a
plank or two: some of the latter were as much as two feet in width, and
only an inch in thickness, and must have been cut with stone axes out of
a log of wood. The largest canoe seen was judged to be thirty-five feet
in length, with a width at the bow of four and a half feet, but this far
exceeded in bulk any of the other single ones. Like the rest it
essentially consisted of the hollowed-out trunk of a tree. All the heavy
canoes are pulled with oars, working in cane grommets, the others are
propelled with paddles. Both oars and paddles have lanceolate blades and
thick handles, without any attempt at ornament or even neatness of
design.

The sail (of pandanus matting) is a long parallelogram, twelve feet by
three, its sides secured by two tough slender poles, between which it is
stretched, and which serve both as masts and yards. In making sail one of
the poles is shipped, two stays from the centre leading fore and aft are
then set up, after which the second pole is fixed and secured by stays,
so as to give the sail the requisite inclination. We frequently saw a
second smaller sail set before the first, at the distance of eight or ten
feet, and managed precisely in the same way, but, even with both sails
set, owing to the disproportion between the spread of canvas and the bulk
of the canoe, the latter moves slowly at all times, and on a wind makes
much leeway.

SAIL FROM REDSCAR BAY.

December 31st.

We sailed yesterday from our anchorage in Redscar Bay, but did not clear
the sunken ridge of coral in the offing--a submarine extension of the
Barrier Reef, stretching between Low Island and the vicinity of
South-west Cape--until this forenoon, when we got out of soundings. The
Bramble is to remain behind for three or four weeks upon the coast, to
fill up various blanks in the chart between this and Rossel Island, while
we are to make the best of our way to the Duchateau Islands, to obtain a
meridian distance, and thence proceed direct to Sydney.

January 6th, 1850.

Our passage to the Duchateau Isles, a distance of less than 400 miles,
has been protracted by the prevalence of light winds, although these were
generally favourable, or from the westward. Occasional calms, squalls,
and rain occurred, but the weather generally was finer than during the
South-East monsoon.

CLEARNESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

As an instance of the clearness of the atmosphere, so different from what
we had usually experienced during our fo