nd appeared to be intersected by a growth
of mangroves.

There appeared great irregularity in the tides at this anchorage, as if
there were a meeting of various streams. At 5 P.M. it was setting
South-West about an hour, and continued to run in that direction until 8
hours 30 minutes, gradually decreasing its rate. It then took a North and
by East direction with the same velocity, until half an hour after
midnight, when it again changed back to South-South-West, a course it
pursued during the remainder of our stay. By the rise of the water on the
shore it would appear that the flood came from the westward.

TORRES STRAIT.

On reaching York Island we considered ourselves within the Strait, which
took its name from the Spanish navigator Torres, who sailed in 1605,
second in command under Pedro Fernandes de Quiros, from Callao in Peru,
with the object of discovering the Tierra Austral, then supposed to be a
continent occupying a considerable portion of the southern hemisphere,
lying westward of America. Torres passed through this strait in 1606, but
despite the great importance of the discovery, its existence remained
unknown until 1762, from the jealousy of the Spanish monarchy, which kept
the reports of its navigators a secret from the world. At the time in
question, however, Manila fell into our hands, and in the archives of
that colony, a duplicate copy of Torres's letter to the king of Spain was
found by the hydrographer, Mr. Dalrymple. The passage was now made known,
and in tardy justice to the discoverer it received the appellation of
Torres Strait; a tribute to the reputation of man, the greatest perhaps
which could be bestowed, since no more sure road to immortality can be
pointed out, than giving a name to the great and imperishable works of
the Creator's hand. It was not however until 1770, that the world
received full confirmation of this great acquisition to our geographical
knowledge; the immortal Cook then passing through and settling the
question of its existence. This being the high road between our growing
Eastern and Australian possessions, the reader will at once see the
importance which must ever attach to the discovery, and will the more
readily comprehend our enlarging in some degree upon the circumstance.

July 13.

There had been noticed last evening a slight rippling outside the bay,
and on leaving this morning we found it to be a ridge about two cables
width, the least water on it being thre