I remonstrated with him about having done so, but he excused himself, and I determined to remain stationary at this point for a day or two to give him plenty of rest before we again started on our cruise along the coast.
PLAN OF FUTURE PROCEEDINGS.
After the discovery of the Gascoyne the plan I made up my mind to follow was to examine rapidly the coast as far as Cape Cuvier, to return from that point to Bernier Island and refit; then once more to visit the Gascoyne properly equipped, and thoroughly explore the adjacent district to the distance of fifty or sixty miles inland; and lastly to examine the unknown portion of Shark Bay which lay to the southward of us.
At 6 A.M.the thermometer stood at 76 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, and this and the temperature during our stay in Shark Bay proves that the climate there is very warm.

Before breakfast I had wells sunk in several places at some little distance inland in order to ascertain the nature of the subsoil, for we were abundantly supplied with water from the lagoons.
In every instance, after digging down to the depth of from six to seven feet through a rich loam, we reached a regular sandy sea beach and salt water (it must however be recollected that we dug in the deepest hollows) so that it appeared as if the whole of this flat country was a formation left upon the shoals with which the coast is bounded; and it almost seemed as if the sea still flowed in upon its old bed and under this recent freshwater deposit.
Directly after breakfast I got ferried across the river to the island lying between its two mouths, which I called Babbage Island after C.
Babbage, Esquire.

This island is low and sandy in all parts except where it fronts the sea; but on that side a row of high sandy dunes have been thrown up.

There is no very good land on it, it being almost covered with samphire swamps and intersected by deep channels into which the sea runs; these are nearly concealed in some places by the vegetation, which rendered it impossible to avoid sundry falls and wettings in crossing it.
It bears a few mangroves but I saw no other trees.
The men throughout the day were occupied in watering and in making canvas cloths for my boats to prevent the water from pouring in over the gunwales, which were very low; and my own time was sufficiently occupied in surveying.

On my return in the evening I found Mr.Smith so much wore cheerful and so much better that I determined to start about noon the next day for the northward.
EXCURSION TO THE NORTH OF THE RIVER.
March 7.
I went off with a party before dawn to explore the country to the northward of the Gascoyne.