I 12 
FROM TORRES STRAIT TO HONG-KONG. 
In the evening of the 3rd we steamed out of Banda Harbour, leaving behind us 
another charming spot, which few, probably none, of us will ever see again. With sunrise next 
day we stopped to dredge in the immediate vicinity of a sounding of 4000 fathoms, as 
marked in our charts. Accordingly, 4400 fathoms of dredge-rope were paid out, but the actual 
depth was found to be only 1420 fathoms, which shows how little trust can be put in the 
older soundings—obtained by lowering a heavy shot or some other weight, and judging of the 
depth by the length of line run out. By the method in use on board H.M.S. “ Challenger,” 
not only did the sample of the bottom usually brought up in the tube of the sounding- 
machine afford certain proof that the bottom had been reached, but the running out of the 
line was timed with the help of a watch, and the rather sudden slackening of the speed with 
which the line ran out indicated the moment when the weights had ceased to act. At great 
depths the weight of the line alone suffices to make it run out almost indefinitely, or, if the 
sounding-lead be not heavy enough, the line may be carried away by an under-current, and 
thus we can explain the enormous depths reported from time to time before improved 
sounding-apparatus came to be used. So far, no depth has been ascertained greater or even 
equal to the height of the highest mountain. And thus does science rob the traveller's 
narrative of many cherished fancies and mysteries which delighted—and yet awed—our 
forefathers. No future poet can sing, as did one a century since— 
“ Old ocean, hail! beneath whose azure zone 
The secret deep lies unexplored, unknown.” 
This day was marked by heavy showers of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. 
At noon on the following day H.M.S. “Challenger” was in sight of Noessaniva Point, at the 
entrance of the Bay of Amboyna. 
AMBO YN A. 
Extending for about twenty miles in a north-easterly direction, several miles wide, 
and sheltered on both sides by forest-covered hills, the Bay of Amboyna forms one of the 
finest harbours in the world. Behind it rises the lofty mountain-range of Ceram. Early in 
the afternoon we were moored close to Fort Victoria. The town of Amboyna is not very 
extensive, and lacks the shady terrace of Stad Neira. The enterprising and generally 
prosperous Chinaman is a conspicuous figure among its inhabitants. A portion of the 5th 
