qualities and endowments are the same. Most of them wore kangaroo
cloaks, which were their only clothing. They carry the same kind of
spears, and the womera, or throwing stick, as are used by those in New
South Wales. In the summer months they frequent the sea-coast, where
their skill in spearing fish is described as quite wonderful. In
winter they mostly adhere to the woods on the higher grounds, where
the kangaroos, the opossum tribe, and the land tortoises are
plentiful. These, with birds and roots, constitute their sustenance.
They have neither boat nor raft, nor did the party fall in with any
thing resembling a hut. They made use of the word "kangaroo" and other
terms in use at Port Jackson. The party saw only the three kinds of
animals above-mentioned, and heard the barking of the native dog; no
other reptiles but iguanas and lizards and a single snake presented
themselves.

Of birds, the list is somewhat more extensive. The emu is frequent on
the plains, and that once supposed "_rara avis_," the elegant black
swan, was seen in the greatest abundance on the river to which it has
lent its name, and particularly on Melville lake. Equally abundant
were numerous species of the goose and duck family. White and black
cockatoos, parrots and parroquets, were every where found. Pigeons and
quails were seen in great quantities, and many melodious birds were
heard in the woods.

Seals were plentiful on all the islands. Captain Stirling says that it
was not the season for whales, but their debris strewed the shore of
Geographer's Bay. The French, in May and June, met with a prodigious
number of whales along this part of the coast, and sharks equally
numerous and of an enormous size, some of them stated to be upwards of
two thousand pounds in weight. Vlaming mentions the vast numbers of