176 CAPT. DUMONT d'URVILLE. 



vessel^ visited the northern part of the Louisiade 

 Archipelago in 1806, but added nothing of conse- 

 quence to our knowledge of the group, although 

 various islands were named anew, as if discoveries 

 of his own. His Satisfaction Island is clearly Ros- 

 sel's, and Eruption Island is St. Aignan's of D'En- 

 trecasteaux.* 



Since Bougainville's voyag-e the southern shores 

 of the Louisiade remained unvisited until the year 

 1840, when Captain Dumont d'UrviUe, ^ith the 

 French corvettes L' Astrolabe and La Zelee, during 

 his last voyage round the world, determiaed upon 

 attempting their exploration. On May 23rd, the 

 expedition (coming from the eastward), rounded 

 AdMe Island and Cape Deliverance, at the distance 

 of about twenty miles. Next morning, the thick- 

 ness of the weather prevented them from clearly 

 distinguishing" the features of the land. They 

 steered towards South-east Island, but found close 

 apj)roach prevented by an immense continuous reef, 

 supposed to be part of that seen on the previous day 

 to the southward of Rossel Island. On Conde's 

 Peninsula, some natives and a small village were 

 observed. In the evening a long line of islands 

 (the Calvados group), appeared to the north, and the 

 reef, which before had been continuous, with the 

 exception of some small openings, now existed only 

 as a few isolated patches. D'UrviUe stood off to 



* See Krusecstcm's Recueil de Memoires Ilydrographiques, 

 &c. p. 154. 



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