186 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, the persecution of their conquerors. To remain, M as certain death and 
ignominy ; to fly, was to leave their fate to chance. 
Feb. The temporary obstruction of the trade-wind in these seas, by the 
westerly monsoons, has not been duly considered by those who repre- 
sent the difficulties as insurmountable. At the period of the year 
corresponding with our spring these gales commence, and blow with 
great violence during the rainy season. As they arise very suddenly, 
any canoes at sea must have difficulty in escaping them, and would, in 
all probability, be driven so far, as never to be able to regain their native 
country, or be drifted to islands upon which they might be contented 
to dwell, in preference to encountering farther risks. 
The traces of inhabitants upon almost all the islands of the low 
archipelago, many of which are at present uninhabited, show the fre- 
quency with which these migrations have occurred, and hoM' extensive 
they have been : some of these isolated spots where remains have been 
found, Pitcairn Island for instance, are 400 miles from any land whence 
inhabitants were likely to be derived ; and the circumstance of their 
having abandoned the island is a fair presumption that the people 
M^ho landed there knew of other lands which there was a probability of 
their reaching, and which certainly could not be the coast of America, at 
least 2000 miles against the trade-wind. 
I shall now bring together a few facts connected with the forma- 
tion of these islands, M'hich it is hoped may be useful to those persons 
who are interested about it, observing, in extenuation of the absence of 
more detailed information, that our time did not admit of more than 
was actually essential to the purposes of a correct delineation of them, 
and that in general the islands were so surrounded by breakers that it 
was dangerous to approach them, in the ship in particular, which alone 
was calculated to obtain very deep soundings. I’o windward this 
could not be done of course, and to leeward there was not unfrequently 
a heavier swell setting upon the island than in other parts of it. 
In speaking of the coral islands hereafter, my observations will be 
applied to the thirty-two islands already stated to have fallen under our 
examination. The largest of them was thirty miles in diameter, and 
the smallest less than a mile : they were of various shapes ; M^ere all 
