The morning broke with the same dull, gloomy weather, the wind fresh at South-East and continued thus during the day, slightly diversified by a few passing rain squalls. Soon after daylight we were again on our passage, the cloudy weather enabling us to make out the Eastern reefs, which at high-water are covered, and consequently difficult to be seen in that direction in the morning. They front Quoin and Forbes Islands, remarkable rocky lumps, more so, however, from the extreme lowness of those in their vicinity, than from their own magnitude. The latter was found to be 340 feet high. A North-West by North course from Restoration brought us to Piper Islands. The soundings were from 11 to 13 fathoms, with a greater proportion of sand in the quality of the bottom than had been before noticed.
SIR EVERARD HOME'S ISLANDS.
Passing between them and reefs H and I also between Young Island (an elevated reef, with one small mangrove growing on the highest part) and reef M, we hauled up North-East by North round the north end of the latter, to weather Sir Everard Home's Islands, a low group connected by shoal water and extending about four miles from Cape Grenville. We passed midway between them and Haggerston's Islands, a square lump 240 feet high.
COCKBURN ISLANDS.
Sir Charles Hardy's and the Cockburn Isles are also conspicuous objects in this neighbourhood, particularly the former, which is visible from outside the Barrier, and thus forms a leading mark for ships making their way through these reefs.
In the evening the anchor was dropped about a mile from the north side of the Bird Isles in ten fathoms, a sudden degree from fifteen, just before standing in West-South-West to the anchorage. Five miles South-East by East from these isles, we passed close to the position of a patch of shoal water, according to the chart: its presence, however, was not detected, the depth at the time being nineteen fathoms. The only additions made to the chart during the day were a few soundings, besides increasing the number and altering the position of Cockburn Islands, with the reefs fronting them. The number of these isles is thus increased from two to four; they are square rocky lumps, the largest being three hundred feet high. The current during the day set steadily North-West almost a mile an hour. On anchoring we found it setting West-North-West at the same rate. At midnight it changed its direction to East-South-East from a quarter to half a knot an hour. The time of high-water being about 6 A.M., it is evident the flood-stream came here from South or South-East. The islands passed during the day, were of a small lagoon character and the reefs oval-shaped, with an elevated patch of dead coral at their north extreme, which had the appearance, at a distance, of sand. The mainland had much changed in outline, having subsided into a wearisome series of undulating hills, varying from five to seven hundred feet in height. The coast was, therefore, utterly void of any feature of interest, after passing Fair Cape.
July 11.
At daylight we were again underway and steered North by East for the purpose of ascertaining if there were any reefs to the eastward of u and v. When Number 1 of a group next south of Cairncross bore North 43 degrees West four and a half miles the course was changed to West-North-West to pass between the reef fronting its south side and reef w where we had a depth of 20 fathoms; both of these we found it necessary to enlarge on the chart. At the time of altering the course, the ship was West-North-West two miles from the position of an island according to chart; but as we did not see it, and as Captain King has not laid it down upon his own authority, we may safely conclude that it either does not exist, or that it is much out of position.
BOYDAN ISLAND.
Rounding the reef off its south extremity, we anchored in 18 fathoms, one mile South 65 degrees West from the centre of the island before mentioned--Number 1 of the group South of Cairncross--shortly before noon. This Captain King supposes to be Boydan, that on which the crew of the Charles Eaton were massacred. It was therefore determined that the remainder of the day should be spent in examining the place, with a view to ascertain the correctness of this supposition. The melancholy interest of the search was to me greatly enhanced, from having seen at Sydney young D'Oyly, one of the survivors of this ill-fated party, and son of an Indian officer returning from furlough. Being an infant, his helplessness excited the sympathies of an Indian woman, who snatched him from the arms of his murdered mother, and sheltered him within her own. Nor did her kindness stop here, the never-failing maternal solicitude of the sex, inducing her to protect and console the child.