112 TREACHERY BAY. 



The observations, which nearly cost me my life 

 in endeavouring to obtain, placed Point Pearce in 

 lat. 14" 25' 50", S. long. 2" 49' W. of Port Essing- 

 ton. The time of high water, at the full and change, 

 was seven o'clock, when the tides rose from twenty to 

 twenty-six feet. The cliffs forming it are of a 

 reddish hue, from the quantity of iron the rocks in 

 the neighbourhood contain. To commemorate the 

 accident which befell me, the bay within Point 

 Pearce was called Treachery Bay, and a high hill 

 over it Providence Hill. 



In the nights of the 10th and 11th we had sharp 

 squalls from the eastward, being early in the season 

 for their repeated appearance. There was the usual 

 gathering of clouds, the hard edges of which were lit 

 up by the constant flashing of lightning. It is sin- 

 gular that all these squalls, wherever we have met 

 them, should happen within five hours of the same 

 time, between nine at night and two in the morning. 



I have thus detailed the circumstances attending 

 the discovery and partial exploration of the Victoria, 

 that new and important addition to our geo- 

 graphical knowledge of one of the least known and 

 most interesting portions of the globe. Its peculiar 

 characteristics — for, like all Australian rivers, it 

 has distinctive habits and scenery of its own — the 

 nature of the country through which it flows — its 

 present condition, its future destiny, are all subjects, 

 to which, though I may have cursorily alluded be- 

 fore, 1 am under promise to the reader of returning. 



