wind and sea, my personal safety was endangered by the steer-oar having nearly thrown me out of the boat; and to prevent the consequences of such an accident, I stripped, and caused my men to do the same, thus prepared for a swim as our last resource. Providence, however, interposed, and at 5 P.M. it pleased God to crown our efforts with success, and to conduct both. boats safe to the ship, after encountering perils and fatigues unparalleled by any thing I ever before witnessed.

The passage between la Pérouse's reef and Cape Wilson I have called Charles Trower's Passage, after Mr. Charles Trower, police magistrate at Calcutta. It leads into one of the finest reef harbours in the known world, which I have called Kyd's Harbour, after Mr. James Kyd, master-builder to the Hon. East-India Company at Calcutta.

Towards 5 P.M. the rain abated, and the wind became nearly calm. At 6, the two boats sent round from Paiow by the way of Whannow returned to the ship. The officer reported, that on reaching the reef he went up to the canoes, the people in which succeeded in procuring three small brass guns, and one of the sailors found a fourth lying in a hollow covered with two or three feet of water, where the islanders report the ship was wrecked. Mr. Russell paid them for the guns they had found, and detained

one of their canoes, on account of its light draught of water, to skim the surface of the reef in search of further remains of the wrecks.

The following articles were procured by the natives and boats' crews, and received on board the Research, viz.

4 brass guns, three of which are 2 inches in calibre, and .the fourth 13 inches. They have the following figures engraved on their pinions, descriptive, I suppose, of their severa] numbers and weights. That on the left hand I suppose to be the registered number of the gun: Gun the first, No. 602, 144 lbs.; Do. second, No. 541, 144 lbs.; Do. third, 461, 143; Do. fourth, No. 252, 94 lbs.-1 large shot-weight, about 18 lbs.-1 leaden cistern belonging to a ship's-head, used for certain purposes, and much bruised.-1 piece of lead in pipe, belonging to the quarter gallery.-7 pieces of the stern-head of a ship, with several nail-holes in them.-1 leaden vessel much bruised, somewhat resembling our English porter-pots.-2 copper links with handles attached to each.-1 handle without a link.-1 long ditto.-I small piece of sheet copper with two nail-holes in it.-2 pieces of oldfashioned shoe-buckles.-1 Spanish dollar, nearly coated with coral. Part of a surgeon's tourniquet.-Several pieces of broken glass bottles. - 1 piece of flint glass, with several pieces of broken china and crockery-ware.-1 earthen brick of European manufacture,-and part of the socket of a brass. candlestick.

Paiow bears N.E.E. by compass, distance two miles from the place where these articles were found.

Mr. Russell experienced no inconvenience from the blowing weather, being under the lee of the island in smooth water. He was, how

ever, much impeded in his examination of the reef by the heavy rain, which disturbing the glassy surface of the water, obscured every thing beneath it.

In consequence of the good success the boats had met with, I determined to cause the barrier reef from Cape Wilson round by the way of south to Whannow to be explored next day; to which I was further induced by Martin Bushart saying he understood from some Tucopians that the other ship was wrecked off Denimah.

2d.-Fine weather, with very little rain. At 6 A.M. despatched Mr. Russell, with the three whale-boats, for the reefs off Denimah, with instructions to land and get some of the islanders to point out the spot of reef whereon the ship was lost, as stated by the Tucopians; and as the tide would be over the reef at noon, which would render further search for the day fruitless, he was then to proceed to Paiow, and anchor there, in order to take advantage of next morning's tide. As a stimulus to the men, I offered one hundred rupees reward for every gun recovered, and a proportionate compensation for any other article likely to throw light upon the subject. I procured more fish from the islanders to-day than at any time since my arrival here, as also a large quantity of cocoanuts and tara.

3d.-Fine trade weather. At low water I

set out, with a boat's crew, to examine the buoys in Dillon's Channel after the late stormy weather: I found several gone adrift, and others water-logged. After passing through the channel, I sounded Lushington's Bay in various parts, and found from twenty-seven to thirtythree fathoms over a good mud bottom.

At 6 P.M. the boats that had been despatched yesterday for Paiow not appearing, we shewed a blue light to guide them when near the ship. At 7 P.M. they returned, with a few articles, most of which were procured on the reef where the brass guns were found.

It will be perceived by the officer's account which follows, how egregiously we were imposed upon by our Tucopian interpreter, who, I suspect, did not understand twenty words of the Mannicolan language.

"At 6 A.M. left the ship, and at half-past 7 passed Cape Wilson. Two of the boats proceeded to examine the reef, under charge of the first officer and Mr. Ross, while I sailed along shore to Denimah, where I landed with Rathea and Bushart, and prevailed on two of the natives to accompany me to the place where the ships were lost. I immediately sailed over for the reef opposite to Denimah, where I joined the other two boats, and found they had discovered a passage in the reef sufficiently large to admit ships of the greatest size. I

then inquired of the natives where the ship was lost out of which they had procured the things they sold us some time ago: they replied, Off Paiow; and that no ship had been lost off Denimah.'

"This new account astonished me, and I inquired, if no ship whatever had been lost on that part of the reef, how could the four men come on shore, of whom they gave me an account the last time I visited their village. They replied that they did not know; but that certainly four men did land there. This contradiction I imputed to the ignorance of the interpreters for it is my opinion that Rathea knows less of the Mannicolan language than Bushart does of the Tucopian, which is scarcely any thing. What they related I have given in their own words, without adding to or taking from them.

"On hearing this statement, I deemed further search on this part of the reef useless, and sailed along its edge as close as possible, with a view to discover other openings. We were under sail for an hour, and brought King Charles the Tenth's Cape to bear north, when one of the Denimah people made a sign to me to approach the reef. As I complied, he made circular motions with his finger, giving me to understand that there was something deposited there. We soon landed on the reef, and