342 ISLANDS. [CHAP.V. 



with high craggy land stretching to the eastward. 

 Between the latter and Nottingham Island were 

 several lanes of water, which, either from the 

 change of tide, or some other cause, began gra- 

 dually to close, but were again found open early 

 on May 17th, the ship having by that time been 

 drifted more to the south-east. Vast numbers 

 of birds whizzed through the grey haze of the 

 morning, which, from a heavy lurid glare, min- 

 gled with a dull red tint, had all at once saddened 

 to mist. The sun, however, struggled through 

 it ; and as the vapour passed away we were glad- 

 dened by the sight of a lane of water in a 

 manner surrounding our pack, besides others not 

 very remote, and dark cloudy patches along the 

 horizon denoting still more. Salisbury Island 

 was also seen beyond the point of Nottingham, 

 as were Digge's, and the wild-looking land a 

 little to the east of Cape Wolstenholm, which 

 must be much higher than was supposed by 

 Captain Lyon, whose description, however, 

 gives an excellent idea of it. " The land here- 

 abouts," he says, " has a very remarkable 

 appearance, being broken into high perpen- 

 dicular bluffs, of from six to eight hundred 

 feet, between which the rocks were split into 

 deep ravines, descending abruptly to the water's 

 edge, and, at a few miles' distance, giving the 

 idea of their being the entrances to narrow 



