10 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1818 . In the evening I landed with the botanist 
jaiTk and Mr. Roe, but we found little that was 
worthy of our attention. The basis of the island 
is granitic, and covered with a shallow soil, 
formed of decayed vegetable matter, mixed 
with sand, which nourishes the stunted vege- 
tation that thickly clothes the surface, particu- 
larly on the north-eastern, which is its most shel- 
tered side. 
No animals were observed, excepting some 
small quadrupeds, which were momentarily seen 
by Mr. Roe, and, from his description, were 
kangaroo-rats. On Goose Island, the bird from 
which it takes its name appeared to be abun- 
dant ; but there was too much surf to permit our 
landing upon it, and we were not so much in 
want of fresh provisions as to induce our risking 
any damage to the boats : we found the bones of 
a whale which had been thrown up on the beach 
where we landed. 
The wind in the night veered to N. E. by E:, 
to which quarter the anchorage is much exposed; 
towards morning it blew fresh, but the anchor 
J7 . held well. At dawn of day, (17th) we got under- 
weigh and steered through the islands ; at noon, 
we were abreast of Termination Island, the lati- 
tude of which we found to be 34° 32'. Our 
friendly wind died away at midnight, and was 
