An Irishman, born in Martinique, who "in his own words "was so unfortunate as to discover the fate of the unfortunate but far-famed Count de la Perouse" which for forty yearse had been one of the classic mysteries of the Pacific." He found items likely to belong to La Perouse on Tikopia and later discovered traces of Perouses two wrecked vessels in Vanikoro in the New Hebrides. "His life sheds much light on the earlier phase of European trading ..." -- Jacket.