Whilst I was employed in taking a set of bearings from this station the boat’s crew amused themselves in wandering about the rocks in search of shells; and upon our again embarking they informed me that they had seen some natives on the beach of a sandy bay round the point; but that they had retired without having been noticed.  The information proved correct; for on pulling round the point we espied four natives seated on the sand, watching the progress of a fire they had just kindled; which was rapidly spreading through and consuming the dry and parched up grass that grew scantily upon the face of the island.  As soon as we were observed three of them got up and stood for some moments motionless with alarm; but upon my calling to them and waving my hat the whole party, seizing their spears, ran off, and in a few seconds disappeared in the hollow behind the beach.  On the sand were marks of turtles, which gave me hopes of obtaining some for the ship’s company who had not enjoyed a fresh meal, excepting the flesh of three porpoises, since leaving Port Jackson.  As our object was to pull round the island we did not stop here; but at a few minutes before noon, being near a projecting point a little further on, we landed and observed the sun’s supplementary altitude which made the latitude 14 degrees 45 minutes 56 seconds South.  We afterwards landed further on in a small sandy bay where we found more turtle-tracks and the remains of a nest that had been plundered by the natives; who, from the recent impressions of their feet on the sand, had in the morning crossed the beach.  The sand was so heated that it was painful to stand upon without constantly relieving our feet; and that the natives we had just seen should sit and bask upon it in this state would have appeared incredible to us had we not witnessed the fact.  Upon leaving the bay, the natives, whose number had increased to nine, were observed upon the hills that overhang the beach, watching our proceedings; and as we pulled away they slowly moved toward the place we had just left.

As soon as we arrived on board we got underweigh and steered round the bluff point on the west side of the island; and at half past five o’clock anchored at about half a mile from the shore of the bay on which we had lately landed.  From this station we had an opportunity of observing the features of the coast:  Lacrosse Island is situated in the entrance of a deep opening trending to the South-South-West towards some steep rugged hills.  The character of the country is here entirely changed:  irregular ranges of detached rocky hills of sandstone formation, very slightly clothed with small shrubs and rising abruptly from extensive plains of low level land seem to have superseded the low wooded coast that almost uninterruptedly prevails between this and Cape Wessel; a distance of more than six hundred miles.  The present change, although more dreary and less inviting, was hailed by us with pleasure; for the broken appearance of the hills inspired us with the hope of finding some fresh stream from which we might complete our water, and thereby prevent our premeditated visit to Timor, whither it would soon be time to resort.