northward of a group of islets and rocks extending 17 miles from N.N.W. to S.S.E., the centre of which was in lat. 14° 30′ 30′′ N., lon. 168° 42′ 15′′ E., from the observations of Lieutenant William Henry Smyth, a name since deservedly celebrated. The largest of the islands received the name of Sybilla; the southernmost, Petrel; the others Fruitful, Danger, and Rabbit Islands. The northernmost part of the rocky reef was named the Rocks of Scylla.* Capt. Kotzebue saw these islands March 17, 1817, and sailed along their West side. His description entirely accords with that given by Lieutenant Smyth and Capt. Quintano. His determination of their position is, for the centre, lat. 14° 42′ N., lon. 169° 3′ 30′′; but he concedes the difference, 21', between his own calculation and that of Lieutenant Smyth, to the latter authority. WAKES ISLAND was discovered by the Prince William Henry in 1796, and its position, &c., fixed by Capt. Wilkes in 1840. It is a low coral island of a triangular form, and 8 feet above the water. It has a large lagoon in the centre, filled with a variety of fish, among which are some fine mullet. No fresh water, no palm nor cocoa-nut trees. From appearances, the island is at times submerged, or the sea makes a breach over it. Low water at 1 on the moon's last quarter. The reef around is very small. Lat. 19° 10′ 54′′ N., lon. 166° 31′ 30′′. It is very probable that Halcyon Island, said by Kotzebue to have been discovered by an American captain, is the same as Wakes Island, because Capt. Wilkes passed by its assigned position without seeing it. Krusenstern calls Wakes Island by the name of Halcyon, on this supposition.+ SAN BARTOLOMEO ISLAND; MANUEL RODRIGUEZ REEF.-An island was discovered, in 1536, by Torito Alonzo de Salazar, called S. Bartolomeo, which is placed on Admiral Espinosa's chart in lat. 15° 10' N., lon. 163° 43′ E., without. stating upon what authority. In the memoir of Admiral Espinosa, the Manuel Rodriguez Reef is placed in lat. 11° 0' N., lon. 141° 17' W.; but these indications are so vague that no dependence can be placed on their accuracy It is sufficient here to mention them. MARIANA OR LADRONE ISLANDS. The archipelago of the Marianas or Ladrones is composed of a chain of volcanic islands, which extend in a North and South direction for a space of 140 leagues. Magalhaens, the first circumnavigator, discovered them on March 6th, 1521, but he only saw Tinian, Saypan, and Aguijan. His companions in the voyage named them the "Islands of the latteen sails" (Islas de los velas latinas), on account of the triangular form of the sails carried by their prahus. The Spaniards named them also Ladrones, from the great propensity to thieving evinced by the natives, A plan drawn up from the observations then made will be found in Mr. Purdy's Tables, attached to the Oriental Navigator, 1816, p. 154, and an account of them in the Correspondence Astron. du Baron de Zach, vol. iv. Krusenstern, vol. ii. p. 48; Supp., p. 114; Wilkes's Narrative, &c., vol. v. p. 268. although Father Gobien, who wrote a history of the archipelago, states that they hold this vice in detestation. Antonio Galvaom mentions them under the names of Los Jardines and Los Prazeras, or Pleasant Islands. It was in 1668 that they received the name of Marianas, in honour of the widow of the King of Spain, Philip IV., Maria Anna of Austria. This name has been continued to the present day, and has nearly absorbed all others given previously. In 1564 or 1565, Andreas Miguel Lopez Legaspi came hither, and proclaimed them to be the possession of the crown of Spain, but he stayed here but a very short time. The advantage which these islands afford to the Spaniards, by their situation on the grand track from Acapulco to Manila, and the facility in procuring fresh provisions and water here, soon induced them to take actual possession of them. Under the pretext of converting the natives to the christian religion, they founded, in 1668, in the Island of Guahan, a mission under the direction of Padre de Sanvitores, which soon extended its influence over the other inhabited islands. The mutual good understanding, however, did not last long between the missionaries and the natives, who after some months had elapsed began to revolt against them. The discontent daily increased; the baptizing particularly annoyed them; and the death of an infant, which followed soon after the ceremony, made them believe that it was an inevitable consequence of baptism, and this led to a complete outbreak. They attacked the fort, and killed several of the Spaniards, but European discipline and fire-arms prevailed, and they were obliged to yield. The war of extermination and the emigration to other islands so destroyed the population, that when Dampier came hither in 1686, that is, eighteen years after the arrival of Padre de Sanvitores, there were not more than 100 natives on the island. Dampier says that the number had been 400, but the Spanish authors magnify them into 40,000, probably a great exaggeration. It was not until 1695 that all resistance was quelled, which proves that up to this date the natives had not abandoned the hope of recovering their independence; but an epidemic finished the work of destruction, and when Anson visited the Island of Tinian, in 1742, he found it entirely deserted. This island, which once had a population of 30,000 men, was now only inhabited by wild hogs and cattle. The reports of Sanvitores, also, would confirm the estimates of the population. He says, among other things, that during the first year of his labours he baptized 13,000 people, and converted 20,000; but this must be overrated. At the present time all the islands are nearly uninhabited, with the exception of Guahan, the population of which, according to Malespina, amounts to 4,000 people, but he does not say how many of these are of the primitive race. According to Kotzebue, there was but a single couple in 1817, at the death of whom the indigenes would become extinct. The last-named author also tells us that the Americans, who trade in peltry between the N.W. coast of America and China, had formed an establishment on the Islands of Saypan and Grigan. For this purpose they had brought some families of Sandwich islanders to cultivate the land and raise live stock; but as soon as the Spaniards heard of this, they sent thither a detachment of soldiery to the infant colony, who destroyed the plantations, and carried with them the Sandwich islanders as prisoners. M. Chamisso, the naturalist in Kotzebue's expedition, has given a detailed account of this enterprise, undertaken in 1810, by Capt. Brown, of the American ship Derby. The most complete nautical account and chart of the archipelago is that drawn up by M. de Freycinet, who surveyed a portion of the southern part of the group in the French corvettes L'Uranie and La Physicienne, in 1819.* Prior to this, although they had been frequently visited, they were but imperfectly known. To this source, then, and to the narratives of the older voyagers, we are indebted for our account.† It has been stated that the islands are entirely without inhabitants, with the exception of Guahan, the southernmost; this is not strictly the case, but the few people found only on two or three of them almost warrants the assertion. At the period of D'Urville's visit in 1839, the population of Guahan was estimated at 5,000 souls, and idle ones too. It is garrisoned by 150 soldiers, indios of Manila, or natives. The fortifications are very bad, and might easily be taken. Altogether, they are very unimportant as a colony to Spain, from their being at the greatest distance of all her possessions. The island next in importance to Guahan is Rota, which is governed by a military Indian alcade. Several natives of the Carolines, who escaped from the floods occasioned by a hurricane which completely overwhelmed their islands, came to Saypan, where they fixed themselves, with the consent, of the governor. I The primitive inhabitants of the archipelago have left some memorials of their talent behind them, like those of the now-forgotten monuments on Easter Island, at the opposite extreme of the Pacific Islands. In Tinian these structures are remarkable. They are described in Lord Anson's Voyage, where a view is given. of one, and are mentioned by other and later visitors. Lieutenant Mortimer says they consisted, in the state he saw them, of two ranges of columns, either of stone or composition, and of a pyramidal form, 5 feet 4 inches broad at the base, and 14 feet high, having large semi-globes, 5 feet 10 inches in diameter, placed on the tops, with their flat surfaces upwards. These singular structures, which are not all exactly alike, are supposed by Freycinet to be the supports of a wooden ceiling. to which the roofs of the principal houses were affixed. In the Atlas Historique accompanying his Voyage, the views and restoration of these are given (plates 73, 74, 75, 81). WINDS AND CURRENTS.-Admiral Krusenstern makes the following observations on this subject:-The Marianas lie in the region of the North tropic, and consequently in that of the N.E. trade-winds. But this is not the prevalent wind. The N.E. and S.W. monsoons, which are met with in the China sea, on the coasts of China, and near the Philippine Islands, extend as far as the • Freycinet's Voyage, Paris, 1826; Navigation et Hydrog., chap. xi. pp. 190—221. The accounts of the progress of discovery in this group will be found in Herrera, decad. 3, 1. 7, et seq.; Argensola, Conquista de las Molucas, lib. i.; Gonzales de Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias; Gomara, Hist. Gen. de las Indias; Ultimo Viage al Estrecho de Magalhaens, p. 205, &c. ; Anson's Voyage Round the World, by Richard Walter, book iii. chap. 2; Byron's Voyage, in Hawkesworth's Collection, vol. i. p. 116, et seq.; Wallis's Voyage, ibid. vol. i. p. 279, et seq.; Portlock's Voyage, p. 317; Gilbert's Voyage of the Charlotte, 1788, pp. 66-7; Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, 1789, p. 245. Voyage de L'Astrolabe et Zelée, tome v. pp. 202–336. Observations, &c., on a Voyage to Teneriffe, N.W. America, Otaheite, Tinian, and to Canton, in the brig Mercury, commanded by J. H. Cox, by Lieutenant George Mortimer, 1791, p. 64, et seq. Marianas, and sometimes even beyond them; so that the limits between the monsoons and the trade-winds must be found somewhere near this archipelago, as is explained in a subsequent page, in treating of the winds and currents. The currents generally following the direction of the winds, it is probable that it is also the case near the Marianas. But Capt. Golownin met with a rapid current bearing to the N.E., although the wind blew from that quarter; and a Spanish officer affirms that a similar current generally flows in this part; but this phenomenon may proceed from some local cause, and is but an exception, and does not affect the general rule. Between the Islands of Tinian and Aguijan a violent current was remarked in the Centurion, the direction of which was alternately S.S.E. and N.N.W. This would prove the existence of regular tides. The flood, which bore to the N.N.W., was more rapid than the ebb, and lasted longer. Pasco-Thomas also remarked, that during the syzygies the flood was 2 feet less than at the quadratures, which is contrary to what usually occurs. The greatest rise of water was 8 feet; with S.W. winds the flood rose higher than with other winds.* Observations on the Winds, by M. de Freycinet.-"We remarked that in April and May the wind at the Island of Guahan almost always blew freshly from E.N.E. to E.S.E. It sprang up at break of day, became very fresh towards 8 or 10 o'clock, A.M., and was calm during the night. The sky was most generally clear; sometimes it was overcast with thick clouds, which, driven with great rapidity, gave place to showers and strong gusts. "When the horizon was overcast to the S.W., the N.W., and West, with a black mass, not high, the sea began to break on the inner banks at the Luis Harbour. It also occurred that, notwithstanding the continuance of the easterly winds, the S.W. and westerly swell render the narrow passages between these reefs impracticable. During our stay, storms accompanied by rain were very frequent, but of short duration. Thunder was never heard. "The monsoons are felt at the Marianas; that from the West takes place from the middle of June to the middle of October. The wind, however, does not blow violently but for three months of the year. Hurricanes are rare, but are not unknown; nor are earthquakes, which, on the contrary, are tolerably frequent. Of the first-mentioned scourges there had not been one for seven years prior to our visit. "According to Don Luis de Torres, the months of July to November are the season of bad weather, storms, thunder, and rain; and in December, January, and February, the weather is variable; March, April, May, and June, are the finest; the breeze then comes from East and N.E. The months when the winds blow strongest are August, September, October, and November; they blow at these periods from N.W. to S.W. by W., sometimes from South and S.E., but in general rather between North and West than from North itself."+ GUAM, or GUAHAN, or GUAJAN, is the southernmost and principal of * Burney's Chronological History, &c., vol. v. p. 72. Freycinet, pp. 220-1. Guam is spelt in the Atlas Historique of Freycinet's Voyage, Gwam, the w being equivalent to the diphthong ou. Most of the words usually spelt with this, the Italian u or English vo, are thus written in the excellent map in question. the Marianas, inasmuch as it is the seat of government, and is also the largest of them. Besides this, it is the only one inhabited to any extent. It is about 29 miles in length, in a N.E. N. and S. W. S. direction, and 3 miles broad. It is bordered throughout a greater part of its circuit with a chain of reefs, which are uncovered at times. Excellent old Dampier thus describes the island :—“ At a distance it appears flat and even, but coming near it, you will find it stands shelving, and the East side, which is much the highest, is fenced with steep rocks, that oppose the violence of the sea, which continually rages against it, being driven by the constant trade-wind, and on that side there is no anchoring. The West side is pretty low, and full of small sandy bays, divided with as many rocky points. The soil of the island is reddish, dry, and indifferently fruitful. The fruits are chiefly rice, pine apples, water-melons, musk-melons, oranges and limes, cocoa-nuts, and a sort of fruit called by us bread-fruit. "The cocoa-nut trees grow by the sea on the western side in great groves, 3 or 4 miles in length and 1 or 2 miles broad." It was surveyed by M. Duperrey, under the orders of Capt. Freycinet, in 1819; he went round it in a boat; and in the Atlas attached to the Voyage of L'Uranie, are some excellent and detailed plans. From that description we make the ensuing abstract : UMATA BAY is about 2,000 feet deep in an E.N.E. direction; its two extreme points are 1,700 feet apart. The South coast is mountainous from Cape Chalan Aniti to the bottom of the bay, where the River Umata or Saloupa enters. It is the usual watering place. The North coast is low, and the town stands here. The church, built at the foot of the mountain, fronts the eastern part of the bay; a small rivulet, the Sabo River, flows between the church and the governor's house. Behind the town the hills rise in an amphitheatre, and are neither high nor remarkable. On the South side of the bay, on the contrary, the Inago Mount, opposite the governor's house, is remarkable; and farther West is another of 120 or 130 feet high, on the summit of which is the fort of N. S. de la Soledad. Between these two hills a rivulet of excellent water flows, called the Chioreto. Point Tougouéne really forms the South extremity of Umata Bay. It is low, pointed, and guarded by a chain of reefs, which approaches Cape Chalan Aniti within a cable's length. To the North of the bay is an isolated and picturesque rock, on which Fort Sant. Angel is built. It is approached by steps cut in the rock. About 100 fathoms from it, to the North, is another, Fort San José. A battery at the bottom of the bay opposite the church is called N. S. del Carmen. Forts San José and N. S. de la Soledad are plainly discernible by their whiteness. Umata Bay is perfectly sheltered from North and South round by East; but in the season of westerly winds, or from June to September, it is imprudent, or perhaps impossible, to remain here, on account of the heavy sea sent in. The coast trends to N.W. N., from the Bay of Umata to Point Facpi, lat. 13° 19′ 50′′ N., lon. 144° 50′ 30" E., forming several sinuosities in the space, the deepest of which is Cetti Bay, as large as that of Umata. Point Facpi is remarkable for being pointed, projecting, and terminating in an isolated rock joined to the shore by breakers, uncovered at low water. Thence to Point Oroti, the West point of the peninsula of the same name, the coast presents a bay of |