hills and some elevated ridges of forest land,
apparently near the coast. One isolated hill resembling a haystack was
very remarkable on the seashore. This I named Mount Hotspur being the
only elevation near Lady Julia Percy's Isle (not Isles as laid down on
the charts for there is but one, now called by whalers the Julian
Island). To the southward I could just distinguish the Laurence Islands
but a haze upon the coast prevented me from seeing that of Lady Julia
Percy. Smoke arose from many parts of the lower country and showed that
the inhabitants were very generally scattered over its surface. We could
now look on such fires with indifference, so harmless were these natives
compared with those on the Darling, and the smoke now ascended in equal
abundance from the furthest verge of the horizon. It was impossible to
discover the sources of streams or the direction of any ranges visible in
the surrounding country; but upon the whole I concluded that the only
practicable route for us homewards at that time would be through the
forests and by passing as near as possible to the base of Mount Abrupt,
the south-eastern extremity of the Grampians. Several forest hills stood
above the extensive level country extending from our camp to Mount
Abrupt, but I could trace no connection between these hills, and was
rather apprehensive that a soft and swampy country intervened.

CRATER OF MOUNT NAPIER.

I had this day leisure to examine the crater on this hill more
particularly and found its breadth to be 446 feet; its average depth 80
feet. The cellular rocks and lava stood nearly perpendicular around one
portion of it; but there was a gap towards the west-north-west, on which
side the crater was open almost to its greatest depth. (See Plate 22.)
Several deep tongues of land descended from it to the west and
north-west, forming the base of the hill, and had somewhat of the
regularity of water-worn features. No marks of decomposition appeared in
the fragments projecting from the highest points, however much exposed.
On the contrary all the stringy twisted marks of fusion were as sharp and
fresh as if the lava had but recently cooled. One species of moss very
much resembled the Orchilla, and I thought it not impossible that this
valuable weed might be found here as it occurred on similar rocks at
Teneriffe. Just as I reached the highest summit this morning a
bronze-wing pigeon arose from it; a circumstance rather remarkable
considering