The fires which had been lighted in the course of the day by the natives had rapidly spread over the summit of the hills, and at night the whole island was illuminated and presented a most grand and imposing appearance.  After dusk Mr. Roe went with a party on shore in order to take turtle and at eight o’clock returned with one of the hawk’s-bill species (Testudo imbricata?) the meat of which weighed seventy-one pounds; about fifty eggs were also procured.

September 18.

The boat was sent again at four o’clock in the morning, as it was then high water, but returned at daylight without success.

Lacrosse Island, so named by Commodore Baudin, is about nine miles in circumference and about six hundred feet high; it is of a rugged character and intersected by numerous deep ravines and gullies; which, in the wet season, doubtless contain water.

The seaward or northern face of the island is formed of a fine-grained sandstone, dipping in strata, with a slight inclination to the South-East:  large blocks of the same stone were also found scattered over the hills.  The soil with which it is but slightly covered is little better than a thin layer of sandy earth; but notwithstanding its sterile quality it produces a variety of small plants, among which a shrubby acacia* was predominant and sufficiently abundant to tint the sides of the hills where it grew with the sea-green colour of its foliage.  At last quarter ebb we got underweigh and proceeded to examine the opening by steering South-South-West towards the deepest part; at twenty-three miles from Lacrosse Island the gulf is divided by Adolphus Island into two arms; one of which trended to the South-South-East and the other to the South-South-West.**

(Footnote.  This plant is described in Mr. Cunningham’s Journal as Acacia leucophoea.)

(**Footnote.  For the farther description of Cambridge Gulf see the Appendix A Part 4.)

As the western arm appeared to be of most importance we entered it and, with a strong flood tide, proceeded with great rapidity; as sunset approached we began to look for an anchorage, but found much difficulty on account of the strength of the tides, the great depth of water, and, as I at first thought, the unfavourable quality of the bottom:  at last the anchor was dropped close to the south-west shore of Adolphus Island in the entrance of another arm which appeared to trend to the south-east under Mount Connexion.  The noise made by the chain cable in running through the hawse-hole put to flight a prodigious number of bats that were roosting in the mangrove bushes; and which, flying over and about the cutter’s mast, quite darkened the air with their numbers.

September 19.

As I purposed remaining two days at this anchorage to examine the country we landed the next morning under View Hill, a high steep point on the south shore abreast of the anchorage; and, having climbed the summit by a rugged and fatiguing ascent, our labour was amply repaid by a very extensive view of the surrounding country and by obtaining bearings of Lacrosse Island and Shakspeare Hill; which served to fix the position of View Hill.