The whole of the North side of New Britain, or as far as was seen, appeared to be lofty, for the coast was visible while examining the Françaises Islands.* Cape Lambert is a name given by Krusenstern to the cape taken by D'Entrecasteaux for Cape Stephens, but which lies to the East of it. He places it in lat. 4° 12′ S., and lon. 151° 41'. The coast between this and Cape Stephens, described at the commencement, has not yet been examined. North of Cape Lambert is a reef marked on some charts as Princess Royal Reef, on others as Sherwood's Reef. Still farther North is Legelis Shoal. To the West of the cape another is called Coop-to-do-Choose Reef. Another, the Father and Son, lies to the N.W. of it; and S.W. of this are the Horton Banks. All these have been recently placed on the charts, which must be consulted for their positions. SQUALLY ISLAND; KERUE ISLAND; TENCH ISLAND.-In February, 1700, Dampier discovered an island, which he named Squally Island, lying 6 or 8 leagues to the East of St. Matthias (which he took for the Vischers Island of Tasman). He describes it as being rather flat. Bougainville gives nearly the same description, and says Kerué is 3 leagues in length. He adds, that between it and St. Matthias there is an islet, which is probably the same as that which Dampier places to the S.W. of Squally Island. Lieutenant Ball, in the Supply, discovered, May 19, 1790, two islands, which he named Tench Island and Prince William Henry Island. The former of these agrees in position with Kerué Island, but not as to dimensions. Lieutenant Ball places Tench Island in lat. 1° 39′ S., lon. 150° 30′ E., and states that it is not more than 2 miles in circumference, while Kerué, or Squally Island, is stated to be 2 or 3 leagues long. Neither of these estimates are probably exact, for Ball supposed Tench Island to have a population of 1,000 souls, too large anumber for so small an area. Until something more accurate be known, it may be supposed that these three islands are identical. ST. MATTHIAS ISLAND; PRINCE WILLIAM HENRY ISLAND.— The first of these was discovered by Dampier, who took it to be Tasman's Vischers Island. He says it is lofty, and 9 or 10 leagues in extent. Lieutenant Ball discovered an island, which he called Prince William Henry Island, in lat. 1° 32′ S., and lon. 149° 30' E. From the centre of this island, which lies in an E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction, a high mountain (visible 15 or 16 leagues) rises. From these descriptions Admiral Krusenstern has no doubt but that both are identical. Besides these two islands, Bougainville places on his chart two islets between them, and a third to the West of the N.W. point of St. Matthias Island. Whether all these exist or not remains a problem, but that one other island at least exists in this neighbourhood is somewhat confirmed by Capt. Bristow, who mentions seeing three islands, Tench Island, the easternmost to the North of New Hanover, and Kerué Island, distinct from it to the westward.+ ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. This group, still most imperfectly known, was discovered by Le Maire and Schouten, in July, 1616; they merely sailed past them to the southward, and * Voyage de D'Entrecasteaux, par Rossel, tome i. pp. 432-439. called them the Twenty-Three Islands. In 1761 Carteret saw the principal island, and twenty or thirty smaller ones to the South of it; he gave them the name by which the group is now known. In 1781 Maurelle saw them, and named several of the easternmost. D'Entrecasteaux passed along the northern side of the chief island in July, 1792; he was in great hope of succeeding here in the object of his voyage, the discovery of the fate of La Pérouse's expedition. The principal island of the Admiralty Group is mountainous. The inhabitants are not very black; their physiognomy is agreeable, and differs but little from that of Europeans; they appear unsociable and thievish: the chiefs seem to have great authority; they are armed with darts, headed with obsidian or volcanic glass. The men wear a shell, the bulla ovum; with this exception they are entirely naked. The women only have a garment round the waist. They appear to live principally on cocoa-nuts, which are abundant on the islands. Their hair is curly, and of a black colour; they sometimes redden it with ochre mixed with oil; some parts of the body are thus painted, and especially the face.* ADMIRALTY ISLAND, the largest, is 17 leagues in length from East to West, according to D'Entrecasteaux; he places the centre of the island in lat. 2° 18′ S., lon. 146° 44′ E. The North side, as well as those on the West and South, are surrounded by islets and rocks. Off the N.E. point of the island are the islands called by Maurelle Los Negros. They are small, very pleasant in appearance, covered with cocoa-nut trees, but surrounded by reefs. The North point of the easternmost of this group D'Entrecasteaux places in lat. 1° 58′ 50′′, lon. 147° 16′ 50′′. JESUS MARIA ISLAND is tolerably large, but very dangerous to approach; it is surrounded by a reef, having still water within, and unfathomable off its outer edge. It does not appear to be much cultivated, and is of a disagreeable appearance. But few natives are seen, and apparently it cannot be thickly populated. The S.E. point of the island is in lat. 2° 22′, lon. 147° 48′.+ LOS REYES, in lat. 1° 59', lon. 148° 2′, were nearly proving fatal to D'Entrecasteaux's ships. They were drifted against them by a violent current. The channel separating the western and middle islet is closed by reefs and shoals. The ships passed through a narrow channel, two or three cables' length wide, bounded to the West by a very dangerous bank, which joined on to the centre islet.I LA VANDOLA, the easternmost of the archipelago, is less than 3 miles in circumference. It is covered with cocoa-nut trees. It is thickly populated by an apparently happy and contented people. At some distance off, the island appears like an isolated rock; it is 6 or 7 leagues distant from the other islands, which are close together, but a nearer approach to it shows it to be pleasant and very fertile. Its centre is in lat. 2° 14' S., lon. 148° 10' 16" E. The island is too small to afford shelter to leeward of it. It is the Circular Island of D'Entrecasteaux, in the accounts of whose voyage, by Labillardiere and Rossel, a long description is given. • See Voyage in Search of La Pérouse, p. 174, et seq. + D'Entrecasteaux, vol. i. p. 132. # D'Entrecasteaux, vol. i. p. 443. The islands to the South of the principal island, which appear to be numerous, are not described. The charts must furnish the only guide we possess. Capt. Abraham Bristow sailed through this part of the archipelago in the Sir Andrew Hammond, in February, March, and April, 1817, and discovered several islands, the account of which he gave to the late Mr. John Purdy, whose hydrographical labours are so well known. HAYRICK and PLATFORM, two of these, are two small islands lying close together, and surrounded by a reef. To the S.W. of the Hayrick is an isolated rock, which forms part of the group, being only half a mile distant. The ship Sir Andrew Hammond, on May 19th, 1817, being at 12 miles to the East of this group, had the following bearings of four islands :-Small Round Island, N. 80° W., 21 miles distant; High Island, N. 50° W., 11 miles; Low Island, N. 20° W., 19 miles; and the fourth (in lat. 2° 24′ S., lon. 147° 36′ E., consequently near the position assigned by Maurelle to San Miguel Island), N. 45° E., 23 miles distant. ELIZABETH ISLAND lies 22 miles S.W. of the preceding, also discovered by Capt. Bristow. It is inhabited, low, and well covered with trees. It is 2 miles long in a N.E. and S.W. direction; and connected with it is a surrounding reef, which has double the extent. Landing can only be effected at a single point, in the N.E. part of the island. The latitude is 2° 55', and the longitude, 146° 49'. At 2 miles East from this is a small island, the diameter of which is nearly a mile. There is a lagoon in the middle. PURDY ISLANDS, a group named after Mr. Purdy, by his friend, Capt. Bristow, February 16, 1817. Bat Island, the westernmost, is scarcely 2 miles long; it is covered with large trees, and has two hummocks on it, which at a distance appear like two separate islands. Mouse and Mole Islands are two small islands to the East of the preceding. They are separated by a channel, through which the Sir Andrew Hammond passed, and found it excellent. Mole Island, the north-westernmost of the two, is in lat. 2° 51' S., lon. 146° 15′ E. Latent Reef is 4 miles in extent, and lies 4 miles to the West of Mouse Island. The northern part of this reef appears like a solid bed of rocks. There are two other reefs near these; one, 7 miles S.W. of Bat Island and 19 miles West of Latent Reef; and another, in lat. 2° 25' S., lon. 146° 22′ E. A strong current, bearing from West to East, was experienced here by Capt. Bristow, in the season above mentioned, February to March. Three dangerous shoals have been stated by Capt. Horsburgh to exist 15 leagues to the South of the Admiralty Islands. They are nearly in the same latitude, so that it is possible, from the necessary imperfection of the observations made as to their position, that they may be identical. Still there appears to be so many isolated dangers in the neighbourhood, that all caution is required. SHERBURNE Shoal is the easternmost, discovered by Capt. J. White in the Sherburne, May 15, 1824. It extends from East to West about 12 or 13 miles, and 8 miles from North to South; on its S.E. part is a dry sand-bank, and some rocks, which rise 20 feet above the water, in another part. Latitude of the S.E. part, about 3° 15' S., longitude, by chronometer, 148° 16'. CIRCULAR REEF, discovered by Capt. Renneck in the Lyra, November 7, 1825, is 3 or 4 miles in diameter, having deep water inside, with an opening in its N.N.W. part. Lat. 3° 18' S., lon. 147° 40' E. SYDNEY SHOAL, on which the Sydney, Capt. Austen Forrest, was wrecked, May 20, 1806. It is covered at high water, but at low tide some rocks appeared above the surface. Lat. about 3° 20′ S., lon. 146° 50′ E. ALBERT REEF is in lat. 3° 57', lon. 148° 10′. Victoria Reef is in lat. 4° 16', lon. 147° 57'; and Gipps' Reef in lat. 4° 16′, lon. 149° 16'. These three last are from the charts. ANACHORÈTES ISLAND (Anchorites Island) was discovered by Bougainville, August 7, 1768. It is a flat island, about 3 leagues long, covered with trees, and separated into several divisions, connected by reefs and sand-banks. Lat. 0° 54' S., lon. 145° 30'. There is a great quantity of cocoa-nut trees on the island, and the sea-shore is covered with so great a number of houses, that it must be extremely populous. The natives were fishing in canoes off the island, and they appeared to be happy and contented. At 3 leagues to the West of it another low island was seen from the mast-head (Commerson Island). It is 5 leagues W. by N. from the northernmost of the Anachorètes, and in lat. 0° 45′ S., lon. 145° 17'.-(Bougainville, pp. 290-1). LOS MONJOS (the Monks).-Four small low islands, which extend nearly 5 miles in an East and West direction. Maurelle first saw them in 1781, and determined their position to be in lat. 0° 57' S., lon. (corrected) 145° 41'. Capt. Hunter also saw them. BOUDEUSE ISLAND was named by Bougainville after his ship, August 9, 1768. It is low, and in lat. 1° 26', lon. 144° 34' E. L'ECHIQUIER (the Chess-Board), so named by Bougainville, consists of a large collection of islets. D'Entrecasteaux placed upwards of thirty on his chart, but states that it is probable that in the North part of it many were not seen. They are only a series of low, flat islets, covered with wood. They all appear to be connected by reefs. The South point is in lat. 1° 40' 30", lon. 144° 3'. LOS EREMITANOS, or HERMITS, were seen by Maurelle at 8 leagues distant. They are described by D'Entrecasteaux as being high in the N.W. part, and seemed to leave considerable intervals, but, on a closer approach, they terminate in low lands, and are enclosed in a very narrow belt of sand, within which is a large space of still water. They are inhabited; the natives came off in canoes, and apparently were friendly. Their position was perfectly determined; the N.E. islet is in lat. 1° 28′ 30′′ S., lon. 145° 7′ 45′′. MATTY and DUROUR ISLANDS.-Two small flat islands, discovered by Carteret, September 19, 1767. According to D'Entrecasteaux the first is in lat. 1° 33′ 40′′ S., lon. 143° 12′ 30′′, and the second in lat. 1° 46′ 0′′ S., lon. 142° 56′. Carteret places them in lat. 1° 43′ 21′′, lon. 143° 2′ E. TIGER ISLAND is a discovery of Capt. Bristow in 1817, and communicated by him to Mr. Purdy. It is about 6 or 7 miles in length, East and West, and inhabited by a ferocious race of savages. Lat. 1° 45' S., lon. 142° 20' E. 1036 NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA. It will be unnecessary to enter into any general description of this extensive island. Its features, as far as they interest the mariner, will be found in the ensuing description, which is chiefly derived from Admiral D'Urville. DAMPIER STRAIT has been before alluded to. The best channel through it is on the New Guinea side, keeping the beach in sight, 6 or 7 miles distant. ROCKY ISLAND of Dampier's chart, or LOTTIN ISLAND of D'Urville, is an immense cone of 3,000 or 4,000 feet in height, covered with verdure, with an habitable belt on the sea-shore, without doubt occupied, as was announced by several smokes. A large hollow on its N.E. side still indicates the situation of an ancient crater.* LONG ISLAND is remarkable, as Dampier says, who so named it, for two very projecting peaks, one lying on the North and the other to the South of the island, and which D'Urville named Reaumur and Cerisy Peaks. The surface of the first is much cut up, and very irregular, and appears to have been a volcano. The island itself has been incorrectly named by Dampier, who probably thus termed it "Long" from the first appearance it presented to him; for it has rather a round figure, and its circuit is at least 40 miles. The soil in the neighbourhood of the shore seemed to be more arid than on any other of the islands, and neither cocoa-nut trees nor any trace of inhabitants were seen.† Off its western point a reef runs out, on which the Astrolabe was nearly being drifted by the current. CROWN ISLAND, also named by Dampier, from its "towering up with several heads or tops, something resembling a crown," is about 7 miles to the N.W. of Long Island. It is about 4 or 5 miles in circumference, and of a very great height (2,000 feet). The land, as it appeared to D'Urville, though very irregular, did not present these "heads and tops" from which Dampier named it. Perhaps these asperities have been partly effaced by time covering them with forests, or that Dampier, by passing nearer, could better see its irregularities. Neither smokes nor inhabitants were seen from the Astrolabe, and the sea was so calm that it is most likely, had it been peopled, their canoes would have come off. Dampier states that he saw many rocky reefs running off from the points of Crown Island to the distance of a mile, but D'Urville states that they are much nearer. CAPE KING WILLIAM is very high, and may be seen above 20 leagues distant. It is in lat. 6° 16' S., lon. 147° 40'. It was discovered and named by Dampier, March 25, 1700. It was also seen by D'Urville. The coast to the westward of it is composed of the immense Mountains of Finisterre, which extend nearly to Astrolabe Gulf, 120 miles farther along the North coast. The mountains were roughly computed by Capt. R. L. Hunter to be 13,000 feet high. The interval has not been explored. ASTROLABE GULF, so named after D'Urville's vessel, lies between Capes Rigné on the East, and Duperré on the N.W., about 24 miles apart, the depth of • D'Urville, vol. iii. p. 543. + Ibid. |