he night of August 1st, 1699, upon the
northern part of the Abrolhos. Dampier then cautiously ran northward,
keeping the land in sight until he anchored in Dirk Hartog's Road, in a
sound which he named Sharks' Bay, for the reason that his men caught and
ate, among other things, many sharks, including one eleven feet long, and
says Dampier, "Our men eat them very savorilly." He gives us, too, a
description of the kangaroo, the first introduction of that animal to
civilization. Says the navigator, "The land animals that we saw here were
only a sort of racoons, different from those of the West Indies, chiefly
as to their legs; for these have very short fore legs, but go jumping upon
them as the others do, and, like them, are very good meat."

Sharks' Bay is in what is now called the Gascoyne division of West
Australia, after the river of that name. Its chief town is Carnarvon,
situated at the mouth of the river. Wool-growing [Sidenote: 1699]
is the principal industry, and the population is about 800.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER, R.N. From the picture in the
National Portrait Gallery painted by Thomas Murray.] _To face p_. 38.

Dampier stayed eight days in the bay, then ran northward along the coast,
discovering the archipelago named after him, and himself naming Rosemary
Island, which lies off the coast close to Roeburne, the chief town of the
north province of the colony. From here he continued his course north till
he reached Roebuck Bay, a few leagues to the south of the scene of his
first visit, and where is now the town of Broome. The Eastern Extension
Telegraph Cable Company's alternative cable from Banjoewangi comes in
here, and the town has additional importance as being the harbour for a
large pearling fleet.

Dampier left here on September 5th, intending again to land further north,
but he abandoned the idea and directed his course for Timor. After he left
Timor he called at New Guinea, discovered and named New Britain, now a
German colonial possession, spent some weeks upon the New Guinea coast,
and then returned to Timor, whence he began his voyage home. Off Ascension
the _Roebuck_ sprang a leak and foundered. Her company, who with
difficulty saved their lives, landed upon Ascension, where they remained
till they were rescued and brought to England in the _Canterbury_, East
Indiaman.

During his stay on the coast of New Guinea Dampier, besides those
discoveries already enumerated, made