Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/457

 COAST Of AIJrRAJ.. ]5 extremity and Troughton Island. Before dark, we passed over the north extremity of the long reef to the westward o� Cape Bougain'ville. The following day, at noon, we were neat' Condillac Island, at,er which a sea.breeze from the westward enabled us to pass Cape Voltaire., at which point our last year's survey terminated, When we were within the Cape, we found an ebb-tide setting out of a bight, which trended deeply in to the southw, and appeared to be studded with rocky islands. This adverse tide continued to run all the evefling, arid prevemed our reaching the bottom; so that, at sunset, we dropped the anchor a few miles to the south of Cape Voltaire. To the westward of this position we cotlllted twenty-three islands, the northernmost of which were supposed to be the Montalivet Isles of Baudin. The whole have an uninteresting and rocky appearance, but are not aJtogether des. titute of vegetation: a greenish tinge upon .the nearest islet saved them from being condemned as absolutely steril.' The next momlng it boat visited the outer north easternmost islet, named in the chart Water Island, which was found to be as rocky in reality as it was in appearance. It is formed of a hard granular quartao sand. stone, bf a bitdab-gin. y

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