180 GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
but which contains dangerous knolls of coral. 
Admiral Beechey gives a pleasing account of 
his visit to these islands in January, 1826, and 
of his interviews with the natives. His vessel 
rode safely in the lagoon, where the crew caught 
a large quantity of fish. The people came out 
on rafts to the vessel, and were delighted with 
the presents which they received. One of them 
snatched up a small terrier dog, which was 
not intended for him ; and it was only by 
force that he was prevented carrying it away. 
Others wanted to possess themselves, without 
a title, of a large Newfoundland dog ; " but 
he was big and surly enough to take care of 
himself." 
Of these islands, which afforded a safe asylum 
to the pastor, during his exclusion from Pit- 
cairn, the recent accounts, furnished by Captain 
Morshead, of H.M.S. Dido, are too valuable to 
be lost. That officer, who had been instructed 
by Admiral Moresby, after leaving Pitcairn, to 
visit the Gambier Islands, with the view of 
ascertaining the capabilities of the group, as 
a place of call for the trans-Pacific steamers, 
supplied the following report : — 
" On the morning of the 10th November, 1853, 
I stood close along the N.E. side of Crescent 
Isle, with Mount Duff in sight, and having got 
the S.W. end of Wainwright Island on with 
the mountain, we carried six fathoms over the 
barrier reef; and passing to the eastward of 
Wainwright Island, anchored on the same after- 
noon in eighteen fathoms (sand) under Eelson 
Island, which, according to Captain Beechey 
