Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/191

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April.]
OF LA PEROUSE.
181

enter the foreſt in a ſouth direction. We afterwards arrived at a fine ſandy beach, extending about 1000 toiſes in the ſame direction.

A beautiful ſpecies of erigeron, the woody ſtem of which is covered with very ſmall bulbous leaves, grew in this dry ground. Though there was very little wind, the waves broke with violence over a great extent of the beach. We regularly obſerved that, after three ſucceſſive waves, one much larger than the reſt followed and broke higher upon the beach, ſo as to oblige us to keep further off from the ſhore.

On a ſmall riſing ground of the coaſt, I found the ſpecies of the bankſia, denominated by Gærtner bankſia gibboſa. Whilſt we were journeying through the foreſt, at a ſmall diſtance from the ſhore, one of our company obſerved a young ſavage, who was running away affrighted by a ſhot which had been fired at a bird. As ſoon as we were informed of it, we all ran in purſuit of him, being very deſirous of having an interview with ſome of the natives. But all our ſearch was in vain; for the young ſavage had diſappeared by ruſhing into the thickeſt of the foreſt at the riſk of tearing his ſkin; for he was ſtark naked. We found one of the fences againſt the ſea-winds at the place where he had been firſt ſeen.

The hope of meeting with ſome of the ſavages

determined