PORT ESSINGTON. 397 



colour, and strange to say, were hovering round an 

 empty tar-barrel. They have been unsuccessfully 

 tried in hives at Sydney. 



Alligators abound, and one of the marines had 

 a very narrow escape from them. It appears that 

 one of these monsters who had come out of the 

 water in the night, in search of food, found him 

 sleeping in his hammock, which he had very inju- 

 diciously hung up near the water. The alligator 

 made a snap at his prize; but startled at this 

 frightful interruption of his slumbers, the man 

 dexterously extricated himself out of his blanket, 

 which the unwieldy brute, doubtless enraged at his 

 disappointment, carried off in triumph. For some 

 time this story was not believed, but when after- 

 wards the huge reptile, on a similar excursion, was 

 shot, a portion of the blanket was found in his 

 stomach with the paw of a favourite spaniel, taken 

 when swimming off the pier head. 



Extensive hauls of fish were made on Point 

 Record, amongst which one species, there called 

 salmon, was most excellent eating. 



It is unnecessary for a transient visitor to enlarge 

 upon the birds of Port Essington, as in Mr. Gould's 

 work we have the result of the labours of an individual 

 who spent months collecting in the neighbourhood. 



The spot selected for our observations was Go- 

 vernment house, where nearly a hundred observa- 

 tions with the sun and stars were made for latitude, 

 the mean result being 11° 22' 21" S., which strange 



