f the cutter keeping one of
us bailing through the night.

14th May.

With Messrs. Turner, Brown, Harding, and Brockman, landed at 7 a.m., and
walked to the sheet of water observed last night, but found it only a
tidal inlet, terminating in a salt marsh. Continuing on our course for
five miles to the south-east, across a grassy plain, the soil being a
light brown loam, with occasional patches of quartz and gneiss pebbles,
and beds of limestone in irregular nodules, in an hour and a half arrived
at a deep stony watercourse, containing some small pools of brackish
water. This stream was followed up to the southward about a mile, but
found to be dry, and did not appear to come from a greater distance than
twenty miles. This river was named the Nickol. The country to the south
not being very promising, we turned to the westward, recrossing the plain
more to the south, passing several hollows, in which the rainwater had
very recently rested, leaving a rich alluvial deposit from which had
sprung up a splendid sward of grass, which was still quite green. Not
meeting with water in this direction, and the party not being yet in full
training, we were glad to return to the boat, which was reached by 2
p.m.; the tide being now in, enabled her to come in close to the beach,
the rise being found to be about sixteen feet. By 5.0 we had returned to
the ship, all tolerably well fatigued with our first day's march on
shore.

INTERVIEW WITH NATIVES.

15th May.

Not being satisfied to land the horses on a shore devoid of water, I
determined to attempt a landing in a small sandy cove in the high rocky
shore on the west of the bay, which we had been afraid to enter during
the gale on the 12th. Leaving the ship with two boats and provisions for
the day, we pulled for the little cove about four miles distant, bearing
west by north. For the first three miles the soundings did not show less
than three fathoms, with an even sandy bottom, the last mile shoaling
gradually to the beach; the landing being easily effected, as there now
was but little surf. The shore was found to be generally very sandy, a
low flat valley extending from the head of the cove across the isthmus
about two miles to Mermaid Strait, where it terminated in a muddy
mangrove creek. In about half an hour several wells were found, some
containing rather brackish water, but one, about eight feet deep, in a
hollow under a steep range of bare volcanic and granite hills, not m