70 C 0 O IC’s VOYAGE, 
entrance of this channel lies clofe to the fouth point of the ba)', 
being formed by the fhore on the eaft, and on the weft by a 
large fpit of fand : it is about a quarter of a mile broad, and 
lies in S. by W. In this place there is room for a few flips 
to lie in great fecurity, and a fmall ftream of frefli water ; I 
would have rowed into the lagoon, but was prevented by 
mallows. We found feveral bogs; and fwamps of fait water, 
upon which, and by the ftdes of the lagoon, grows the true 
mangrove, fuchas is found in the Weft-Indies, and the firft ot 
the kind that we had met with. In the branches of thefe 
mangroves therfe-were many nefts of a remarkable kind of ant, 
that was as green as grafs : when the branches were difturbed 
they came out in great numbers, and pun^fhed the offender by 
a much /harper bite than ever wehadfelt from the fame kind 
of animal before. Upon thefe. maftgrcves alfo we faw fmall 
green caterpillars in great numbers': their bodies were thick' 
fet with hairs, and' they were ranged ‘upon the leaves fide by' 
fide, like a file of foldiers, to the number of twenty or thirty 
together: when we touched them, we found that the hair on' 
their bodies had the quality of a nettle, and gave us a much 
more acute, though lefs durable pain. The country here is 
manifeftly worfe thrin about Botany Bay : the foil is dry and 
fandy, but the ftdes of the hills are covered with trees, which 
grow feparately, without underwood. We found here the 
tree that yields a gum like the Sanguis draconis ; but it is fome- 
what different from the trees of the fame kind which we had 
feen before, for the leaves are longer, and hang down like 
thofe of the weeping willow. We found alfo much lefs gum 
upon them, which is contrary to the eftablifhed opinion, that 
the hotter the climate, the more gums exude. Upon a plant 
alfo, which yielded a yellow gum, there was lefs than upon 
the fame kind of plant in Botany Bay, among the fhoals and 
land banks we faw many large birds, fome in particular of the 
fame kind, that we had feen in Botany Bay, much bigger than 
fwans, which we judged to be pelicans ; but they were fo fhy that 
we could riot get within gun-lhot of them. Upon the Ihore 
we faw a fpecies of the buftard, one of which we (hot, it was 
as large as a turkey, and weighed feventeen pounds and an 
half. We all agreed that this was the beft bird we had eaten 
iince we left England ; and in honour of it we called this inlet 
Bustard Bay. li lies in latitude 24 : 4, longitude 208 : 
18. The fea feerned to abound with fifh ; but, unhappily, 
we tore our feme all to pieces at the firft haul : upon the mud 
banks, under the mangroves, we found innumerable oyfters 
of various kinds ; among others the hammer oyfter, and a 
large proportion of fmall pearl-oyfters : if in deeper water there 
is equal plenty of fuch oyfters at their full growth, a pearl fiihe- 
ry might certainly be eftablifhed here to a very great advantage. 
