Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/88

 SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL isis. The following day was spent in er_mining a rob.  bight, but we were prevented from penetrating to the bottom by the shoalness of the water. We were, however, near enough to see large sheets of water over the mangrove belt that lined the shore, in which many openings were ob- served that communicated with it. Beyond the lakes was a range of rocky hills, that bounded our mast-head view. The bight is fronted by a crowded range of sandy islets, from which we did not extricate ourselves until the next day. Having passed out between two sandy islets, our course was held to the northward, outside of a range of islets, and parallel to the main land; which was soon afterwards lost toyJew by trending to the eastward. At one o'clock, we passed round a larger and a more elevated island, as well as of a more rocky character than those to the south- ward; and then steered to the eastward, towards the next projecting point of the.main, named ater my friend Richard Preston, esq., on our way W. which we left a small island about one mile to the northward of our track. In the evening, we steered close round Cape Preston, but were disappointed in an attempt to find anchorage near it, from the rocky state of the bottom, so that the night was passed under sail, which, considering the number of low islets scattered

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