t, but saw
nothing to repay us for the trouble or the danger of the ascent: the
surface was composed entirely of loose blocks of sandstone, which, when
trod upon, would crumble away or roll down the nearly perpendicular face
of the rock; and it was only by grasping the branches of the acacias and
other trees that were firmly rooted in the interstices of the
less-decomposed rocks that we were saved from being precipitated with
them. On our return we passed through the channel on the west side of the
Midway Isles which we found to be very deep and the stream very strong.

August 4.

The next day we pulled through the strait that insulates Greville Island,
and found that it communicated with Munster Water at a part where we had
yesterday concluded it likely to exist, and had in consequence steered
towards it; but as we proceeded the probability became less and less, and
we gave up the search when we were within three hundred yards of being
actually in it.

We then pulled up Munster Water and afterwards through the strait to sea;
and, landing on some dry rocks on a reef which projects off the west head
of the strait, found that we were at the entrance of the bight, which was
last year named Hanover Bay: after taking a set of bearings, we
re-embarked and proceeded to the bottom of the bay which terminated in a
shoal basin.

On our return we entered an opening in the rocky cliff which bore the
appearance of being the outlet of a torrent stream; being low-water,
there was not in many parts sufficient depth to float the boat; but after
pulling up for half a mile, a muddy channel was found, which, at the end
of another half mile, was terminated by a bed of rocks over which the
tide flows at high-water. The ravine is formed by steep precipitous rocks
which are at least two hundred and fifty feet high; it appeared to extend
to a considerable distance, and as the farther progress of the boat was
prevented by the stones and want of water, Bundell and two of the boat's
crew were despatched to examine a place farther on, where, from the green
appearance of the trees, it was thought not unlikely that there might be
a fresh stream. In this they were not disappointed, for after much delay
and trouble, from the difficulty of passing over the rocks, they returned
with two baricas full of fresh water, which they found in holes of
considerable size.

In pulling up the river, an alligator was seen crawling slowly over the
mud banks, but