EXAMINE THE COAST TO THE SOUTHWARD.  ITS CHARACTER.

After passing Point Greenough the shore trended south by east and for the next eight miles preserved its low character, being still thickly wooded with mangroves; but at this point a remarkable change takes place as the mangroves suddenly cease, and the low range of hills which extends southward along the coast parallel to the shore increases a little in height.  In about another mile the mangroves again commence, the coast now trending south-east; and about five miles further it runs south-east by east, forming a bay about four miles deep, the bottom of which is tolerably clear of mangroves.

CONTINUE OUR COURSE TO THE SOUTHWARD.

Having crossed this bay we ran south-east by south parallel to the shore; the mangroves now became less continuous and numerous, at least they appeared to us to be so, and the range of hills seemed also to approach much nearer to the sea.  We continued on this course until sunset, when I selected a snug little bay in the mangroves, where we anchored at the distance of a few yards from the shore and made ourselves as comfortable as we could for the night.

CHARACTER OF THE COAST AND SEA.

There was great beauty in the scenery which we saw during the day’s sail; the waters and the sky had that peculiar brilliancy about them which is only seen in fine weather and in a tropical climate.  To the west of us lay an apparently boundless expanse of sea, whilst to the eastward we had a low shore fringed with trees, not only down to the water’s edge but forming little green knolls of foliage in the ocean itself; behind these trees lay low wooded hills, and in front of them stalked and swam about pelicans and waterfowl in countless numbers.  We had only about three feet depth of clear transparent water, through which we saw that the flats beneath us were covered with vivid coloured shells of many genera, some of which were of a very large size; strange-looking fish of a variety of kinds were also sporting about; more particularly sharks of a new species (of that kind which I shot at in mistake for an alligator) and stingrays.  Whenever a lull occurred the men, unable to resist the chance of getting a meal, would jump out of the boat, and give chase to one of these sting-rays, boat-hook in hand, and then loud peals of laughter rose from the others as the pursuer, too anxious to attain his object, missed his stroke or, stumbling, rolled headlong in the water.  The fineness of the day, the novelty of the scenery, and the rapid way we were making made the poor fellows forget past dangers, as well as those they had yet to undergo.  My own meditations were of a more melancholy character, for I feared that the days of some of the light-hearted group were already numbered and would soon be brought to a close.  Amidst such scenes and thoughts we were swept along, whilst this unknown coast, which so many had anxiously yet vainly wished to see, passed before our eyes like a panorama or a dream, and, ere many years have hurried by it is probable that the recollection of this day will be as such to me.