examined the group more closely, and consequently found it was one-half larger than he at first supposed. On the N.W. of the group are several large islands, well covered with cocoa-nut trees. There are two broad entrances to the inland sea, which were accurately examined, and found to be perfectly safe for a ship-of-the-line, since, according to their direction, you may sail in or out with the trade-wind. From this cause, and the appearance of excellent anchorage, Kotzebue recommends this group to any navigator wishing to put into Radack. The N.W. point of the group is in lat. 10° 3′ 40′′ N., lon. 169° 1′ 57′′. TEMO or STEEP-TO ISLAND, a small island seen in the Nautilus, to which the latter name was applied. Capt. Kotzebue says its native name is Temo, and is in lat. 9° 58′ N., lon. 169° 45′ E., at the distance of 20 miles E.N.E. E. from the Legiep Islands. MIADI or NEW YEAR ISLAND was discovered by Kotzebue, January 1, 1817. It is a low, woody island, 3 miles long North and South, and threequarters of a mile broad. From the North side a very long reef extends. They could not effect a landing on it. It is clothed with a lovely verdure, and is inhabited by a similar race to those on the Kutusoff Islands. The island seems to produce but little fruit. The position of the middle of the island is lat. 10° 8' 27", lon. 170° 55′ 34′′ E.-(Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. ii. pp. 4-8.) AILU, or TINDAL AND WATTS, or KRUSENSTERN ISLANDS.-Admiral Krusenstern considers this group to be the same as that named by Capt. Marshall, in 1788, Tindal and Watt's Island. Kotzebue supposed it to be a new discovery, March 1, 1817, and applied the name of the great hydrographer to it. Its native name is Ailu (or Ailou). Kotzebue surveyed it. The group is 15 miles long and 5 miles broad. He entered it by a channel which was narrow, but deep towards the North part. The eastern side of the group is formed by a chain of islands, but the western side consists of a coral reef. Ailu, which gives its name to the whole, is in the South part. It is small, scarcely a mile long; it has a pleasing appearance, and is distinguished from the rest by its tall palm trees. Capeniur Island is the northernmost of the group. Kotzebue's anchorage was in lat. 10° 17′ 25′′ N., lon. 190° 0′ 40′′ W.; variation, 11° 15' 30" E. High water, full and change, 4" 53', rise 8 feet. TAGAI or SOUWOROFF ISLANDS, UDIRICK, or KUTUSOFF, or BUTTON ISLANDS.-On a chart inserted in the Voyage of Governor Phillip, two islands are marked as the Button Islands, from the authority of Capt. Marshall, 1788. They were not inserted on any other chart, and thus Kotzebue considered them as a fresh discovery, May 21, 1815, on his passage to Kamtschatka. The two groups taken together have almost a North and South direction, and extend thus for 25 miles. Kutusoff, or Udirick (or Uderick), is the only one inhabited. The island first seen by Kotzebue had a beautiful grove of cocoa-nut trees. The people came off and were friendly; they were of a black colour, with straight black hair. Souworoff or Tagai, like the former group, consists of small islands, connected by coral reefs, and seemed to contain deep water in the centre. The group appears uninhabited, and, though it is thickly covered with trees, not a single palm tree was to be seen. The channel separating the two groups is 3 miles in length, free from rocks, and unfathomable depth. The latitude of the channel is 11° 11' 20", longitude, 169° 50' 37" E.; variation, 11° 18' E. BIGAR or DAWSON ISLAND is the northernmost of the Radack chain. Its second name is derived from Capt. Marshall's chart. Bigar, from the statement of a native to Kotzebue, forms a circle, consisting, for the most part, of reefs, and contains only two small islands; a third is laid in the middle of the basin, and all are overgrown with low bushes. There are some boat entrances, under the lee of the island, where the natives penetrate to catch turtle and sea-fowl.* The centre is in lat. 11° 48', lon. 170° 7'. The RALICK CHAIN runs parallel to the Radack chain just described, and extends to the same parallel of latitude. The character of the separate groups composing it appears to be the same, and the inhabitants of each are acquainted with each other. The islands of this range have not been so well examined (with some exceptions) as the eastern chain. BIGINI or PESCADORE ISLANDS.-On September 3, 1767, Capt. Wallis discovered two islands, about 35 miles apart, which he supposed to be the Pescadores placed on Anson's chart; but, from some vagueness in his positions, they could not be well identified. Capt. Kotzebue, in his second voyage, has made the matter more clear by the discovery of three groups, of which the easternmost he supposes to be the group in question. Its native name is Bigini. According to Kotzebue, it is a group of low, thickly-wooded coral islands, forming as usual a circle round a basin. The greatest length, East and West, is 10 miles. Their aspect is pleasant, but no sign of inhabitants; so that if they be really the Pescadores, the people must have long ago become extinct, as no monument of their existence is now visible. The centre of the group is in lat. 11° 19′ 21′′ N., lon. 167° 24' 57" E.+ Capt. Hudson, of the U.S. ship Peacock, says it is of a triangular shape, and has on its reef several islets and some sand-spits: the former are covered with a few low bushes, but it has no cocoa-nut or pandanus trees, and affords nothing but the pearl-oyster and turtles in the season. There are two entrances into the lagoon; one about the middle of the North side, the other on the East side. It has no inhabitants, and is incapable of supporting any. RADOKALA or RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF ISLANDS is the second of the three groups discovered by Kotzebue. He named it after his second lieutenant. It is, according to his estimate, 54 miles in extent, in an E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction; its East point being in lat. 11° 26' 45", lon. 167° 14' 20" E., and its S.W. point in lat. 11° 8' 20", lon. 166° 26' 30". The U.S. Exploring ship Peacock examined it, but could not effect a landing on account of the surf. Although a few persons were seen on it, yet there was no appearance of permanent inhabitants. It seemed to be without any vegetable productions capable of sustaining life. Rimski-Korsakoff, though represented on the charts as one island, consists of two. The smaller one lies to the southward, and is 14 miles long by 3 miles wide. The larger island is about 26 miles long, trending N.E. and S.W. It has an entrance to its lagoon on the South side.§ Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. ii. p. 154. + Kotzebue's New Voyage, vol. ii. p. 272. § Ibid. UDIA-MILAI or ESCHSCHOLTZ ISLANDS is the westernmost of these groups. Kotzebue, in October, 1825, named this group after the naturalist of his expedition. He saw only the western part of the group, which he places in lat. 11° 40′ N., and lon. 166° 24′ 25′′ E. A violent gale prevented him from examining its extent eastward. Capt. Chramtschenko also saw only its western portion, so that its eastward islands remain unknown. SHANZ ISLANDS, a group of thirteen islands, discovered May 30, 1835, by Capt. Shanz, of the Russian navy, in the imperial ship America, on her passage from Port Jackson to Kamtschatka. Mr. Reynolds mentions a group, discovered by a Capt. Closly, near this longitude, about 30 miles to the southward, which prevents them being considered as the same. The Shanz Islands extend about 4 leagues from N.W. to S.E., and are 5 miles broad. Their centre is in lat. 10° 5' N., lon., from eight chronometers, 166° 4' E.* KWADELEN or CATHARINE ISLANDS.-The English ship Ocean discovered, in 1804, three groups of islands, which were named Margaretta, Lydia, and Catharine. The Islands Kwadelen (or Quadelen), Namou, and Lileb, placed upon Kotzebue's chart, so exactly agree with these three Ocean Islands, that there can be no doubt of their identity. The Kwadelen or Catharine Islands, the northernmost, are placed in lat. 9° 14' N., lon. 167° 2'. groups. LYDIA or LILEB ISLANDS are the centre, and lie in lat. 9° 4', lon. 165° 58'. MARGARETTA or PATERSON ISLANDS is the southernmost of these There can be no doubt of the identity of the Margaretta Island of the ship Ocean, in 1804, and the Paterson Islands of the brig Elizabeth, in 1809. This island, or as it appeared a group of islands, had a very fertile appearance, being one continuous chain of cocoa-nut trees. It lies about W.N.W. and E.S.E., low, and well wooded. Latitude of South extreme, 8° 55′ 48′′, longitude, 167° 42′ E. TEBUT is placed on Kotzebue's chart in lat. 8° 25′ N., lon. 168° 17'. NAMOU and ODIA, or MUSKILLO GROUP, and PRINCESSA ISLAND.— There is some little confusion in this group, from the fact of its being separated into two, which was not known until Capt. Chramtschenko passed along the western side in 1832, and made a minute survey of them. The name Muskillo Group was given by Capt. Bond, who saw them the day after his making the Baring's Islands, December 16, 1792. He ranged along the coasts of above twenty small islands, lying nearly S. by E. and N. by W. by compass. They all appeared connected by reefs and ledges, distant from each other from 1 to 6 miles; they are all well covered with trees, and full of inhabitants, which were seen in great numbers on the sandy beach. They are very low and dangerous, and a ship in thick weather might run on the reef without seeing the land.t According to Capt. Chramtschenko, the group is composed of two portions joined by a very narrow isthmus; at a short distance it might be taken for two groups. The island forming the isthmus lies in lat. 8° 0' N., lon. 168° 13′; the northernmost island, lat. 8° 10', lon. 168° 0'; the southernmost, lat. 7° 46′, * Krusenstern, Supplement, pp. 162, 172. + Oriental Navigator, p. 689. lon. 168° 23', so that the islands have an extent of 30 miles in a N.W. and S.E. direction. Their breadth is 11 miles. The natives call this group Namou. The name of Lambert was given to the northernmost portion, and Ross to the southern, by Capt. Dennet of the Britannia, but the prior name must be that retained. This latter commander also saw an island, which he called Princessa Island, in lat. 8° 20', lon. 167° 30'; it has not since been seen, though Capt. Hagemeister states that he saw an island near this spot, but Capt. Chramtschenko must have passed it if it existed. Admiral Krusenstern is therefore convinced that it does not, and that the South portion of the Namou group has been taken for it.* HELUT or ELMORE ISLANDS.—This group was named by the Elizabeth, in her passage from Port Jackson to China. The discoverer saw two small round islands, moderately high, but Capt. Chramtschenko says that it consists of a large island and nearly twenty smaller ones, connected by coral reefs, extending 20 miles in length from N.N.W. to S.S.E., and 12 miles in breadth. They are sometimes called the Chramtschenko Islands. The southernmost island is in lat. 7° 15', lon. 168° 46′, nearly according with the positions originally stated.† Capt. Chramtschenko says that the natives call this group Odia; on the charts by Kotzebue, and since followed, it is called Helut. KYLI or BONHAM ISLANDS.—The brig Elizabeth discovered, in 1809, “a very extensive island, a group of islands joined together by low sand (coral?) banks, which I suppose are covered at high water. From one of these banks came a very handsomely built small canoe, with four men in it, stout and well made, and apparently friendly. From the S.E. point of the island a very dangerous, low, sandy point, with scarcely a tree or bush on it, extends to the eastward and northward, 2 or 3 miles, with a very heavy surf breaking on it." The island was called G. Bonham's Island. This group has since been examined by Capt. Duperrey, who called the northern portion Coquille Islands, and the southern part Elizabeth Islands, from the ships which discovered them. According to Capt. Chramtschenko, the group is 30 miles long in a N. W. and S.E. direction, and 20 miles broad. It is composed of four large islands, nineteen others smaller, and one in the centre of the group, separated from the others. There are three entrances to the group, one to the North, another to the West, and the third to the S.E. Krusenstern considers that the Kyli of Kotzebue's chart cannot be Bonham Islands, but the names are still repeated together. NAMURECK or HUNTER ISLAND.-This island was first seen by Capt. Dennet; it is stated to be 2 miles in extent from N.W. to S.E.; the position assigned was lat. 5° 46', lon. 169° 0'. Its position agrees with the Namureck of Kotzebue's chart, and was named Hunter Island. EBON or BARING ISLANDS.-Baring Islands were discovered by Capt. Bond, in the Royal Admiral, December 15, 1792. They are two in number, both very low, and covered with trees, amongst which the cocoa-nut was very • Krusenstern, vol. ii. p. 374, and Supplement, p. 150. + Purdy's Tables to Oriental Navigator, p. 154; Krusenstern, vol. ii. p. 374, and Supplement, p. 150. Purdy's Tables, p. 154. conspicuous. They appeared circular, and of no great extent, seemingly joined by a reef; they were named after the chairman of the court of directors of the East India Company. The position was only inferred as lat. 5° 35′ N., lon. 168° 13′ E.; variation, 10° E.* BOSTON or COVEL ISLANDS.-From information given by Capt. Duperrey, these islands were discovered, May 25, 1824, by an American vessel, under Capt. George Ray, who called them Boston Islands. The name of Covel (or Cowell) group is from an American commander, who thought them a new discovery in 1831. Capt. Hagemeister places them in lat. 4° 39', lon. 168° 50'. They are the southernmost of the Ralick chain. The following is a recent account of them : The group consists of thirteen low coral islands, covered with cocoa-nut trees, and connected by coral reefs forming a large lagoon inside. The group is 30 miles in circumference, has a good ship passage leading through the reef to the lagoon on the West side, and is thickly inhabited by an able-bodied race of men, who are of a light copper complexion. They have large canoes, or rather proas, capable of carrying fifty men. When Capt. visited these islands, in February, 1845, he was attacked outside the reef by three proas carrying 150 men, and the vessel was nearly taken, but after a struggle, in which four of his crew were severely wounded, the vessel was retaken. The group, according to this authority, is in lat. 4° 30' N., lon. 168° 42′ E.† CHAPTER XXXII. THE CAROLINE ARCHIPELAGO. THIS extensive range of islands was, until recent times, comparatively unknown. This ignorance, and the terrible accounts of their dangerous character given by various navigators who had crossed the chain, caused them to be the subject of the greatest dread to all commanders sailing in their vicinity. All these fears and doubts have, like most others of their kind, been dispelled by the more exact knowledge which modern science gives of the actual character of the subjects it is applied to. It is chiefly to the voyage of Capt. Duperrey, in the French royal ship La Coquille, in 1823, and to the surveys by Rear-Admiral Lütke, of the Russian corvette La Séniavine, that we owe our present knowledge of these islands. It has been thought that the first notice of any portion of these islands was given by Diego de Roche, a Portuguese, in 1525, as the Sequeira Isles, but it is * Oriental Navigator, p. 689. + Nautical Magazine, November, 1848, p. 577. |
