Note 51 — Chapter IX

On the 6th, having concluded the treaty (a copy of which will be found in Appendix XIII)51 and the other business that had taken me to Sooloo, we took our departure for the Straits of Balabac, the western entrance into this sea, with a fine breeze to the eastward. By noon we had reached the group of Pangootaaraang,52 consisting of five small islands. All of these are low, covered with trees, and without lagoons. They presented a great contrast to Sooloo, which was seen behind us in the distance. The absence of the swell of the ocean in sailing through this sea is striking, and gives the idea of navigating an extensive bay, on whose luxuriant islands no surf breaks. There are, however, sources of danger that incite the navigator to watchfulness and constant anxiety; the hidden shoals and reefs, and the sweep of the tide, which leave him no control over his vessel.