The warmth of the weather now began rapidly to increase; the thermometer at noon ranged as high as 79 degrees. At one o'clock Cape Inscription, the north-westernmost point of Dirk Hartog's Island, was distinguished and the sea-breeze veered as far as South-West by West, which was two points more westerly than we had hitherto had it. At two o'clock the brig passed round the cape and, as there was an appearance of good shelter in the bay to the eastward of it, we hauled in and at half-past three o'clock anchored in twelve fathoms fine gravelly soft sand; the west point of Dirk Hartog's Island (Cape Inscription) bearing North 82 degrees West, and the low sandy point that forms its north-east end South 53 degrees West, at a mile and a half from the shore. As we hauled round the cape and were passing under the lee of the land the breeze became so suddenly heated, by its blowing over the arid and parched surface of the coast, that my seaweed hygrometer, which had been quite damp since we left Rottnest Island, was in ten minutes so dried as to be covered with crystals of salt; and in this state it continued during our stay. Upon rounding the cape two posts were descried upon its summit, which we conjectured to be those on which the French had affixed a record of their visit, as well as the more ancient one of the Dutch navigators, Dirk Hartog and Vlaming; for they were very conspicuously placed and appeared to be in good preservation. We had not anchored five minutes before the vessel was surrounded by sharks, which at once impressed us with the propriety of Dampier's nomenclature. One that was caught measured eleven feet in length but the greater number were not more than three or four feet long. They were very voracious and scared away large quantities of fish, of which, however, our people during the evening caught a good supply. January 21.