Chapter 12

Port Essington. Bearings from shoals in the Harbour. Appearance of the Settlement. Meet Captain Stanley. Church. Point Record. Prospects of the Settlement. Buffaloes escape. Fence across neck of Peninsula. Lieutenant P.B. Stewart explores the Country. Natives. Uses of Sand. Tumuli-building Birds. Beautiful Opossum. Wild Bees. Escape from an Alligator. Result of Astronomical Observations. Geological Formation. Raffles Bay. Leave Port Essington. Popham Bay. Detect error in position of Port Essington. Melville Island. Discover a Reef in Clarence Strait. Cape Hotham. Native Huts and Clothing. Geological Formation. Discover the Adelaide River. Interview with Natives. Attempt to come on board. Messrs. Fitzmaurice and Keys nearly speared. Exploration of the Adelaide. Its capabilities. Wood-ducks. Vampires. Another party ascends the Adelaide. Meet Natives. Canoes. Alligator. Visit Melville Island. Green Ants. Thoughts of taking ship up Adelaide abandoned. Tides in Dundas Strait. Return to Port Essington. Theatricals. H.M.S. Pelorus arrives with Provisions. Further remarks on the Colony.