South 87 degrees East; and a smoke, a little
to the northward of the masthead extreme, bearing South 42 degrees East
must be upon the land in the neighbourhood of Cape Latreille.

Soon after noon the breeze veered round by South to West-South-West, and
enabled us to make some progress; at sunset we again anchored in thirteen
fathoms, soft sand, at six miles from a sandy projection of the main,
which we afterwards found to be the land called by Captain Baudin,
Gantheaume Island; the name has therefore been given to the point, for
there was no appearance of its being insulated. It bears a truly desolate
appearance, being nothing but ridges of bare white sand, scantily crowned
with a few shrubby bushes.

Behind Point Gantheaume the land appeared to be formed by downs of very
white sand; and between this point and Cape Boileau is a bay, which at
first, from the direction of the flood stream at the anchorage, was
conjectured to be an inlet; but as the tide afterwards set to the
Northward and North-East, it was concluded to be occasioned by the stream
sweeping round the shores of the bay: according to the depth alongside
there was a rise of ten feet; after high-water the ebb set between North
1/2 West and North-North-East, at the rate of a quarter to three quarters
of a knot.

During the whole day the horizon was occupied by haze, and produced a
very remarkable effect upon the land, which was so raised above the
horizon by refraction that many distant objects became visible that could
not otherwise have been seen. This mirage had been frequently observed by
us on various parts of the coast, but never produced so extraordinary an
effect as on the present occasion. The coastline appeared to be formed of
high chalky cliffs, crowned by a narrow band of woody hillocks; and the
land of Cape Villaret was so elevated as to be distinctly seen at the
distance of forty miles, whereas two days afterwards, the weather being
clear, it was not visible above the horizon for more than five leagues.
This state of the atmosphere caused a rapid evaporation during the day,
and as the evening approached a very copious dew commenced falling, which
by sunset was precipitated like a shower of rain.

The next morning the land was again enveloped in haze, but at seven
o'clock it cleared off a little, and the coast was observed to trend
round Point Gantheaume to the south-east, but as we had last evening seen
it as far to the westward as South-West b