On the 25th of May, the _Endeavour_ being a mile from land, was opposite a point which exactly crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. The following day, it was ascertained that the sea rose and fell seven feet. The flow was westward, and the ebb eastward, just the reverse of the case in Botany Bay. In this spot islands were numerous, the channel narrow and very shallow. On the 29th, Cook landed with Banks and Solander in a large bay, in search of a spot where he could have the keel and bottom of his vessel repaired, but they were scarcely on terra firma, when they found their progress impeded by a thick shrub, prickly and studded with sharp seeds, no doubt a species of "_spinifex_," which clung to the clothes, pierced them, and penetrated the flesh. At the same time, myriads of gnats and mosquitoes attacked them, and covered them with painful bites. A suitable spot for repairs was found, but a watering-place was sought in vain. Gum-trees growing here and there were covered with enormous ants' nests, and soon deprived of gum by those insects. Numerous brilliantly-coloured butterflies hovered over the explorers. These were curious facts, interesting from more than one point of view, but they failed to satisfy the captain, who was eager to replenish his water supply. From the first, the great defect of this country was apparent. It consists in the absence of streams, springs, and rivers! A second excursion made during the evening of the same day was equally barren of good results. Cook ascertained that the bay was very deep, and decided on making the circuit of it in the morning. He soon discovered that the width of the channel by which he entered increased rapidly, and that it ultimately formed a vast lake communicating with the sea to the north-west. Another arm stretched eastwards, and it was conceivable that the lake had a second outlet into the sea at the bottom of the bay. Cook named this part of Australia New South Wales. Sterile, sandy, dry, it lacked all that was most necessary for the establishment of a colony. And the English could not ascertain from their cursory inspection or hydrographical examination that, mineralogically speaking, it was one of the richest countries of the New World. The navigation was monotonously continued from the 31st of May to the 10th of June. On this latter date the _Endeavour_, after passing safely along an unknown coast, in the midst of shallows and breakers, for a space of 22 degrees or 1300 miles, was all at once exposed to a greater danger than any which had been apprehended. They were in 16 degrees S. Lat. and 214 degrees 39 minutes W. Long. when Cook, seeing two islets lying low and covered with trees, gave orders to keep well out to sea during the night, so as to look for the islands discovered by Quiros in these latitudes, an archipelago which some geographers had maintained was united to the mainland.