This night too we commenced our nightly watch, the whole of the stores being landed and packed in the camp.  During nearly the whole of the day a tribe of natives was watching our movements, but they seemed to be quite peaceably inclined; the weather was very cold, and at night the rain set in and continued to fall, almost without intermission, till morning.

The next morning (May 26th) was very wet and cold; but after securing our horses, I again went out to search for, and examine plants, although it was too rainy to collect seeds or specimens.  On a Casuarina near the swamp, I saw a beautiful Loranthus with rather small oval leaves, panicles of flowers, with the tube of the corolla green; segments of the limbs dark red; of a dwarf bushy habit.  This beautiful parasite covered the tree, and was very showy.  The afternoon turning out fine and warm, I collected several specimens and sorts of seeds.  In the open ground grew a beautiful tree producing large terminal spikes of yellow flowers, with broad, and slightly cordate leaves; it belongs to the natural order Bignoniaceae.

The open ground between the beach and the swamp varied in width from half a mile to three or four miles; it was principally covered with long grass, with a belt of bushy land along the edge of the beach; the bush consisting principally of Exocarpus, with dark green oval leaves, near an inch long; two dwarf species of Fabricia, one with white, the other with pink flowers; a species of Jasminum, with rather large, white, sweet-scented flowers; and a few acacia trees, with long, linear, lanceolate, phyllodia, racemose spikes of bright yellow flowers.  There also grew the genera Xanthorrhoea, Xerotes, and Restio (rope-grass.)

There were a great many wallabies near the beach, but they were very wild.  While returning to the camp in the evening, I met several natives who had been fishing.  Most of the fish they had taken had been speared, only a few having been caught with hooks.  I remained with them some time, and learned some of their expressions.  Fresh water they call hammoo,* salt water, mocull; their dogs—­the same species as the native dogs found near Sydney—­they call taa-taa.  We had not as yet seen any of their women, as they were encamped at some distance from us.

(Footnote.  Kamo, at Goold Island, only a few miles distant.)

Near the beach, by the side of the saltwater creek, I saw a beautiful species of Ruellia with terminal spikes of blue flowers, and spiny-toothed leaves, and a bushy shrub eight or ten feet high, with alternate exstipulate, simple, oval leaves, bearing a solitary, axillary, round fruit, resembling a greengage plum; the fleshy pulp covering the hard round stone has rather a bitter taste, but it is not disagreeable when ripe.  It acts as a laxative if eaten in any quantity, and is probably Maba laurina.

On the following morning, May 27th, when the horses were watered and fed, I commenced digging a piece of ground, in which I sowed seeds of cabbage, turnip, leek, pumpkin, rock and water melons, pomegranate, peach stones, and apple pips.  On the two following days, May 28th and 29th, I remained in the camp all day.