A course of action was discussed and agreed upon, and then
all on board were summoned to the open deck to hear the result of
the expedition.
Percival reported the following facts and conclusions:
1. The island was approximately fifteen miles long and six or seven
miles wide in the centre. The basin in which the Doraine rested
was about midway between the extreme points, and about two miles
inland from the northern shore. The southern slope of the range
descended to a flat plain, or perhaps moor, some two miles across
at its broadest point and ran in varying width from one end of the
island to the other. It was green and almost entirely devoid of
timber. The central eminence from which the observations were taken
was the loftiest of a range of ten or twelve diminishing hills
that formed what might actually be described as the backbone of
the island. The eastern extremity tapered off to a long, level,
low-lying promontory that ended in a point so sharp and wedge-like
that it bore a singular resemblance to the forward deck and prow
of a huge ironclad. The hills, as they approached the plateau,
terminated altogether a couple of miles from the tip of land.
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