[
    {
        "id": 204826,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1964",
        "page_number": 129,
        "title": "RAS-1964",
        "content_text": "108\n\nCRANMER-BYNG AND SHEPHERD\n\no'clock on the morning of the 13 inst. We shortly after got under weigh with a fresh breeze from the north, and worked up with the tide to the point anchor in the plan, near the Nine Islands where we anchored. The weather was squally with rain and so thick that we could scarcely discern land. At day break we weighed and worked up to Lintin, where at twelve o'clock we anchored. I went immediately on board the Lion and delivered Your Excellency's Letters to Sir Erasmus Gower. As it rained hard and blew fresh, I remained there for the night, and at seven in the morning I returned to the Jackall, when as there was some appearance of its clearing up, Captain Proctor got under weigh, and stood towards the Island of Lantao. The soundings are expressed in fathoms in the plan, and they point out the track of the vessel. We inserted the rocks marked A.B. which we did not observe in any former plan. The weather continued so thick above, that we could not discover the Peak of Lantao, nor with any precision the land along the shore. At the point C the island marked Shatlapko in the charts, wore so favourable an appearance, that we stood towards it, although as it had been laid down between it and the island of Lantao, little hopes could be entertained of finding shelter for shipping from westerly winds. At one o'clock find that we suddenly shoaled our water, we anchored in 44 fathom water over soft mud at the inner point marked anchor. The uncertain state of the weather, and the short time it was probable we could allow for the examination of Cowhee, made it necessary to hasten from this anchorage. Whilst we took angles in the ship, the boat was dispatched to sound, with directions to stand over to the South East side, as soon as she should find, towards Shatlapko so little as three fathoms water. This she very shortly did and her track and soundings are expressed in the plan. The Island of Shatlapko we found to extend towards the shore of Lantao; by which it appears, that the whole of this bay is sheltered from westerly winds. The officer who sounded in the boat, reported his having seen boats pass through the channel marked D, that the land in its neighbourhood on Lantao was low and cultivated, as was that marked E which he discovered through the opening!\". The point to the north west of E, has been hitherto laid down as an island; as well as",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 204830,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1964",
        "page_number": 133,
        "title": "RAS-1964",
        "content_text": "112\n\nCRANMER-BYNG AND SHEPHERD\n\nweigh at daylight. The morning of the 17th was thick with much rain, we could scarcely discover the land, and were disappointed in our intentions of examining the islands, and of sounding around them. We had found that all the soundings within the line joining the point L, and the islands, were regular and in soft mud, and it is highly probable from the appearance of the land, that this bay affords good anchorage for the space of three or four miles, and the Bottoe Islands with the rock to the southward of them, would afford very good situations for batteries for its defence.\n\nThe westermost island appeared about a quarter of a mile in length, and nearly the same in breadth; on its south end, as we observed from the anchorage of Shatlapko, it ascends gradually from the water's edge, having a small bay as appears in the view; on the north, east and west sides, it rises boldly from the shore. A bank of land extends a little way from its north west angle, on which we found 44 fathoms water when very near the island.\n\nThe eastern island appears longer than the former; it is perhaps half a mile from north to south, and a quarter or upwards in breadth. It shows a bold shore, and has 13 and 15 fathoms water over soft mud close to its north end. They are each of them about 70 or 80 feet in height, and distant from each other about a mile. If these islands were occupied by good batteries, they would afford protection to a number of ships. The establishment might at first be small, and at very little expense, and the island of Lantao would at all time admit of its being extended at pleasure.\n\nIt is probable that the dotted line running south east from Shatlapko, should be nearly the boundary of the shallow water, but there is hardly a doubt that there is a sufficient extent of water of the required depth for any number of the largest ships beyond it, and this over a fine bottom of soft mud. The depth of water round the islands promises a good situation for heaving down ships and small as they are they have every appearance of fertility, being quite covered with shrubs and grass almost to the water's edge.\n\nThe point M appeared to project considerably into the bay, and to offer a good situation for a battery. Along the shore of Lantao there is occasionally cultivated land, particularly in the depth of the bay, where we observed a stream of water rushing down from the hills. We did not see the island named Tysa in the charts.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 204832,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1964",
        "page_number": 135,
        "title": "RAS-1964",
        "content_text": "CRANMER-BYNG AND SHEPHERD\n\nthe mainland. In this latter passage, up which the Jackall had to sail so slowly, there are vicious back-eddies along both shores and there is often no appreciable period of slack water at the turn of the tide. After heavy rains in the Pearl River, the ebb tide from west to east along this channel is particularly strong27. The coasts in general shelve steeply, with few good landing places and often with cliffs plunging straight down to the sea. The only large coastal plain which Parish saw during this survey was at Tung Chung, on the west coast of Lantao behind Chek Lap Kok island (Shatlapko on Parish's chart see note 9) but weather and timetable combined to prevent him from getting a close look at it. There is a general absence of good anchorages, except in the shallow waters between Chek Lap Kok and the coast of Lantao, and there is an 8-foot tidal range. The steep hillsides produce fluky gusts of wind in all but the calmest weather. It is surprising that Parish made such detailed observations in the face of these navigational hazards.\n\nParish's comments on Ma Wan itself are also a fair summary of its geographical limitations. The island is geologically complex, with an interesting variety of soils. The underlying rocks, however, are not sufficiently porous to hold large supplies of ground water, and the size of the island (less than a square mile) is too small to form an effective catchment. Any trading post established on Ma Wan would have been severely restricted in size by this problem. The two small settlements on the island have probably not grown appreciably since Parish's visit28. Perhaps it was fortunate that impressions of Ma Wan were coloured by his attempt to land at the most difficult and dangerous point on the coast.\n\nThe general elevation of Ma Wan is much lower than the hills of North Lantao or of the mainland opposite, and the island is so badly overlooked as to be indefensible. Parish was quite right in rejecting it as a potential site for a large trading settlement, and it is a pity that his orders did not permit him to stay longer on the coast of North Lantao. It is invidious to speculate on the course of history, but if the weather had been better his initial impression of the suitability of the west coast of North Lantao for settlement would no doubt have been confirmed. Possibly the first British trading post would have grown up on Lantao instead of on Hong Kong Island, and the city of Victoria would have looked out over the Pearl River estuary.\n\nPage 135\n\nPage 136",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r",
        "rank": 0
    }
]