160 
March. fe6t and * e man g rove swamps near the water, there was some 
A VOYAGE TO [South Coast 
1802. 
tolerably good, though shallow soil 
We had seen fires upon the eastern shore opposite to Point 
Lowly, on first entering the head of the gulph, and wherever I had 
landed there were traces of natives; Mr. Brown found them even to 
a considerable height up the side of the mountain; and it should 
therefore seem that the country here is as well inhabited as most 
parts of Terra Australis, but we had not the good fortune to meet 
with any of the people. 
The observations taken by lieutenant Flinders fixed the posi- 
tion of the ship in latitude 32 0 44' 41" south, and longitude by the 
time keepers 137 0 49' 56" east. Twelve sets of distances of the sun 
and moon gave 137 0 50' 9"; but these being all on one side, the time 
keepers are preferred. Azimuths observed from the binnacle, when 
the ship's head was between S. by E. and S. S. E., gave o° 42' east, 
or i° 37' east, nearly, for the true variation ; and there was no par- 
ticular attraction upon the theodolite at any of my stations on shore. 
We had two flood tides in the day setting past the ship, and 
they ran at the strongest one mile and a half per hour; the rise 
appeared to be from six to eight feet, and high water to take place 
at two hours and a half after the moon passed the meridian. Except 
in the time of high water, which is considerably later than at Thorny 
Passage, the tides at the head have a near affinity to those at the 
entrance of the gulph ; whence the great differences at Port Lincoln, 
intermediately situate, become so much the more extraordinary. 
Saturday 13. Nothing of particular interest having presented itself to detain 
us at the head of the gulph, we got under way in the morning of 
the 13th; having a light breeze from the north-westward. The 
western shore had been followed in going up, and for that reason I 
proposed to keep close to the east side in returning ; but before eight- 
o'clock, the water shoaled suddenly from 4 to 2 fathoms, and the 
ship hung upon a mud bank covered with grass, two or three miles 
from the shore. A kedge anchor was carried out astern ; and in half 
