Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/98

 islands. The tide rises here but two feet, and at high water the island is overflowed. In the center of its lagoon is a most remarkable sight. It is nothing less than a large submerged coral tree, thirty feet in diameter  across its top. We sounded, and found over six fathoms of water all around it. Fishes of various colors, shapes, and sizes were playing among its coral branches, presenting a beautiful sight. We captured several turtles, but their flesh was very rank and coarse. The Samoan Islands were discovered in 1678 by Bougainville, a French  navigator.