But to proceed.  In the night we had a small land breeze, and in the morning I weighed anchor, designing to run in among the islands, for they had large channels between them of a league wide at least, and some two or three leagues wide.  I sent in my boat before to sound, and if they found shoal water to return again, but if they found water enough to go ashore on one of the islands and stay till the ship came in, where they might in the meantime search for water.  So we followed after with the ship, sounding as we went in, and had twenty fathom till within two leagues of the Bluff head, and then we had shoal water and very uncertain soundings; yet we ran in still with an easy sail, sounding and looking out well, for this was dangerous work.  When we came abreast of the Bluff head, and about two miles from it, we had but seven fathom, then we edged away from it, but had no more water, and running in a little farther we had but four fathoms, so we anchored immediately; and yet when we had veered out a third of a cable, we had seven fathom water again, so uncertain was the water.  My boat came immediately on board, and told me that the island was very rocky and dry, and they had little hopes of finding water there.  I sent them to sound, and bade them, if they found a channel of eight or ten fathom water, to keep on, and we would follow with the ship.  We were now about four leagues within the outer small rocky islands, but still could see nothing but islands within us, some five or six leagues long, others not above a mile round.  The large islands were pretty high, but all appeared dry, and mostly rocky and barren.  The rocks looked of a rusty yellow colour, and therefore I despaired of getting water on any of them, but was in some hopes of finding a channel to run in beyond all these islands, could I have spent time here, and either got to the main of New Holland or find out some other islands that might afford us water and other refreshments; besides that among so many islands we might have found some sort of rich mineral, or ambergris, it being a good latitude for both these.  But we had not sailed above a league farther before our water grew shoaler again, and then we anchored in six fathom, hard sand.

We were now on the inner side of the island, on whose outside is the Bluff point.  We rode a league from the island, and I presently went ashore and carried shovels to dig for water, but found none.  There grow here two or three sorts of shrubs, one just like rosemary, and therefore I called this Rosemary Island; it grew in great plenty here, but had no smell.  Some of the other shrubs had blue and yellow flowers; and we found two sorts of grain like beans; the one grew on bushes, the other on a sort of creeping vine that runs along on the ground, having very thick broad leaves, and the blossom like a bean blossom, but much larger and of a deep red colour, looking very beautiful.  We saw here some cormorants, gulls, crab-catchers, etc., a few small land birds, and a sort of white parrots, which flew a great many together.  We found some shell-fish, viz., limpets, periwinkles, and abundance of small oysters growing on the rocks, which were very sweet.  In the sea we saw some green turtle, many sharks, and abundance of water-snakes of several sorts and sizes.  The stones were all of rusty colour, and ponderous.