ance of his friends, to take some of the convicts who were at large in the woods; two of whom had, juft before Wilfon's appearance, stolen two mares, the property of private individuals, but which were allowed to be kept during the night in a ftable belonging to government.

Wilfon, among other articles of information, mentioned, that he had been upwards of 100 miles in every direction round the fettlement. In the course of his travelling he had noticed several animals, which, from his defcription, had not been seen in any of the districts; and to the north-weft of the head of the Hawkesbury, he came upon a very extenfive tract of open and well-watered country, where he had feen a bird of the pheafant fpecies, and a quadruped, which he said was larger than a dog, having its hind parts thin, and bearing no pro. portion to the fhoulders, which were strong and large.

"It is not improbable, that Wilfon invented thefe circumftances in the hope of obtaining fome attention, and thereby averting the punishment which he expected, and well knew that he had long deferved.

"If it be painful to the writer of these sheets to find little elfe than crimes and their confequences to record, how much more painful muft it have been to have lived where they were daily committed? Particularly fo muft it have proved to the gentleman who was in the chief direction of the fettlement, who found himfelf either obliged to punish with feverity, or to be fearful even of adminiftering juftice in mercy, left that mercy fhould prove detrimental in the end, by encouraging others to offend in the hope of impunity.

"There can scarcely be recorded a stronger instance of human de pravity, than what the following circumftance, which happened in this month, exhibits. A convict, who had formerly been a school-companion with the Rev. Mr. Johnfon, had been taken by that gentleman into his fervice, where he repofed in him the utmoft confidence, and treated him with the kindeft indulgence. He had not been long in his house before Mr. Johnson was informed that his fervant, having taken an im preffion of the key of his ftore-room in clay, had procured one that would fit the lock. He fcarcely credited the information; but, being urged to furnish him with an opportunity, he confented that a conftable should be concealed in the house, on a Sunday, when all the family, this fervant excepting, would be attending divine fervice. The arrangement fucceeded but too well. Concluding that all was fase, he applied his key, and, entering the room, was proceeding without any remorse to plunder it of fuch articles as he wanted; when the conftable, feeing his prey within his toils, ftarted from his concealment, and feized him in the act of taking the property.

"Thus was this wretched being without "one compunctious vifiting of nature," detected in the act of injuring the man, who, in the better day of his profperity, had been the companion of his youth, and who had ftretched out his hand to shelter him in the present hour of his adversity!

"The Deptford brig failing this month for the coaft of Coroman. del, the governor took the opportunity of tranfmitting to Admiral Rainier, or the commander in chief of his Majefty's fhips in the East Indies, a lift of the deferted convicts, and a description of the two boats which had lately been taken from the colony. As it was, pro

A 2

bably,

bably, the intention of thofe people to fteer along the coast of New South Wales to the northward, until they fhould reach fome of the Dutch fettlements among the Molucca iflands, there was a possibility of their being picked up by fome of the King's cruizers; in the event of which, the governor forcibly urged their being forwarded, by any oppertunity which might offer, to his government, there to be made an example that should, if poffible, deter others from making the like attempts.

"The widow of Enfign Brock, who died in July laft, availed herfelf of this opportunity to get, with her family, partly on her way to England.

Although the fettlement had now been established within a month of ten years, yet little had been added to the stock of natural history which had been acquired in the first year or two of its infancy. The Kangaroo, the Dog, the Opoffum, the Flying Squirrel, the Kangaroo Rat, a fpotted Rat, the common Rat, and the large Fox-bat (if entitled to a place in this fociety) made up the whole catalogue of animals that were known at this time, with the exception which must now be made of an amphibious animal, of the mole fpecies, one of which had been lately found on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury. In fize it was confiderably larger than the land mole. The eyes were very small. The fore legs, which were fhorter than the hind, were obferved, at the feet, to be provided with four claws, and a membrane, or web, that fpread confiderably beyond them, while the feet of the hind legs were furnished, not only with this membrane or web, but with four long and fharp claws, that projected as much beyond the web, as the web projected beyond the claws of the fore feet. The tail of this animal was thick, fhort, and very fat; but the most extraordinary circumstance obferved in its structure was, its having, instead of the mouth of an animal, the upper and lower mandibles of a duck. By these it was enabled to fupply itfelf with food, like that bird, in muddy places, or on the banks of the lakes, in which its webbed feet enabled it to fwim; while on fhore its long and sharp claws were employed in burrowing; nature thus providing for it in its double or amphibious character. These little animals had been frequently noticed rifing to the furface of the water, and blowing like the turtle." P. 59.

We are glad, on this occafion, to affift in recording a discovery of material importance to the science of geography, namely, the actual existence of a ftrait, feparating Van Diemen's Land from the continent of New Holland. The fifteenth and fixteenth Chapters exhibit a pleasing narrative of this difcovery by the Norfolk floop; and this is, to us at leaf, by far the moft agrecable portion of the work. The following curious particulars deferve attention.

"The account of the Derwent river being now closed, and the whole of what was learned of Van Diemen's land related, it may not be improper, fays Mr. Bafs, to point out the manner in which this

country

country and New South Wales appear to differ in their most effential quality, that of their foil.

"In adjufting their comparative fertility, the contrafted difpofition of their foils is much more prominent than any inequality in their quantity. They are poor countries; but, as far as the eye of difcovery has yet penetrated into either, the cultivatible foil of the latter is found lying in a few diftinct patches of limited extent, and of varying quality; while the foil of the former, being more equally fpread, thofe fpots of abundant richness, or large wilds of unimproveable fterility, are much lefs frequently feen.

Although Van Diemen's land feems to poffefs few or none of thofe vaft depths of foil with which the happielt fpots of New South Wales are bleffed; yet it feldom fickens the heart of its traveller with thofe extenfive tracts which at once difarm induftry, and leave the warmest imagination without one beguiling project.

"In point of productive foil, Mr. Bafs gives the preponderance to Van Diemen's land.

"In one particular, which, to the inhabitants of a civilized country, is of the utmost importance, both countries are but too much alike: each is amply ftored with water, for the common purposes of life; but deficient in thofe large interfections of it which, in other more fortunate countries, fo much facilitate the operations of man, and lead commerce to the door of even the most inland farmer.

"Two rivers only, Port Dalrymple and the Derwent, are known to defcend from Van Diemen's land; and, by Point St. Vincent, poffibly there may be a third. But two rivers, or even three, bear but a fcanty proportion to the bulk of the island.

"On the 3d of January they left the Derwent, and proceeded to the northward, coafting the east fide of Frederick-Henry Bay, which was, for the most part, high and fteep to the fea. The figure of the fhore, between what is now called Cape Bafaltes and Cape Pillar, exhibited one of thofe great works of nature which feldom fail to excite furprise it was all bafaltic. The cape is a vaft high wedge, which projects into the fea, furmounted by loftly fingle columns.

After paffing Cape Pillar, fome iflands came in fight to the northward; but they did not fetch them, owing to the wind hanging in that quarter. On the following day, they reached within five or fix miles of one of them, which, in its general appearance, bore fome refemblance to Furneaux's iflands. This groupe must be either Maria's or Schouten's islands, or both; but it was not determined to which they belonged.

"On the 7th, having until that day had but indiftinct views of the land, they faw Cape Barren Ifland. They did not pafs through. the channel, or paffage, which divides Furneaux's Iflands, but difcovered why Captain Furneaux named the place the Bay of Shoals.

Early on the morning of the 8th, they were among the iflands lying off the Patriarchs. They were three in number; the largest of which was high, rocky, and barren, with a bafis of granite, which, like that of Prefervation Ifland, laid fcattered about in large detached blocks. Mr. Bafs landed upon the outermoft, and found it well inhabited. The various tribes had divided it into districts. One part

was

6

Collins's Account of New South Wales. Vol. II.

was white with gannets, breeding in nefts of earth and dried grafs. The rocks of the fhore, Petrels and Penguins had their under-ground habitations in those parts of the island which had the moft grafs.

and blocks of granite, were occupied by the pied offenfive fhag and common gull; geefe, red-bills, and quails, lived in common, and the reft was appropriated to the feals, who feemed to be the lords of the domain. Mr. Bafs remarked with furprife, that though the principal herd fcampered off like theep, as is ufual on the firft approach; yet the males, who poffeffed a rock to themselves, where they fat, furrounded by their numerous wives and progeny, on his drawing near them, hobbled up, with a menacing roar, and fairly commenced the attack, while the wives feemed to reft their fecurity upon the fuperior courage and addrefs of their lords; for, inftead of retreating into the water in the utmoft confternation, they only raifed themselves upon their fore fins, as if ready for a march, keeping their eye upon him, and watching the movements of his enemy.

"The feal is reckoned a ftupid animal; but Mr. Bafs noticed many figns of uncommon fagacity in them; and was of opinion that, by much patience and perfeverance, a feal might be trained to fish for man; in which there is nothing, at firft fight, more prepofterous than to make a hawk his fowler. attempt

the

"The feal appeared to branch off into various fpecies. He did not recollect to have feen them precifely alike upon any two iflands in the ftrait, Moft of them were of that kind called by the fealers hair feals; but they differed in the fhape of the body, or of the head, the fituation of the fore fins, the colour, and very commonly in the voice, as if each island spoke a peculiar language.

"Having collected as much ftock as was neceffary, they stood to the northward, and on the 12th reached Port Jackfon.

On delivering the account of this voyage to the governor, he named the principal difcovery, which was the event of it, Bafs Strait, as a tribute due to the correctness of judgment which led Mr. Bafs, in his first vifit in the whale boat, to fuppofe that the fouth-wefterly winds, which rolled in upon the fhores of Western Port, could proceed only from their being expofed to the Southern Indian Ocean.

"The most prominent advantage which feemed likely to accrue to the fettlement from this difcovery was, the expediting of the paffage from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackfon; for, although a line drawn from the Cape to 44° of fouth latitude, and to the longitude of the fouth Cape of Van Diemen's land, would not fenfibly differ from one drawn to the latitude of 40°, to the fame longitude; yet it muft be allowed, that a fhip will be four degrees nearer to Port Jack fon in the latter fituation, than it would be in the former. But there is, perhaps, a greater advantage to be gained by making a paffage through the ftrait, than the mere faving of four degrees of latitude along the coaft. The major part of the hips that have arrived at Port Jackfon have met with N. E. winds on opening the fea round is reckoned to be a fair the South Cape and Cape Pillar, and have been fo much retarded by port them, that a fourteen days' paffage to the one, although the difference of latitude is but ten degrees, and the moft prevailing winds at the latter place are from S. E. to S. in fum

mera

mer, and from W. S. W. to S. in winter. If, by going through Bafs Strait, these N. E. winds can be avoided, which in many cafes would probably be the cafe, there is no doubt but a week or more would be gained by it; and the expence, with the wear and tear of a ship for one week, are objects to moft owners, more efpecially when freighted with convicts by the run.

"This ftrait likewife prefents another advantage. From the prevalence of the N. E. and easterly winds off the fouth Cape, many fuppofe that a paffage may be made from thence to the weitward, either to the Cape of Good Hope, or to India; but the fear of the great unknown bight, between the fouth Cape and the S. W. Cape of Lewen's land, lying in about 35° fouth and 113° eaft, has hitherto prevented the trial being made. Now the ftrait removes a part of this danger, by prefenting a certain place of retreat, fhould the gale oppofe itself to the fhip in the first part of the essay; and should the wind come at S. W. we need not fear making a good stretch to the W. N. W; which courfe, if made good, is within a few degrees of going clear of all. There is befides, King George the Third's Sound, difcovered by Captain Vancouver, fituate in the latitude of 35° 03′ fouth, and longitude 118° 12' eaft; and it is to be hoped, that a few years will disclose many others upon the coaft, as well as the confirmation or futility of the conjecture*, that a still larger than Bass Strait difmembers New Holland." P. 189.

This publication is amusingly diverfified by notices of fome more rare and valuable productions in natural hiflory. It is alfo accompanied by fome engravings; but neither of thefe, nor of the typography in general, are we able to speak in very high terms of commendation. We truft, however, that a fimilar Journal will be continued, by fome equally able and impartial narrator; which, from time to time, may, in like manner, be communicated to the public. It fhould be added, that a ftill ftronger light is thrown on the characters of the native inhabitants, who do not, however, appear at all more amiable or attractive than in preceding publications of a like kind.

"To verify or confute this conjecture, Lieutenant, now Captain Flinders (from whose journal thefe obfervations on the advantages of the ftrait are taken) has lately failed in his Majesty's fhip Investigator. He is accompanied by feveral profeffional men of great abilities, felected by that liberal and distinguished patron of merit, Sir Jofeph Banks, from whofe exertions, joined with thofe of the commander, navigation and natural hiftory have much information and gratification to expect. The Investigator is to be attended by the Lady Nelfon, a fmall veffel of fifty tons burthen, built under the infpection, and according to the plan, of that truly refpectable and valuable man, and fcientific officer, Commiffioner Schank, whofe abilities are too well known to require any eulogium from this pen."

ARTA