f Disemma coccinea, a kind of passion-flower, before only found
at Endeavour River by Sir Joseph Banks, during Cook's first voyage. In
the morning we returned to the ship.

On June 12th, while passing a small opening in the land, a little to the
northward of Double Point, the Asp was observed on shore with a signal
for assistance, which was immediately sent, when she was got off without
damage. At this place, as Lieutenant Simpson informed me, a boomerang was
obtained from the natives; we had not before observed this singular
weapon upon the north-east coast, and its use is quite unknown on the
north coast from Cape York to Port Essington. This one too was painted
green, a colour which I never heard of elsewhere among the Australians,
whose pigments are black, white, yellow, and red.

Near this place, while tacking close in shore, a native dog was seen by
Lieutenant Simpson, in chase of a small kangaroo, which, on being close
pressed, plunged into the water and swam out to sea, when it was picked
up by the boat, leaving its pursuer standing on a rock gazing wistfully
at its intended prey, until a musket ball, which went very near its mark,
sent it off at a trot. The kangaroo lived on board for a few days, and
proved to constitute quite a new kind, closely allied to Halmaturus
thetidis.

FRANKLAND ISLES.

We anchored in the evening off the northern extreme of Frankland Isle,
Number 4 about three quarters of a mile off shore. At night a party was
sent on shore to look for turtles, but, after remaining there for three
hours, having walked several times round the island, they returned
without having seen the slightest trace of these animals.

The Frankland Group consists of four islands, two of which are very
small, and each of the other two (1 and 4) about a mile in length. To
these may or may not be added another high and much larger detached
island situated about five miles to the North-West, about midway between
the remainder of the group and the mainland. Number 4 is formed of two
wooded rocky eminences at its extremes, connected by level ground,
consisting of dead coral and sand, thickly covered with trees at one
part, and scattered bushes at another. The low woody portion of this
island is strewed with flat blocks of the same kind of recent coral
conglomerate that occurs in situ on the beach, also with quantities of
pumice twelve feet above high-water mark of spring tides. There is little
underwood, the trees ov