STORY OF A LOST ARCHIPELAGO. 267 



(lepuis que les Espagnols en avoient fait la premiere decouverte."^ 

 In July 1792, when on his way from New Caledonia to Carteret 

 Harbour in New Ireland, in prosecution of his search for the missing 

 expedition, Dentrecasteaux made the Eddystone Rock which had 

 heen thus named by Shortland, and passing by Treasury Island, he 

 skirted the west coast of Bougainville and Bouka. In May of the 

 following 3^ear, when on the passage from Santa Cruz to the Louisiade 

 Archipelago, the expedition sailed along the south coast of the Solo- 

 mon Islands as far as Rubiana. Passing between St. Christoval and 

 Guadalcanar, Dentrecasteaux sailed close to the island of Contrariete 

 and communicated with the natives. Whilst one of his ships lay off 

 the north-west part of St. Christoval, the natives of Gulf Island 

 (Ugi) discharged a flight of arrows from their canoes and wounded 

 one of the crew. It is satisfactory to learn that her commander 

 contented himself with firinoj a musket and discharsjinor a rocket at 

 them without effect, and that no other retaliatory measures were 

 taken to intercept them in their flight. Turning back on his course, 

 the French admaral was almost tempted to explore the group of 

 islands betv/een Guadalcanar and Malaita, to which the work of 

 Fleurieu had directed his attention, and had he done so, he would 

 have cleared up the confusion with which the vague description of 

 Fififueroa has surrounded these islands ; but his instructions and the 

 object of his voyage led him along the south coast of Guadalcanar 

 on his way to the Louisiade Archipelago. 



To the voyagers who visited this group during the first half of 

 the present century, I can only briefly allude. The Solomon Islands 

 were seldom visited during the early portion of it, except, perhaps, 

 by occasional trading-ships whose experiences have rarely been 

 made known, a loss which may not be a subject for our regret. 

 However, in March, 1834, there sailed from New York the clipper 

 " Margaret Oakley," bound on a trading and exploring voyage in the 

 South Pacific.^ She was commanded by Captain Morrell, who was 

 accompanied by a young American, named Jacobs, to whom we are 

 indebted for a very singular narrative of the cruise, which, for 

 ])rivate reasons, v/as not published till 1844. Into the extremely 

 questionable proceedings of Captain Morrell,^ in his dealings with 



1 "Voyage de Dentrecasteaux," redige par M. de Eossel. Paris, 1808 ; torn, i., p. xxxiii. 



2 "Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Pacific Ocean." By T. J. Jacobs. New 

 York, 1844. 



3 When Dumont D'Urville was in London, shortly before he started on his last voyage, 

 he was asked his opinion of Morrell with reference to his cruises in the liigh southern lati- 



