Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/447

This page needs to be proofread.
COASTS OF AUSTRALIA.
385

that she made two inches and a half of water per hour.

At noon the next day15. we rounded Cape York; and, as we had last year taken the route to the northward of Wednesday Island, we now steered round the south side of Prince of Wales' Islands through Endeavour Strait; and, passing the night under one of the Possession Islands, No. 2, the next day16. reached Booby Island, off which we anchored. On our course to the westward of Cape Cornwall, and across the line of shoals that extend from it to Wallis Isles, we had not less water than four fathoms.

In the afternoon we landed on Booby Island, and at night procured turtles, and about a thousand eggs.

On the summit of the island, or rather the rock, several piles of stones were observed, that had been heaped up by the crews of the various ships passing by, as relics of their visit: among other notices of a similar nature, we found a board indicating the safe passage through the strait of the ship Sea-Flower, which our leg-book informed us left Port Jackson on the 21st of last May; and from the memorandum on the board we found that she took the outer passage, entered Torres Strait at Murray's Island, and ar-