204 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1822. kerville, with one of the boat’s crew, ascended 
Feb. 12. the summit, and, whilst employed in looking 
round, heard the voices of natives among the 
trees about thirty yards off; but as they could 
not see them, they very properly descended, 
and carried on their operations in the vicinity of 
the boat ; they were on shore for two or three 
hours afterwards, but the natives did not make 
their appearance. The foot-marks of men and 
boys were evident on the sand below the high- 
water mark, and the remains of fire-places, 
and where the natives had been manufacturing 
spears, were of recent date. The gentlemen 
brought off a few shells and some insects, 
among which was a beautiful sphynx; besides 
which, one of the boat’s crew caught a species 
of vampyrus, apparently similar to the flying 
fox of Port Jackson. Of shells there was not 
a great variety; a chama (tridacna Lam.), 
a pinna, and the trochus (cterulescens,) of Dirk 
Hartog’s Island; but at one of the fire-places, 
they found a very large wluta, that seemed to 
have served the purpose of a water- vessel ; it was 
fifteen inches long, and ten inches in diameter. 
The shores appear to abound with shell-fish, 
although Dampier thought that shells hereabouts 
were scarce. We could easily have completed 
our water at this point, but from the place ap- 
