■r-' 
Wetmore—Journal 
10 
were common. What seemed to be a peculiarly marked Sula leucogastra appeared 
about 15 miles off the island and followed us nearly in. The back and wings were 
sooty, the head was usual but there was a broad white collar entirely about the neck. 
•*v * 
The bird circled the ship frequently so that I had several good views. 
t 
Lisiansky, Urey, A voyage Round the World in the Years l80J,4, 5,and 6; performed 
by order of his Imperial Majesty Alexander jthe First, Emperor of Russia, in the 
Ship Neva. London, l8l4 pp. 250-256. 
(According to a dedication published previously in Russian) 
On the night of October 15> 1805, the Neva struck on a coral bank and on the following 
morning found a low island a mile to the west northwest. The ship was f inally 
* 
warped off on October 17 and on that evening some of the ship's officers landed on 
9 
the island, who returned with four large seals killed with hand spikes on the beach. 
Lisiansky landed on the following morning and spent the day in a survey of the island. 
Numerous birds were found which annoyed the landing party by picking at their legs 
and were kept away with difficulty. Seals 7 feet long were seen and it was recorded 
that at almost every step they sunk almost to the knees in holes dug by birds. 
Creeping plants and grass covered the soil of coral sand. A high pole was fixed 
in the ground and a bottle containing an account of the island buried near it. 
There waw no water; turtles were abundant. 
"Amongst the birds we saw the most worthy of notice was a species of wildpigeon XXXX when 
flying at night it made a loud and disagreeable noise." 
[Apparently Puffinus cuneatus .] A chart of the island is given. 
About ten we sighted the island and came in toward the northwestern side with 
caution since the original 1 survey for the island had been made in 1805 withother 
corrections later. The island seemed a barren sand spit save for a dark line along the 
northern end that might represent vegetation 
...We found k to 5 fathoms of water over the entrance and practically an the 
way in to within a quarter of a mile from the island. The bottom was partly coral 
