70 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1818. compliment to the then Under-Secretary of State 
March 30. for the Colonies. 
April During our stay, Sims’ Island, named at the 
1 ~ 4 ' request of Mr. Cunningham after Dr. Sims, the 
eminent conductor of the Botanical Magazine , was 
twice visited. It is situated in front of South- 
West Bay, is about two miles and a half in cir- 
cumference, and formed of a large and coarse 
granular quartzose sand-stone, large rounded 
masses of which cover the surface at its nor- 
thern end, the summit of which was named San- 
som’s Head. Sims’ Island furnished a very large 
addition to Mr. Cunningham’s collection, and 
among the flowers which it produced was a very 
beautiful sweet-scented asclepias. No snakes nor 
reptiles of any description were seen, but birds 
of various sorts were abundant, particularly the 
white cockatoo. Of the sea-fowl, a species of 
tern was the most numerous. An alligator, about 
fifteen feet long, swam about the vessel for some 
time, which made us afterwards rather cautious of 
walking through the high grass ; but excepting a 
dog that followed the natives, no quadrupeds were 
seen. 
Off the north point of the bay, at the distance 
of a furlong, and separated from it by a channel 
of from twelve to fifteen feet deep, are two rocks 
