At noon our latitude was 17 degrees 13 minutes 29 seconds.  At four o’clock we were abreast of Captain Baudin’s Point Coulomb, which M. De Freycinet describes to be the projection at which the Red Cliffs commence.  The interior is here higher than to the northward, and gradually rises, at the distance of eight miles from the shore, to wooded hills, and bears a more pleasing and verdant appearance than we have seen for some time past; but the coast still retains the same sandy and uninviting character.  During the afternoon we had but a light sea-breeze from the westward; and at sunset the anchor was dropped in thirteen fathoms fine soft sand, at about six miles from the shore.  Large flocks of boobies flew over the vessel at sunset, directing their course towards the reefs of Lacepede Islands, and in the direction of the Whale Bank, which, according to the French chart of this part, lies in the offing to the westward.  As no island was noticed by us in the position assigned to Captain Baudin’s Carnot Island, the bay to the southward of Cape Baskerville has received that name.  The smokes of fires have been noticed at intervals of every four or five miles along the shore, from which it may be inferred that this part of the coast is very populous.  Captain Dampier saw forty Indians together, on one of the rocky islands to the eastward of Cape Leveque, and, in his quaint style, gives the subjoined interesting account of them: 

“The inhabitants of this country are the miserablest people in the world.  The Hodmadods of Monomatapa, though a nasty people, yet for wealth are gentlemen to these; who have no houses, and skin garments, sheep, poultry, and fruits of the earth, ostrich eggs, etc., as the Hodmadods have:  and setting aside their human shape, they differ but little from brutes.  They are tall, straight-bodied, and thin, with small, long limbs.  They have great heads, round foreheads, and great brows.  Their eye-lids are always half closed, to keep the flies out of their eyes; they being so troublesome here, that no fanning will keep them from coming to one’s face; and without the assistance of both hands to keep them off, they will creep into one’s nostrils, and mouth too, if the lips are not shut very close; so that from their infancy, being thus annoyed with these insects, they do never open their eyes as other people; and therefore they cannot see far, unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at somewhat over them.

“They have great bottle-noses, pretty full lips, and wide mouths.  The two fore-teeth of their upper jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old and young; whether they draw them out, I know not:  neither have they any beards.  They are long-visaged, and of a very unpleasant aspect, having no one graceful feature in their faces.  Their hair is black, short and curled, like that of the negroes; and not long and lank like the common Indians.  The colour of their skins, both of their faces and the rest of their body, is coal-black, like that of the negroes of Guinea.*