it the
appearance of an ancient turreted fortress. Here I first noticed a change
in the strata; hitherto it had been invariably west-north-west, while
from this point, as far as our subsequent experience enabled us to
decide, it was west. I may be pardoned for noticing by way of a momentary
digression that all the rocks hitherto seen on this part of the coast
precisely resemble the group forming the western side of Sunday Strait;
the inclination and direction of the strata are identical; while an
examination of all the high rocky portions of this archipelago will
satisfy the geologist that they belong to the same age of the world. The
history of these coral reefs and islands, which have already attained
something like a majority (if I may use the expression) may be read, at
least it is apparently clearly written in the rising banks around, which
are just struggling with the tide before they lift themselves forever
beyond its reach. As they rise, the mangrove, the pioneer of such
fertility as the sea deposits, hastens to maturity, clothing them with
its mantle of never-fading green, and thus bestowing on these barren
reefs the presence of vegetable life.

WHIRLPOOL CHANNEL.

Our course now lay along the western foot of the curious headland just
described, a rapid tide soon hurried us past its frowning shadows into a
very winding channel scarcely half a mile wide, and more than 20 fathoms
deep; in this we experienced violent whirlpools, the first of which, from
want of experience, handled us very roughly, suddenly wrenching the oars
out of the men's hands, and whirling the boat round with alarming
rapidity; after several round turns of this kind we shot out of the
channel (which from the above circumstance we called Whirlpool Channel)
into a bay about three miles wide, trending east; at the head of it were
some snug coves, the shores of which were clothed with long rich grass
and clumps of palm trees, thus realizing the hopes we had entertained of
finding a more fertile country on first observing signs of inhabitants.
We would fain have occupied one of these beautiful coves for the night,
but as there was still two hours' daylight, we pushed on across the bay
for a group of islands three miles further in a north-north-east
direction. We obtained snug quarters for the night in a little sandy
cove, between the largest of this small cluster of isles which we found
to differ totally in shape and character from any yet seen;