large round stones, under which is a hard bottom,
formed by the incrustation of sand and shells. The wind being now
at south-south-east, there was not the least surf on the beach;
and I apprehend, that when the wind blows from the south-west,
which makes very bad landing in Sydney-Bay, the landing is very
good here; so that, should I not find Cascade-Bay a more eligible
place than this, it was my intention to make a creek on the
beach, by removing the stones for the breadth of twenty feet,
until the bottom is clear, and as they are very heavy, I do not
think it would be liable to fill up again.

I passed the remainder of the day here, and slept under a tent
which I had brought with me. The next morning at day-light, we
set out from Ball-Bay in order to go to Cascade-Bay, on the north
side of the island, which is not more than three miles distant,
yet we did not arrive there before five o'clock in the afternoon,
quite exhausted and fatigued; having been under the necessity of
cutting our way through the entangled underwood, which
intercepted us in every direction.

The landing place mentioned by Lieutenant Ball, is on a rock,
a little detached from the island, and has communication with it
at half tide: there is no objection to this being a very good
landing place, if it were not for the almost total impossibility
of getting any article of provisions or stores further than the
rock, which is at least three hundred yards from the valley that
leads down to it. Between this rock and the cascade, there is a
stony beach, similar to that at Ball-Bay, on which landing is
very good, with southerly winds, and they generally prevail
during the winter. Spars might be sent off from hence with great
ease; but should the island remain settled, it will be necessary
to make the landing at this place more convenient than it is at
present. We passed the night in the valley above the cascade:
this valley is extensive, and a very large deep rivulet runs
through it.

At day-light on the 19th, we set out on our return to
Sydney-Bay, where we arrived at four in the afternoon, with
scarcely a rag to cover ourselves, the cloaths being torn off our
backs by the briars.

I observed the soil to be very good in every part of the
island I visited during the excursion, and it was well watered;
but the woods were almost impassable. There is a deal of level
ground on the tops of the hills, and most of them will admit of
cultivation; and where th