ur voyage.

As soon as we had obtained an offing the wind freshened up to a strong
breeze from the westward, attended with squally and unfavourable weather;
but we were enabled to make some useful observations upon the coastline
as far as the next point to the southward of Smoky Cape; when night
obliged us to steer more off shore.

The country behind the beach was lined with natives' fires which were
kindled as we passed to attract our notice. To the southward of Smoky
Cape the land is very low and probably occupied by large lagoons.

May 22.

The next evening Mount Warning was seen from the deck although we were at
least seventy-eight miles from it.

May 23.

On the 23rd at noon our latitude was 28 degrees 9 minutes 5 seconds, when
the Mount bore South 58 degrees West (Magnetic). At sunset the wind died
away; and, from the land in the vicinity of the mountain indicating every
appearance of the existence of either a large sheet of water or an
opening of consequence, I was induced to remain two days to examine the
beach more narrowly; but, after beating about with a strong
south-easterly current which prevented my tracing the beach to the
northward of the Mount, and having only seen an inconsiderable opening
that communicates by a shoal channel with a small lagoon at the back of
the beach, I gave up the search; still without satisfying myself of the
non-existence of an inlet, which, if there be one, probably communicates
with the sea nearer to Point Danger.*

(*Footnote. Lieutenant Oxley has since (1823) discovered this to be the
case, for he found a stream emptying itself into the sea, by a bar
harbour close to Point Danger. Lieutenant Oxley called it the Tweed.)

Mount Warning is the summit of a range of hills which is either distinct
from others near it or separated from them by deep ravines. It is very
high and may be seen twenty-eight leagues from a ship's deck.
West-North-West from it is a much higher range but, having a more regular
outline than the mount, is not of so conspicuous a character. Several
detached ranges of hills lie between Mount Warning and the beach; they
are thickly covered with timber, amongst which was a pine, supposed to be
the same that Captain Flinders found growing on Entrance Island in Port
Bowen, which is 6 1/2 degrees more to the northward.* Mount Warning is on
the same parallel as Norfolk Island, where the Araucaria excelsa grows in
remarkable luxuriance and beauty and attains a