Captain Jacquinot having found a capital supply of fresh water on the right bank of Princess Royal Harbour, and at a little distance a site suitable for the erection of an observatory, the tents were soon pitched by the sailors, and several officers made a complete tour of the bay, whilst others opened relations with the aborigines, one of whom was induced to go on board, though it was only with the greatest difficulty that he was persuaded to throw away his _Banksia_, a cone used to retain heat, and to keep the stomach and the front part of the body warm. He remained quietly enough on board for two days, however, eating and drinking in front of the kitchen fire. In the meantime his fellow-countrymen on land were peaceable and well-disposed, even bringing three of their children into the camp. During this halt a boat arrived manned by eight Englishmen, who asked to be taken on board as passengers, and told such a very improbable story of having been deserted by their captain, that D'Urville suspected them of being escaped convicts; a suspicion which became a conviction, when he saw the wry faces they made at his proposal to send them back to Port Jackson. The next day, however, one took a berth as sailor, and two were received as passengers; whilst the other five decided to remain on land and drag out a miserable existence amongst the natives. All this time hydrographical and astronomical observations were being made, and the hunters and naturalists were trying to obtain specimens of new varieties of fauna and flora. The delays extending to October 24th enabled the explorers to regain their strength, after their trying voyage, to make the necessary repairs, take in wood and water, draw up a map of the whole neighbourhood, and to collect numerous botanical and zoological specimens. His observations of various kinds made D'Urville wonder that the English had not yet founded a colony on King George's Sound, admirably situated as it is, not only for vessels coming direct from Europe, but for those trading between the Cape and China, or bound for the Sunda Islands, and delayed by the monsoons. The coast was explored as far as West Port, preferred by D'Urville to Port Dalrymple, the latter being a harbour always difficult and often dangerous either to enter or to leave. West Port moreover, was as yet only known from the reports of Baudin and Flinders, and it was therefore better worth exploring than a more frequented district. The observations made in King George's Sound were therefore repeated at West Port, resulting in the following conclusions:--