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.

(*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