COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
379 
cious retreats to the natives. I entered one of lsao. 
the caverns, (the walls of which were of a decom- Aug. 9. 
posing sand-stone,) having a window formed in 
it by the falling down of a portion of the side 
rock. The cave was a large, natural chamber, 
capacious enough to hold conveniently a large 
tribe of natives ; who, from the numerous fire- 
places, broken turtle staffs, and other relics, had 
not very long since dwelt there. I also found 
numerous fragments of quartzose rocks lying 
about, and pieces of a kind of marble, of a brown 
colour, were abundant in the cavities, as well as 
upon the face of the mount. ’ ’— ( Cunningham 
MSS.) 
Upon leaving Cape Flinders we crossed Prin- 10. 
cess Charlotte’s Bay, and steered at half to three- 
quarters of a mile within the reefs : soon after 
noon it fell calm, and we anchored under the lee 
of Pelican Island, and landed upon it to examine 
an appearance of turtle marks on the sand; they 
were, however, found to be of an old date. 
This island, which does not measure more than 
two-thirds of a mile in circumference, is sur- 
rounded by a considerable reef, and is remark- 
able for two clumps of trees upon it, that, stand- 
ing separately, give the appearance, at a distance, 
of its being two distinct islets. It is, like all the 
islets near it, little better than a sandy key. 
