ARRIVE AT THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO.
On June 10th (our noon position of that day being latitude 11 degrees 38 minutes South and longitude 154 degrees 17 minutes East) at daylight, high land was seen extending from North to North-west, distant about twenty-five miles. It proved to be the largest Ile du Sud-Est of D'Urville's chart, and Rossel Island, the latter forming the eastern termination of the Louisiade Archipelago. Next day we fell in with the Bramble in the neighbourhood of Cape Deliverance of the English chart (by Laurie) her rendezvous in case of separation; we had parted company during the late gale, in which she lost her jib-boom and stern-boat.
FIND ACCESS PREVENTED BY A REEF.
The whole of June 12th was spent in working to windward to weather the eastern end of Rossel Island--Cape Deliverance of Bougainville--the barrier reef to the southward of the two large islands in sight preventing us from closely approaching the land from that quarter.
ROSSEL ISLAND.
June 13th.
Having gained a good offing, we bore up at daylight, and stood in for Rossel Island with the Bramble ahead. We passed at a distance Adele Island (so named after Coutance's ship) low and woody, situated at the eastern extreme of the barrier reef surrounding Rossel Island, at a variable distance from the land. The southern portion of this great coral reef here makes a sharp turn round the islet, and runs back ten miles to connect it with Rossel Island, where it loses the character of a barrier, becomes narrow and fringing and almost disappears for a time. Passing Cape Deliverance* and getting into smooth water on the northern side of Rossel Island, we ran along it at a distance from the shore of about two miles and a half.
(*Footnote. As the longitude of Cape Deliverance varies considerably in different charts, its determination by the three best authorities may here be given:
D'Entrecasteaux places it in longitude 154 degrees 26 minutes East of Greenwich.
D'Urville places it in longitude 154 degrees 26 minutes East of Greenwich.
Owen Stanley places it in longitude 154 degrees 20 minutes East of Greenwich.)
Rossel Island (named after one of D'Entrecasteaux' officers) is 22 miles in length from east to west, and 10 1/2 in greatest width; it is high and mountainous, and thickly wooded, with occasional large, clear, grassy patches. Towards the western end the hills become lower and more detached, but present the same features. The mountain ridges, one of which, but not the highest elevation (which was obscured by clouds) is 2,522 feet in height--form sharp narrow crests and occasional peaks, but the outline is smooth and the rock nowhere exposed, even the steepest ridges being covered with vegetation. Some of the trees appeared to be of great dimensions, others were tall and straight, branching only near the top, and many, probably Melaleuca leucodendrum--were conspicuous from the whiteness of their trunks. Large groves of cocoa-palms scattered about from the water's edge to halfway up the hills, formed a pleasing break in the sombre green of the forest scenery. The shores are either bordered with mangroves with an occasional sandy beach, or clothed with the usual jungle of the island.
As we advanced to the westward the reef gradually extended out from the island with a short space inside, and this appearance continued for several miles, until, upon the land trending away to the south-west, the line of reef left it and ran out to the westward as far as the eye could reach, in an apparently unbroken line of surf. This is Rossel Reef of the charts along which we ran for* 35 miles, sounding occasionally, but although within a mile of its edge, no bottom was got with upwards of 100 fathoms of line. From the masthead we could see the surf of the southern border of this great reef, the space between being a lagoon of apparently navigable water. At the western extremity of the reef there appeared to be a clear opening, but the day was too far advanced to admit of entering it to search for an anchorage, and the ship was hove to for the night.