Tuesday, 26th December, 1848.

At twenty minutes to six A.M., got underweigh with a light breeze; in the centre of Hannibal Bay, Risk Point ahead.  In about ten minutes we struck on a coral reef, and soon got off again; we anchored this day in Shelburne Bay, opposite where Jackey wished us to proceed to recover the three men; he was sure this was the place, seeing the mountain which Mr. Kennedy called Pudding-pan Hill, and other mountains there, which were wanting at the Pudding-pan Hill of the chart; he was perfectly confident as to this being the right place and it may be here stated that this hill is the very facsimile of the Pudding-pan Hill of the chart.  In sailing in the bay we found the water getting very shallow, from three to four, and lastly, when we anchored, two and a half fathoms, and this unfortunately, was a long way off from the land, say three or four miles; after consultation with the Captain and Jackey, our main guide, we determined on going on shore at the place pointed out by Jackey before daylight on the following morning; during this afternoon several fires, about five, were in sight along the coast in the bay, and not many natives seen; I saw five; after a time it had been determined who should be the party to go to recover the three men.  The Captain, Jackey, Barrett, Thomas (the sailor), and myself, formed the party.  The evening was employed in getting our guns in good order for the morrow.  The Captain thought he observed on shore natives with wearing apparel on.

Wednesday, 27th December, 1848.

At three o’clock A.M., the Captain called me, and such had been the preparation last night that in a quarter of an hour we were in the longboat, steering for the shore, and just as daylight was peeping we were near the shore in shallow water, and a fire sprung up nearly in front of us a little way in from the beach.  The boat struck on the ground, and we waded through the water for about a hundred yards or more knee deep.  Jackey took the lead, the Captain and I following, Barrett and Tom behind, and mounted the low scrubby cliff about two hundred yards from where we saw the fire.  On we trudged through dense scrub inland for about an hour, When Jackey said we must go further up that way, pointing more in the south part of the bay; that is where I want to go, said he, and that we had better cross there in the boat and recommence the trip.  On reaching the coast we hailed the boat, which was anchored off a little, and waded out to it.  Having seen a great smoke last evening and apparently one this morning, some distance beyond where Jackey wished us to land, he was asked if we should go first to this native fire and camp, and see if they have anything there belonging to the three men, and Jackey said, yes.  We proceeded there, a distance of about four miles to the southernmost part of the bay, and landed, but could discover only the remains of a bushfire and no camp; we now left this part and proceeded to exactly where Jackey pointed out on the beach, more in the central part of the bay, some three miles across, and landed, telling the men in the boat to anchor a little higher up to the north, where Jackey said we should come out at by-and-bye.  We left word with the men in the boat that we might be away for three hours or more, and that we should fire a gun on our return, which was to be answered by them.