getting at it. Signs of natives were frequently met with,
but none were recent. From the quantities of turtle-bones about the
fireplaces, it is evident that these animals occasionally resort to a
small sandy beach near the entrance of the basin above alluded to.

The botany of the island afforded at this unfavourable season not more
than five or six species of plants in flower, some of which I had met
with elsewhere. A species of pine, Araucaria cunninghami, is found here
in small quantities, but more plentifully on the adjacent Pine Islets,
where it appears to constitute the only arboreal vegetation. A few
cabbage palms, Corypha australis, are the only other trees worth
mentioning. Among the birds observed, black and white cockatoos, swamp
pheasants, and crows were the most numerous. A fine banded snail, Helix
incei, was the only landshell met with. A Littorina and a Nerita occur
abundantly on the trunks and stems of the mangroves, and the creek
swarmed with stingrays (Trygon) and numbers of a dull green swimming
crab.

BUSH FIRE.

During our stay, the bush was thoughtlessly set on fire by some of our
people, and continued burning for several days, until nearly the whole
island had been passed over; the long dry grass and dead trees blazing
very fiercely under the influence of a high wind. At night the sight of
the burning scrub was very fine when viewed from a distance, but I did
not forget that I had one day been much closer to it than was
pleasant--in fact, it was only by first soaking my clothes in a pool
among the rocks, emptying the contents of my powder-flask to prevent the
risk of being blown up, and then making a desperate rush through a belt
of burning scrub, that I succeeded in reaching a place of safety.

Singularly enough, the Asp's dinghy was picked up uninjured on one of the
sandy beaches of this island, and on December 7th we left the anchorage
with a strong south-easterly wind, and anchored for the night under one
of Sir James Smith's group. On the following day we ran through part of
Whitsunday Passage, so named by Cook, and anchored in Port Molle, in
seven and a half fathoms, a quarter of a mile off shore. The best
anchorage here appears to be in the second bay as you round the end of
the island, forming the south-east side of the harbour; it may be known
by a sandy beach at the head.

During our stay of two days, search was made for water in every likely
spot, but none could be found. In the dr