(*Footnote. It extends 17 miles beyond the westernmost point of Rossel Island.)
ITS INHABITANTS.
Rossel Island, judging from the little we saw of it, appears to be well inhabited. The first natives seen were a party of five men, apparently naked, who came out upon the beach from a grove of coconut trees, and stood gazing at the unusual sight to them of two vessels passing by. Opposite a pretty creek-like harbour, the windings of which we could trace back a little way among the hills, several canoes of various sizes were seen, each with an outrigger on one side, and one of them furnished with a large mat-sail of an oblong shape, rounded at the ends. The people, of whom there were usually about six or seven in each canoe, appeared to be engaged in fishing in the shoal water. One man in a very small canoe was bailing it out with a large melon-shell so intently that he appeared to take no notice whatever of the ship which passed within a quarter of a mile of him. We saw many huts close to the beach, usually three or four together, forming small villages. They appeared to be long and low, resting on the ground, with an opening at each end, and an arched roof thatched with palm-leaves. The most picturesque situations were chosen for these hamlets in the shade of the coconut-trees, and about them we could see numbers of children, but no women were made out, and most of the men were fishing on the reef. At one place we observed what appeared to be a portion of cultivated ground; a cleared sloping bank above the shore exhibited a succession of small terraces, with a bush-like plant growing in regular rows.
June 14th.
In the morning we found ourselves so far to leeward of the opening seen last night, with a strong breeze and a considerable head sea, that the attempt to work up for it was abandoned, and we kept away to the westward to look for an anchorage.
PIRON ISLAND.
We then ran along the northern side of Piron* Island, which is five miles in length, and one and a half in breadth, of moderate elevation, and sloping gently towards each extreme. It exhibits a range of low grassy hills, with smooth rounded outline, a straggling belt of wood--often mangroves--along the shore, patches of brush here and there in the hollows, and on the hilltops, scattered along the ridge, a few solitary tall bushy trees with silvery-looking foliage. The bright green of the tall grass gave a pleasing aspect to the whole island, large tracts of which appeared like fields of unripe grain. We saw few natives, the opposite, or southern shore, being probably that chiefly inhabited. Close approach to Piron Island was prevented by a second barrier reef, which we followed to the North-North-West for several miles beyond the end of the island, anxiously looking out for an opening into the fine expanse of pale blue water seen to extend to the southward as far as the large south-east island.** At length an opening in the reef was observed, and the ship hauled off and hove to, while Lieutenant Yule examined it in one of his boats.
(*Footnote. Piron was draughtsman to D'Entrecasteaux's Expedition.)
(**Footnote. This is 41 miles long, and 10 1/2 in greatest width.)
ENTER CORAL HAVEN.