Bass' Straif] TERRA AUSTRALTS. 207 
The north-east part of King's Island extends south-east-by- mo. 
east, three or four leagues. The shore is mostly of sand, and Friday S3, 
behind the beach it was washed or blown up in great ridges, but 
partly overspread with a kind of dog grass which kept the sand 
together. In general, the land is low; but some little eminences 
appeared at a distance, and at the north end of the island there is a 
short range of hills, moderately high and covered with wood. Granite 
seemed to be the basis of the shore where we landed. Behind the 
front ridges of sand was a brush wood, so thick as to be almost 
impenetrable; but whilst I was occupied in taking bearings, the 
botanists found some openings in the brush, and picked up so many 
plants as to make them desirous of a further examination. We 
returned on board at dusk, with our womats, the seal, and a kan- 
guroo ; the last being of a middle size between the small species of 
the lesser islands, and the large kind found at Kanguroo Island and 
on the continent. It appeared indeed, all along the South Coast, that 
the size of the kanguroo bore some proportion to the extent of land 
which it inhabited. 
In the morning, the wind blew fresh from the southward. A Saturday 24. 
boat was sent on shore with Mr. Brown and his party; and at eleven 
o'clock, when they returned, we got under way. 
A small lake of fresh water was found at a little distance 
behind the sandy ridges in front of the shore. This was surrounded 
by a good vegetable soil ; and the number of plants collected near it 
was greater than had before been found upon any one island. The 
small lake is too far from the sea side for a ship to obtain water from 
it conveniently ; but two little streams which drained from the sand 
hills, made it probable that fresh water might have been obtained 
any where at this time by digging. The water of these rills was 
tinged red, similar to that obtained at King George's Sound, and to 
the pools I had before seen at Furneaux's Islands ; and as the stone 
in these places is granite, and water so discoloured was not found 
