The agility this native exhibited in spearing fish was astonishing.  In shallow water he would actually course the fish till he got them within spearing depth, when, although his prey darted past, he struck it with the most surprising precision.  The quiet, splashless manner in which he ran through the water was really singular.  When his spear required new pointing, the sole of his foot was turned up and the spear’s head pared down upon it with a knife.  When the latter was not to be procured the teeth were made use of; and I may here remark that the constant use which some savages make of their teeth may have much to do in producing the projecting jaw.  It seems almost evident to common sense that the constant employment of the teeth must have a material effect in causing a change in the facial angle.

ANCHORAGE AT DEPUCH ISLAND.

We found the anchorage at Depuch Island to form a tolerable port, being protected from the north-east by one of the group, distant about three miles, from which a reef extends to the West-North-West, leaving the mouth of the harbour exposed only between North-West by North and West-North-West.  Our observations placed the centre of the sandy beach on the north-east side of the island in latitude 20 degrees 37 minutes 47 seconds South and longitude 2 degrees 0 minutes 20 seconds West of Swan River, variation 2 degrees westerly; and the time of high-water, at the full and change, at half past ten, when the tide rose 15 feet, but only 5 during neaps.

NEW BIRD AND KANGAROO.

Although Depuch Island had been visited before, there still remained something quite new to reward the diligent search that was made after objects of natural history:  namely, a small kind of kangaroo, a land bird, and a shell, a species of Helix.  The bird was shot by Mr. Bynoe; it was a finch,* and beautifully marked with stripes of crimson down the breast, on a black ground with white spots; the throat, and a patch round the stump of the tail, were crimson.  It is remarkable that all the beauty and brilliancy of colour in this bird is underneath, the back being of a common earthy brown.

(Footnote.  Named by Mr. Gould from this specimen, Emblema picta.)

The kangaroo I had myself the good fortune to knock over on the summit of the island; it was the only one shot during many an excursion made over that dreary heap of desolation, the metallic sound the rocks yielded to our step giving ample warning of our approach to their quick ears.  The colours of this specimen, the prettiest we had seen, were a dark grey, with a large angular patch of white down the side, extending from the top of the shoulders nearly to the hips.  Down the centre of the back, ran a streak of black, which was also the colour of the extremity of its slightly bushy tail.  The face and belly were likewise darker than other parts of the body, and the feet were black and well cushioned, giving it a firm hold of the rocks over which it bounded with surprising agility, through it never ran very far, always popping into the cavities caused by the loose manner in which the blocks forming the island are thrown together.*