BUSH FIRE. 61 



on fire b}^ some of our people^ and continued burn- 

 ing- for se\eral days^ until nearly the whole island 

 had been passed over ; the long dry grass and dead 

 trees blazing- very fiercely under the influence of a 

 high wind. At night the sight of the burning scrub 

 was very fine when viewed from a distance^ but I 

 did not forget that I had one day been much closer 

 to it than was pleasant— in fact^ it was only by first 

 soaking my clothes in a pool among the rocks^ 

 emptying the contents of my powder flask to pre- 

 vent the risk of being blown up, and then making a 

 desperate rush through a belt of burning scrub, that 

 I succeeded in reaching a place of safety. 



Singularly enough, the Asp's dingey was picked 

 up uninjured on one of the sandy beaches of this 

 island, and on December 7th we left the anchorage 

 with a strong" south-easterly wind, and anchored for 

 the night under one of Sir James Smith's group. 

 On the following day we ran through part of 

 Whitsunday Passage, so named by Cook, and 

 anchored in Port Molle, in seven and a half fathoms, 

 a quarter of a mile oflf shore. The best anchorag-e 

 here appears to be in the second bay as you round the 

 end of theisland,forming theS.E. side of the harbour; 

 it may be known by a sandy beach at the head. 



During our stay of two da3^s, search was made 

 for water in every likely spot, but none could be 

 found. In the dried up beds of three shallow 

 lagoons (one of which I had seen half filled four 

 years before), we found native wells, one dug to the 



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