268 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1819. On the easternmost bank were nine fathoms, 
AugTis. but on the other, we found overfalls between five 
and seven fathoms. A native’s fire, that was 
burning on Oxley’s Island, served to fix the 
19 . position of this last bank. The next morning 
we were off Cape Croker, and at noon were 
passing Port Essington ; the projecting heads of 
which, at the distance of four or five leagues, 
have the appearance of being two small islands, 
for the land at the back and on either side is too 
low to be seen. Between Port Essington and 
Cape Van Diemen, we steered so as to see 
several parts of the coast of Melville Island, in 
order to compare their relative meridional dis- 
tances with those of last year’s survey. 
The latter projection, which is the western 
limit of the north coast, came in sight on the 
22 . evening of the 22d, when its longitude was found 
to be 130° 19' 33", which is 1' 2" to the west- 
ward of last years’ observation ; the mean there- 
fore may be considered as its true longitude, 
which is 130° 20' 30". 
At sunset we were eleven miles from the 
23 . Cape, bearing S. 67 W., and the next morning 
it was seen in the S.S.E. After rounding it, a 
course was steered down the western side of 
26 . Bathurst Island ; but it took us until the 26th be- 
fore we passed Cape Fourcroy. On the following 
