lds of mud from one to fourteen inches thick,
the deposit of a single inundation, yet scarcely hardened by the summer
sun.

REACH THE COAST AT SHARK'S BAY.

At twenty miles we ascended a sandy ridge of about sixty feet in height,
from which we had our first view of Shark's Bay, Babbage Island, and the
mouths of the Gascoyne, now only four miles distant.

Behind the ridge upon which we stood, and for many miles to the
south-east, the country was still under water from the recent floods,
while between us and the sea lay a low flat, on which were many patches
of acacia thicket, alternating with open grassy glades, or fields of
atriplex and samphire, terminating to the westward in a broad irregular
belt of mangroves, resting on the shallow margin of the bay.

Descending to the flat, we encamped in a rank patch of grass on the bank
of the river, about a mile above Babbage Island, the north end of which I
found to be in latitude 24 degrees 52 minutes, which is four miles north
of the position as given by Sir G. Grey.

KOLAINA PLAINS.

18th May.

We found no difficulty in crossing the southern mouth on to Babbage
Island; the tide being low, it was quite dry at the junction. Having,
with Mr. Roe, walked over the greater part of the island, making a rough
sketch of its outlines, and completing the requisite observations, while
the rest of the party were occupied in an unsuccessful attempt to catch
fish, we retraced our steps and crossed the main channel opposite our
last night's bivouac, where it is not more than 250 yards wide.
Continuing our course north-east for nearly a mile, we crossed several
back channels, some trending towards the Kolaina flat of Sir G. Grey,
while others were lost in the deep sandy ravines that extend for some
distance to the north of the river.

While on Babbage Island several natives had waded across the northern
mouth of the river to meet us, and had returned after a friendly
interview, in which they apparently described the recent landing of two
boats with Europeans. We now again fell in with the same natives on the
north bank, near a large encampment of women and children; the latter
quickly hid themselves on our approach, but the men assumed a threatening
attitude, following us for some distance with much clamour. As their
numbers quickly augmented, and they appeared determined to commence a
fight, we led them out on to an open plain, where, leaving the
pack-horses in charge of two of th