ANCHOR OFF DUFAURE ISLAND. 28^ 



bottom could be g'ot with a hundred fathoms of line^ 

 — apparently an indication of a submarine barrier^ 

 more or less continuous, running- at a variable 

 distance from the shore^ and following- the g*eneral 

 trend of the coast. The appearance of the land seen 

 lately is very fine : the coast beino- backed by rano-es 

 of high mountains presenting* a ver}^ diversified out- 

 line y one of them^ named upon the chart Cloudy 

 Mount^ attains an elevation of 4477 feet. Yester- 

 day and to-day g-reat numbers of a storm petrel 

 ( Thalassidroma leucogastra) have been folio ^^'ing• 

 in our wake. This afternoon^ Avhile off the eastern 

 end of the bay called by Boug*ainville the '' Cul de 

 sac de FOrang-erie/' the Bramble was sig-nalled to 

 lead in towards the land off which we anchored at 

 9 p.m. in 30 fathoms. 



From our anchorao*e we next morninof saw on 

 Dufaure Island^ from which we were distant about 

 three miles, a villag'e in a gTove of cocoa-nut trees 

 behind a sandy beach^ and the natives came off in 

 considerable numbers bring'ing* larg'e quantities of 

 cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit ^* they did not appear 

 hovrever to have any yams. Two or three small 

 pig's^ of the same description as that hitherto seen 

 (Sus Paptiensis), were procured ; and Ave obtained 

 t^^■o fine live opossums^ of a rare and sing-ular kind 

 (Cuscus 7naculahis), for an axe a-piece. They ap- 



* This was of smaller size than it attains in the Soutli Sea 

 Islands ; we cooked it in various ways but failed to make 

 it palatable. 



