Volume I Part 5 (2/2)

Anchor in Roebuck Bay

Excursion on shore

Visit from the Natives

Mr Bynoe's account of the them

Captain Grey's account of an almost white race in Australia

Birds, Snakes, and Turtle

Move the shi+p

Miago, and the Black Fellows

The wicked ellan

Face of the Country

Natives

Heat and Sickness

Miago on shore

Mr Usborne wounded

Failure in Roebuck Bay

Native notions

CURRENTS AND SOUNDINGS

The solemnities of Christmas, and the festal celebration of the New Year, beneath a cloudless sky, and with the thermometer at 90, concluded our first visit to Swan River We left our anchorage in Gage's Road on Thursday, January 4th, devoting several hours to sounding between Rottnest and the main We bore away at 4 PM to search for a bank said to exist about fifteenfrom twenty to twenty-two fathoned we certainly shoaled our water froht to twenty-four fathoms, but no other indication of a bank was to be found

Satisfied that we had now no further reason for delay, we kept away North-West with a fresh southerly wind, and the glad omen of a brilliant sunset

January 5

We were rather surprised to find by our observation at noon, no indication of a northerly current, though yesterday when becalmed between Rottnest and the main ere drifted to the northward at the rate of nearly two knots per hour We sounded regularly every four hours, but found no bottoht froht we had it fresh froht, within 60 ned in the chart to the low coral group known as Houtain sounded unsuccessfully with 200 fathoms

(Footnote Subsequent observations placed these islands 30 ned them Our track, therefore, was really 90a northerly course up to the 9th, keeping within fro our deep-sea soundings every six hours without success

INDICATIONS OF A SQUALL

The wind during each day was moderate fro the night from South, and South by East; a heavy sas its constant co of the 9th, being in the parallel of North-west Cape, our course was altered to North-East by East; it blew hard during the night, and we had a disagreeable sea; but, as usual, it

We had shaped a course to rees 17 minutes, and na to its being situated, as we afterwards found, half a degree to the eastward of its assigned position in the charts, we did not see it

At 4 AM, and with 195 fathoms, we reached a botto then about 80 miles North-North-East fro East by North 1/2 North for 31 rees 20 rees 16 minutes East, and into a depth of 120 fathoms, with the same kind of botto position, Captain King had 83 and 85 fathos, extending off this part of the coast, to be very steep These soundings, together with those of Captain King, as above, ive some idea of the nature and extent of this bank, which see North-North-East 40Barrow and Tre kept heaped up thus steeply by the constant action of the current sweeping round the North-west Cape

DEEP SEA SOUNDINGS

We continued steering East and by North 1/2 North, and at sunset, 14 miles from our noon position, the water had deepened to 145 fathoms, bottom a fine white sand and powdered shells Before ere 50 miles from our noon position, we could find no bottom with 200 fatho the night, and felt delay the ht of the land where our duties were to begin in earnest We were not successful with our soundings till 6 PM, e had the same kind of bottom as before described, with 117 fathoms: 15 miles East by North 1/2 North from our noon position, which was 220 miles West by South from Roebuck Bay: 30 miles in the same direction froround retaining the same distinctive character We had the wind fro the afternoon, but at 6 PM it chopped round to North-North-West, when, too, for the first ti to the South-East--Barometer 2992; ther indications of the coiven us full time for preparation, were realized about one o'clock this h only moderately, from South-East It was preceded by the rise and rapid advance of a black cloud in that quarter, just as Captain King has described