great violence, and emitting an inharmonious grunt, gesticulating
violently all the time, and brandishing and striking together their
weapons. The peculiar feature in this corrobory, was the throwing of the
kiley, or boomerang, lighted at one end; the remarkable flight and
extraordinary convolutions of this weapon marked by a bright line of
fire, had a singular and startling effect.

As we were rounding Breaksea Spit, we met four merchant ships, who gladly
availed themselves of our convoy. On the 6th, being anxious to repeat our
last meridian distance, and also the magnetic observations, we anchored
under Cape Upstart. We likewise availed ourselves of the visit to
complete the examination of the bay on the east side of the Cape. The 7th
was a remarkably gloomy day, signalized by a very unusual fall in the
barometer between 8 A.M., and 2 P.M., from 30.14 to 30.00, when the
breeze which had been fresh in the morning, increased to a gale with
squalls. At 3, the wind shifted to the southward, and at 8 when it
moderated, the barometer again rose to 30.17. It is these sudden breezes
that are so fatal to ships caught off the outer barrier without an
opening to get within its shelter. No traces of natives were seen; but
the supply of water was as abundant as before, and we took the
opportunity of completing our stock.

MAGNETICAL ISLAND.

On the 8th in the evening we left for Magnetical Island, about half a
mile off the west side of which we anchored next day in 5 fathoms. The
depth from thence shoals in gradually to the head of the bay. A small
rocky islet, to which our observations refer, bore south half a mile, in
latitude 19 degrees 7 minutes 10 seconds South and longitude 4 degrees 29
minutes 12 seconds West of Sydney. On this I found a greyish kind of