THE PRECURSORS OF COOK 371 



on their island-voyage, and that his eventual return, 

 enriched by useful knowledge, would cement the French 

 alliance " with a powerful people living in the midst of the 

 finest countries in the world." In 1916 we saw in Sydney 

 Tahitian soldiers on their way to fight the battle of France. 



Sailing from Paradise, after only a fortnight's stay, Samoa, 

 on a course more Southerly than that taken by the British, 

 Bougainville came in May 1768 to the group of islands 

 which he called " the Archipelago of the Navigators," 

 and which we call Samoa. Hence he took a very bold A bold 

 course, slightly South of West, precisely the course which course - 

 again and again in the course of one hundred and fifty 

 years had been deliberately declined by seaman after 

 seaman by Schouten, Tasman, Roggeveen as certain 

 to lead to great danger on the unknown coast South of 

 New Guinea. It was a course which had been taken only 

 once before, by Torres in 1606. 



Sailing on this course, Bougainville came in May to New 

 a group of islands of singular interest in our story. He HeDrides - 

 named them " the Isle of Pentecost," " Aurora," " Pic 

 de 1'Etoile," and " the Isle of Lepers." On the last of 

 these islands he landed, collected wood and fruit, and 

 " buried at the foot of a tree the Act, taking possession 

 of these isles, engraved on an oak plank." But the natives 

 seemed bad, and the fruit was not as good as in New 

 Cythera. But there were other lands to the South and 

 to the West ; in fact " we saw land in all parts of the 

 horizon ; we were, so to say, shut up in a great gulf." 

 It was hard to make out whether the lands were continuous, 

 or were divided by passages. Bougainville sailed along 

 the Western side of the " great gulf," by a fine shore 

 covered with trees, and with patches of land apparently 

 cultivated, and he came to a " great inlet " with an opening 

 five or six leagues wide. He sailed into it two or three 

 leagues, and came to a " fine bay." No bottom could 

 be found with a two hundred fathom line. Two boats 

 were landed to reconnoitre. The natives shot a couple 

 of arrows, which served the sailors as a pretext for a general 

 discharge of muskets. " The negroes howled excessively 



