island about two or three miles long. No natives were seen on any of the
islands but there were many large smokes on the horizon at the back of
Cygnet Bay.

We were now beginning to feel the effects of this fatiguing duty.
One-fourth of the people who kept watch were ill with bilious or feverish
attacks, and we had never been altogether free from sickness since our
arrival upon the coast. Mr. Montgomery's wound was, however, happily
quite healed, and Mr. Roe had also returned to his duty; but Mr.
Cunningham, who had been confined to the vessel since the day we arrived
in Careening Bay, was still upon the sick list. Our passage up the east
coast, the fatigues of watering and wooding at Prince Regent's River, and
our constant harassing employment during the examination of the coast
between Hanover Bay and Cape Leveque, had produced their bad effects upon
the constitutions of our people. Every means were taken to prevent
sickness: preserved meats were issued two days in the week in lieu of
salt provisions; and this diet, with the usual proportions of lemon-juice
and sugar, proved so good an anti-scorbutic that, with a few trifling
exceptions, no case of scurvy occurred. Our dry provisions had suffered
much from rats and cockroaches; but this was not the only way these
vermin annoyed us, for, on opening a keg of musket ball cartridges, we
found, out of 750 rounds, more than half the number quite destroyed, and
the remainder so injured as to be quite useless.

August 21.

The following day we made very little progress, from light winds in the
morning and a dead calm the whole of the evening. At sunset we anchored
at about four miles from the shore, in seventeen fathoms sandy ground.

During the afternoon we were surrounded by an immense number of whales,
leaping out of the water and thrashing the sea with their fins; the noise
of which, from the calmness and perfect stillness of the air, was as loud
as the report of a volley of musketry. Some remorae were also swimming
about the vessel the whole day, and a snake about four feet long, of a
yellowish brown colour, rose up alongside, but instantly dived upon
seeing the vessel.

August 22.

High-water took place the next morning at twenty-six minutes after six
o'clock, at which time we got underweigh with a moderate land-breeze from
South-South-East, and steered to the southward along the shore. At noon
we were in latitude 16 degrees 30 minutes 19 seconds, Cape Borda bea