268 HARBORS AND LAKES. 1839.] 



a species of panther, which commits great havoc among the 

 sheep. All the different genera of the marsupialia are found, 

 and there are two species of dasyuri peculiar to the island ; 

 these are the dog-faced dasyurus, and the dasyurus ursinus. 

 The former resembles an ill-made dog, but is marked with 

 stripes like the zebra. The latter is an ugly and disgusting 

 animal in appearance, whence the colonists have called him 

 the " devil." 



Numerous excellent harbors are furnished in the frequent 

 indentations of the coast, and at the mouths of the rivers there 

 are some of the finest roadsteads in the world. The two 

 principal streams are the Derwent and the Taraar. The lat- 

 ter is formed by the North Esk and the South Esk. All 

 these rivers rise near the centre of the island. The Derwent 

 pursues a south-easterly course, and the others run to the 

 north. The harbor, or roadstead, at the mouth of the Der- 

 went, is forty-three miles in length : it is completely land- 

 locked, and varies in breadth from two to eight miles ; the 

 water is from thirty to forty fathoms deep, and good anchor- 

 age is afforded for vessels of the largest class, twenty-three 

 miles above the mouth of the river ; vessels of fifty tons bur- 

 den can proceed twenty miles, higher up, where the naviga- 

 tion is interrupted by an abrupt ridge of rocks. The Tamar, 

 which, perhaps, should more properly be considered as an 

 inlet of the sea, is navigable for vessels of three hundred tons 

 burden, forty miles from its mouth. There is a dangerous 

 bar, however, at the mouth of the river, and the passage up, 

 unless aided by steam, is rather intricate. 



There are several lakes of large size in the interior ; one 

 of which, near the centre of the island, is said to be about 

 sixty miles in circumference, to abound with fine fish, and to 

 be surrounded with a profusion of tall funereal pines, and 

 • cilars, and eucalypti, whose dark and gloomy shadows are 

 reflected in its clear still waters. Profound silence, broken 

 only by the dismal wailings of the forester, or the shrill cries 

 of the wild fowl thai flit slowly over the solitary scene, 

 reigns everywhere around. 



