impossible for him to obtain a suitable vessel at Swan River, hired a
small schooner from this port, and sailed, with his party, for Hanover
Bay, on the north-west coast of Australia, the day after our departure.
His subsequent perils, wanderings, and adventures having been fully
described in his own published account, I need do no more here than
allude to them.

We encountered a good deal of heavy weather, shifting winds, and
consequently irregular seas, during our run to Swan River; and owing to
the deep state of our loaded little vessel, her decks were almost
constantly flooded. For many days we had never less than an inch and a
half of water on them all over; and this extra weight, in our already
overburdened craft, did not, of course, add to her liveliness; however,
she struggled on.

ISLAND OF AMSTERDAM.

And on the 1st of November bore us in sight of the Island of Amsterdam,
and in the afternoon passed to the southward of it, sufficiently near to
determine its position. The summit of the Island, which has rather a
peaked appearance, we found to be 2,760 feet high, in latitude 38 degrees
53 minutes South, longitude 77 degrees 37 minutes East of Greenwich. It
is singular that though this Island, which is almost a finger-post for
ships bound from the Cape either to New Holland or India, has been so
long known to all navigators of these seas, its true longitude should
have been till now unascertained. The western side presented the
appearance of a broken-down crater, nor indeed can there be any reason to
doubt its volcanic origin. Light brown was the pervading colour upon the
sides of the island, and appeared to be caused by stunted bushes and
grass. The southern island, St. Paul's, affords a good anchorage in 21