rtant discovery, the repairs of the
boat, and the continuance of strong winds, kept Mr. Bass thirteen days in
Western Port. His sketch of it has since been superseded by the more
regular examination of ensign Barralier, copied into the chart, where its
form, situation, and extent will be best seen. The land upon its borders
is, generally, low and level; but the hills rise as they recede into the
country, and afford an agreeable prospect from the port. Wherever Mr.
Bass landed, he found the soil to be a light, brown mould, which becomes
peaty in the lowest grounds. Grass and ferns grow luxuriantly, and yet
the country is but thinly timbered. Patches of brush wood are frequent,
particularly on the eastern shore, where they are some miles in extent;
and there the soil is a rich, vegetable mould. The island (since called
_Phillip Island_) which shelters the port, is mostly barren, but is
covered with shrubs and some diminutive trees.

Mr. Bass had great difficulty in procuring good water, arising, as he
judged, from unusual dryness in the season; and the head of the winding
creek on the east side of the port, was the sole place where it had not a
brackish taste. The mud banks at the entrance of the creek may be passed
at half tide by the largest boats; and within it, there is at all times a
sufficient depth of water.

No more than four natives were seen, and their shyness prevented
communication; the borders of the port, however, bore marks of having
been much frequented, but the want of water seemed to have occasioned a
migration to the higher lands. Kangaroos did not appear to be numerous;
but black swans went by hundreds in a flight, and ducks, a small, but
excellent kind, by thousands; and the usual wild fowl were in abundance.

The seventh week of absence from Port Jackson had expired, by the time
Mr. Bass was ready to sail from Western Port; and the reduced state of
his provisions forced him, very reluctantly, to turn the boat's head
homeward.

Jan. 18. At daylight, he sailed with a fresh wind at west, which
increased to a gale in the afternoon, with a heavy swell from the
south-west; and he sought shelter behind a cape since named _Cape
Liptrap_. Next morning, he ran over to the islands on the west side of
Furneaux's Land; but was obliged to return to his former place of
shelter, where a succession of gales kept him until the 26th. A quantity
of petrels had been taken on the islands, and this week of detention was