Page 438 - INDIANNAVYV1

406 HISTORY OP THE INDIAN NAXT. '
complete a distance of seventy-nine miles." Lieutenant Bracks
pushed on his operations with unabated vigour, and, having
subjected the whole of the Persian littoral within the Gulf,
together with the several islands, banks, and shoals, to a
careful examination, completed the survey in the April of
1828.
The survey of the entrance to the Gulf was resumed in
October, and pushed on with great zeal and success until the
following February, when Lieutenant Brucks, having completed
the examination of the coast as far as Guadel, at length
succumbed to the lengthened hard work and exposure. Pro-
ceeding to Muscat he made over charge of the ' Benares ' to
Lieutenant S. B. Haines, who, assisted by Lieutenant Pinching,
and other officers, prosecuted a minute survey of the ]\Iekran
and Guadel coasts. Up to this time the whole shore from
Mandavee to Kurrachee had been practically unsurveyed, while
from this point to Cape Guadel, the coast of Mekran had been
but slightly laid down by Lieutenant Maskal, and from thence
to the entrance of the Persian Gulf only flying surveys had
been made until Brucks and Haines, and their coadjutors,
undertook the task. In April, 1829, this latter talented officer
visited Kurrachee. and make a rough survey'' of the harbour,
though the native authorities, with a just premonition that such
a step would be the prelude to its occupation by the insatiable
lords of more than half of India, showed the greatest reluctance
to permit the examination. In May, 1829, the 'Benares'
returned to Bombay.
Lieutenant Brucks was not a scientific observer of the calibre
of Ross, Lloyd, and others of the Service, but his deficiencies
were amply made up by the acquirements of a singularly able
band of assistants. The survey of the Persian Gulf occupied
nearly nine years, and, in 1829, when it was con)pleted, only
one of the officers who had joined the ' Discovery ' and Psyche
•
at its commencement—Brucks himself, who attained the rank
of Commander on the 24th of March, 1829— was so fortunate
as to retain his health, and just as all was nearly coujplete, he
also broke down and was obliged to take two years' leave.*
The following detailed account of the work done during the
last eighteen months of the survey, is derived from the journal of
one of the officers :—The 'Discovery' left Bassadore and com-
* Tlie following were the resultnnt. charts —Entrance to the Gulf of Persia,
:
Lieutenant Brucks, 1828. Coast of Arabia from Kas Goberliinde to Ras Soaste,
Lieutenant Brucks, 1828. Gulf of Persia, Commander Brucks, 1830. Persian
Gulf (Arabian side) from Cape Mussendom to the Euphrates. Island and harbour
of Bahrein, Lieutenant Brucks, 1825. Anchoi-age of El Katilf, Lieutenant
Brucks. Entrances to the rivers at the head of the Persian Gulf, Lieutenants
Brucks and Haines. Coast of Persia, from Ras Tuloop to Bushire, 1826.
Bu.shire Roads. 1826. Coast of Persia from Bushire to Bassadore, Lieutenants
Brucks and Haines. Clarence Straits, Commander Brucks. Coast of Persia
and Beloochistan from Koe Mubarrack to Kurrachee, 1823.