Chap. vii.J CROZET ISLANDS. 1 57 



similar to that of the Prion." We dug out a bird with its 



egg- 



I saw a hole with ears of grass dragged into it, and like a 

 mouse's. It is not unlikely that there is a mouse in the island, 

 as at Kerguelen ; in Goodridge's time mice were so abundant 

 on St. Paul's Island, that he speaks of feeding hogs, which he 

 kept in confinement, on them. They were found lying in 

 heaps in a dormant state in the early mornings.* A Curciilio 

 and two Staphylinidic were found by Von Suhm on the island, 

 and also a small land shell which was common. A fly with 

 rudimentary wings was also found by him, apparently the same 

 as one of those at Kerguelen's Land {Anialopteryx maritiiiia). 

 No land bird was met with, and no duck was seen, though one 

 species of duck is so abundant at Kerguelen's Land. 



Crozet Islands, Jan. 2nd, 1874. — W'e ran on towards the 

 Crozet Islands, before the westerly winds, and after lying about 

 close to this group in a dense fog, which prevented our sighting 

 it and landing on Hog Island as we had intended, the fog at 

 last lifted slightly on the evening of January 2nd. 



We ran in between Possession Island and East Island, as 

 Ross had done thirty years before. As we steamed towards 

 the land, the coast of Possession Island could just be discerned 

 under a dense fog bank, the white breakers being plainly 

 visible. The fog lifting a little more, a long range of cliffs 

 could be seen ; the tops of these, however, were still hid, to- 

 gether with all the higher portion of the island, in the densest 

 fog. The fog seemed to lie some little way off the land, for 

 the cliffs were lighted up by sunlight. Down these cliffs in 

 several places waterfalls poured into the sea. 



As we neared the island and entered the passage between 

 Possession Island and East Island, and came opposite the 

 sealers' anchorage at Navire Bay, we had a clear view of this 

 end of the island. It here presented a series of gentle slopes, 

 bounded by low littoral cliffs. Further off, towards America 

 Bay, the cliffs were seen to be much higher. Navire Bay is a 

 very slight indentation of the coast line, aflording hardly any 

 shelter: it has a beach of large pebbles, and from it extends 

 up inland a sinuous valley, appearing to my eye as rather a 

 space left between two lava flows than the result of denudation. 

 On one side of the beach was seen a hut and a store of oil 

 barrels. 



A shot was fired, but no one showed himself. The place 

 was evidently deserted. There was too much surf on the 

 beach to allow of landing. It was late in the evening, and 



* "Narrative of a Voyage to the South Seas," etc., p. 65, by C. M. 

 Goodridge. London : Hamilton & Adams, 1833. 



