The
day before we came out I sent a boat ashore to the most northerly of the
2 islands, which is the least of them, catching many small fish in the
meanwhile with hook and line. The boat's crew returning told me that the
isle produces nothing but a sort of green, short, hard, prickly grass,
affording neither wood nor fresh water; and that a sea broke between the
2 islands, a sign that the water was shallow. They saw a large turtle and
many skates and thornbacks, but caught none.
THE AUTHOR'S REMOVING TO ANOTHER PART OF NEW HOLLAND: DOLPHINS, WHALES,
AND MORE SEA-SERPENTS: AND OF A PASSAGE OR STRAIT SUSPECTED HERE: OF THE
VEGETABLES, BIRDS, AND FISH.
It was August the 14th when I sailed out of this bay or sound, the mouth
of which lies, as I said, in 25 degrees 5 minutes, designing to coast
along to the north-east till I might commodiously put in at some other
part of New Holland. In passing out we saw 3 water-serpents swimming
about in the sea, of a yellow colour, spotted with dark brown spots. They
were each about 4 foot long, and about the bigness of a man's wrist, and
were the first I saw on this coast, which abounds with several sorts of
them.
Pages:
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150