en they
returned, we got under way.

A small lake of fresh water was found at a little distance behind the
sandy ridges in front of the shore. This was surrounded by a good
vegetable soil; and the number of plants, collected near it was greater
than had before been found upon any one island. The small lake is too far
from the sea side for a ship to obtain water from it conveniently; but
two little streams which drained from the sand hills made it probable
that fresh water might have been obtained anywhere at this time by
digging. The water of these rills was tinged red, similar to that
obtained at King George's Sound and to the pools I had before seen at
Furneaux's Islands; and as the stone in these places is granite, and
water so discoloured was not found any where else, it seems very probable
that the discolouring arises from the granite and granitic sand.

Two more womats were killed this morning; and a skull was picked up which
was thought to be of a small dog, but more probably was that of an
opossum.

From the observations taken whilst beating up to the anchorage, the top
of the highest hill at the north end of King's Island will be in
_latitude_ 39 deg. 361/2' south, and _longitude_ 143 deg. 54' east. The _variation_
of the compass, taken on the binnacle with the ship's head at south, was
7 deg. 59' east; but ten leagues to the eastward it was 11 deg. 52', with the
head west-south-west, or reduced to the meridian, 8 deg. 43' east. The
_tides_ set one mile and a half an hour past the ship, northwest-by-west
and south-east-by-east, nearly as the coast lies; that from the eastward
running nearly eight hours, and turning about two hours after the moon
had passed the meridian; but, which tide was the flood, or what the rise,
we did not remain long enough to determine.

The time was fast approaching when it would be necessary to proceed to
Port Jackson, both on account of the winter season, and from the want of
some kinds of provisions. Before this took place I wished to finish as
much of the South Coast as possible, and would have recommenced at Cape
Bridgewater had the wind been favourable; but it still blew fresh from
the southward, and all that part remained a lee shore. I determined,
however, to run over to the high land we had seen on the north side of
Bass' Strait, and to trace as much of the coast from thence eastward as
the state of the weather and our remaining provisions could possibly
allow.

In steer