the name of an island between Japan and China, of which Perseus writes in the following terms: "On the 5th of May, at one o'clock in the morning, we made an island, which bore north-north-east of us; we passed the rest of the night, standing off and on, under an easy sail, and at day-break I shaped my course so as to run along the west coast of this island, at the distance of half a league. We sounded several times without finding bottom. We were soon satisfied that this island was inhabited, for we saw fires in several places, and herds of oxen grazing on the sea-shore. When we had doubled its west point, which is the most beautiful and best inhabited side, several canoes put off from the shore in order to observe us. They seemed to be extremely in fear of us; their curiosity caused them to advance within musket-shot, and their distrust made them immediately flee away with speed. Our shouts, gestures, signs of peace, and the sight of some trifles, at length determined two of the canoes to come alongside of us. I made each of them a present of a piece of nankeen and some medals. It was evident that these islanders had not left the coast with any intention of trafficking with us, for they had nothing to offer in exchange for our presents; they only fastened to a rope a bucket of fresh water, making signs to us, that they still thought themselves in our debt, but that they were going ashore to fetch provision, which they expressed by putting their hand into their mouth. Before coming alongside the frigate, they placed their hands upon their breast, and raised their arms towards the sky; these gestures were repeated by us, and then they resolved to come on board; but it was with a want of confidence, which was strongly expressed in their countenance during the whole time. They nevertheless invited us to approach the land, giving us to understand, that we should there want for nothing. These islanders are KUR

are neither Japanese nor Chinese, but, situate between these two empires, they seem to partake of both people. Their covering was a shirt and a pair of cotton drawers. Their hair, tucked up on the crown of the head, was rolled round a needle, which seemed to us to be gold; each of them had a dagger, the handle of which was gold also. Their canoes were made out of hollowed trees, and they managed them very indifferently. I could have wished to land upon this island, but as we had brought the ship to, in order to wait for these canoes, and as the current set to the northward with extreme rapidity, we had drifted a great way to leeward, and our efforts to reach it would perhaps have been in vain: besides, we had not a moment to lose, and it was of the highest importance to us to get out of the Japan seas before the month of June; a period of storms and hurricanes, which render these seas the most dangerous in the whole world.

"It is clear, that vessels which might be in want would readily provide themselves with provision, wood, and water, in this island, and perhaps even carry on a little trade; but as it is not more than three or four leagues in circumference, there is no great probability that its population exceeds four or five hundred persons; and a few gold needles are not of themselves a proof of wealth." Our author, by observation, found the latitude of Kumi to be 24° 33' north; its longitude 120° 56' east from Paris.