376 THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



position of islands that might not even exist, placed them 

 five to ten degrees too far to the North, and about thirty 

 degrees too far to the East. Yet, when he drew this map, 

 he had just returned from a voyage in the course of which 

 he had visited, unknowingly, two of the largest islands 

 in the group. 1 



Solomon He came to the island which he named Choiseul in July 



Islanders. j^g Ag the FJ.^^ were anc horing in a fine bay, they 



were suddenly attacked by ten war canoes, with one 

 hundred and fifty men on board, armed with bows, lances, 

 and shields. They fought with savage bravery, and a 

 second discharge was needed to put them to flight. The 

 French captured two war-canoes, on one of which was 

 carved the head of a man with eyes of mother-of-pearl 

 and ears of tortoise-shell, the whole figure resembling 

 a mask with a long beard. 2 The cargo included the jaws 

 of a man half-broiled. " These islanders," writes Bougain- 

 ville, " are black and have curled hair, which they dye 

 white, yellow, or red. Their audacity in attacking us, 

 their custom of bearing arms, and their dexterous manage- 

 ment of them, prove that they are almost constantly 

 at war." In short, though he did not suspect it, they were 

 Solomon Islanders, the artistic and murderous descendants 

 of the artistic and murderous enemies of Mendafia. 



From Choiseul he sailed North-West, past the long 

 hilly coast of the island which is now called by his name. 

 Then he passed a smaller island which he named " Bonka," 

 after the cry of natives, who pretended to give cocoa-nuts, 

 and then shot arrows. And then he sailed away, still 

 doubting that the Solomons existed ! 3 



New Britain. And now where was New Guinea ? Quiros had guessed 

 that the Solomons were near New Guinea. Bougainville 

 thought that, if they existed at all, they existed about 

 twenty-five degrees away from New Guinea. His voyage 

 was to prove that he was wildly wrong, and that Quiros 



1 See map, p. 375. 



2 The Solomon Islanders, says Lord Amherst, are " the artists of the 

 Pacific." 



* See The Discovery of the Solomon Islands, p. Ixxiv. 



