d to the knowledge of it that we already possess, I did not
think it advisable to delay for such a purpose, and therefore as soon as
we were underweigh steered for the mainland and continued to run
northerly along the shore at the distance of six miles from it. At noon
our latitude was 31 degrees 37 minutes 32 seconds. The coast is formed by
sandy hillocks, or dunes, of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
feet high, here and there sprinkled with shrubs, but in many parts quite
bare: behind this frontier a second range of hills was occasionally seen
on which the trees appeared to be of moderate size: the shore is rocky
for two miles off and in many parts the sea broke. At half-past three
o'clock we were abreast of a low, sandy projection, supposed to be
Captain Baudin's Cape Leschenault. The appearance of the coast to the
northward on this cape differed from what we passed in the morning, in
that the coast hillocks are more bare of vegetation; there appeared to be
several ridges behind the coast dunes, but they were all equally
unproductive of vegetation. Lancelin Island was not distinctly made out
but the two small rocky lumps on the bare sandhills that M. De Freycinet
mentions, were seen and thought to be very remarkable. At seven o'clock,
having reached in my plan the latitude 31 degrees 0 minutes 30 seconds,
and longitude 115 degrees 0 minutes 0 seconds, we hauled off shore for
the night.

January 16.

And at six o'clock a.m. stood towards the land again. At half-past ten
o'clock we were so near to it as to see the beach: at noon the latitude
was observed to be 30 degrees 52 minutes 13 seconds, its longitude being
114 degrees 56 minutes 45 seconds, at which time we were on the parallel
of the two rocky lumps seen the last evening. Hence we steered north on a
parallel direction with the coast and ran forty-five miles, passing the
different projections of the beach at the distance of four or five miles,
and sounding in between nineteen and twenty-five fathoms. At four o'clock
we were abreast of a bare sandy point which appeared to be the north head
of Jurien Bay, in which two rocky islets were seen, fronted by reefs, on
which the sea in many parts was breaking violently. To the southward of
the point the coast hills are rather high and principally formed of very
white sand, bearing a strong resemblance, from the absence of vegetables,
to hills covered with snow. Here and there however a few shrubs partially
conc