A few years after Dampier's return to Britain in 1700, two vessels were sent to the South seas, com manded by Woodes Rogers, an Englishman. Their design was the capture of some of the Spanish towns and shipping in South America, in which they fully succeeded. During 1710, the vessels, in one of which Dampier himself was pilot, passed through the straits of New Guinea, where he had been twice before : and from the observations made by Rogers among the islands, he was impressed with a high opinion of the benefit that would accrue from their products. Though many of the Dutch, and, perhaps, also the Spanish voyages towards Austral. asia, were cautiously withheld from public notice, there is one with which we are acquainted that was intentionally planned for the sole purpose of discovery. . Roggewein, a Dutch commander, in consequence of pursuing ideas originally suggested by his father, was sent out with a small squadron in 1721, to make dis coveries in Australasia. He had himself presented a memorial on that subject to the East India Company, or the government of his country, and was amply pro vided with whatever might be conducive to the s'ic cess of his voyage. Roggewein unfortunately lost one of his ships just about the eastern liinits of Austral asia, and immediately afterwards discovered Aurora island, so named from coming in view of it as morn ing dawned. His particular design was to rediscover Solomon's islands, and the lands described by Qui vos, from which particular incidents obliged him to desist, and steer a different course from the lands near Aurora island. He landed in New Britain in 1722, where he was attacked by the inhabitants with arrows, spears, and a shower of stones : and he concluded, from the address displayed by them in the use of arms, that they were inured to war. These people were of a yellow colour, tall in stature, slender, and with black hair hanging down to the girdle. The coun try appeared to him mountainous and well wooded, beautiful, fertile, and full of minerals, and other pre cious treasures. He next trafficked with the inha bitants of Moa and Arrimoa, two islands not far from the Papuan coasts, so named by Schouten : all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, were armed with bows and arrows. They sheaved extreme agi lity in their motions, and .came without the small est indications of fear to barter the;r commodities. Yet hostilities ensued from the Dutch gOing ashore, and indiscreetly cutting down the cocoa nut trees : though, when about to sail, traffic was renewed with mutual confidence. Roggewein thus continued his navigation in a region of innumerable islands, which on that account he called the Thousand Islands. These were inhabited by people black and hairy, and of a treacherous and malevolent aspect. • They were entirely naked, except in wearing a girdle about two inches broad, with hogs teeth interlaced : and they had strings of the same teeth around their legs and arms. On the head they wore a hat of rushes, orna mented with bird of paradise feathers.
Approaching nearer to our own times, we find that ( several discoveries by the former navigators of Aus tralasia have been confirmed. The groupe of islands containing Santa Cruz, where Mendana landed in 1595, was visited by Captain Carteret in 1767, while on a voyage of discovery from England. Falling in with a cluster of seven islands, he anchored on the largest, but his people committing indiscretions simi lar to those of the former navigators, hostilities com menced with the natives, and from constant warfare ensuing, Captain Carteret was obliged to depart with out supplies. He named the whole groupe Queen Charlotte's islands, and changed the name of Santa Cruz to Egmont island. Captain Carteret also found
a strait, dividing New Britain from New Ireland, and sailed through it. • M. de Bougainville, a French officer, having gone out on a similar voyage of discovery, found himself v within the limits of Australasia in May 1768. After giving names to some islands in his way, he landed on Lepers island, on which lie was induced ,to bestow that name, from the natives in general being overrun with leprosy. They were either black or mulatto coloured, ill made, with thick lips, frizzled hair, and small eyes. On the neck they wore plates tor toise shell by way of ornament, and rings of a sub stance resembling ivory as bracelets on the arms. Few women were seen, hut they were-equally disgusting as the men in appearance. In May M. de Bougain ville sailed along the north coast of an extensive land, low, and covered with trees. Many natives ivere seen on the beach, but although some canoes put off, none would venture on board his vessels. The French, however, prepared to land in a hcautiful bay, on which they were attacked by the inhabitants, whom they treated with much rigour in retaliation. M. do Bou gainville, ignorant that this part of Australasia had been already visited, and having' found a number of islands lying near each other, called the whole the Archipelago of the Great Cyclades. The more ex tensive coast was afterwards proved to be the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, where Quivos had re mained a month. Warfare seemed to pervade these islands, as the natives would part with none of their arms except a few arrows.
M. de Bougainville, in a north-west course from the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo,• discovered a new region of Australasia. His approach to the land was indicated by a delightful odour in the night, and in the morning a beautiful country was disclosed to view, consisting of plains and groves extending along the shores, ane. lofty mountains of different elevations in the interior. He was prevented from visiting so desirable a country, bearing every mark of riches and fertility, for both disease and famine had reduced his crew. Standing along the south shore, he saw seve ral islands, and after doubling a cape on the east, he called the land La Louisiade. Here, for the sake of preserving connection, it may be remarked, that our present knowledge of Louisiade is infinitely more im perfect than of most other Australasian territories. Since that period it has seldom been recognised, and some geographers have supposed it an extension of the coast of Papua. Two French vessels, the Boussole and Recherche, traversed the north coast in 1793, but except in ascertaining that there were numerous flats, shoals, and islands indistinctly characterised, no impor tant discoveries were made. The natives had woolly hair and olive coloured skins : they were stark naked, excepting a kind of girdle, and large leaves before. Some of them ornamented their woolly hair with tufts of feathers, and-wore cords wound several times tight round their bodies, intended, as the French conjectu red, to support the muscles of the belly. The faces of many were smeared over with charcoal, and they had a bone through the septum of the nose. They seemed extremely fond of perfumes, and most of the arti cles procured from them were scented. These savages displayed great dexterity in steering their canoes, and could sail swiftly round the vessels. They were very earnest that the French should go on shore, where their houses stood on posts, five or six feet from the ground, like those of the Papuans.