168 
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 
at which people looked and wondered that she was still 
afloat. 
We had all been so roughly handled during our late 
cruise that considez'able time was now required for re- 
pairs; and while these were going on a third set of 
astronomical observations were obtained by Lieutenant 
Brooke, the astronomer of the expedition. They were 
culminations of the moon, and the mean of tlie three 
sets was satisfactory in the extreme. Finally, the spring 
set in, and found us again ready for sea; and, in order 
to run over as much space as possible, each vessel was 
assigned a separate track. 
The Vincennes was to proceed, via the Bonin Islands, 
to Loo-choo, the Cooper to take in some islands to the 
northward and eastward of Formosa on her way to the 
same pox't, and the Hancock to search for the Porpoise 
in the Formosa Channel, to survey the southwest and 
east coast of that island, and then join the other two 
vessels at their port of destination. From thence we 
were to proceed by diflerent routes to the port of Ilako- 
dadi, island of Jesso, — the Cooper going through the 
Japan Sea, and the Vincennes and Hancock through a 
long chain of islands, touching at Simoda, island of 
Nipon, and finally joining the Cooper at Ilakodadi. 
From thence the Vincennes was to pass along the east 
coast of Kamtschatka and Asia, through Behring’s Straits, 
and into the Arctic; the Cooper was to examine the 
Kurile, the Fox, and the Aleutian Islands; and the 
Hancock to survey the entire circumference of the 
Okotsk Sea, the great centre of the American whalers. 
It was understood that the middle of October was to 
