of half a mile, was an open, undulating, loamy plain, covered with grass just arriving at maturity, a few small wattles, hakea, and white-gum trees.  As the sun had now set, we had only just time to ascend a few hundred feet up the rocky ridge, from which elevation could be discerned a sheet of water about a mile to the eastward, which we attempted to reach, but it became so dark that it was found better to return to the boats, which were now high and dry.  By 8 p.m. the tide had risen sufficiently to admit of Captain Dixon’s return to the Dolphin, while I remained with a portion of my own party to make further examination in the morning; the leaky state of the cutter keeping one of us bailing through the night.

14th May.

With Messrs. Turner, Brown, Harding, and Brockman, landed at 7 a.m., and walked to the sheet of water observed last night, but found it only a tidal inlet, terminating in a salt marsh.  Continuing on our course for five miles to the south-east, across a grassy plain, the soil being a light brown loam, with occasional patches of quartz and gneiss pebbles, and beds of limestone in irregular nodules, in an hour and a half arrived at a deep stony watercourse, containing some small pools of brackish water.  This stream was followed up to the southward about a mile, but found to be dry, and did not appear to come from a greater distance than twenty miles.  This river was named the Nickol.  The country to the south not being very promising, we turned to the westward, recrossing the plain more to the south, passing several hollows, in which the rainwater had very recently rested, leaving a rich alluvial deposit from which had sprung up a splendid sward of grass, which was still quite green.  Not meeting with water in this direction, and the party not being yet in full training, we were glad to return to the boat, which was reached by 2 p.m.; the tide being now in, enabled her to come in close to the beach, the rise being found to be about sixteen feet.  By 5.0 we had returned to the ship, all tolerably well fatigued with our first day’s march on shore.

Interview with natives.

15th May.

Not being satisfied to land the horses on a shore devoid of water, I determined to attempt a landing in a small sandy cove in the high rocky shore on the west of the bay, which we had been afraid to enter during the gale on the 12th.  Leaving the ship with two boats and provisions for the day, we pulled for the little cove about four miles distant, bearing west by north.  For the first three miles the soundings did not show less than three fathoms, with an even sandy bottom, the last mile shoaling gradually to the beach; the landing being easily effected, as there now was but little surf.  The shore was found to be generally very sandy, a low flat valley extending from the head of the cove across the isthmus about two miles to Mermaid Strait, where it terminated in a muddy mangrove creek.  In about half an hour