mous cockles (chama gigas) were scattered upon different parts of the reef. At low-water this cockle seems most commonly to lie half open; but frequently closes with much noise; and the water within the shells then spouts up in a stream, three or four feet bigh; it was from this noise and the spouting of the water that we discovered them, for in other respects they were scarcely to be distinguished from the coral rock. A number of these cockles were taken on board the ship, and stewed in the coppers; but they were too rank to be agreeable food, and were eaten by few. One of them weighed 47 lbs. as taken up, and contained 3lbs. 2 oz. of meat; but this size is much inferior to what was found by Captains Cook and Bligh, upon the reefs of the coast further northward, or to several in the British Museum; and I have since seen single shells more than four times the weight of the above shells and fish taken together.

I shall make some general remarks on the reefs which form so extraordinary a barrier to the north-east coast of New South Wales; and amongst which we sought fourteen days, and sailed more than five hundred miles, before a passage could be found through them, out to sea.

The easternmost parts of the barrier seen in the Investigator, lie nearly in 21° south, and 151° 10' east; but there can be no doubt that they are connected with the reefs lying to the southward, discovered in 1797 by Capt. Campbell, of the brig Deptford; and probably also with those further distant, which Capt. Swain, of the Eliza, fell in with in the following year. If so, the Barrier Reefs will commence as far south-eastward as the latitude 22° 50′, and longitude about 152° 40′, and possibly still furthor; Break-sea Spit is a coral reef, and a connexion, under water, between it and the barrier, seems not improbable. The opening by which September 1815.

we passed out is in 18° 52', and 14802; so that, did the Barrier Reefs terminate here, their extent would be near 350 miles in a straight line, and in all this space there seems to be no large opening. Mr Swain did indeed get out at the latitude 22°; but it was by a long and very tortuous channel.

Of what extent our opening may be is uncertain; but, since Captain Cook had smooth water in running to the west and northward to Cape Tribulation, where he first saw the reefs, it should seem to be not very great; certainly, as I think, not exceeding twenty, and perhaps not five, leagues. I therefore assume it as a great probability, that, with the exception of this, and perhaps several small openings, our Barrier Reefs are connected with the Labyrinth of Capt. Cook; and that they reach to Torres' Strait and to New Guinea, in 9° south, or through 14° of latiand 9° of longitude, which is not to be equalled in any other known part of the world.

A little island, or rather the surrounding reef, which is three or four miles long, affords shelter from the south-east winds; and, being at a moderate day's run from Murray's isles, it forms a convenient anchorage for the night to a ship passing through Torres Strait. I named it Half-way Island. It is scarcely more than a mile in circumference, but appears to be increasing both in elevation and extent. At no very distant period of time, it was one of those banks produced by the washing up of sand and broken coral, of which most reefs afford instances, and those of Torres' Strait a great many. These banks are in different stages of progress; some, like this, are become islands, but not yet habitable; some are abovehigh-water mark, but destitute of vegetation; whilst others are overflowed with every returning tide.

It seems to me, that, when the animalcules which form the corals at

the

the bottom of the ocean, cease to live, their structures adhere to each other, by virtue either of the glutinous re. mains within, or of some property in salt water; and the interstices being gradually filled up with sand and broken pieces of coral washed by the sea, which also adhere, a mass of rock is at length formed. Future races of these animalcules erect their habitations upon the rising bank, and die in their turn, to increase, but principally to elevate, this monument of their wonderful labours. The care taken to work perpendicularly in the early stages, would mark a surprising instinct in these diminutive creatures. Their wall of coral, for most part in situations where the winds are constant, being arrived at the surface, affords a shelter, to leeward of which their infant colonies may be safely sent forth, and to this their instinctive foresight it seems to be owing, that the windward side of a reef exposed to the open sea, is generally, if not always, the highest part, and rises almost perpendicular, sometimes from the depth of 200, and perhaps many more fathoms. To be constantly covered with water, seems necessary to the existence of the animalcules, for they do not work, except in holes upon the reef, beyond low-water mark; but the coral sand and other broken remnants thrown up by the sea adhere to the rock, and form a solid mass with it, as high as the common tides reach. That elevation surpassed, the future remnants, being rarely covered, lose their adhesive property; and, remaining in a loose state, form what is usually called a key upon the top of the reef. The new bank is not long in being visited by sea birds; salt plants take root upon it, and a soil begins to be formed; a cocoa nut, or the drupe of a pandanus, is thrown on shore; land birds visit it and deposit the seeds of shrubs and trees; every high tide, and still more every gale, adds something to

the bank; the form of an island is gradually assumed; and last of all, comes man to take possession.

Half-way Island is well advanced in the above progressive state; having been many years, probably some ages, above the reach of the highestspring-tides, or the wash of the surf in the heaviest gales. I distinguished, however, in the rock which forms its basis, the sand, coral, and shells formerly thrown up, in a more or less perfect state of cohesion; small pieces of wood, pumice stone, and other extraneous bodies, which chance had mixed with the calcareous substances when the cohesion began, were inclosed in the rock, and in some cases were still separable from it without much force. The upper part of the island is a mixture of the same substances in a loose state, with a little vegetable soil; and is covered with the casuarina, and a variety of other trees and shrubs, which give food to paroquets, pigeons, and some other birds; to whose ancestors it is probable the island was originally indebted for this vegetation.

Notices respecting the Inhabitants.

(From the Same.)

The natives of King George's Sound visited us; and an old man, with several others, being at the tents one morning, I ordered the party of marines on shore to be exercised in their presence. The red coats and white-crossed belts were greatly admired, having some resemblance to their own manner of ornamenting themselves; and the drum, but particularly the fife, excited their astonishment; but, when they saw these beautiful red-and-white men, with their bright muskets, drawn up in a line, they absolutely screamed with delight; nor was their wild gestures and vociferation to be silenced, but by commencing the exercise, to which they paid the most earnest and silent

attention.

attention. Several of them moved their hands, involuntarily, according to the motions; and the old man placed himself at the end of the rank, with a short staff in his hand, which he shouldered, presented, grounded, as did the marines their muskets, without, I believe, knowing what he did. Before firing, the Indians were made acquainted with what was going to take place; so that the vollies did not excite much terror. The women were, however, kept out of sight with seeming jealousy; and the men appeared to suspect the same conduct in us. The belief that there must be women in the ship, induced two of them to comply with our persuasion of getting into the boat, one morning, to go on board; but, their courage failing, they desired to be relanded; and made signs that the ship must go on shore to them. It was with some surprise that I saw the natives of the east coast of New South Wales so nearly pourtray ed in those of the south-western extremity of New Holland. These do not, indeed, extract one of the upper teeth at the age of puberty, as is generally practised at Port Jackson, nor do they make use of the womerah, or throwing stick; but their colour, the texture of the hair, and personal appearance, are the same; their songs run in the same cadence; the manner of painting themselves is similar; their belts and fillets of hair are made in the same way, and worn in the same manner. The short skin cloak, which is of kanguroo, and worn over the shoulders, leaving the rest of the body naked, is more in the manner of wood natives living at the back of Port Jackson, than of those who inhabit the sea coast; and every thing we saw confirmed the supposition of captain Vancouver, that they live more by hunting than fishing. None of the small islands had been visited, no canoes were seen, nor was any tree found in the woods from which

the bark had been taken for making one. They were fearful of trusting themselves upon the water; and we could never succeed in making them understand the use of the fish-hook, altho' they were intelligent in comprehending our signs upon other subjects.

Notwithstanding the similarity of person and manner to the inhabitants of Port Jackson, the language of these people is very different. We found their pronunciation difficult to be imitated; more so, indeed, than our language was to them. Several English words they pronounced perfectly; whilst of such where an for an s entered, they could make but little : finger, was pronounced bing gah; ship, yip; and of King George, they made Ken Jag-ger. In the difficulty of pronouncing the fand s, they resemble the Port Jackson natives; and the word used by them in calling to a distance, cau-wah! (come here,) is nearly similar to cow-ee! The word also to express eye, is nearly the same. But, in the following table, which contains all the words that, with any certainty, I was able to collect, the most essential differences will be found, both from the Port Jackson language, and from that of the south end of Van Diemen's Land; and the words collected by Captain Cook at Endeavour River bear no resemblance to any of them.

Indians were repeatedly seen upon both Bentinck's and Sweer's islands; but they always avoided us, and some-, times disappeared in a manner which seemed extraordinary. It is probable that they hid themselves in caves dug in the ground, for we discovered in one instance a large hole, containing two apartments (so to call them), in each of which a man might lie down. Fire-places under the shade of the trees, with dried grass spread around, were often met with; and these I apprehend to be their fine-weather, and the caves their foul-weather, residences. The fern, or some similar root, appears to form a part of their subsistence; for there were some places in the sand, and in the dry swamps, where the ground had been so dug up with pointed sticks that it resembled the work of a herd of swine.

Whether these people reside constantly upon the islands, or come over at certain seasons from the main, was uncertain; canoes they seemed to have none, but to make their voyages upon rafts, similar to those seen at Horse-shoe Island, and of which some were found on the shore in other places. I had been taught by the Dutch accounts to expect that the inhabitants of Carpentaria were ferocious, and armed with bows and arrows, as well as spears. I found them to be timid, and so desirous to avoid intercourse with strangers, that it was by surprise alone that our sole interview, that at Horse-shoe Island, was brought about; and certainly there was then nothing ferocious in their conduct. Of bows and arrows not the least indication was perceived, either at these islands or at Coen river; and the spears were too heavy and clumsily made to be dangerous as offensive weapons; in the defensive they might have some import

ance.

Allen's Isle, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, is between four and five miles in length, and, though generally bar

ren, there are bushes and small trees upon it, and some tolerable grass. 'It is altogether low land; but the southeast end is cliffy, and within two cables' length of it there are four fathoms: no fresh water was found near the shore, nor any place where casks could be conveniently landed. After taking a set of bearings, I left the gentlemen to follow their pursuits, and rowed north-westward, intending to go round the island; but an impassable reef extended so far out, that the project was given up; and, after taking angles from one of the rocks, I went eastward to a smaller island two miles off, where several Indians were perceived. The water was too shallow for the boat to get near them, but we landed at a little distance, and walked after three men, who were dragging six small rafts toward the extreme northern rocks, where three other natives were sitting.

These men not choosing to abandon their rafts, an interview was unavoidable, and they came on shore with their spears to wait our approach. One of us advanced towards them unarmed; and, signs being made to lay down their spears, which were understood to mean that they should sit down, they complied, and by degrees a friendly intercourse was established. They accepted some red worsted caps and fillets, as also a hatchet and an adze, the use of which, being explained, was immediately comprehended. In return they gave us two very rude spears, and a womerah, or throwing stick, of nearly the same form as those used by the natives of Port Jackson.

The rafts consisted of several straight branches of mangrove, very much dried, and lashed together in two places with the largest ends one way, so as to form a broad part, and the smaller ends closing to a point.Near the broad end was a bunch of grass, where the man sits to paddle; but the raft, with his weight alone, must swim very deep; and indeed I

should

should scarcely have supposed it could float a man at all. Upon one of the rafts was a short net, which, from the size of the meshes, was probably intended to catch turtle; upon another was a young shark; and these, with their paddles and spears, seemed to constitute the whole of their earthly riches.

Two of the three men were advanced in years, and from the resemblance of feature were probably brothers. With the exception of two chiefs at Taheity, these were the tallest Indians I had ever seen; the two brothers being from three to four inches higher than my coxswain, who measured five feet eleven. They were not remarkable for being either stout or slender; though, like most of the Australians, their legs did not bear the European proportion to the size of their heads and bodies. The third native was not so tall as the other two; and he was, according to our notions, better proportioned. Their features did not much differ from those of their countrymen on the south and east coasts; but they had each of them lost two front teeth from the upper jaw. Their hair was short, though not curly; and a fillet of network, which the youngest man had wrapped round his head, was the sole ornament or clothing seen amongst them. The two old men appeared, to my surprise, to have undergone circumcision; but the posture of the youngest, who remained sitting down, did not allow of observation being made upon him.

After being five minutes with them, the old men proposed to go to our boat; and this being agreed to, we proceeded together, hand in hand.But they stopped half way, and, retreating a little, the eldest made a short harangue, which concluded with the word jahree! pronounced with emphasis; they then returned to the rafts, and dragged them towards their three companions, who were sitting

on the furthest rocks. These I judged to be women, and that the propo sal of the men to go to our boat was a feint to get us further from them; it did not seem, however, that the women were so much afraid of us, as the men appeared to be on their account; for, although we walked back, past the rafts, much nearer than before, they remained very quietly picking oysters. It was not my desire to annoy these poor people; and therefore, leaving them to their own way, we took an opposite direction.

On the Present State of ATHENS.

(From Holland's Travels.)

THOSE who expect to see at Athens

only the more splendid and obvious testimonies of its former state, will find themselves agreeably mistaken in the reality of the scene. It may be acknowledged, that the Parthenon, the Theseum, the Propyloea, the temple of Minerva Polias, &c. are individually the most striking of the objects occurring here; yet it may perhaps be added, that they have been less interesting singly, than in their combined relation to that wonderful grouping together of nature and art, which gives its peculiarity to Athens, and renders the scenery of this spot something which is ever unique to the eye and recollection. Here, if any where, there is a certain genius of the place which unites and gives a character and colouring to the whole; and it is further worthy of remark, that this genius loci is one which most strikingly connects the modern Athens with the city of former days. Every part of the surrounding landscape may be recognized as harmonious and beautiful in itself; and at the same time as furnishing those features, which are consecrated by ancient description, by the history of heroic actions; and still

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