April 1828. 



ST. PAULAS PORT OTWAY. 



169 



the land of Cape Tres Montes is the western head. Further to 

 the N.E. stands a lofty and remarkable mountain, marked in 

 our chart as ' the Dome of Saint PauFs.^ It is seen above the 

 adjacent high land. The height of the Sugar Loaf is 1,836 feet, 

 and that of the Dome of Saint Paul's, S,284 feet. 



" During the day we worked up towards the land, eastward 

 of Cape Tres Montes, and at night succeeded in anchoring in 

 a sandy bay, nine miles from the Cape, where our depth of 

 water was twelve fathoms, at the distance of a cable and a half 

 off shore. We lay at this anchorage until noon the following 

 day, while Lieut. Skyring landed on some low rocks detached 

 from the shore, where he was able to take some advantageous 

 angles; and on his return we weighed and worked up the gulf, 

 between the eastern land of Cape Tres Montes, and high, well 

 wooded islands. The shores of the main land, as well as of 

 the islands, are bold, and the channel between them has no 

 dangers : the land is in all parts luxuriantly wooded. About a 

 mile and a half to the northward of the sandy beach which we 

 had left, lies another, more extensive ; and a mile further, a 

 considerable opening in the main land, about half a mile wide, 

 presented itself, having at its mouth two small thickly-wooded 

 islands, for which we steered, to ascertain whether there was a 

 harbour. The water was deep at its mouth, from thirty-eight 

 to thirty-four fathoms ; but the comparative lowness of the 

 shores at its S.W. end, and the appearance of two sandy 

 beaches, induced us to expect a moderate depth within. As we 

 advanced, a long white streak was observed on the water, and 

 was reported from the mast-head as a shoal ; but it was soon 

 ascertained to be foam brought down by the tide, and we had 

 the satisfaction of anchoring in sixteen fathoms over a sandy 

 bottom, in a very excellent port, which we named Port Otway, 

 as a tribute of respect to the Commander-in-chief of the South 

 American Station, Rear Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway, 

 K.C.B." 



* * * * 



A deficiency here occurs in Captain Stokes's journal, which 

 the Beagle's log barely remedies. From the 30th of April to 



