M. RUALT COUTANCE. 175 



notice here^ as the Dentrecasteaux Isles of the 

 charts belono- to the north-east coast of Ncav Guinea. 

 In June 1793^ Messrs. Bampton and Alt^ in the 

 Eng'hsh merchant ships Hormuzeer and Chesterfield^ 

 g*ot embayed on the south-east coast of New Guinea^ 

 and after in vain seeking* a passag"e out to the 

 north-east^ Avere forced to abandon the attempt and 

 make their way to the westward^ throug'h Torres 

 Strait^ which they were no less than seventy-three 

 days in clearing. Among* other hydrog-rnphical 

 results^ was the discovery of larg'e portions of the 

 land forming* the north-west shores of this bay^ 

 extendino' from Bristow Island to the northward 

 and eastward for a distance of 1:20 miles. 



In 1804^ M. Bualt Coutance^ commanding- the 

 French privateer L'Adele^ made several discoveries 

 on the south-east coast of New Guinea which were 

 recorded by Freycinet^ from the MS. journal of 

 Coutance^ in the history of Bandings voyag'e.* A 

 portion of this is unquestionably the land seen by 

 Captain Bligh in 1792^ — but in addition detached 

 portions of the shores of the g'reat big-ht of the 

 south-east coast Avere seen^ as in the neig-hbourhood 

 of Freshwater Bay and elsewhere. 



Mr. Bristow_, the master of an Eng-lish merchant 



* Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes, execute sur les 

 corvettes Le Geographe, Le Naturaliste, et la goelette La Casua- 

 rina — pendant les annees 1801-4, sous le commandement du 

 Capitaine de vaisseau N. Baudin. Redige par jM. Louis Freycinet. 

 Navigation et Geographie, p. 462, and Atlas, pi. 1. 



