me that it partook of the same character as the one already spoken of as seen yesterday, and that they are alike useless.
We were soon underway, and standing towards, or rather along, the shore; and as the day advanced, the wind drew more to the westward, a common occurrence, enabling us to lay along the shore, North ½ East. By four P.M., we were within two miles of it, in nine fathoms.
The coast here is fronted with a range of sandhills, some of which are topped with verdure: several low black rocky points extend for some distance from the flat sandy beach into the sea. I have no hesitation in saying, that this is a kind of black sandstone, often found at the bases of most cliffy points, and probably coloured by the chemical action of the saltwater. The sandhills, which form the coastline, do not appear to extend more than a mile inland. Beyond, the country appeared to subside into the same dull level which is the characteristic feature of what we have yet seen of this coast, thickly studded with timber of a much finer growth than the stunted productions of Roebuck Bay. Behind the cliffy parts of the coast the land assumed a more fertile appearance; and this seemed an almost invariable law in the natural history of this new world.
PROGRESS TO THE NORTHWARD.
Five miles to the northward of Point Coulomb, we passed a reef, lying a mile from the shore, with seven fathoms one mile seaward of it. The land now trended to the eastward, and formed a large bay, the south point of which we rounded at half past four P.M. The mangroves grew right down to the water's edge, and the spring tides appear to inundate the country to a very considerable extent, the land here being lower than any we had yet seen. We anchored, at half past eight, in six and a half fathoms, and I ran below to find how our wounded messmate had borne the day.
From my usual post, the masthead, I traced the shore from point to point of Carnot Bay, so named after the celebrated French consul and engineer. A very low sandy point bore North 67 degrees, East 6 miles. Sandbanks and breakers completely fortified its shores, and effectually forbid all approach, except under the most favourable circumstances.
LAND DISCOVERED BY TASMAN.
The several French names with which Commodore Baudin has distinguished leading portions of this coast, of course, professional courtesy will willingly respect; it is, however, only right to mention, that while he contented himself with so distant a view of this part of Australia as to be sometimes completely mistaken in the most important particulars, to the celebrated Abel Tasman belongs the merit of having previously landed upon its shores in that very bay, which now bears the name of the great republican.
DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES.
Tasman describes the natives as being quite naked, black in colour, and having curly hair, "malicious and cruel," using for arms bows and arrows, hazeygaeys* and kalawaeys. They came, upon one occasion, fifty in number, to attack a party of the Dutch, who had landed, but took fright at the sight and sound of firearms. "Their proas," he adds, "are made of the bark of trees, and they use no houses."
(*Footnote. Hazeygaeys are synonymous with assagais, the name for the short African spear, used by the tribes between Port Natal and the Cape, and which is generally supposed to be the native term for the weapon. Captain Harris, however, states that this supposition is incorrect; and, certainly, its appearance and termination here incline me to join him in suspecting it of a Dutch origin.)
Such is the account of this distinguished and trustworthy discoverer, upon whose veracity I should be the last to attempt to affix suspicion: his very simplicity of detail, and the entire absence of rhetorical artifice, would convey sufficient internal evidence of his truth, had not the subsequent progress of Australian discovery served to confirm all the material facts of his narrative. I may, however, remark, that the natives seen upon this coast during our cruise, within the limits of Roebuck Bay to the south, and Port George the Fourth to the north, an extent of more than 200 miles, with the exception that I shall presently notice, agreed in having a common character of form, feature, hair, and physiognomy, which I may thus describe. The average height of the males may be taken to be from five feet five inches to five feet nine inches, though, upon one occasion, I saw one who exceeded this height by an inch. They are almost black--in fact, for ordinary description, that word, unqualified by the adverb, serves the purpose best. Their limbs are spare and light, but the muscle is finely developed in the superior joint of the arm, which is probably owing to their constant use of it in throwing the spear. Some tribes are entirely naked, while others wear girdles of skin and leaves, hardly sufficient, however, to serve any purpose of decency, much less of comfort.
PHRENOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT.
Their hair is always dark, sometimes straight and sometimes curled, and not unfrequently tied up behind; but we saw no instance of a negro, or woolly, head among them. They wear the beard upon the chin, but not upon the upper lip, and allow it to grow to such a length as enables them to champ and chew it when excited by rage; an action which they accompany with spitting it out against the object of their indignation or contempt. They have very overhanging brows, and retreating foreheads, large noses, full lips, and wide mouths: in some cases they want the two foreteeth in the upper jaw, and while, in any one tribe in which the custom prevails, it seems to be unanimous, it does not appear to be, by any means, universally diffused along the whole north-western coast. The unfavourable impression produced by the prevailing character of their physiognomy, is confirmed, if their phrenological conformation is taken into consideration; and certainly, if the principles of that science are admitted to be true, these savages are woefully deficient in all the qualities which contribute to man's moral supremacy. Let me, in justice, add, that while we found them ignorant and incurious to the last degree, they were generally suspicious rather than treacherous, and not insensible to such acts of kindness as they could comprehend.
Upon all this extent of coast, we saw no single instance of the use, or even existence, of any proa, or canoe; and my own opinion, strengthened by personal experience, and enforced by the authority of the most recent navigators, is, that the canoe is not used upon the north-west coast. The negative evidence, at least, is strongly in favour of this presumption; for, while we saw the canoe in use in Clarence Strait--the western boundary of the northern coast--we saw nothing but the raft to the south of that point. I cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion, that, misled by the similarity of external appearance, Tasman mistook the raft of unbarked timber for a bark canoe, such as he may have seen upon other parts of the coast.
We had a return of the same kind of squall from the eastward, as we had experienced before our arrival in Roebuck Bay, and from which, since that time till now, we had luckily managed to escape.
January 24.
We were again at work by daylight, but were delayed, getting clear of the foul ground, lying off Cape Baskerville, on which we twice shoaled the water to three and five fathoms, five and seven miles West and by South from that headland.
BEAGLE BAY.
The land over it rises to an elevation of nearly 200 feet, and then again becomes low and sandy, opening out a bay, which from appearance promised, and wherein we afterwards found, good anchorage: it was named Beagle Bay, and may serve hereafter to remind the seamen who benefit by the survey in which that vessel bore so conspicuous a part, of the amount of his obligations to the Government that sent her forth, the skill and energy that directed her course, and the patient discipline by which, during her long period of active service, so much was done for the extension of our maritime knowledge. In the bight formed between this bay and Cape Baskerville we passed two high-water inlets; the mouths of both were fronted with rocky ledges. We anchored here, soon after midday, and had every reason to be satisfied with our berth. Beagle Bay is about three miles broad and seven deep; the country around is low and open, and traces of water deposit were visible in several spots to indicate its dangerous proximity to the sea. The smaller shrubs of the country were common; and the mangroves flourished in great abundance on the beach, and along the little creeks that diverge from it. Some large anthills, and very small palm trees, not six feet in height, were noticed for the first time so far south. During the night the wind veered round to South-West, and blew quite fresh, a circumstance which made us additionally prize our good anchorage here. We had, however, no squall, nor any dew, which I should mention falls most copiously upon certain nights, without any apparent indication; to these dews,