he 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