COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
77 
the west side of the strait. The north end of issi. 
that island also appeared to be fronted by many Aug. i5. 
.shoals, which either embrace Red Island and 
extend to the northward, or else the channels 
are narrow and deep. The flowing tide, now in 
our favour, carried us quickly forward: as we 
passed on we heard the voices of natives, and 
soon afterwards perceived two standing on a 
hill ; our course was, however, so rapid that we 
were soon out of sight of them ; their fires were 
seen yesterday, but then they did not make their 
appearance. 
The flood-tide, running to the S.W. through 
the strait, meeting the ebb flowing N.E. into the 
deep bay to the S.E., formed many strong rip- 
plings, which to a stranger would have been a 
frightful vortex to have entered, and although 
we^ had lately been accustomed to such appear- 
ances, yet we did not encounter them without 
some fear. After clearing them we sounded on 
a muddy bottom; upon which, as the weather 
was so thick and hazy as to conceal the land 
from our view, we anchored in seventeen fathoms 
muddy sand, at six miles from the strait. 
In the afternoon the weather cleared a little, 
but it was still too thick for us to be underweigh, 
so that we remained all the evening, which was 
profitably spent in bringing up the chart ; a 
