The country through which we passed in this excursion has but little to recommend it.  The stony hills of the sea coast were, indeed, generally covered with shrubs; but there was rarely any depth of vegetable soil, and no wood.  The land slopes down gradually behind these hills; and at the bottom water drains out and forms a chain of swamps extending from Princess-Royal Harbour to the lakes.  Here the country is covered with grass and brushwood, and in the parts a little elevated there are forest trees; nevertheless the soil is shallow and unfit for cultivation.

WEDNESDAY 30 DECEMBER 1801

On the 30th, our wooding and the watering of the ship were completed, the rigging was refitted, the sails repaired and bent, and the ship unmoored.  Our friends the natives continued to visit us; and the old man with several others being at the tents this morning, I ordered the party of marines on shore to be exercised in their presence.  The red coats and white crossed belts were greatly admired, having some resemblance to their own manner of ornamenting themselves; and the drum, but particularly the fife, excited their astonishment; but when they saw these beautiful red-and-white men, with their bright muskets, drawn up in a line, they absolutely screamed with delight; nor were their wild gestures and vociferation to be silenced but by commencing the exercise, to which they paid the most earnest and silent attention.  Several of them moved their hands involuntarily, according to the motions; and the old man placed himself at the end of the rank, with a short staff in his hand, which he shouldered, presented, grounded as did the marines their muskets, without, I believe, knowing what he did.  Before firing, the Indians were made acquainted with what was going to take place; so that the vollies did not excite much terror.

SUNDAY 3 JANUARY 1802

The tents and observatory were already struck; and everything being sent on board, we took leave of the natives, and embarked with the intention of running into the Sound this evening; but a change in the wind, to south-by-east, prevented it.  This wind veered to east and north-east, and for a short time blew strong; so that it was the 3rd of January in the afternoon before we steered out of Princess-Royal Harbour.  It was not my intention to proceed immediately to sea; and I therefore took the opportunity of standing backward and forward in the Sound, with the dredge and trawl overboard; and a variety of small fish were brought up.  These were of little use as food; but with the shells, sea weeds, and corals they furnished amusement and occupation to the naturalist and draughtsman, and a pretty kind of hippocampus, which was not scarce, was generally admired.

In the evening the anchor was dropped in 7 fathoms, abreast of the second sandy beach near a flat rock on the south side of the Sound, almost in the same spot where captain Vancouver had anchored in 1791.  I think the Sound does not afford a more secure place, the sole points of exposition being between Bald Head and Break-sea Island, making an angle of no more than 10 deg.; and as both wood and water are procurable here, though neither very good, a ship proposing to stay only a few days is under no necessity of having recourse to the harbours.