Page:Castaway on the Auckland Isles (IA castawayonauckla01musg).pdf/174

158 difficulty in penetrating and making my way through them; in many places it was absolutely impassable. It was only after a long and fatiguing walk that I succeeded in reaching the summit of that part of the island near which the brig was anchored, when I found the trees less numerous. A thick growth of underwood and dwarf bushes, intermingled with ferns, concealed the surface, rendering it difficult to walk. Even in the places apparently most level, the ground was very unequal, and a single step would sometimes send me nearly up to the neck into a hollow filled with large fern fronds.

On the highest parts, the small level spots were covered only with moss and a description of tall grass, and in places also a kind of grain grew abundantly. The ground was dry everywhere, all the water being found in the streams, which were numerous and pure.

Near the summit the ground was perforated in all directions, probably by birds who rear their young in these holes. Many of the birds, principally procellaria, were sitting on the ground; they made an effort to escape, but suffered themselves to be taken without any attempt at resistance.

The forest was full of small birds, of three or four different species, which were perfectly fearless. One little fellow alighted on my cap as I was sitting under a tree, and sang long and melodiously. Another, and still smaller species, of a black colour, spotted with yellow, was numerous, and sang very sweetly; its notes were varied, but approximated more nearly to the song of our blackbird; occasionally a note or two resembled the lark's. Hawks, too, are numerous, and might be seen in almost all the dead trees in pairs. Along the sea coast were to be seen the marks of their ravages upon the smaller birds. The sea birds were very numerous on the opposite side of the island, sitting upon the cliffs or hovering over the isles. On the western side of the Auckland Island the underbush and young trees are exceedingly thick."