I Did Not Much
Like The Look Of The Heavy Sky And Rather Rough Sea, And My Men
Were Very Unwilling To Make The Attempt; But As We Could Scarcely
Hope For A Better Chance, I Insisted Upon Trying.
The pitching
and jerking of our little boat, soon reduced me to a state of
miserable helplessness, and I lay down, resigned to whatever
might happen.
After three or four hours, I was told we were
nearly over; but when I got up, two hours later, just as the sun
was setting, I found we were still a good distance from the
point, owing to a strong current which had been for some time
against us. Night closed in, and the wind drew more ahead, so we
had to take in sail. Then came a calm, and we rowed and sailed as
occasion offered; and it was four in the morning when we reached
the village of Kisslwoi, not having made more than three miles in
the last twelve hours.
MATABELLO ISLANDS.
At daylight I found we were; in a beautiful little harbour,
formed by a coral reef about two hundred yards from shore, and
perfectly secure in every wind. Having eaten nothing since the
previous morning, we cooked our breakfast comfortably on shore,
and left about noon, coasting along the two islands of this
group, which lie in the same line, and are separated by a narrow
channel. Both seem entirely formed of raised coral rock; but them
has been a subsequent subsidence, as shaven by the barrier reef
which extends all along them at varying distances from the shore,
This reef is sometimes only marked by a. line of breakers when
there is a little swell on the sea; in other places there is a
ridge of dead coral above the water, which is here and there high
enough to support a few low bushes.
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