404 THE PROGRESS OF MARITIME DISCOVERY. 
One of the boldest immediately jumped into a boat and offered 
to guide them on condition of receiving the proffered reward. 
The bargain was gladly struck, and the Frenchmen, piloted by 
the negro, eagerly pushed off from shore. 
The coral reef which forms an enormous girdle round Vanikoro 
approaches the land opposite to the village of Paiou, so that the 
clistance between them is hardly a mile. There, in a channel 
dividing the breakers, the savage caused the boat to stop, and 
made signs to the Frenchmen to look down to the bottom, where 
they saw anchors, cannons, and other objects scattered about and 
overgrown with corals. No doubt now remained, and with deep 
emotion they gazed on these last memorials of the unfortunate 
expedition of La Peyrouse. Metal alone had been able to 
resist the tooth of time, the rolling waters, or the gnawing ship- 
worm; all wood-work was gone. 
I have already stated that on D’Urville’s arrival he found the 
natives extremely distrustful and shy, answering all his questions 
by negations. It was evident that their conduct towards La 
Peyrouse had been anything but hospitable, and that they now 
feared the tardy vengeance of the white men. But, finding 
themselves treated with invariable kindness, their fears gradually 
gave way, and thus it became possible to gather some informa- 
tion about the catastrophe from some old men who had witnessed 
it, and from the most intelligent of the chiefs. 
After a dark and stormy night the islanders saw early on the 
following morning an enormous pirogue stranded on the coral 
reef on the south side of the island. The surf soon destroyed 
the ship, and but a small number of the crew reached the shore 
in a boat. On the following day asecond large pirogue stranded 
opposite Paiou. But this wreck lying on the lee-side of the 
island, less exposed to the surf, and resting on a more even 
ground, remained a longer time without going to pieces. The 
whole of the crew escaped in the boats to Paiou, where they 
built a small vessel, and after a stay of five months once more 
embarked, and were never heard of since. Most likely they had 
steered towards New Ireland, with the intention of ultimately 
reaching the Moluccas or the Philippine {slands, and perished on 
some unknown reef. The unhealthy condition of D’Urville’s 
crew prevented him from extending his researches any further 
along the western coasts of the Solomon Islands. That the 
