ately high and cliffy at the ends; the middle part is a sandy
isthmus, not more than half a mile broad, but the breadth of the higher
ends is from one-and-half to two miles. This island is the central one of
a group; for besides the four small isles to the north-east, there are
two close to the west end, and two others, something larger, lying off to
the southward. I call these the ISLES OF ST. FRANCIS; in the persuasion
that the central one is that named St. Francis by Nuyts. Independently of
the eight isles and a rock, surrounding this Isle St. Francis, I set from
the north-east point three other islands. The first, named _Lacy's Isle_,
bore N. 28 deg. E., seven miles; and two miles from it to the north-west
there is an islet and a separate rock above water surrounded with
breakers, the same near which we had tacked at half-past four on the
preceding evening. The second was called _Evans' Isle_, and bore N. 49 deg.
E. eleven miles, and the third to which the name of _Franklin_ was given,
bore N. 81 deg. E. sixteen miles. All these are much inferior in magnitude to
the central island of St. Francis.

For several days before anchoring here we had observed large flocks of
sooty petrels; and I found the surface of the island, where it was sandy
and produced small shrubs, to be full of their burrows. Penguins, similar
to those of Furneaux's Islands, had their burrows nearer to the
water-side. A small species of kangaroo, was also found, and at some
preceding season the island had been frequented by geese; but at this
time, the vegetation being almost burnt up, they seemed to have quitted
it from want of food. The heat was, indeed, such as to make walking a
great fatigue; and this was augmented by frequently sinking into the bird
holes and falling upon the sand. The thermometer stood at 98 deg. in the
shade, whilst it was at 78 deg. on board the ship.

Where the surface is not of sand it consists of calcareous rock, mostly
in loose pieces; but the stone which forms the basis of the island is
heavy and of a close grain, and was judged to be porphyry. In the
crevices of a low calcareous cliff, at the south-east side of the bay, I
found some thin cakes of good salt, incrusted upon a stone containing
_laminae_ of quartz.

A party was sent on shore at dusk to collect petrels, and in less than
two hours returned with sufficient to give four birds to every man in the
ship. Early in the morning [THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 1802] the boats