S50 WESTERN ISLANDS OF THE LOUISIADE. 



for twenty-one miles further, its northern side 

 broken into numerous openings, leading- into shoal 

 water. It is, in fact, an elongated, almost linear 

 atoll, with islands scattered along its sheltered 

 margin. After this, the harrier becomes broken up 

 into a series of small reefs, with passages between, 

 stiU preserving a westerly trend, imtil it ends in 

 long, 160° 58' E. Several small, low islets are 

 scattered along its course j of these the Sandy Isles 

 come first, three in number, two of them mere sand- 

 banks, and the third thinly covered with trees, 

 apparently a kind of Pandanus. The neighboiu-ing 

 Ushant Island (supposed to be that named He 

 Ouessant by Bougainville) is larger and densely 

 wooded, and still further to the westward we saw 

 the two Stuers Islands, also low, and wooded. All 

 those islets hitherto mentioned as occurring along the 

 line of the barrier reef are of the same character, — 

 low, of coral formation, and generally wooded — and 

 so are two others situated a few miles to the north- 

 ward of the reef, and unconnected with it. These 

 last are Kosmann Island, inlat. 11° A^' S. and long. 

 161° 33' E., and Imbert Island, situated thirteen 

 miles further to the westward. 



Aug. 11th. — To-day we came in sight of two 

 groups of high rocky isles, very different fi'om the 

 low coral islets in the line of the barrier reef, which 

 here ceases to shew itself above water. These are 

 the Teste and Lebrun Islands of D'Urville, the 

 latter two in number, and of small size (the western- 



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