MODE OF CONDUCTING IT. 85 



various officers in the neighbourhood of the different 

 anchorages, cutting up the ground, and filling up 

 any gaps which might otherwise have been left in 

 the new charts. 



The summit of a very small rocky island, near 

 the anchorage, named by Captain Stanley, Mouna 

 Islet, formed the first station. Dunk Island, eight 

 or nine miles in circumference, is well wooded,— 

 it has two conspicuous peaks, one of which (the 

 N.W. one), is 867 feet in height. Our excursions 

 were confined to the vicinity of the watering place 

 and the bay in which it is situated. The shores are 

 rocky on one side and sandy on the other, where a 

 low point runs out to the westward. At their 

 junction, and under a sloping hill with large patches 

 of brush, a small stream of fresh water, running 

 out over the beach, furnished a supply for the ship, 

 although the boats could approach the place closely 

 only at high water. 



Among the most interesting objects of natural 

 history, are two birds, one a new and handsome fly- 

 catcher, Monarcha leucotis, the other a swallow, 

 which Mr. Gould informs me is also an Indian 

 species. Great numbers of butterflies frequent the 

 neighbourhood of the watering place, — one of these 

 (Papilio Urvillianus) is of great size and splendour, 

 with dark purple wings, broadly margined with 

 ultramarine, but fi:"om its habit of flying high among 

 the trees I did not succeed in catching one. An 

 enormous spider, beautifully variegated with black 



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