BAMPIEr’s ACCOUNT OF NEW HOLLAND.

465

The 6th of Auguft, in the morning, we faw an opening in the land, and we ran intoit, and anchored in feven and a half fathom water, two miles from the Ihore, cleanland. It was foniewhat difficult getting in here, by reafon of many ffioals we met with :but I fent my boat founding before me. The mouth of this found, which I calledShark’s Bay, lies in about 25 0 fouth latitude, and our reckoning made its longitudefrom the Cape of Good Hope to be about 87°, which is lefs by one hundred and ninety-five leagues than is ufually laid down in our common draughts, if our reckoning wasright, and our glades did not deceive us. As foon as I came to anchor in this bay, I fentmy boat alhore to feek for frelh water; but in the evening my men returned, havingfound none. The next morning I went aihore myfelf, carrying pick-axes and Ihovelswith me, to dig for water, and axes to cut wood. We tried in feveral places for water,but finding none after feveral trials, nor in feveral miles compafs, we left any fartherfearch for it, and fpending the reft of the day in cutting wood, we went aboard atnight.

The land is of an indifferent height, fo that it may be feen nine or ten leagues oft'.It appears at a diftance very even ; but as you come nigher you find there are manygentle rifings, though none fteep or high. It is all a fteep Ihore againft the open fea ;but in this bay or found we were now in, the land is low by the fea-fide, riling graduallyin with the land. The mould is fand by the fea-fide, producing a large fort offampier, which bears a white flower. Farther in, the mould is reddilh, a fort of fandproducing fome grafs, plants, and Ihrubs. The grafs grows in great tufts, as big as abulhel, here and there a tuft; being intermixed with much heath, much of the kind wehave growing on our commons in England. Of trees or Ihrubs here are divers forts;but none above ten feet high : their bodies about three feet about, and five orfix feet high before you come to the branches, which are bulhy and compofed offmall twigs there fpreading abroad, though thick fet, and full of leaves, which weremoftly long and narrow : the colour of the leaves was on one fide whitifh, and on theother green; and the bark of the trees was generally of the fame colour with theleaves, of a pale green. Some of thefe trees were fweet-fcented, and reddilh withinthe bark, like faffafras, but redder. Moft of the trees and Ihrubs had at this time eitherbloffoms or berries on them. The bloffoms of the different forts of trees were of fe-veral colours, as red, white, yellow, &c. but moftly blue; and thefe generally fmeltvery fweet and fragrant, as did fome alfo of the reft: there were alfo befide fomeplants, herbs, and tall flowers, fome very finall flowers growing on the ground, thatWere fweet and beautiful, and for the moft part unlike any I had feen elfewhere.

There were but few land fowls; we faw none but eagles, of the larger forts ofbirds ; but five or fix forts of fmall birds : the biggeft fort of thefe were not biggerthan larks, fome no bigger than wrens, all finging with great variety of fine Ihrill notes;and we faw fome of their nefts with young ones in them. The water-fowls are ducks(which had young ones now, this being the beginning of the fpring in thefe parts),curlews, galdens, crab-catchers, cormorants, gulls, pelicans, and fome water-fowl,fuch as I have not feen any where befides.

The land animals that we faw here were only a fort of raccoons, different from thofepf the Weft-Indies, chiefly as to their legs, for thefe have very fliort fore legs, but gojumping upon them as the others do (and like them are very good, meat), and a fort°f guanos, of the fame lhape and fize with other guanos defcribed, but differingfrom them in three remarkable particulars; for thefe had a larger and uglier head,an d had no tail, and at the rump, inftead of the tail there,, they, had a flump of a tail,'Bffiich appeared like another head, but not really fuch, being without mouth or eyes;vol. xi. 3 o yet