



PEARL AND HERMES ISLANDS. 



217 



from the deck until the vessel is close on board of it. But from the 

 mast-head a man can see the foam over the breakers at a sufficient 

 distance to give time enough to tack ship, or haul off. From a long 

 experience in these seas, I know these precautions to be necessary ; 

 and ? if observed, they may prevent many serious calamities. Not 

 only is it necessary to guard against unknown reefs and islands, but 

 also against islands which have been visited, and are erroneously laid 

 down on the charts ; some of which I have found to be one and two 

 degrees out of the way in longitude, particularly in this part of the 

 Pacific. The lead and line are of very little use in these seas, as the 

 islands and reefs are nearly all surrounded with very deep water, close 

 to the breakers. 



July Sth. — From Lisiansky Island we stood to the westward, with 

 a steady north-east trade-wind and pleasant weather for two days, 

 during which time we saw many sperm-whales and a great number of 

 sea-birds. On Friday, the 8th^ we landed on Pearl and Hermes 

 Island ; or, more properly, a group of sand-pits and coral reefs, so 

 called on account of two British whale-ships having been lost here on 

 the same night, one of which was named the Pearl, and the other the 

 Hermes. They both went ashore at nearly the same time, and met 

 their fate about ten miles from each other. These dangerous reefs lie 

 so low, and so near the surface of the water, that the wreck of the 

 Pearl was seen by the man at our mast-head before he discerned the 

 land, which cannot be seen more than six or seven miles from a 

 ship's top. 



The Pearl and Hermes were cast away on the east side of the 

 island, with a light breeze from north-east, attended with rain. Both 

 vessels bilged in a few minutes after they struck. They were fortu- 

 nately favoured with moderate weather for several days, which enabled 

 them to save all their water and provisions, together with every other 

 article of value, as well as a part of their oil. When this was effected, 

 all hands set to work in building a vessel of about thirty tons, from 

 the timber and planks of the two wrecks, which they completed in 

 six weeks, when they embarked on board of her for the Sandwich 

 Islands, where they arrived in safety. 



The situation of this island, or rather of the southern extremity of 

 the reef which puts off from the south end of it, is in lat. 27° 31' N., 

 long. 176° 28' W. The north-west extremity of the reef which puts 

 off from the northern island is in lat. 28° 22' N., long. 177° 32' W. 

 The eastern point of the group is in long. 176° 11' W., lat. 27° 41' N. 

 From the north and south extreme points there is one continuation of 

 small islands, covered with sand, and rocks which appear to have been 

 once in a fluid state. 



The whole group presents the form of a crescent, the concave side 

 of which, facing to the west-south-west, encloses an extensive bay, 

 with good anchorage all over it, in from twenty-five to four fathoms 

 of water. Here I have seen pearl-oysters and biuchc de mer ; but it 

 is difficult to procure them, as there are very few lying in shoal water, 

 and perhaps not very plenty at the greatest depth. There is an 

 abundance of fine scale-fish in this bay, of various kinds. The sea- 



