from Bay Elizabeth, when you reach the Bachelor river of that navigator. This is easily known; it comes from a deep valley, having a high mountain on the west, the most westerly point of which is low and wooded, and the coast is sandy. Bougainville reckons three leagues from this river to the entrance of St Jerome's channel, or the False Strait as others have called it, and the bearing is N.W. by W. This channel, the entrance of which is said to be about half a league broad, may be easily mistaken for the true one, as it is admitted, happened at first on the present occasion. In order to avoid it, Bougainville advises to keep the coast of Louis le Grand Island on board, which may be done, he says, without danger. He himself ran within a mile of the shore of this island, which is about four leagues long, and the north side of which runs W.N W., as far as Bay Dauphine. At noon this day, Cape Quade (or Quod) which is about four leagues from St Jerome's channel, bore W. 13° S. two leagues distant, and Cape St Louis, E. by N. about two leagues and a half. The weather continued fair, and they had the advantage of all their sails being set.

The strait runs W.N.W. and N.W. by W. from Cape Quade, and being without any considerable turnings, has obtained the name of Long-Reach. The cape consists of craggy rocks, resembling some ancient ruins, and the coast up to it is wooded, the verdure of the trees contrasting finely with the frozen and snowy summits of the neighbouring mountains; but after doubling this point, the nature of the country is said to be very different, presenting scarcely any thing but barren rocks, the intervals of which are filled up with immense masses of no less unfriendly ice, altogether meriting the name which Narborough bestowed on it in the penury of his feelings, the Desolation of the South. Opposite this cape, and about fifteen leagues off, is Cape Monday on the Terra del Fuego side, which, with other remarkable points of this strait, we have elsewhere described, Bougainville was tempted by the fineness of the weather to continue his course in this strait during the night, but the excessive rain and wind which came on about ten o'clock, made him repent his temerity, and rendered his situation betwixt two shores, which it required the greatest caution and continual activity to avoid, one of the most critical and unpleasant he experienced during the voyage. The dawn of the following day, gave them sight of the land, which for

1

some hours they had been groping against in the utmost fear of collision; and about noon, they descried Cape Pillar, the termination of this perilous strait, beyond which there beamed on their joyful eyes an immense horizon and an unspotted sea.

Fifty-two days were elapsed since they left Cape Virgin, the half of which had been spent in inactive but painful suffering at Port Gallant. Bougainville reckons the length of the strait at about one-hundred and fourteen leagues, viz. from Cape Virgin Mary to Cape Pillar; and in his opinion, notwithstanding the difficulties of the passage, it is to be preferred to doubling Cape Horn, especially in the period from September to the end of March. His reasons for this opinion, and the concurrent and contrary sentiments of other navigators, have been either already stated, or will require to be so hereafter, and need not now interrupt our prosecution of the remainder of his voyage.

A few days after entering the Western Sea, the wind got S. and S.S.W. This was sooner than Bougainville expected, as it was thought the west winds generally lasted to about 30°, and obliged him to lay aside his intention of going to the isle of Juan Fernandez, as the doing so would necessarily prolong his voyage. He stood, therefore, as much as possible to the west, in order to keep the wind, and to get off the coast; and with a view to discover a greater space of the ocean, he directed the commander of the Etoile to go every morning southward as far from him as the weather would permit, keeping in sight, and to join him in the evening, and follow in his wake at about half a league's distance. This it was hoped would both facilitate examination, and secure mutual assistance, and was the order of sailing preserved throughout the voyage.

He now directed his course in search of the land seen by Davis in 1686, between 27° and 28° south latitude, and sought for in vain by Roggewein. This search, however, was equally fruitless, though Bougainville crossed the position laid down for it in M. de Bellin's chart. His conclusion, in consequence, is, that the land spoken of by Davis was no other than the isles of St Ambrose and St Felix, which are about two hundred leagues off the coast of Chili. Westerly winds came on about the 23d of February, and lasted to the 3d of March, the weather varying much, but almost every day bringing rain about noon, accompanied

with thunder. This seemed strange to Bougainville, as this
ocean under the tropic had always been renowned for the
uniformity and freshness of the E. and S.E. trade-winds,
supposed to last throughout the year. In the month of
February, four astronomical observations were made for
determining the longitude. The first, made on the 6th,
differed 31' from the reckoning, the latter being to the
westward. The second, on the 11th, differed 37'45", in the
opposite direction. By the third, made on the 22d, the
reckoning was 42' 30", westward in excess; and that of the
27th shewed a difference of 1' 25" in the same line. At
this time they had calms and contrary winds. The ther-
mometer, till they came to 45° latitude, had always kept
between 5o and 8o above the freezing point; after that, it
rose successively, and when they were between 27° and 24°
latitude, varied upwards a good deal. A sore throat pre-
vailed among the crew of the frigate ever since leaving the
straits, and was attributed, whether justly or not, to the
snow-waters they had been in the habit of using there. It
was not, however, very obstinate, readily yielding to simple
remedies; and at the end of March, it is said, there was no
body on the sick list.

On the 21st of this month, a tunny was caught with some
little fish, not yet digested in its belly, which are noticed
never to go any great distance from the shore. This ac-
cordingly was held as an indication of land being near, and
indeed a just one, in the present instance; for about six in
the morning of the next day, they got sight of four little
isles at one time, bearing S.S.E. + E., and of another about
four leagues west. The former, Bougainville called les
quatre Facardins, but being too far to windward for him at
present, he preferred standing for the single one a-head.
On approaching this, it was discovered to be surrounded
with a very level sand, and to have all its interior parts co-
vered with thick woods surmounted by cocoa-trees. So
delightful an appearance as it presented, lost none of its
charins in the eyes of men who longed for the refreshments
of dry land and the vegetable world. But their desires
must have consumed them, had this been the only shore.
which could gratify them. It was found impossible to land
on it, or to obtain the advantages which it seemed to hold
out to their hopes. Bougainville bestowed on it the name
of Isle des Lanciers, from the circumstance of his noticing
about
about fifteen or twenty of its inhabitants carrying very long pikes, as in the act of brandishing them against the ship, with signs of threatening. After this idle display of courage, they were seen to retire to the woods, where it was possible to distinguish their huts by means of glasses. The men are represented as being tall, and of a bronze colour, and destitute of clothing.

In the night of the 22d, a storm came on attended with thunder and rain, which obliged Bougainville to bring to, for fear of running against some of the lowlands in this sea. At day-break on the following day, land was seen bearing from N.E. by N. to N.N.W., which he stood for; at eight o'clock, he got about three leagues from its eastermost point; but then perceiving that there were breakers all along the opposite coast, which seemed low and covered with trees, he stood out to sea again, waiting for fairer weather to permit a nearer approach. This was done towards ten o'clock, when the island was not more than a league off. Similar difficulties, however, were experienced here, as at the former island; and after several fruitless attempts to find anchorage for the ships, or a landing-place for the boats, it was necessary to abandon it, which was done with similar feelings of chagrin on the morning of the 24th. This island was denominated Harp Island, from its figure, and had inhabitants much resembling those of the one which had been previously discovered. At five in the afternoon of this day, an island was discovered about seven or eight leagues distant; another, in the morning of the 25th, extending S.E. and N.W.; and the course was continued till the 27th, between several low and partly overflowed islands, four of which were examined and found quite inaccessible, or undeserving of being visited. To the whole cluster, Bougainville gave the name of Dangerous Archipelago, by which they have been generally known since his day, and which sufficiently indicates the nature of the navigation around them.

He now shaped his course more southerly, in order to avoid a situation which presented him with so many difficulties, and yielded so few comforts; and on the 28th, he ceased to see land. About this time, it is noted, the scurvy made its appearance on eight or ten of the crew, which was imputed in a great degree to the moistness of the weather. Lemonade was the principal article used for the removal

VOL. XIII.

21

removal or prevention of it. From the 3d of March till his arrival at New Britain, Bougainville constantly used Poissonier's distilling apparatus, by which, he says, above a barrel of tolerably fresh water was obtained daily.

On the 2d of April, the island of Otaheite, or Taiti, as Bougainville calls it, was got sight of, and soon afterwards were discovered some of the islands in its neighbourhood. But it was not till the 4th, that, when standing in for the shore of the former, as likely to realize the hopes of refreshment, which had been so eagerly entertained by the crew, some of the natives came off to them in their canoes, and commenced a friendly intercourse. Being ignorant of the coast and nature of the situation, for to Bougainville, at this time, Otaheite was a new discovery, a good deal of time was lost in examining the island for an anchoringplace, which was not determined on till the 6th. The numbers of islanders that surrounded the ships as they neared the land, rendered the operations of mooring and warping somewhat difficult and troublesome. The manners too of these easy people multiplied embarrassments of a particular kind, which it required no ordinary authority and self-denial to controul. In one instance, however, it is said, the presence of an Otabeitan Venus, in any thing else than a repulsive attitude, had the effect of expediting the necessary work. Both sailors and soldiers, it seems, pressed towards the hatch-way, where she had planted herself in all the revealed attraction of native beauty; and the capstern was in consequence hove with more than common eagerness and expedition. But the utmost care, one may readily believe, was requisite to keep these enchanted fellows in good order. It is a trite remark, that the imagi. nary anticipation of pleasure is seldom or ever equalled by the enjoyment of it. Independent of the causes which may account for such commonly experienced disappointment, it is ten to one in almost any case, but that in a world like this, some vexatious occurrence or other, nowise calculated on by an excited fancy, will altogether prevent the realization hoped for. Such was the fortune of Bougainville's cook, who, in spite of the law to the contrary, effected his escape to the shore in company with a complying damsel. The poor fellow soon returned on board, more dead than alive. Immediately on landing, it seems, the natives surrounded him, and with all the ease and genuine curiosity of

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