I had warned the men that at sunset I would inform them what my intentions were with regard to our future movements; and in the meantime all hands were employed in searching for provisions or in preparing the boats for sea. A very gloomy prospect was before us: the men were already much reduced from illness, from using damaged provisions, and from hard work and exposure combined: our boats were in a very leaky unsound state, whilst all means of efficiently repairing them had been swept away in the hurricane. Add to this that the only provisions we had left really fit to eat were about nine days' salt meat, at the rate of a pound a man per diem, and about sixty pounds of tolerably good flour. It would be useless to detail the different reasons which induced me to adopt the plan of endeavouring to make Swan River in the whale boats; this was however the course I resolved to pursue. Its principal advantages were that we should be constantly approaching home; and that if any accident should happen to the boats we might always hope to reach Perth by walking: the principal objection to it was the prevalence of strong south-east winds. At sunset the party assembled. I detailed to them at considerable length the three most feasible plans which had offered themselves to me, the reasons which had made me reject two of them, as well as those which led me to adopt the third; and as I knew that there were two or three insubordinate characters amongst the men, whom I had picked up at Fremantle, I further told them that, if a sufficient number to man one of the boats objected to follow me, they could go their own way; as the success of my scheme would altogether depend upon the courage and subordination with which it was carried out. No dissentient voice was however raised, but they all promised to follow me wherever I might lead. We now made arrangements for searching for turtle during the night, and then stretched ourselves on the sand to try and sleep. March 21. We were unfortunate in not catching a turtle during the night; the season for them had however now passed away, so that we could only hope to cut off a stray one which might have lingered behind its fellows. The next day was occupied in sticking up a steer-oar with a tin canister attached to it, containing a letter in which was detailed the plan I intended to follow, so that in the event of any accident occurring, and our remaining on the coast, we might still have the chance of a vessel being sent to search for us. The men were occupied in looking for shellfish, drying the flour, and preparing the boats. It blew nearly a gale of wind from the south throughout the day. RETURN TO THE MAIN. March 22.