Page:A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 1.djvu/433

Bass' Strait.]

The north-east part of King's Island extends south-east-by-east, three or four leagues. The shore is mostly of sand, and behind the beach it was washed or blown up in great ridges, but partly overspread with a kind of dog grass which kept the sand together. In general, the land is low; but some little eminences appeared at a distance, and at the north end of the island there is a short range of hills, moderately high and covered with wood. Granite seemed to be the basis of the shore where we landed. Behind the front ridges of sand was a brush wood, so thick as to be almost impenetrable; but whilst I was occupied in taking bearings, the botanists found some openings in the brush, and picked up so many plants as to make them desirous of a further examination. We returned on board at dusk, with our womats, the seal, and a kanguroo; the last being of a middle size between the small species of the lesser islands, and the large kind found at Kanguroo Island and on the continent. It appeared indeed, all along the South Coast, that the size of the kanguroo bore some proportion to the extent of land which it inhabited.

In the morning, the wind blew fresh from the southward. A boat was sent on shore with Mr. Brown and his party; and at eleven o'clock, when they returned, we got under way.

A small lake of fresh water was found at a little distance behind the sandy ridges in front of the shore. This was surrounded by a good vegetable soil; and the number of plants collected near it was greater than had before been found upon any one island. The small lake is too far from the sea side for a ship to obtain water from it conveniently; but two little streams which drained from the sand hills, made it probable that fresh water might have been obtained any where at this time by digging. The water of these rills was tinged red, similar to that obtained at King George's Sound, and to the pools I had before seen at Furneaux's Islands; and as the stone in these places is granite, and water so discoloured was not found