From our anchorage we next morning saw on Dufaure Island, from which we were distant about three miles, a village in a grove of coconut trees behind a sandy beach, and the natives came off in considerable numbers bringing large quantities of coconuts and breadfruit;* they did not appear however to have any yams.  Two or three small pigs, of the same description as that hitherto seen (Sus papuensis) were procured.

(Footnote.  This was of smaller size than it attains in the South Sea Islands; we cooked it in various ways but failed to make it palatable.)

OBTAIN TWO OPOSSUMS.

And we obtained two fine live opossums, of a rare and singular kind (Cuscus maculatus) for an axe apiece.  They appeared to be quiet gentle animals, until much irritated, when they bite hard.  We fed them at first on ripe coconuts, of which they were very fond; but latterly they became accustomed to pea-soup.  They spent most of the day in sleep in a corner of the hen-coop where they were kept, each on its haunches with the tail coiled up in front, the body arched, and the head covered by the fore paws and doubled down between the thighs; at night, however, they were more active and restless, their large reddish-yellow eyes being then obscured by the dilated pupil, which during the day appears as a narrow vertical line.  One was frequently taken on deck towards evening and allowed to climb about the rigging, moving very slowly, and endeavouring to get up as high as possible.

The natives resemble those seen at Brumer islands (from which we were distant about thirty-six miles) so closely that I saw no points regarding them deserving of separate notice, and their language is the same, judging from a small vocabulary of about seventy words.  The only manufactured article new to us was a small wooden pillow* about a foot long and six inches high, with a slight concavity above to receive the neck of the person using it.  Both women and children came off with the men to traffic with us and look at the ship, but none could be tempted to come on board, although they paddled up alongside without the slightest hesitation.  We were frequently solicited to accompany them on shore, but no one was allowed to leave the ship.

(Footnote.  Wooden pillows are also in use in some of the islands of Polynesia and in New Caledonia.)

CUL DE SAC DE L’ORANGERIE.

The northern shores of the Cul de Sac are low and wooded, forming an extensive tract of level land stretching backwards towards the mountains, with a large opening at its eastern end, which is probably the mouth of a great river.  The Bramble was sent to examine this bay, but the shoalness of the water, and the unfavourable nature of the weather prevented the completion of this work.  During her absence a large canoe was seen in the bay, differing from all those hitherto observed in having a triangular or lateen sail set with the apex downwards, thus resembling those in use on the north coast of New Guinea, among some of the Malay Islands, and those of the Viti Archipelago.