The harbour of St. John’s is reckoned one of the finest and most commodious in the West Indies. The entrance is defended by Goat Hill Fort on the south, and St. James Fort on the north; across the mouth of it runs a shoal, known as the bar, which extends from a bay called Hog John, to Fort James. The depth of water upon this bar is only from seven to fourteen feet; and consequently, ships, when they are partly laden, pass over this shoal, and take in the remainder of their cargo off Dickenson’s Bay. The principal trade of the island is carried on at this port, the harbour is generally full of shipping; and during the hurricane months, many vessels from the neighbouring islands come here for safety. The approach to it is, however, intersected with numerous rocks, and about three miles from its mouth lies a small island, surrounded by reefs and breakers, to which the name of “Sandy Island” has been attached. It was upon these reefs that, in 1826, the “Maria” mail boat was wrecked, and, with her hapless crew, went to the bottom. She had been down to St. Thomas and the other Islands with the mails for England;[60] and upon her return, putting into Monserrat, took on board the Wesleyan missionaries, and their wives and children, who had been to St. Kitts to attend their yearly district meeting, and who were desirous of returning to Antigua, the scene of their labours. They had left St. Kitts a few days before, in a small vessel hired for the purpose; but finding it rather “crank,” they were unwilling to proceed, and determined to wait at Monserrat for the arrival of the “Maria.”