Cruis* of die Porpoise 



PENRHYN ISLAND. 



Cruise of the Pot r ols<>. 



277 



oil nil the necessary observations, proceeded, on the 

 23rd, in search of some islands* to the east ward. On 

 the 2(Jth they made the island of Rarob,or Hare by 

 do Tolly, and passed close to it. The position as- 

 signed to it on the charts proved to ho correct. 



< »n the 27th, they made Tuknrea, or Wobonsky, 

 with Itaroia in sight to the southward : there is a 

 passage between I hem seven miles wide. The 

 former, Wi.lomsky, is of an oblong shape, ten miles 

 in circumference : its north end is high and thickly 

 wooded with cocoa-nut groves and other trees: its 

 eastern boundary iH partly a submerged reef. There 

 is no opening to its bgoon. It was found to be in- 

 correctly placed on the charts. 



The search after Caniboy's and Merril Islands 

 proved unsm-eessfiil. The position assigned to them, 

 longitude 141' W.. latitude lii 1.T s! having been 

 cruised over without any appearance whatever of 

 land. 



On thofith January, 1841, they passed near Ta- 

 weree, or Resolution Island, but found there was 

 too much surf to land upon it. There were about 

 twenty inhabitants, who, on the approach of the 

 brig, came running to the beach with cocoa- nuts to 

 barter. They appeared to be stout men, and were 

 thought to resemble the natives seen at Clermont de 

 Tnnncrre. 



Tawcree consists of two small isles, together 

 about four miles in circumference : it has three 

 clumps of cocoa-nut trees upon it, but of its south 

 and west sides the greater portion is a hare reef. 

 After surveying it, they bore up for the two groupe, 

 and the same afternoon passed through the channel 

 Iw tween them, which is a mile wide, with no sound- 

 ings. The southern island was surveyed: it baa a 

 bare reef on its south-east mid west tides, with a 

 cocoa-nut grove cm the south end. No entrance 

 exists to the lagoon, and no natives were seen. The 

 southern portion of the northern isle is a bare 

 reef, with some high clumps of trees on the eastern 

 side. 



On the 6th, Nukutipipi or Margaret's Island 

 was made. It proved to be a small round bgoou 

 i.-dand. two miles In circumference, high and well- 

 wooded on the north side, with a flat submerged 

 reef ou the south-east and east sides. After com- 

 pleting the observations, they stood for Teku or the 

 Four Crowns of Quiros, the island to the westward: 

 it has now five clumps of trees. It had no opening 

 to its lagoon, nor could a landing be effected. No 

 traces of inhabitants were seen on either of the 

 islands. 



On the I Oth, Lieutenant-Cotumandant Ringgold 

 made what they supposed to be the island of Arch- 

 angel, but very much out of place. It is a small 

 lagoon island, of ublong shape, lying north-west and 

 south-east; wooded on the north-east and east with 

 a stunted growth of trees. No cocoa-nut trots 

 were seeu, and the eastern portion of the trees 

 appeared as if Imrnt. A reef extends oh*' the north- 

 west and south-west sides, with a heavy surf, and 

 there is a submerged reef oil the south and west 

 sides. No opening exists, and a landing cannot be 

 effected without imminent danger to the boats. Its 

 native name is Heretua. 



The supposed location of Archangel was then 

 searched for, but no signs of land found. Turnbull 

 Island was also looked for without success. 



On the 12th, they made the island of San Pablo, 

 in latitude l!) At> is., longitude 146° W, This 



island is higher than those just mentioned: it has 

 several cocoa-nut groves, and natives were seen 

 on the bland. No opening was observed into its 

 lagoon. 



After Boarching around this locality for other 

 islands, the Porpoise steered to the northward, Air 

 the island of Aratica (Carbhoff). On lite 1 5th 

 they made the island of Tahanea : its south end is 

 a bare reef, but there are trees on the east and 

 west sides. Fires were scon after dark on the 

 bland. This, like all the other islands, has small 

 islets around it, connected by low coral reefs, and 

 washed by the sea in several places. 



Passing in sight of Saken, Rarnka, and Tabra, 

 they made Aratica on tho 18th, where they found 

 the party all well, and at once began to emhark 

 them, which was completed on ihePJth. The Por- 

 poise then bore away for Tahiti, two hundred and 

 fifty miles distant, which they made on the 21st, 

 and the some day they anchored in Matavui 

 Bay. 



At the time the brig loft him, Lieutenant John- 

 son had succeeded in making a beginning with the 

 apparatus. Considering the novelty of the business, 

 and that all were unacquainted villi the uses of the 

 different parts of the machinery, I was aware of 

 the difficulty of the task that would be imposed 

 upon the officer who directed tho operation. I had 

 then Cure designated Lieutenant Johnson for this 

 business, who, on account of his ingenuity, perse- 

 verance, and mechanical contrivance, was con- 

 sidered by me as most suitable for thb duty. The 

 undertaking proved fully as laborious as I had an- 

 ticipated, and Lieutenant Johnson's exertions were 

 worthy of better success. The principal difficul- 

 ties lie had to encounter were the looseness of the 

 sand, and the falling in of the coral atones. Every 

 means were devised to overcome these impedi- 

 ments, but in the attempts the pipes became 

 choked, broke, and were thrown out of tho perpen- 

 dicular. When the impedimenta in one place were 

 found to lie too great to be overcome, it was aban- 

 doned, and the work began anew. Tho greatest 

 depth to which he succeeded in reaching was 

 twenty-one feet : ten to eleven feet were generally 

 accomplished without much difficulty ; but after 

 that depth was arrived at, they frequently did 

 not succeed in getting down beyond one foot per 

 day. 



The coral shelf, composed of conglomerates aud 

 compact coral rock, seomB to have afforded an im- 

 pediment to further progress. After the breaking 

 of pipes and augers, and the occurrence of various 

 other accidents, principally from the impossibility 

 of maintaining a perpendicular ; Lieutenant John- 

 son began from his acquired exjverience to hope for 

 Buccess a day or two previous to the arrival of the 

 brig, w hen tho whole was abandoned by order of 

 Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold, and every thing 

 embarked, 1 am well satisfied that there b no 

 insuperable difficulty in boring into coral islands ; 

 but in the present case the season of tho year was 

 somewhat against them, as it caused thorn to en- 

 counter much more water in the soil than they 

 would otherwise have met with. The proper sea- 

 son for such an attempt would be the dry one. 

 .Much rain fell during their stay ; and although no 

 serious sickness occurred, yet many felt unwell. 



These experiment* turned out VttJ much as I 

 anticipated, viz. that we should find but little 



