ver a collection of specimens and seeds, which fully
repaid him for the toil of his excursion. He also rendered his expedition
useful to me by taking the bearings of some reefs in the offing and by
furnishing a sketch of the bay on the south side of the mountain, and of
the rivulet which falls into it. This did not appear to him to be deep
enough for a vessel larger than a boat. It was this bay that Captain Cook
first examined for a place to repair his ship after his escape from the
reef; but he found it much too inconvenient and exposed for his purpose;
and it was after this that Endeavour River was discovered.

On one of Mr. Cunningham's explorations he found several cabbage palms
(Seaforthia elegans, Brown); but they were too distant from the tents to
induce me to send for any for the ship's company. Besides this he also
found a species of yam (Caladium macrorhizum, Cunn. manuscripts) the
roots of which would have furnished an excellent substitute for
vegetables for us, had the plants been found in abundance and convenient
for gathering.

During our stay at this harbour our gentlemen visited every part of the
country within five or six miles from the tents. The soil, although
covered with grass, was generally remarked to be shallow and of inferior
quality; as was sufficiently indicated by the small size of the trees.
The distance to which we had penetrated was by no means sufficient to
give a fair idea of the nature of the country in the interior; which from
its hilly appearance might be expected to possess both a rich soil and a
better pasturage than the parts we had seen; but for the latter, the
neighbourhood of the entrance of Endeavour River was by no means
insignificant.

The small number of our crew prevented my sending away a party to examine
the interior with any certainty of protection either to the travellers or
to those left in charge of the vessel; and this circumstance, on several
occasions, precluded us from forming any correct idea of the productions
of the places we visited, which we probably might have been partially
enabled to do by a walk of two or three miles from the sea.

Some kangaroos were seen by us during our visit; and Mr. Hunter shot a
few birds: among the latter was a specimen of the Psittacus haematodus,
or Blue-mountain parrot of Port Jackson; and a crane-like bird, similar
to the Ardea antigone, was seen at a distance. Some of our gentlemen
observed the impression of a bird's foot,