196 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
9. On the 17 th we left the bay and passed round 
ir. the north end of Magnetical Island. Several 
natives were seen on a sandy beach at the nortti 
end, where deep gullies indicated the presence o, 
fresh water. Our course was then directed across 
Halifax Bay towards the Palm Islands, passing 
inside a small rocky islet marked, i, on the chart, 
and another of larger size, k. In a S.b.E. direc- 
tion from these islands is an opening m the land 
round which the sea was observed to trend; 
it was supposed to communicate with the 
water seen from the heights of Cape Cleveland 
over the land at the bottom of the bay ; and it is 
probable, from the mist which this morning occu- 
pied a considerable space of the low land fronting 
the hills, that a large body of water exists there. 
Calms and light airs detained us until two 
o’clock, when a fresh breeze sprung up from the 
eastward, to which we made sail, but the glare 
of the sun, shining in the direction of our course, 
obliged our hauling up to avoid the risk of run- 
ning thus “ dark with excess of bright” upon any 
rocks or shoals that might be in our way ; and, as 
the low coast line of this part of the bay was 
distinctly traced, we steered towards the island 
marked 2 , near which the cutter was anchored, at 
eight o’clock, in eleven fathoms’ mud. 
At eight o’clock the following morning we got 
18. 
