504 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



timber ^Yith less than a day's hard work ; so we turned and 

 steamed out. The shores close to the water were covered 

 with masses of the most beautiful flowers : Ligusticuvi, Pleuro- 

 phylluin, and other rare and beautiful flowering plants are 

 huddled together with a lavish profusion which Nature alone 

 can afford. We were sorry to go, but it could not be helped ; 

 so round we went past the last headland of this island, which 

 promised us so much that was interestiug, for we had seen on 

 the high 'grassy uplands that rare sight — dozens of stately 

 white birds sitting in solitude on their nests, and we knew 

 that vve w^ere approaching what so few men are privileged to 

 visit — the home of the wandering albatros. Flocks of mutton- 

 birds {Puffinus tristis) accompanied us round the stormy cape, 

 which, presenting an exception to the other parts of this 

 strange land, was wooded to the height of 1,000ft. Heavy 

 seas rolling in closed the mouth of a small cave under the 

 cape, and thus compressing the air caused a loud explosion 

 with a shower of snowy spray as the water x^lug became 

 thinner with the recession of the wave. Sea-birds of several 

 kinds swept to and fro ; spotless albatroses soared high over 

 the laud ; and in a few minutes we were well up the long, deep, 

 wide fiord called Carnley Harbour, approaching the scene 

 w^here Captain Thomas Musgrave lays the simple but wonderful 

 story of his life as a castaway. Turning up towards the north 

 arm we found his flagstaff still standing on Musgrave Penin- 

 sula, and soon after sighted the ruins of Epigwaitt House, 

 where he lived so long with his men, near to which lay the 

 bones of his ill-fated vessel on the beach. I was sorry to miss 

 visiting this spot, but there was no object in goiug there ; 

 so we passed further up this arm, which led deep into the 

 heart of the main island, and anchored off Figure Eight 

 Island — a low piece of land in the centre of the harbour, so 

 named by Musgrave from its shape — on which the captain of 

 the " Hinemoa " had placed a few sheep and goats. \A"e spent 

 the rest of the afternoon there, some looking for sheep, others 

 for plants. The sheep were found dead ; the goats were alive 

 and healthy. A few interesting plants were found. Sea-lions 

 as usual grunted from the little gullies. I gathered here a 

 few spiders, of which Mr. Goyen writes : " All but two of the 

 spiders you collected on the islands to the south of New 

 Zealand are one species, Amamohioides maritima. Of the two 

 others, one is an Epcira (new, I think) and one a Salticus 

 (new). Among the spiders there is a PJialangium which may 

 turn out to be new." 



It would be out of place to narrate Mnsgrave's interesting 

 story here. The ill-found vessel, equipped to search for tin 

 or some other mythical metal at Campbell Island, was blown 

 ashore through lier anchor-chains parting while lying here 



