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feet and the mangrove swamps near the water, there was some tolerably good, though shallow soil.

We had seen fires upon the eastern shore opposite to Point Lowly, on first entering the head of the gulph, and wherever I had landed there were traces of natives; Mr. Brown found them even to a considerable height up the side of the mountain; and it should therefore seem that the country here is as well inhabited as most parts of Terra Australis, but we had not the good fortune to meet with any of the people.

The observations taken by lieutenant Flinders fixed the position of the ship in latitude 32° 44′ 41″ south, and longitude by the time keepers 137° 49′ 56″ east. Twelve sets of distances of the sun and moon gave 137° 50′ 9″; but these being all on one side, the time keepers are preferred. Azimuths observed from the binnacle, when the ship's head was between S. by E. and S.S.E., gave 0° 43′ east, or 1° 37′ east, nearly, for the true variation; and there was no particular attraction upon the theodolite at any of my stations on shore.

We had two flood tides in the day setting past the ship, and they ran at the strongest one mile and a half per hour; the rise appeared to be from six to eight feet, and high water to take place at two hours and a half after the moon passed the meridian. Except in the time of high water, which is considerably later than at Thorny Passage, the tides at the head have a near affinity to those at the entrance of the gulph; whence the great differences at Port Lincoln, intermediately situate, become so much the more extraordinary.

Nothing of particular interest having presented itself to detain us at the head of the gulph, we got under way in the morning of the 13th; having a light breeze from the north-westward. The western shore had been followed in going up, and for that reason I proposed to keep close to the east side in returning; but before eight o'clock, the water shoaled suddenly from 4 to 2 fathoms, and the ship hung upon a mud bank covered with grass, two or three miles from the shore. A kedge anchor was carried out astern; and in half