1.58 Mr. Eyres Overland Expedition. 
tunately we were spared the necessity of doing this; for, on 
approaching the Cape on the east side, we were overjoyed to 
discern, on the 2nd of June, a large vessel lying at anchor in 
a bay immediately east of Lucky Bay, and which I have 
named Rossiter Bay. She proved to be a French whaler, 
the Mississippi of Havre, commanded by Captain Rossiter. 
Having made known our situation to the Captain, both myself 
and the native boy were most hospitably received on board his 
vessel, experiencing every attention and kindness during the 
twelve days we remained. Upon our leaving to proceed on 
our route, we were most liberally furnished with every thing 
we could wish for; and I am happy to have it in my power to 
record publicly the great obligations I am under to Captain 
Rossiter for his kindness and attention. 
It was not until our arrival at East Mount Barren that 
myself and the native boy could venture to ride. llie 
first improvement observed in the face of the country, 
was the finding of a narrow strip of grassy land immediately 
to the eastward of Point Malcolm : but it was not until we 
had passed Cape Arid that we met with the first permanent 
surface water, in the shape of a small fresh-water lake. The 
character of the country was now changed, and consisted of 
open, elevated, sandy downs, covered with shrubs and under¬ 
wood, and generally based upon an oolitic foundation, with 
here and there a few granite bluffs. 
We now' crossed on our route many salt-water creeks or 
inlets, most of which received drainage of either brackish or 
fresh water from the interior. The first of these occurs im¬ 
mediately east of Cape Arid ; but it is very small, and separated 
from the sea by a bar of sand. Others, as we advanced further 
to the westward, were of a more considerable size, and bore 
the appearance of being connected with the sea. These might 
possibly afford secure harbours for boats, but the circumstances 
under which I was travelling did not admit of my delaying to 
examine them; and, for the convenience of crossing, I usually 
kept so far inland as to intercept them above the terxnin&ticn 
of the salt-water reaches. The streams of brackish, or some¬ 
times of fresh water connected with these creeks, are, however, 
usually very small; nor did we pass a single one of importance. 
The high downs among which these water-courses wind are, 
as I remarked before, sandy, and covered with scrub, and the 
soil poor and destitute of grass ; but in the valleys themselves, 
and in small portions of the slopes immediately above them, 
we found some patches of good, and occasionally of rich soil, 
upon which the herbage was abundant and luxuriant. Ihese 
tracts, however, as far as I could judge, were of very limited 
extent; nor was there any timber in the vicinity, beyond the 
few small stunted tea-trees grow ing along the banks of the 
water-courses. At intervals between these various creeks, we 
met w’ith many holes—sometimes of salt, at other times of 
