The country at Adventure Bay is generally flat, and abounds with tall straight forest trees, fit for making spars, oars, and perhaps masts. A kind of opossum was the only quadruped seen; but the kangaroo also lives in the woods. Birds are scarce and shy. The inhabitants are mild and cheerful, but possess little activity or genius. They live in very rude bark huts; and many of them, like the fauns and satyrs of ancient fable, reside in hollow trees. The trunks are hollowed out by fire to the height of six or seven feet; in the middle were hearths made of clay, for the fire; and in some of these dwellings there was room for four or five persons to sit around it. The people were obviously of the same race as those of the northern parts of New Holland.
Capt. Cook, as usual, carefully surveyed the coast, and made nautical observations to ascertain its position. The only material error which he discovered in Capt. Furneaux's sketch, was in the situation of Maria's Islands. Had the weather been fine on his quitting Van Diemen's Land, he might also have corrected another mistake of Capt. Furneaux and of former navigators, by discovering that this country is separated from New Holland by a considerable strait. But a fierce storm coming on, just as the vessels left Adventure Bay, they made the best of their way to New Zealand. It was not till 1797, that the existence of Bass's Strait, was observed by a Surgeon of that name, in an open boat: and Capt. Flinders, with that gentleman, first sailed through it in 1798. Capt. Flinders had also the honour of being the first to circumnavigate New Holland, in 1802, and 1803.
The storm that arose when our navigators left
