erous climate, was
explored, has not, perhaps, its equal in the annals of maritime history.
The public will award to its high-spirited and able conductor, alas! now
no more, an honorable place in the list of those whose ardour stands
most conspicuous for the promotion of useful knowledge.

1798. Mr. Bass had been returned a fortnight from his expedition in the
whaleboat; and he communicated all his notes and observations to be
added to my chart. There seemed to want no other proof of the existence
of a passage between New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, than that of
sailing positively through it; but however anxious I was to obtain this
proof, the gratification of my desire was required to be suspended by a
voyage to Norfolk Island in the _Reliance_.

In September following, His Excellency, Governor Hunter, had the
goodness to give me the _Norfolk_, a colonial sloop of twenty-five tons
with authority to penetrate behind Furneaux's Islands; and should a
strait be found, to pass through it, and return by the south end of Van
Diemen's Land. Twelve weeks were allowed for the performance of this
service, and provisions for that time were put on board; the rest of the
equipment was completed by the friendly care of Captain Waterhouse of
the _Reliance_.

I had the happiness to associate my friend Bass in this new expedition,
and to form an excellent crew of eight volunteers from the King's ships.

THE WEST END OF THE STRAIT

The south-west wind died away in the night; and at six next morning,
Dec. 9, we got under way with a light air at south-east. After rounding
the north-east point of the three-hummock land, our course westward was
pursued along its north side.

A large flock of gannets was observed at daylight, to issue out of the
Great Bight to the southward; and they were followed by such a number of
the sooty petrels as we had never seen equalled. There was a stream of
from fifty to eighty yards in depth, and of three hundred yards or more
in breadth; the birds were not scattered, but flying as compactly as a
free movement of their wings seemed to allow; and during a full hour and
a half, this stream of petrels continued to pass without interruption,
at a rate little inferior to the swiftness of the pigeon. On the lowest
computation, I think the number could not have been less than a hundred
millions; and we were thence led to believe that there must be, in the
large bight, one or more uninhabited islands of con