WOODEN PILLOW.
CUL DE SAC DE L'ORANGERIE.
The northern shores of the Cul de Sac are low and wooded, forming an extensive tract of level land stretching backwards towards the mountains, with a large opening at its eastern end, which is probably the mouth of a great river. The Bramble was sent to examine this bay, but the shoalness of the water, and the unfavourable nature of the weather prevented the completion of this work. During her absence a large canoe was seen in the bay, differing from all those hitherto observed in having a triangular or lateen sail set with the apex downwards, thus resembling those in use on the north coast of New Guinea, among some of the Malay Islands, and those of the Viti Archipelago.
The weather, since leaving Brumer Islands, has usually been gloomy, with frequent rain, occasionally very heavy, and a close muggy feeling in the atmosphere as if one were living in a vapour bath; the temperature on board ship ranged between 72 and 83 degrees. During our five days' stay off Dufaure Island we were daily employed in catching rainwater for ship's use, being on reduced allowance of that necessary article. The wind throughout has been steady at South-East, occasionally varying a point or two towards east.
APPEARANCE OF THE COAST.
September 18th.
For the last three days the coast has appeared as a strip of low land, backed by mountain ranges of moderate elevation.* We observed several openings, apparently creeks or mouths of rivers, and saw much smoke and some canoes, but our distance from the shore was too great to allow of communication. In the evening we stood off to seaward, and during the night, while trying to avoid it, probably passed over the assigned position of a reef laid down on one of the charts as having been seen in 1804, but without being able to confirm or disprove its existence.**
(*Footnote. From the haze involving distant objects--less frequent (as we afterwards had reason to believe) during the westerly monsoon--the much higher Owen Stanley Range was not then visible; it had also, probably from the same cause, quite escaped the notice of D'Urville who passed this portion of the coast at the distance of about eight or nine miles.)
(**Footnote. Although this reef does not exist in the position assigned to it, I may state that its presence upon the charts rests upon the authority of Coutance; Freycinet, rejecting Coutance's longitude of Cape Deliverance and adopting that of D'Entrecasteaux, has laid down the reef in question as bearing West-South-West from Point Hood, at a distance of twelve leagues. Another but smaller reef is stated on the same authority to exist five leagues South-East 1/4 East from Cape Rodney.)