Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/274

252 we observed several islands surrounded with reefs, and connected together by sand banks and other shoals.

29th. During the night, the wind had made us fall off so much, that we lost sight of the northern extremity of New Caledonia, which we found to be in 19° 58′ south latitude, and 161° 10′ east longitude. That island presents a chain of mountains, extending about eighty nautical leagues, from the south-east to the north-west. Its mean breadth is not more than seven or eight leagues. Captain Cook, who discovered it in 1772, only saw the north-east part of it. The examination of the south-west coast of the island was an important object in navigation. The reefs by which it is bordered, are generally from 25 to 30,000 toises distant from the land, and towards their extremities this distance is greater, but they are not so broad. That coast, extremely dangerous at all times, is rendered still more so by the south-west winds, which were remarkably adverse to us, in exploring it.

The small number of fires which we observed, and the apparent sterility of the land, gave me good reason to believe that the island was but thinly inhabited.

We did not see a single canoe, although they might