which was still unexamined. The wind, however, being light, we passed the
night in Popham Bay; and on leaving next morning, had only six fathoms in
some tide ripplings nearly two miles off its south point, Cape Don. We
passed along the south side of Melville Island, where a large fire was
still burning. Early in the evening we anchored in seven fathoms, to wait
for a boat that had been sent to examine a shoal bay on the North-West
side of Cape Keith. Green Ant Cliffs bore South-West two miles.

September 7.

Weighing at daylight we hauled up south, into the middle of the channel,
crossing a ridge of 5 1/2 fathoms; Ant Cliffs bearing West-South-West
five miles, and three or four from the shore. This ridge appears to be
thrown up at the extremity of the flats fronting the shore. On deepening
the water to 10 and 12 fathoms, the course was changed to West 1/2 South,
passing midway between North Vernon Isle and Cape Gambier, where the
width of the channel is seven miles, though the whole of it is not
available for the purposes of navigation, a long detached reef lying
three miles from the Cape, and a small one two miles from the North
Vernon Isle.* The tide hurried the Beagle past between these reefs with
some rapidity, the soundings at the time being 19 fathoms.

(*Footnote. These isles, three in number, lying quite in the centre of
the western entrance of the Strait, are fringed with extensive coral
reefs. There are, however, deep passages between them.)

Having cleared Clarence Strait, and found it to be perfectly navigable
with common precaution (which in a slight degree enhanced the value of
the discovery of the Adelaide) our course was directed for a bay to the
southward, which Captain King had not examined. A very refreshing cool