keppel's isle, 65 



instead, an anchorag-e was marked, a circumstance 

 which might have led to serious results, had we run 

 in during the night. 



Keppel's Isle is from ten to twelve miles in 

 circumference— it is distant from the mainland 

 six miles. That portion of it seen from our 

 anchorage presented rather a pleasant appearance ; 

 some fine verdant grassy looking places were, 

 however, found on closer inspection to be poor stony 

 or sandy ground, thinly covered with tufts of coarse 

 grass. Behind a long sandy beach abreast of the 

 ship, an extensive hollow apparently running back 

 for two or three miles, flanked by low wooded hills, 

 was found to be a mangrove swamp traversed by 

 several branches of a salt-water creek, by which the 

 flood-tide gains admittance. Here I found numbers 

 of a singular fish of the genus Chironectes leaping 

 with great activity over the mud among the arched 

 roots of the mangroves, among which small crabs 

 ( Ocypoda and Macrophthalmus) were making for their 

 burrows in all directions. Fresh water appeared 

 scarce — I came upon one small well, and beside it 

 a large shell for the purpose of drinking from. I 

 followed the recent tracks of two natives, but they 

 concealed themselves among the mangroves, with 

 their usual caution, although armed with spears, 

 as I could see by the marks left during their hurried 

 flight, and they knew that I was alone. A small 

 group of women and children were afterwards met 

 with by a shooting party from the ship, but they 



VOL. I. F 



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