Page:A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 1.djvu/441

Port Phillip.]

the shore, to examine the arm of the port running in that direction.

Three natives having made their appearance abreast of the boat, we again landed. They came to us without hesitation, received a shag and some trifling presents with pleasure, and parted with such of their arms as we wished to possess, without reluctance. They afterwards followed us along the shore; and when I shot another bird, which hovered over the boat, and held it up to them, they ran down to the water side and received it without expressing either surprise or distrust. Their knowledge of the effect of fire arms I then attributed to their having seen me shoot birds when unconscious of being observed; but it had probably been learned from Mr. Murray.

At noon, I landed to take an observation of the sun, which gave 38° 7′ 6″ for the latitude; my position being nearly at the northern extremity of Indented Head. Some bearings were taken from the brow of a hill a little way back; and after a dinner of which the natives partook, we left them on friendly terms, to proceed westward in our examination The water became very shallow abreast of a sandy point, whence the shore trends nearly south-west; and there being no appearance of an opening to the sea this way, I steered across the western arm, as well to ascertain its depth as with the intention of ascending the hills lying behind the northern shore. Two of the peaks upon these hills had been set from the ship's deck at sunset of the 25th, at the distance of thirty-seven miles; and as their elevation must consequently be a thousand feet, or more, I expected to obtain from thence such a view of the upper parts of the port, as would render the coasting round it unnecessary.

The width of the western arm was found to be six miles; and the soundings across augmented regularly to 6 fathoms in mid-channel, and then decreased in the same way; but there was less than 3 fathoms at two miles from the northern shore. That side is