Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 2.djvu/173

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]?2 SURVEY OP THE INTERTROPICAL 18?. of its bare.sandy summit,. a contrasting brushy J?n. 4. vegetation: from the sea, however,. a very. small part only of its extensive surface of sand can be perceived,. the greater part being only observ- able from the commanding hillocks we had with much exertion arrived at. A calcareous rock (affording evidently a very considerable portion of pure lime) was seen in a decomposing state piercing the sandy surface of all parts of the ridge about Bald Head, which,, however, is itself a pure granite; the dense low brushy wood in its vicinity is chiefly composed of.the delicate ' ?xc?e?." In the evening. we visited, Seal Island, and killed five seals for the sake of.their skins, which were serviceable for the rigging; the boat's crew also found some penguins, and a nest of ?,,?. The bottle deposited here at our last .visit in 1818 was found sus- pended where it had been left, .and brought on ' board, when another memorandum was enclosed in it, containing a notification of our present visit, of the fr/endly and communicative disposi- tion of the nativ. es, and a copy of the vocabulary of their lan?age. ?. On the 5th, in the a/temoon, on our return to the vessel, after visiting .the shore and lan.ding �Cv?SS?Se?M MSS.