RECORD HILL. 163 



tlie 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 com- 

 pleting the soundings on the north-east and north 

 side and ascertainintf 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 quar- 

 ters 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 cir- 

 cular. 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. 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 con- 

 tifiuous reef stretched out from the west side of the 

 island for the distance of a mile, beyond which was 



M 2 



