It bore North 85 degrees East, fourteen miles from Fossil Head; and the country between was very low, and intersected by a creek about midway.

This remarkable piece of land is called in the chart Table Hill; an inlet trended in towards the foot of it.
We noticed several old traces of natives; the country in the neighbourhood was of a stony desolate character, yet appeared to afford nourishment for a small growth of white gums.

After examining two mangrove creeks of no importance, in the north-west corner of the bay fronting the ship, we returned.
Our hopes of finding a river of some magnitude were not in the least destroyed from what we had seen from Fossil Head, and the southerly direction of the flood-stream fostered our belief.

Independent of these signs, we felt that we were again entering upon a new part of the continent, and the thoughts thus engendered acted like a powerful stimulant, so that we were not easily cast down.
The tide serving badly, and the day being far advanced, it was decided that we should not move the ship till next morning, when after getting abreast of Fossil Head, we steered from it on the bearing of the deep-water channel we had seen yesterday.

We proceeded cautiously, feeling our way with the boats ahead.