COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
181 
the wood of the callitris, that grows upon Rottnest I822. 
Island; it appeared to have been broken down; Jan. 21. 
the other was still erect, and seemed to have 
been either the heel of a ship’s royal-mast, or 
part of a studding-sail boom ; upon one side of 
it a flag had been fastened by nails. A careful 
search was made all round, but as no signs of 
the Dutch plate, or of the more recent French 
inscription were seen, it was conjectured that 
they had been removed by the natives ; but 
since our return to England, I have learnt that 
they are preserved in the Museum of the In- 
stitute at Paris, where they had been deposited 
by M. de Freycinet, upon his return from his 
late voyage round the world. After this disap- 
pointment, we returned to the sea-beach, whilst 
Mr. Cunningham botanized along the summit of 
the ridge; and before he rejoined us, we had 
been fortunate enough to find two very fine tur- 
tles, and a large quantity of turtle-eggs. The 
animals had been left by the tide in holes of 
the rocks, from which we had some difficulty in 
extricating them. During our absence from the 
vessel, our people had been very successful with 
the hook and line, having caught about five or 
six dozen snappers, besides some of the genus 
tetradon. 
This seasonable supply, and the probability 
