Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/205

 COASTS o1 &U9TRALL*,. ]45 two particular points o my instructions, namely, s& the opening behind Rosemary .Island, and the Ju'',. examination of the great bay of Van Diemen. , Upon rounding the N.W. Cape, we had been- unfortunate in losing our anchors, which very much crippled our proceedings, and prevented our prosecuting the examination of the coast in so detailed a manner as we otherwise might have done; for we possessed no resource to avail our- selves of, if we had been so unfortunate as to get on shore. A series of fine weather, however, on the first part, and a sheltered coast with good anchorage on the latter part of the voyage, en-- abled us to carry on the survey without accident; and nearly as much hs been effected with one anchor, as could have been done had we pes- sessed the whole. It prevented, however, _o examining the bottom of Ernouth Gulf, and our landing upon Depuch Island. The latter was a great disappointment to us, on account of the following description which M. Peron gives of the island, in his historical account of Baudin's Voyage, from the report of M. Ronsard, who visited it. "Au seul aspect de cette le, on pouvoit dj pressenfir qu'elle toit d'une nature difirente de toutes celles que nous avions es jusqu' ce jour. En eet, les terres en &toient plus hautes, les VOL. L L

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