r, had there been any within that distance.

The boat was then kept north-eastward, towards Furneaux's Land. At nine
in the evening, the wind blew hard at S. E. by E., accompanied by a
hollow, irregular sea, which put our enterprising discoverer and his
boat's crew into the greatest danger; but the good qualities of his
little bark, with careful steerage, carried him through this perilous
night. On the 3rd, at six o'clock the land was seen; and in the
afternoon, whilst standing in to look for a place of shelter, a smoke and
several people were observed upon a small island not far from the main
coast. On rowing up, they proved to be, not natives, to Mr. Bass' great
surprise, but Europeans. They were convicts who, with others, had run
away with a boat from Port Jackson, in the intention of plundering the
wreck of the Sydney Cove; and not being able to find it, their
companions, thinking their number too great, had treacherously left them
upon this island, whilst asleep. These people were seven in number; and
during the five weeks they had been on this desert spot, had subsisted on
petrels, to which a seal was occasionally added. Mr. Bass promised to
call at the island, on his return; and in the mean time, proceeded to the
west side of the high main land, where he anchored, but could not get on
shore.

Jan. 4. The wind being at north-east, he continued his course onward,
steering W. N. W. round an open bay; and afterwards N. W. by W., as the
coast generally trended. The shore consisted of long, shallow bights, in
which the land was low and sandy; but the intermediate rocky points were
generally steep, with a ridge of hills extending from them, into the
interior, as far as could be distinguished. In the evening an inlet was
discovered, with many shoals at the entrance; and the deep channel being
not found till a strong tide made it unattainable, Mr. Bass waited for
high water; he then entered a spacious harbour which, from its relative
position to the hitherto known parts of the coast, was named WESTERN
PORT. It lies, according to the boat's run, about sixty miles N. W. by W.
1/2 W. from Furneauxs Land; and its latitude is somewhere about 38 deg. 25'
south.* The time of high water is near _half an hour_ after the moon's
passage over the meridian, and the rise of tide from ten to fourteen
feet.

[* The true latitude of the east entrance into Western Port, is about 38 deg.
33' south.]

The examination of this new and impo