The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. V. Being the First of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. V. Being the First of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
“Of other plants, which are by no means numerous, there is a _species_
of _gladiolus_, rush, bell-flower, samphire, a small sort of
wood-sorrel, milk-wort, cudweed, and Job’s tears; with a few others,
peculiar to the place. There are several kinds of fern, as polypody,
spleenwort, female fern, and some mosses; but the _species_ are either
common, or at least found in some other countries, especially New
Zealand.
“The only animal of the quadruped kind we got, was a sort of _opossum_,
about twice the size of a large rat; and is, most probably, the male of
that _species_ found at Endeavour River, as mentioned in Hawkesworth’s
Collection of Voyages.[149] It is of a dusky colour above, tinged with a
brown or rusty cast, and whitish below. About a third of the tail,
towards its tip, is white, and bare underneath; by which it probably
hangs on the branches of trees, as it climbs these, and lives on
berries. The _kangooroo_, another animal found farther northward in New
Holland, as described in the same Voyage[150], without all doubt also
inhabits here, as the natives we met with had some pieces of their
skins; and we several times saw animals, though indistinctly, run from
the thickets when we walked in the woods, which, from the size, could be
no other. It should seem also, that they are in considerable numbers,
from the dung we saw almost every where, and from the narrow tracks or
paths they have made amongst the shrubbery.
“There are several sorts of birds, but all so scarce and shy, that they
are evidently harassed by the natives, who, perhaps, draw much of their
subsistence from them. In the woods, the principal sorts are large brown
hawks or eagles; crows, nearly the same as ours in England; yellowish
paroquets; and large pigeons. There are also three or four small birds,
one of which is of the thrush kind; and another small one, with a pretty
long tail, has part of the head and neck of a most beautiful azure
colour; from whence we named it _motacilla cyanea_. On the shore were
several common and sea gulls; a few black oyster catchers, or sea pies;
and a pretty plover of a stone colour, with a black hood. About the pond
or lake behind the beach, a few wild ducks were seen; and some shags
used to perch upon the high leafless trees near the shore.
“Some pretty large blackish snakes were seen in the woods; and we killed
a large, hitherto unknown, lizard, fifteen inches long and six round,
elegantly clouded with black and yellow; besides a small sort, of a
brown gilded colour above, and rusty below.
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