he tides
ebbed five hours and a half in the night, and six hours and a half during
the day, and the water fell 9 inches with the night, and 18 with the day
ebb. The difference between the length of the night and the day floods
was an hour; the duration of the former being six hours, whilst that of
the latter was seven; whilst the difference in the rise was 7 inches, the
greatest general height, which was during the night tides, being 20
inches.

We were detained in Recruit Harbour until May 21st, determining the
position of the number of small islands and detached reefs to the
south-east of Wallaby Islands; but at length, after completing the
soundings on the north-east and north side and ascertaining the extent of
the reef to the north-west, we proceeded to the isolated patch of land
before mentioned as seen from Flag Hill, and which, from its relative
position to the remainder of Houtman's Abrolhos, we called North Island.

An anchorage was found in 12 fathoms, three quarters of a mile from a bay
on the north-east side, and half a mile from the reef extending to the
northward. The island was about a mile across, and nearly circular. It
was surrounded by a range of hills, with a flat in the centre, covered
with coarse grass, where a great many quails were flushed, affording good
sport, but not a single wallaby.

RECORD HILL.

The highest hill on the south-west point, measuring 42 feet, received the
name of Record Hill, from our leaving a paper in a bottle, giving an
account of our cruise. A contiguous reef stretched out from the west side
of the island for the distance of a mile, beyond which was the open sea.
This reef extended two miles and a half to the North-North-West and four
miles and a half to the southward. Our observations were made on a
sandhill 36 feet high, immediately over the bay, which they placed in
latitude 32 degrees 18 minutes 5 seconds South longitude 2 degrees 9
minutes West from Swan River.

LEAVE HOUTMAN'S ABROLHOS.

May 23.

From Record Hill we had perceived that the sea was quite clear to the
north and west beyond the reef, and being satisfied that we had reached
the extremity of Houtman's Abrolhos,* we weighed in the morning, and
passed about a mile and a half from the reef to the north of the island
in 26 fathoms; and hauling up South-South-West, along the western side of
the reefs, gradually deepened the water to 42 fathoms over a rocky
ground, Record Hill bearing North 70 degrees