Page:Journals of Several Expeditions Made in Western Australia.djvu/78

 the land on its banks, to the distance of several yards, is partly sand, with a small proportion of mould or black argillaceous loam, and bearing the marks of being occasionally flooded. We again, but equally in vain as before, attempted to reach the southern side of the large sheet of water; we could find no channel between the flats in that direction. We had the distant view of several fires among the trees, a circumstance which assists in explaining the so frequent burnt appearance of the trees and shrubs in Western Australia; we have no doubt that they owed their production to the natives. On the previous night our fire rapidly caught the adjoining underwood and low vegetation, and we remarked a considerable space that had similarly suffered between our present and former touching here. The rocks off and at Two-Bare-Patches Head, are calcareous, and extend along the sandy beach a short way to the S.W. We had great difficulty in ascertaing the periods of the tides at the different places; near the time of new moon we had the lowest water, at about 5 a.m., and the highest at about 9 or 10 at night, whilst there was an influx in the middle of the day, but scarce any fall till about 9 or 10 at night. In the estuary of Murray River, and in the harbour of Port Leschenault, were great numbers of swans and water birds, and up the river, multitudes of ducks. Fish were observed in abundance, particularly in Port Vasse.

November 30th.—Returned to the ship, having touched at the reefs and islands in the northern part of the bay, formed between Cape Bouvard and Point (B), and gone outside of the rocks and reefs off Cape Peron, as, with the smooth water of the 17th, we had only enough of water inside, and