148 FROM CONCEPTION BAY 



these birds, and discover their home. At day- 

 break we drew nearer again to the island, and 

 doubled the north and west points, at the distance 

 of a mile and a half, and employed ourselves in 

 taking sketches of it. No place of landing was 

 visible, except at the N.W. point, where it might 

 perhaps have been possible to effect a landing, if 

 the waves had not caused too great a surf, by the 

 violent wind from the north. The middle of the 

 island, where the lake is, is very low : the extreme 

 points at the north and south lie higher. It was 

 in vain that we looked for a palm-tree, but the 

 bushes relieved the eye by their luxuriant green. 

 The description of this island corresponds with the 

 Dog Island of Schouten, but it is not certain that 

 it is the same, as our latitude differs by twenty-two 

 minutes ; a mistake which, even at that time, 

 could hardly have taken place. I pay no attention 

 to the difference of longitude, as it was, of course, 

 some degrees wrong at that time. Undoubtedly, 

 several such islands must be near this place, as is 

 proved by the innumerable sea-fowl that we have 

 seen for the last two days, which could not possi- 

 bly all find room in this one. I therefore called it 

 the Doubtful Island. We found its latitude, calcu- 

 lated from two observations at noon, 14° 15' 11'^ 

 south, and its longitude, by the chronometers, 

 138" 47' 1" ; the declination of the magnetic 

 needle 5° east. Schouten, the day before he dis- 

 covered the Dog Island, had no declination, and 



