160 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, by some extraordinarily high tide and sea, or the reef had since grown 
upward, and raised them beyond the present reach of the waves, we 
Feb. could not decide : the former is most probable ; though it is evident, 
if the above-mentioned remains be those of the Matilda, of which 
there can be very little doubt, that a considerable alteration has taken 
place in the island, as the crew of that vessel describe themselves 
to have been lost on a reef of rocks, whereas the island on which 
these anchors are lying extends fourteen miles in length, and has one 
of its sides covered nearly the whole of the way with high trees, which, 
from the spot where the vessel was wrecked, are very conspicuous, and 
could not fail to be seen by persons in the situation of her crew. 
The island differs from the other coral formations before described, 
in having a greater disproportion in the growth of its sides. The one 
to windward is covered with tall trees as before mentioned, while that to 
leeward is nearly all under water. The dry part of the chain enclosing 
the lagoon is about a sixth of a mile in width, but varies considerably 
in its dimensions : the broad parts are furnished with low mounds of 
sand, which have been raised by the action of the waveSj but are now 
out of their reach, and mostly covered with vegetation. The violence 
of the waves upon the shore, except at low Avater, forces the sea into the 
lake at many points, and occasions a constant outset through the channel 
to leeward. 
On both sides of the chain the coral descends rapidly : on the outer 
part there is from six to ten fathoms close to the breakers, the next 
cast is thirty to forty, and at a little distance there is no bottom with 
two hundred and fifty fathoms. On the lagoon side, there are two 
ledges : the first is covered about three feet at high water : at its 
edge the lead descends to three fathoms to the next ledge, which 
is about forty yards in width ; it then slopes to about five fathoms 
at its extremity, and again descends perpendicularly to ten ; after which 
there is a gradual descent to twenty fathoms, which is the general 
depth of the centre of the lagoon. The lake is dotted with knolls 
or columns of coral, which rise to all intermediate heights between 
the bottom and the surface, and are dangerous even to boats sailing 
in the lagoon with a fresh breeze, particularly in cloudy weather, as at 
