as were visible from the ships. Seals, penguins, and some kangaroos were
seen; but no fresh water, accessible to shipping, could any where be
found; the country within their reach being sandy and sterile. From Dec.
17 to 24, the ships were occupied in coasting eastward, along the
outskirt of the group of islands, and then found it to terminate at 2½°
of longitude from its commencement. The main land at the back of the
islands had been generally visible, but at too great a distance for the
precise form of the coast to be ascertained, or to allow of fixing the
positions of, or even seeing, many of the inner islands and reefs.

This group is the first of the two marked upon the chart of Nuyts; and
admiral D'Entrecasteaux praises the general accuracy of the Dutch
navigator, in that "the latitude of Point Leeuwin, and of the coast of
Nuyts' Land, were laid down with an exactness, surprising for the remote
period in which they had been discovered." This liberal acknowledgment
renders it the more extraordinary, that in the appellation which it was
judged proper to give to this extensive group, the French admiral had not
rather thought of doing honour to the original discoverer, or to the
_Gulde Zeepaard_, than to his own ship; more especially, as his
examination was far from being complete. This would have been more
conformable to his general practice; but ARCHIPEL DE LA RECHERCHE was the
name adopted.

Beyond the archipelago, the South Coast was found to trend
east-north-eastward; without any island lying off it, or presenting any
place of shelter. The shore was either a steep calcareous cliff, of an
equal height, or low and sandy, with a few naked hillocks behind; and
above these, no hill., nor any thing of the interior country, could be
discerned. "It is not surprising," says D'Entrecasteaux., "that Nuyts has
given no details of this barren coast; for its aspect is so uniform, that