Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2: Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers; Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in The; Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command of the Lords Commissioners; Of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits; To the Islands in the Arafura SeaStokes, John Lort
History
Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2: Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers; Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in The; Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command of the Lords Commissioners; Of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits; To the Islands in the Arafura Sea
Stokes, John Lort
Australia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Natural history -- Australia
We found that Tremouille was as scantily supplied with vegetation as
Barrow's Island; in one or two places was growing a stunted kind of wood,
sufficient for fuel for a small-sized ship; but there was no sign of
water. The wallaby, which were very numerous, must have got their supply
of moisture from the copious dews. They were found lying very close in
the wiry prickly grass, allowing us to kick them out, when they went off
at speed, affording excellent sport, quite equal to any rabbit shooting;
among three guns we managed, in a couple of hours, to bag nearly twenty.
It was quite a new kind of wallaby, and has been classed, from a specimen
we brought away, as Lagorchester conspicillata. It had a blunt nose,
similar to those at Barrow's Island, and was about the same size, though
its colour was lighter, and it had a back exactly like a European hare.
The tail tapered away like a rat's, and the flesh was by no means good to
eat, tasting very strong; this was the only instance in which we found
wallaby at all unpalatable.
Although our exploration in this neighbourhood did not lead to our
finding any of the land fertile, yet from the new feature our chart will
give to this part of the coast, the necessity of the Beagle's visit will
be evident. Our object had been satisfactorily attained, inasmuch as we
had cleared up the doubts respecting Ritchie's Reef, and the long-lost
Tryal Rocks. We had also been so fortunate as to add to the stores of
natural history a new kangaroo and two kinds of wallaby, besides a large
water-snake.
RITCHIE'S REEF.
September 9.
We left Tremouille Island in the morning, and passing round the north
side, soon came in sight of Clerke's, alias Ritchie's Reef. It was our
intention to have gone round the northern end of it, but the tide setting
two knots an hour forced us to the southward. In a line midway between it
and Tremouille the depth was 17 and 20 fathoms. The reef was nearly three
miles long, in a north-east and south-west direction, and one mile and a
half wide; the centre being partly dry. Two miles and a half South-West
by West of it we crossed a patch of 13 fathoms, with 22 and 25 fathoms on
each side, the northern part of Hermite Island bearing South 62 degrees
East fourteen miles, soon after which it was lost sight of from the poop.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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