minutes East, and into a depth of
120 fathoms, with the same kind of bottoms. South-South-West, 17 miles
from our morning position, Captain King had 83 and 85 fathoms; from this
we may suppose the edge of the bank of soundings, extending off this part
of the coast, to be very steep. These soundings, together with those of
Captain King, as above, may give some idea of the nature and extent of
this bank, which seems to be a continuation of the flat extending
North-North-East 40 miles, connecting Barrow and Tremouille Islands with
the main: its outer edge being kept heaped up thus steeply by the
constant action of the current sweeping round the North-west Cape.

DEEP SEA SOUNDINGS.

We continued steering East and by North 1/2 North, and at sunset, 14
miles from our noon position, the water had deepened to 145 fathoms,
bottom a fine white sand and powdered shells. Before we were 50 miles
from our noon position, we could find no bottom with 200 fathoms.

January 12.

We made but slow progress during the night, and felt delay the more
tedious from the eager anxiety with which we desired sight of the land
where our duties were to begin in earnest. We were not successful with
our soundings till 6 P.M., when we had the same kind of bottom as before
described, with 117 fathoms: 15 miles East by North 1/2 North from our
noon position, which was 220 miles West by South from Roebuck Bay: 30
miles in the same direction from our noon position, we shoaled our water
to 85 fathoms, the ground retaining the same distinctive character. We
had the wind from South-West to South-East during the afternoon, but at 6
P.M. it chopped round to North-North-West, when, too, for the first time,
we perceived lightning to the South-East--Barometer 29.92; thermometer
85.

January 13.

The preceding indications of the coming squall, which had given us full
time for preparation, were realized about one o'clock this morning, when
it reached us, though only moderately, from South-East. It was preceded
by the rise and rapid advance of a black cloud in that quarter, just as
Captain King has described.

ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE.

At noon we were in latitude 18 degrees 26 minutes South, longitude 119
degrees 18 minutes East, and in soundings of 75 fathoms, fine white sand,
broken shells, and fragments of dead coral. There was only a slight
variation in the atmospheric temperature of two degrees during the
twenty-four hours, the highest in the day being