is the helmet-shaped headland, rising abruptly from the sea to the height of 480 feet, and forming the South-East extreme of Grant Island.  It is the more conspicuous from the circumstance that all the rest of the island is covered with low hills, clothed in an almost impervious scrub.  The land at the head of the inner of the two bays I have alluded to in describing Port Western, partakes of the same character, and is intersected by a number of creeks.  This greatly increases the difficulty of the overland communication between Port Phillip and the available land on Port Western, travellers being compelled to take a very circuitous road in order to avoid this almost impassable tract, and reach the banks of Bass river, where the best soil is found, and which has been named after the enterprising man whose memory must for ever remain intimately connected with this part of the world.

SNAKE ADVENTURE.

A few rare insects were collected by Mr. Emery, whose adventures with snakes bear a great resemblance to some of Waterton’s.  He was walking out once on Grant Island, when his attention was attracted by the pitiful cries of a bird in a tree close at hand.  He soon discovered that a snake* was in the act of robbing the nest, whilst the mother fluttering round, was endeavouring to scare away the spoiler.  Mr. Emery immediately climbed up, and with a courage which few other men would have exhibited, seized the reptile by the back of the neck and killed it.  We found that it had already swallowed one of the young ones, which had so extended the skin, and made so large a lump, that we were quite puzzled to know how it could have been got down.

(Footnote.  Lieutenant Emery has this snake still in his possession, stuffed in a masterly style, and set up with the bird in its mouth.)

CAPABILITIES OF PORT WESTERN.

We were astonished to find the tide here nearly an hour later than at Port Phillip, and higher by six feet.  The cause of this peculiarity is no doubt to be attributed to the fact of the tides at Port Western being influenced by the easterly flood-stream.  The bad weather we experienced during our stay enabled us to judge of the capabilities of the Port, which we were glad to find the finest we had yet seen in Bass Strait, not so much, however, from its size, for above Grant Island the extent of deep water is limited, as from the great facility of access.

On the 19th we left Port Western, passing out by keeping an isolated piece of tableland, called Tortoise Head, on the South-East extremity of French Island, open of the North-East point of Grant Island.  The only danger is a sandbank, lying in the centre of the channel, four miles within the entrance.  It may always be avoided by keeping a cable’s length from the eastern shore.

The western half of the south side of Grant Island, is a line of cliffs, from one to three hundred feet in height.  A remarkable pyramidal rock marks the point where this terminates, after which a long range of low hills, covered with scrub, stretches to Cape Wollami, the helmet-shaped headland before-mentioned.  A light North-East wind rendered our progress slow towards Cape Patterson, we reaching it by daylight of the 20th.  It is a low point, covered with scattered sand hillocks; a few rocky patches here and there front its sand beach.