We were now suffering much from the extreme heat and closeness of the weather; the thermometer ranged night and day between 85 and 89 degrees, and when the breeze was light or the weather calm the air was insufferably hot and close, and affected us all very much, but happily without any very serious consequences. In the evening four natives armed with spears were seen sitting in the shade upon the sandy beach under Carlisle Head, attentively watching us; but upon being joined by three others, who came towards them from Point Cunningham, got up and walked away. We have yet to learn how far these people may be confided in, for we were not at a very great distance from Hanover Bay where we so nearly paid dear for trusting ourselves amongst them unarmed. February 13. We remained at the anchorage in Goodenough Bay until the following morning, when we weighed to a very light breeze from south-east, the only direction from which we experienced any wind; the breeze generally blew strong at night, whilst during the day it was light, or nearly calm; so that during the night we were very insecurely placed if the anchorage was at all suspicious, and in the day were either delayed very much or entirely prevented from weighing. Thus it was with us on this day; soon after we weighed it fell calm and the tide, drifting us rapidly to the southward over rocky ground, carried us close to a reef of dry rocks to the northward of Foul Point without our being able to avoid it. At a little before five o'clock the flood-tide was nearly expended and obliged us to drop the chain-cabled anchor at the distance of three miles from Foul Point, upon a bottom of rotten yellow-coloured rock that crumbled away upon being touched, but from the noise that the chain made in dragging over the ground there was reason to apprehend it was very rocky; and consequently great fears were entertained for the safety of our anchor. Our situation was in the outer part of a bay, the southern head of which bore South 22 degrees East, and which, from the loss and perplexity we met with in it, was afterwards called Disaster Bay, and its south extreme, off which is a small rocky island, was named Repulse Point. During the afternoon we had another instance of mirage which proved useful so far that it indicated to us the trend of the land to the south-eastward, in which direction nothing had previously been seen; it appeared to be very low and level, and similar to the character of the coast on the southward of Cape Leveque. At sunset when the haze cleared off and the appearance of the land gradually sank below the horizon we were instantly relieved from the oppressive heat we had experienced during the day, for the thermometer had indicated a temperature of 91 degrees and, when exposed to the influence of the sun, rose to 120 degrees.