er place, and believed they had none; but "there were several things
like haycocks, standing in the savannah; which, at a distance, we thought
were houses, looking just like the Hottentots' houses at the Cape of Good
Hope; but we found them to be so many rocks." *

[* Dampier could not have examined these rocks closely; for there can be
little doubt that they were the ant hills described by Pelsert as being
"so large., that they might have been taken for the houses of Indians."]

The land near the sea-coast is described as equally sandy with the parts
before visited, and producing, amongst its scanty vegetation, nothing for
food. No stream of fresh water was seen, nor could any, fit to drink, be
procured by digging.

Quitting this inhospitable shore, captain Dampier weighed his anchor on
September 5, with the intention of seeking water and refreshments further
on to the north-eastward. The shoals obliged him to keep at a
considerable distance from the land; and finally, when arrived at the
latitude 16 deg. 9', to give up his project, and direct his course for Timor.

CONCLUSIVE REMARKS.

With the voyage of Dampier terminates the information gained of the
Western Coasts, previously to the year 1801. Monsieur de _St. Alouarn_
had, indeed, seen some points or islands, in the year 1772, when he
commanded the French _flute Le Gros Ventre_; but the particulars are not
generally known, being, in all probability, of little importance.

The summary of the knowledge possessed by the public, and the objects to
which investigation might be usefully directed in these parts of Terra
Australis, were as follow. The outline of the north-west coast was known
upon the authority, as generally believed, of _Tasman_; with some points
corrected by _Dampier_. The accuracy of Tasman's chart was, however, very
much called in doubt: instead of being a continued shore, as the Dutch
chart represented it, Dampier found the southern parts of De Witt's Land
to consist of a range of islands. And he gives it as his opinion, that
the northern part of New Holland was separated from the lands to the
southward, by a strait; "unless", says he, "the high tides and indraught
thereabout should be occasioned by the mouth of some large river; which
hath often low lands on each side of the outlet, and many islands and
shoals lying at its entrance: but I rather thought it a channel, or
strait, than a river." This opinion he supports by a fair induction from
fa