Summary

　　First. There is no objection to Samana in respect to size, position orshape. That it is a little island, lying east and west, is in its favor. Theerosion at the east end, by which islets have been formed, recalls theassertion of Columbus that there it could be cut off in two days and madeinto an island.

　　The Nassau vessels¹ still find a snug² anchorage here during thenortheast trades. These blew half a gale³ of wind at the time of the landfall;yet Navarette, Varnhagen, and Captain Becher anchored the squadron onthe windward sides of the coral reefs of their respective islands, a "leeshore."The absence of permanent lagoons⁴ at Samana I have tried to explain.

　　Second. The course from Samana to Crooked⁵ is to the southwest,which is the direction that the Admiral said be should steer⁶ "tomorrowevening." The distance given by him corresponds with the chart.

　　Third. The second island, Santa Maria, is described as having twosides which made a right angle, and the length of each is given. Thispoints directly to Crooked and Acklin. Both form one island, so fitted tothe words of the journal as cannot be done with any other land of theBahamas.

　　Fourth. The course and distance from Crooked to Long Island is thatwhich the Admiral gives from Santa Maria to Fernandina.

　　Fifth. Long Island, the third, is accurately⁷ described. The trend of theshores, "north-northwest and south-southeast;" the "marvelous port" andthe "coast which runs east [and] west," can nowhere be found except at thesoutheast part of Long Island.

　　Sixth. The journal is obscure in regard to the fourth island. The bestway to find it is to "plot" the courses FORWARD from the third island andthe courses and distances BACKWARD from the fifth. These lead toFortune for the fourth.

　　Seventh. The Ragged⁸ Islands are the fifth. These he named las islas deArena--Sand Islands.

　　They lie west-southwest from the fourth, and this is the course the Admiral adhered to. He did not "log" all the run made between theseislands; in consequence the "log" falls short of the true distance, as itought to. These "seven or eight islands, all extending from north to south,"and having shoal water "six leagues to the south" of them, are seen on thechart at a glance.

　　Eighth. The course and distance from these to Port Padre, in Cuba, isreasonable. The westerly current, the depth of water at the entrance ofPadre, and the general description, are free of difficulties. The truedistance is greater than the "logged," because Columbus again omits partof his run. It would be awkward if the true distances from the fourth to thefifth islands, and from the latter to Padre, had fallen short of the "log,"since it would make the unexplainable situation which occurs in Irving'scourse and distance from Mucaras Reef to Boca de Caravela.

　　From end to end of the Samana track there are but three discrepancies⁹.

　　At the third island, two leagues ought to be two miles. At the fourth islandtwelve leagues ought to be twelve miles. The bearing between the thirdand fourth islands is not quite as the chart has it, nor does it agree with thecourses he steered¹⁰. These three are fairly explained, and I think that noothers can be mustered¹¹ to disturb the concord¹² between this track and thejournal. -------Rev. Mr. Cronan, in his recent voyage, discovered a cave at Watling'sisland, where were many skeletons of the natives. It is thought that a studyof the bones in these skeletons will give some new ethnologicalinformation as to the race which Columbus found, which is now, thanks toSpanish cruelty, entirely¹³ extinct.

1 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

3 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

4 lagoons   

n.污水池( lagoon的名词复数 )；潟湖；（大湖或江河附近的）小而浅的淡水湖；温泉形成的池塘

参考例句：

• The Islands are by shallow crystal clear lagoons enclosed by coral reefs. 该群岛包围由珊瑚礁封闭的浅水清澈泻湖。 来自互联网
• It is deposited in low-energy environments in lakes, estuaries and lagoons. 它沉淀于湖泊、河口和礁湖的低能量环境中，也可于沉淀于深海环境。 来自互联网

5 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

6 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

7 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

8 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

9 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。